Yea, curb and woo, for leave to do him good. Queen. O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain. To the next abstinence: the next more easy: I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord, [Pointing to POLONIUS. I do repent: But heaven hath pleas'd it so,— I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.- Queen. What shall I do? Ham. Not.this, by no means, that I bid you do: his mouse; Or padling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, That I essentially am not in madness, But mad in craft. 'Twere good, you let him know: Unpeg the basket on the house's top, Let the birds fly; and, like the famous ape, To try conclusions, in the basket creep, And break your own neck down. Queen. Be thou assur'd, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me. Ham. I must to England; you know that? I had forgot; 'tis so concluded on. Ham. There's letters seal'd: and my two school-fellows, Whom I will trust, as I will adders fang'd,— They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way, For 'tis the sport, to have the engineer I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room :— Is now most still, most secret, and most grave, [Exeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in POLONIUS. ACT IV. SCENE I.-The same. Enter King, Queen, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDEN STERN. King. There's matter in these sighs; these profound heaves; You must translate: 'tis fit we understand them: Where is your son? Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while. [To ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN, who Ah, my good lord, what have I seen to-night! King. What, Gertrude? How does Hamlet? Queen. Mad as the sea, and wind, when both contend Which is the mightier: In his lawless fit, Behind the arras hearing something stir, Whips out his rapier, cries, A rat! a rat! And, in this brainish apprehension, kills The unseen good old man. King. O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there : His liberty is full of threats to all; To you yourself, to us, to every one. Alas! how shall this bloody deed be answer'd? It will be laid to us, whose providence Should have kept short, restrain'd, and out of haunt, This mad young man : but, so much was our love, We would not understand what was most fit; To keep it from divulging, let it feed Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone? Shows itself pure; he weeps for what is done. The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, Both countenance and excuse.-Ho! Guildenstern! Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN. [Exeunt Ros. and GUIL. As level as the cannon to his blank, Transports his poison'd shot,-may miss our name, My soul is full of discord, and dismay. [Exeunt. T |