Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,

Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quar- With windlasses, and with assays of bias,

Rey. At "closes in the consequence."
Pol. At "closes in the consequence;" ay, At last, a little shaking of mine arm,

Pol. Come, go with me; I will go seek the So much as from occasion you may glean,

Pol.

That hath made him mad.

I am sorry that with better heed and judgment
I had not quoted him: I feared he did but trifle,
And meant to wreck thee; but, beshrew my
jealousy!

It seems it is as proper to our age

To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions,

As it is common for the younger sort
To lack discretion. Come, go we to the king:
This must be known; which, being kept close,
might move

More grief to hide, than hate to utter love.
Come.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.- · A Room in the Castle.

And I beseech you instantly to visit
My too much changéd son. - Go, some of you,
And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.
Guil. Heavens make our presence and our prac-
tices

Enter KING, QUEEN, ROSENCRANTZ, GUILDEN- Pleasant and helpful to him!

STERN, and Attendants.

King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guil-
denstern!

Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need we have to use you did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so I call it,
Since not the exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was: what it should be,

More than his father's death, that thus hath put
him

So much from the understanding of himself,
I cannot deem of. I entreat you both,
That, being of so young days brought up with him,
And since so neighbored to his youth and humor,
That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time; so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures; and to gather,

King. O, speak of that; that do I long to hear.
Pol. Give first admittance to the ambassadors;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring
them in.
[Exit POLONIUS.
He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper.
Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main;
His father's death, and our o'er hasty marriage.

Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief: -Your noble son is mad:
Mad call I it; for to define true madness,
What is 't to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.

Queen.

More matter, with less art.

Pol. Madam, I swear I use no art at all. That he is mad, 't is true: 't is true, 't is pity;

Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMAND and COR- And pity 't is, 't is true: a foolish figure;

NELIUS.

good friends!

But farewell it, for I will use no art.

King. Well, we shall sift him.—Welcome, my Mad let us grant him, then and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect
Or rather say, the cause of this defect;
For this effect, defective, comes by cause;
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Perpend:

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?
Volt. Most fair return of greetings and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies; which to him appeared
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;
But, better looked into, he truly found
It was against your highness: whereat grieved,
That so his sickness, age, and impotence,
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrests
On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more
To give th' assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee;
And his commission to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack:
With an entreaty, herein further shewn,

[Gives a paper.
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprise;
On such regards of safety and allowance
As therein are set down.

I have a daughter; have, while she is mine;
Who, in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this: now gather, and surmise

Reads.

"To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia ;

That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; "beautified" is a vile phrase; but you shall hear. Thus:

Reads.

"In her excellent white bosom, these." Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her? Pol. Good madam, stay awhile; I will be faithful.

Reads.

"Doubt thou the stars are fire;

Doubt that the sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love.

"O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu!

"Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this
machine is to him, HAMLET."
This in obedience, hath my daughter shewn me;
And more above, hath his solicitings,
As they fell out by time, by means, and place,
All given to mine ear.

King.
But how hath she
Received his love?

Pol.

What do you think of me?

King.

We will try it.

But what might

King. As of a man faithful and honorable.

Pol. I would fain prove so.
you think,

When I had seen this hot love on the wing
(As I perceived it, I must tell you that,
Before my daughter told me), what might you,
Or my dear majesty your queen here, think,
If I had played the desk or table-book;
Or given my heart a working mute and dumb;
Or looked upon this love with idle sight;
What might you think? No, I went round to work,
And my young mistress thus did I bespeak :
"Lord Hamlet is a prince out of thy sphere;
This must not be: " and then I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort,
Admit no messengers, receive no tokens:
Which done, she took the fruits of my advice;
And he, repulséd (a short tale to make),
Fell into a sadness; then into a fast;
Thence to a watch; thence into a weakness;
Thence to a lightness; and, by this declension,
Into the madness wherein now he raves,

And all we mourn for.

King.

Do you think 't is this?

Queen. It may be, very likely.

Pol. Hath there been such a time (I'd fain know that),

That I have positively said, "Tis so,"

When it proved otherwise?

King.

Not that I know of.

Pol. Take this from this, if this be otherwise
[Pointing to his head and shoulder.

If circumstances lead me, I will find
Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
Within the centre.

King.

How may we try it further?

Pol. You know, sometimes he walks for hours together,

Here in the lobby.

Queen.

So he does, indeed.

Enter HAMLET, reading.

Queen. But look where sadly the poor wretch

comes reading.

Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away; I'll board him presently :-O, give me leave. [Exeunt KING, QUEEN, and Attendants.

How does my good lord Hamlet?

Ham. Well, god-'a-mercy.

Pol. Do you know me, my lord?
Ham. Excellent well; you are a fishmonger.
Pol. Not I, my
lord.

Ham. Then I would you were so honest a man.
Pol. Honest, my lord?

Ham. Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes,
is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.
Pol. That's very true, my lord.

Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god, kissing carrion-Have you a daughter?

Pol. I have, my lord.

Ham. Let her not walk i' the sun conception is a blessing; but as your daughter may conceive,friend, look to 't.

Pol. How say you by that? [Aside.] Still harping on my daughter: yet he knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this. I'll speak to him again. - What do you read, my lord?

Ham. Words, words, words!
Pol. What is the matter, my lord?
Ham. Between who?

Pol. I mean, the matter that you read, my lord. Ham. Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue says. here, that old men have grey beards; that their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum; and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams.

Pol. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to All of which, sir, though I most powerfully and

him :

Be you and I behind an arras then;
Mark the encounter: if he love her not,
And be not from his reason fallen thereon,
Let me be no assistant for a state,
But keep a farm, and carters.

potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down; for you yourself, sir, should be as old as I am, if, like a crab, you could go backward.

Pol. Though this be madness, yet there's method in it [Aside]. Will you walk out of the air, my lord?

Ham. Into my grave.

Pol. Indeed, that is out o' the air.- How pregnant sometimes his replies are!—a happiness that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter. — My honorable lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you.

Ham. You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal; except my life, except my life, except my life.

Pol. Fare you well, my lord.

Ham. These tedious old fools!

Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN.

Ros. We think not so, my lord.

Ham. Why, then 't is none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me it is a prison.

Ros. Why, then your ambition makes it one; 't is too narrow for your mind.

Ham. O God! I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

Guil. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.

Ham. A dream itself is but a shadow.

Ros. Truly; and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quality, that it is but a shadow's shadow. Ham. Then are our beggars bodies; and our

Pol. You go to seek the lord Hamlet; there monarchs and outstretched heroes the beggar's

Ham. Then you live about her waist, or in the not sent for? Is it your own inclining? Is it a middle of her favors?

free visitation? Come, come; deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak.

Guil. What should we say, my lord?

Ham. Anything-but to the purpose. You were sent for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks, which your modesties have not craft enough to color. I know the good king and queen have sent for you.

Ros. To what end, my lord?

Ham. That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a better proposer could charge you withal, be even and direct with me, whether you were sent for or no?

Ros. What say you?

[To GUILDENSTERN.