ten a couple of mutinous
sailors together by the legs.]

[Footnote 6: Does he not here check himself and begin
afresh--remembering that the praise belongs to the Divinity?]

[Footnote 7: _pall_--from the root of _pale_--'come to nothing.' He had
had his plots from which he hoped much; the king's commission had
rendered them futile. But he seems to have grown doubtful of his plans
before, probably through the doubt of his companions which led him to
seek acquaintance with their commission, and he may mean that his 'dear
plots' had begun to pall _upon him_. Anyhow the sudden 'indiscretion' of
searching for and unsealing the ambassadors' commission served him as
nothing else could have served him.]

[Footnote 8: --even by our indiscretion. Emphasis on _shapes_.]

[Footnote 9: Here is another sign of Hamlet's religion. 24, 125, 260.
We start to work out an idea, but the result does not correspond with
the idea: another has been at work along with us. We rough-hew--block
out our marble, say for a Mercury; the result is an Apollo. Hamlet had
rough-hewn his ends--he had begun plans to certain ends, but had he been
allowed to go on shaping them alone, the result, even had he carried out
his plans and shaped his ends to his mind, would have been failure.
Another mallet and chisel were busy shaping them otherwise from the
first, and carrying them out to a true success. For _success_ is not the
success of plans, but the success of ends.]

[Footnote 10: Emphasize _I_ and _them_, as the rhythm requires, and the
phrase becomes picturesque.]

[Footnote 11: 'got my fingers on their papers.']

[Footnote 12: Emphasize _royal_.]

[Footnote 13: A _bug_ is any object causing terror.]

[Footnote 14: immediately on the reading.]

[Footnote 15: --no interval abated, taken off the immediacy of the order
respite granted.]

[Page 248]

But wilt thou heare me how I did proceed? [Sidenote: heare now how]

_Hor_. I beseech you.

_Ham_. Being thus benetted round with Villaines,[1]
Ere I could make a Prologue to my braines, [Sidenote: Or I could]
They had begun the Play.[2] I sate me downe,
Deuis'd a new Commission,[3] wrote it faire,
I once did hold it as our Statists[4] doe,
A basenesse to write faire; and laboured much
How to forget that learning: but Sir now,
It did me Yeomans[5] seruice: wilt thou know [Sidenote: yemans]
The effects[6] of what I wrote? [Sidenote: Th'effect[6]]

_Hor_. I, g