And therefore I forbid my tears: but yet

190

It is our trick; nature her custom holds,
Let shame say what it will: when these are gone,
The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord:
I have a speech of fire that fain would blaze,
But that this folly douts it.

King.

[Exit.

Let's follow, Gertrude:
How much I had to do to calm his rage!
Now fear I this will give it start again;
Therefore let's follow.

[Exeunt.

192. "douts"; Knight's emendation; F. 1, “doubts”; Qq., “drownes." -I. G.

ACT FIFTH

SCENE I

A churchyard.

Enter two Clowns, with spades, &c.

First Clo. Is she to be buried in Christian burial that willfully seeks her own salvation? Sec. Clo. I tell thee she is; and therefore make her grave straight: the crowner hath sat on her, and finds it Christian burial.

First Clo. How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?

Sec. Clo. Why, 'tis found so.

First Clo. It must be 'se offendendo;' it cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown 10 myself wittingly, it argues an act: and an act hath three branches; it is, to act, to do, to perform: argal, she drowned herself wittingly.

13. "wittingly"; Shakespeare's frequent and correct use of legal terms and phrases has led to the belief that he must have served something of an apprenticeship in the law. Among the legal authorities studied in his time, were Plowden's Commentaries, a blackletter book, written in the old law French. One of the cases reported by Plowden, is that of Dame Hales, regarding the forfeiture of a lease, in consequence of the suicide of Sir James Hales; and Sir John Hawkins has pointed out, that this rich burlesque of "crowner's-quest law" was probably intended as a ridicule on certain passages in that case. He produces the following speech of

Sec. Clo. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver.
First Clo. Give me leave. Here lies the

water; good: here stands the man; good: if
the man go to this water and drown himself,
it is, will he, nill he, he goes; mark you that;
but if the water come to him and drown him, 20
he drowns not himself: argal, he that is not
guilty of his own death shortens not his own
life.

Sec. Clo. But is this law?

First Clo. Aye, marry, is 't; crowner's quest law.

Sec. Clo. Will you ha' the truth on 't? If this

one of the counsel: "Walsh said that the act consists of three parts. The first is the imagination, which is a reflection or meditation of the mind, whether or no it is convenient for him to destroy himself, and what way it can be done. The second is the resolution, which is a determination of the mind to destroy himself, and to do it in this or that particular way. The third is the perfection, which is the execution of what the mind has resolved to do. And this perfection consists of two parts, the beginning and the end. The beginning is the doing of the act which causes the death; and the end is the death, which is only a sequel to the act."—H. N. H.

22. "shortens not his own life"; we must here produce another passage from Plowden, as given by Hawkins. It is the reasoning of one of the judges, and is nearly as good as that in the text: "Sir James Hales was dead, and how came he to his death? It may be answered, by drowning; and who drowned him? Sir James Hales. And when did he drown him? in his life-time. So that Sir James Hales, being alive, caused Sir James Hales to die; and the act of the living man was the death of the dead man. And then for this offence it is reasonable to punish the living man who committed the offence, and not the dead man. But how can he be said to be punished alive, when the punishment comes after his death? this can be done no other way but by divesting out of him, from the time of the act done in his life which was the cause of his death, the title and property of those things which he had in his life-time." -H. N. H.

Sir,

had not been a gentlewoman, she should have
been buried out o' Christian burial.

First Clo. Why, there thou say'st: and the 30

more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves, more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers and gravemakers: they hold up Adam's profession. Sec. Clo. Was he a gentleman?

First Clo. A' was the first that ever bore arms.
Sec. Clo. Why, he had none.

First Clo. What, art a heathen? How dost 40
thou understand the Scripture? The Scrip-
ture says Adam digged: could he dig with-
out arms? I'll put another question to
thee: if thou answerest me not to the pur-
pose, confess thyself-

Sec. Clo. Go to.

First Clo. What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?

Sec. Clo. The gallows-maker; for that frame 50 out-lives a thousand tenants.

First Clo. I like thy wit well, in good faith: the gallows does well; but how does it well? it does well to those that do ill: now, thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church: argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To 't again, come.

39-42, omitted in Qq.-I. G.

Sec. Clo. 'Who builds stronger than a mason,

a shipwright, or a carpenter?'

First Clo. Aye, tell me that, and unyoke.

Sec. Clo. Marry, now I can tell.

First Clo. To 't.

Sec. Clo. Mass, I cannot tell.

Enter Hamlet and Horatio, afar off.

First Clo. Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating, and when you are asked this question next, say 'a grave-maker:' the houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan; fetch me a stoup of liquor.

60

[Exit Sec. Clown. [He digs, and sings.

In youth, when I did love, did love,

Methought it was very sweet,

To contract, O, the time, for-a my behove,

O, methought, there-a was nothing-a meet.

70

70. "In youth when I did love"; the original ballad from whence these stanzas are taken is printed in Tottel's Miscellany, or Songes and Sonnettes by Lord Surrey and others, 1575. The ballad is attributed to Lord Vaux, and is printed by Dr. Percy in his Reliques of Ancient Poetry. The ohs and the ahs are caused by the forcible emission of the digger's breath at each stroke of the mattock. The original runs thus:

"I lothe that I did love,

In youth that I thought swete:
As time requires for my behove,
Methinks they are not mete.

"For age with stealing steps

Hath claude me with his crowch;

And lusty youthe away he leaps,

As there had bene none such.”—H. N. H.