Moreover that we much did long to fee you, That being of fo young days brought up with him, To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talked And fure I am two men there are not living, Ref. Both your Majefties Might by the fovereign power you have of us, Than to entreaty. Guil. But we both obey, And here give up ourfeives, in the full bent. To lay our fervice freely at your feet. King. Thanks, Rofincrantz, and gentle Guildenftern. Queen. Thanks, Guildenftern, and gentle RofinAnd I befeech you inftantly to vifit [crantz. My too much changed fon. Go, some of ye, And bring thefe gentlemen where Hamlet is. Guil. Heavens make our prefence and our pracPleafant and helpful to him! [tices [Exeunt Rof. and Guil. Queen. Amen. Enter POLONIUS. Pol. Th' ambaffadors from Norway, my good I hold my duty, as I hold my foul, [liege, As I have used to do) that I have found King. Oh, fpeak of that, that do I long to hear. Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main, His father's death, and our o'er-hafty marriage. Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMOND, and CORNELIUS. King. Well, we fhall fift him.----Welcome, my good friends! Say, Voltimond, what from our brother Norway? Vol. Most fair return of greetings and defires. Upon our firft, he fent out to fupprefs (27) Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee;] This reading first obtained in the edition put out by the players. But all the old Quartos (from 1605, downwards) read, as I have reformed the text. I had hinted, that threefcere thousand Crowns feemed a much more fuitable donative from a King to his own nephew, and the general of an army, than fo poor a pittance as three thousand crowns, a penfion fcarce large enough for a dependent courtier. I therefore restored; Gives him thre‹fore thousand crowas.—— To this Mr Pope, (very archly critical, as he imagines) has only replied,· which in his ear is a verfe. I own it is; and I'll venture to prove to this great master in numbers, that two fyllables may, by pronunciation, be refolved and melted into one, as cafily as two notes are flurred in music; and a redundance of a fyllable, that may be so funk, has never been a breach of harmony in any language. We must pronounce, as if 'twere written; Gi's'm three core thou fand crowns | But has Mr Pope, indeed, fo long been converfant with verfe, and never obferved the licence of the pes proceleufinaticus, or that an anapaft is equal in time and quantity to a pindée ? A few inftances from the Claflies will convince him, and perfons (if there are any fuch) of fuperior learning. Γαλακτοφάγων, ἀξιων, δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων. Hom. Il.v. v.6. Βορέης κα Ζέφυρος, τώ τε Θρήκηθεν ἂλλον. Νέα μέν μοι κατέαξε Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων. ΟdyΠ. ι. v. 238. Il. . v. 5. And his commiffion to employ thofe foldiers, Ἱέρευον δὲ σύκς σιαλες κ βῶν αγελαίνη. Odyff. p. v. 181. Κύκλωψ, τῆ, πίε οἶνον, ἐπεὶ φάγες ἀνδρόμεα κρέα. Odyf. ι. 347. Fluviorum rex Eridanus. Arietat in portas et duros objice poftes Engius. Lucret. Idem Idem. Horat. Virgil. Idem.. Idem. Idem. Senec. Idem. Idem. Let us Ego laticis hauftu fatir? aut ullo furor, &c. Tumet animus ia, fervet immenfum dolor. Vide ut animus ingens lætus audierit necem. But inftances from the Claffics would be endless. now take a fhort view, whether there are not other verfes in our Author which neither can be fcanned nor pronounced, without melting down fome fyllables, and extending others; and yet the verfes will ftand the teft of all judicious cars, that are acquainted with the licences of verfification. Unholyrood day, the gallant Hotspur there. Henry, IV. March. I am the fon of Henry the Fifth. For Henry here is made a trifyllable. 1bid. Ibid. Jul. Caf. As fire drives | out fire, | fo pi | ty pity. And I might amafs a thousand more inftances in proof. To conclude, without this liberty of liquidating fyllables, as we may call it, how would Mr Pope, or any body else, fcan this verfe in Johnfon's Volpone? But Pără | fites or | sub-pa | rāfites. | And yet, &c. King. It likes us well; And at our more confidered time we'll read, Mean time, we thank you for your well-took labour. Go to your reft; at night we'll feaft together. Moft welcome home! Pol. This bufinefs is well ended. [Exeunt Ambaf My Liege, and Madam, to expoftulate (28) (28) My liege, and Madan, to expoftulate] There feems to me in this fpeech most remarkable ftrokes of humour. I never read it without aftonishment at the Author's admirable art of preferving the unity of character. It is fo just a satire on impertinent oratory, (efpecially of that then in vogue) which was of the formal cut, and proceeded by definition, divifion, and fubdivifion, that I think every body must be charmed with it. Then as to the jingles, and play of words, let us but look into the fermons of Dr Donne, (the wittieft man of that age) and we shall find them full of this vein; only, there they are to be admired, here to be laughed at. Then with what art is Polonius made to pride himfelf in his wit? A foolish figure.-But, farewel it. Again, how finely is he fneering the formal oratory in fa fhion, when he makes this reflection on Hamlet's raving: Though this be madness, yet there's method in it. As if method in a difcourfe (which the wits of that age thought the most effential part of good writing) would make amends for the madness of it. This in the mouth of Polonius is exceeding fatirical. Though it was madness, yet he could comfort himself with the reflection that at least it was method. Mr Warburton. |