A broken voice, and his whole function fuiting What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba", by the words which he has put into the mouth of Polonius in this fcene; which add fuch fupport to the original reading, that I have without hesitation reftored it. Immediately after the player has finished his fpeech, Polonius exclaims, "Look, whether he has not turn'd bis colour, and has tears in bis eyes." Here we find the effort to fhed tears, taking away, not giving a colour. If it be objected, that by turn'd bis colour, Shakspeare meant that the player grew red, a paffage in King Richard III. in which the poet is again defcribing an actor, who is master of his art, will at once anfwer the objection. Rich. Come, coufin, can't thou quake, and change thy colour? And then again begin, and ftop again, As if thou wert diftraught and mad with terror? Buck. Tut, I can counterfeit the deep tragedian; Tremble and start at wagging of a straw, &c. The words, quake, and terror, and temble, as well as the whole context, fhew, that by change thy colour," Shakspeare meant grow pale. MALONE. 5. Tears in bis eyes, diftra&tion in 's afpéct,] The word afpett (as Dr. Farmer very properly obierves) was in Shakspeare's time accented on the fecond fyllable. The folio exhibits the paflage as I have printed it. STEEVENS. 6 What's Hecuba to him, &c.] The expreffion of Hamlet, What's Hecuba to bim, or be to Hecuba, is plainly an allufion to a paffage in Plutarch's Life of Pelopidas, fo exquifitely beautiful, and so pertinent, that I wonder it has never yet been taken notice of. “And another time, being in a theatre where the tragedy of "Treades of Euripides was played, he [Alexander Pheræus] went out "of the theatre, and fent word to the players notwithstanding, that "they fhould go on with their play, as if he had been still among them; faying, that he came not away for any mifliking he had of them or of the play, but because he was afhamed his people fhould fee him weep, to fee the miteries of Hecuba and Andromache played, and that they never faw him pity the death of any one "man, of fo many of his citizens as he had caufed to be flain." Sir JOHN HAWKINS. This obfervation had been already made by Mr. Upton. STEEVENS. Shakspeare, it is highly probable, had read the life of Pelopidas, but I fee no ground for fuppofing there is here an allufion to it." Hamlet is not ashamed of being icen to weep at a theatrical exhibition, but mortified that a player, in a dream of paffion, should appear more agitated by fictitious forrow, than the prince was by a real calamity. MALONE. That That he should weep for her? What would he do, Yet I, A dull and muddy-mettled rafcal, peak, 7 Who the cue for passion,] The bint, the direction. JOHNSON, $ the general ear-] The ears of all mankind. So before, caviare to the general, that is, to the multitude. JOHNSON. 9 Like John-a-dreams,-] John-a-dreams, i. e. of dreams, means only John the dreamer; a nick-name, I fuppofe, for any ignorant filly fellow. Thus the puppet formerly thrown at during the feafon of Lent, was called Jack-a-lent, and the ignis fatuus Jack-a-lantern. Joba-a-droynes, however, if not a corruption of this nick-name, feems to have been fome well known character, as I have met with more than one allufion to him. So, in Have with you to Saffron Walden, or Gabriel Harvey's Hunt is up, by Nafhe, 1596: "The defcription of that poor Jobn-a-droynes his man, whom he had hired," &c. Jobn-a-droynes is likewife a foolith character in Whetstone's Promos and Caffandra, 1578, who is feized by informers, has not much to fay in his defence, and is cheated out of his money. STEEV. unpregnant of my cause,] Unpregnant, for having no due fenfe of. WARBURTON. 11 Rather, not quickened with a new defire of vengeance; not teeming with revenge. JOHNSON. 2 A damn'd defeat was made.