And in the porches of mine ears did pour
The leperous diftilment; whofe effect
Holds fuch an enmity with blood of man,
That fwift as quick filver it courfes through
The nat❜ral gates and allies of the body;
And, with a fudden vigour, it doth poffet
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholefome blood: fo did it mine,
And a most inftant tetter bark'd about,

Moft lazar-like, with vile and loathsome cruft
All my fmooth body.-

Thus was I, fleeping, by a brother's hand,

Of life, of Crown, of Queen, at, once dispatcht;
Cut off ev'n in the bloffoms of my fin,
Unhousel'd, disappointed, 3 unaneal'd :

2

No

word for the facrament, housel. In the next placunanointed is a fophiftication of the text; the old copies concur in reading, difap printed. I correct,

Unboufeld, unappointed,i. e. no confeffion of fins made, no reconciliation to heaven, no appointment of penance by the church. Unaneal'd I agree to be the poet's genuine word; but I must take the liberty to difpute Mr. Pope's explication of it, viz. No knell rung. The adjective formed from knell, must have been unknell’d, or unknoll'd. There is no rule in orthography for finking the k in the deflection of any verb or compound formed from knell, and melting it into a vowel. What fenfe does unaneal'd then bear? SKINNER, in his Lexicon of old and obfolete English terms, telis us, that aneal'd is unclus from the Teutonick propofition an, M 4

and

No reck'ning made, but fent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.
Oh, horrible! oh, horrible! moft horrible!
If thou haft nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But howfoever thou purfu'ft this act,

Taint not thy mind, nor let thy foul contrive
Against thy mother aught; leave her to heav'n,
And to those thorns that in her bofom lodge,
To prick and fting her.

Fare thee well at once!

The glow-worm fhews the Matin to be near,
And 'gins to pale his + unaffectual fire.
Adieu, adieu, adieu; remember me.

[Exit.

Ham. Oh, all you hoft of heav'n! oh earth! what elfe!

And fhall I couple hell?Oh, hold my heart,
And you, my finews, grow not instant old;

and Ole, i. e. Oil: fo that unaneal'd must confequently fignify, nano nted, not having the extream unction. The poet's read ing and explication being afcertained, he very finely makes his ghost complain of these four dreadful hardships; that he had been difpatch'd out of life without receiving the hofte, or facrament; without being reconcil'd to heaven and abfolv'd; without the benefit of extream unction; or without fo much as a confeffion made of his fins. The having ho knell rung, I think, is not a point of equal confequence to any of thefe; especially, if we confider, that the Romish church admits the efficacy of praying for the dead. 1 THEOBALD. This is a very difficult line.

But bear me ftiffly up. Remember thee
Ay, thou poor Ghoft, while memory holds a feat
In this distracted globe. Remember thee-
Yea, from the table of my memory.
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All faws of books, all forms, all preffures paft,
That youth and obfervation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone fhall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with bafer matter. Yes, by heav'n.
O most pernicious woman!

Oh villain, villain, fmiling damned villain!
My tables,-meet it is, I fet it down,

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ;
At least, I'm fure, it may be fo in Denmark. [Writing.
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;
It is; Adieu, adieu, remember me.

Hor. Good, my Lord, tell it.

Ham. No, you'll reveal it,

Hor. Not I, my Lord, by heav'n.

Mar. Nor I, my Lord.

Ham. How fay you then, would heart of man once think it?

Both. Ay, by heav'n, my Lord.

Ham. There's ne'er a villain, dwelling in all Denmark,

But he's an arrant knave.

Hor. There needs no Ghoft, my Lord, come from the Grave

To tell us this.

Ham. Why right, you are i' th' right;
And fo without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit that we thake hands, and part;
You, as your business and defires fhall point you;
For every man has business and defire,

Such as it is; and, for my own poor part,

I will go pray.

Hor. Thefe are but wild and whirling words, my Lord.

Ham. I'm forry they offend you, heartily;

Yes, heartily.

Hor. There's no offence, my Lord.

Ham. Yes, by St. Patrick, but there is, my Lord, And much offence too. Touching this vifion here, It is an honeft Ghoft, that let me tell you: For your defire to know what is between us, O'er-mafter it as you may. And now, good friends,

6 By St. Patrick,-] How the poet comes to make Hamlet fvear by St. Patrick, I know not. However at this time all the whole northern world had their learning from Ireland; to

which place it had retired, and there flourished under the aufpices of this Saint. But it was, I fuppofe, only faid at random ;、 for he makes Hamlet a ftudent of Wittenberg. WARBURTON.

As

As you are friends, fcholars, and foldiers,
Give me one poor request.

Hor. What is't, my Lord?

Ham. Never make known what you have feen tonight.

Both. My Lord, we will not.
Ham. Nay, but fwear't.

Hor. In faith, my Lord, not I.

Mar. Nor I, my Lord, in faith,

Ham. Upon my fword.

Mar. We have fworn, my Lord, already.
Ham. Indeed, upon my fword, indeed.

Ghost. Swear.

[Ghost cries under the Stage.

Ham. Ah ha, boy, fay'ft thou fo? art thou there, true-penny?

Come on, you hear this fellow in the cellarage.
Confent to fwear.

Hor. Propofe the oath, my Lord.

Ham. Never to fpeak of this that you have seen, 7 Swear by my fword.

Ghost. Swear.

Ham. Hic & ubique? then we'll shift our ground. Come hither, gentlemen,

And lay your hands again upon my fword.
Never to speak of this which you have heard,

Swear by my

fword.

Ghost. Swear by his sword.

Ham. Well faid, old mole, can't work i'th' ground fo faft!

7 Swear by my word.] Here the poet has preserved the manners of the ancient Danes, with whom it was religion to fwear upon their fwords. See Bartho line, De caufis contemp. mort. apud Dan. WARE.

I was once inclinable to this

opinion, which is likewife well defended by Mr Upton, but Mr. Garrick produced me a paffage, I think, in Brantôme, from which it appeared, that it was common to fwear upon the fword, that is, upon the cross which the old fwords always had upon the hilt

A