-] Defeat, for deftruction. WARB. Rather, difpoffeffion. JOHNSON. The word defeat is very licentiously ufed by the old writers. Shakfpeare in Orbello employs it yet more quaintly::-" Defeat thy favour with an ufurped beard;" and Middleton, in his comedy called Any Thing for a Quiet Life, fays I have heard of your defeat made upon a mercer.' Again, in Revenge for Honour, by Chapman: "That he might meantime make a sure defeat In the paffage quoted from Orbello, to defeat is ufed for undo or alter; defaire, Fr. See Mindheu in v. Minfheu confiders the subftantives Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across? A fcullions! Fie upon't! foh! About my brains 6! Humph!Ihave heard, That guilty creatures, fitting at a play”, Have ftantives defeat and defeature as fynonymous. The former he defines an overthrow; the latter, execution or flaughter of men. In K. Henry V. we have a fimilar phrafeology: "Making defeat upon the powers of France." And the word is again used in the fame fenfe in the last act of this play: Their defeat "Doth by their own infinuation grow." MALONE. 3- kindlefs-] Unnatural. JOHNSON. 4 Why, what an afs am I? This is mof brave ;] The folio reads, O vengeance! Who? what an afs am I? Sure this is most brave. STEEVENS. 5 Afcullion!] Thus the folio. The quartos read,-a ftallion. STEEVENS. About, my brains!] Wits, to your work. Brain, go about the prefent bufinefs. JOHNSON. This expreffion occurs in the Second Part of the Iron Age, by Heywood, 1632: 7 "My brain, about again! for thou haft found "New projects now to work on." STEEVENS. I bave beard, That guilty creatures, fitting at a play,] A number of these stories are Have by the very cunning of the scene ACT III. SCENE I. [Exit. Enter King, Queen, POLONIUS, OPHELIA, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN. King. And can you by no drift of conference* Get from him, why he puts on this confufion; Grating fo harshly all his days of quiet With turbulent and dangerous lunacy? are collected together by Thomas Heywood, in his Actor's Vindication. STEEVENS. 8 tent bim-] Search his wounds. JOHNSON. 9 if be do blench,] If he fhrink, or ftart. The word is used by Fletcher, in The Night-walker: "Blench at no danger, though it be a gallows." Again in Gower, De Confeffione Amantis, lib. vi. fol. 128: "Without blencbinge of mine eie." STEEVENS. See Vol. IV. p. 142, n. 3. MALONE. 1 More relative than this;—] Relative, for convictive. WARB. Convictive is only the confequential fenfe. Relative is, nearly relased, closely connected. JOHNSON. conference-] The folio reads, circumftance. STEEVENS. Rof. Rof. He does confefs, he feels himself distracted; But from what cause he will by no means speak. Guil. Nor do we find him forward to be founded; When we would bring him on to fome confeffion Queen. Did he receive you well? Rof. Moft like a gentleman. Guil. But with much forcing of his difpofition. Rof. Niggard of question; but, of our demands, Moft free in his reply 3. Queen. Did you affay him To any paftime? Rof. Madam, it fo fell out, that certain players We o'er-raught on the way 4: of thefe we told him; And there did feem in him a kind of joy To hear of it: They are about the court; And, as I think, they have already order Pol. "Tis most true: And he befeech'd me to entreat your majefties, To hear and fee the matter. King. With all my heart; and it doth much content me To hear him fo inclin❜d. Good gentlemen, give him a further edge, And drive his purpose on to these delights. [Exeunt Rof. and Guil. King, Sweet Gertrude, leave us too: 3 Niggard of queftion; but, of our demands, Moft free in bis reply.] Slow to begin converfation, but free enough in his anfwers to our demands. Guildenstern has just faid that Hamlet kept aloof when they wished to bring him to confefs the cause of his diftration: Rofencrantz therefore here must mean, that up to that point, till they touch'd on that, he was free enough in his anfwers. MALONE. 4 o'er-raught on the way :-] Over-raught is over-reached, that is, over-took. JOHNSON. So, in Spenfer's Faery Queen, b. 6. c. 3: "Having by chance a clofe advantage view'd, For |