at

'Glamis hath murdered sleep.'

"He apparently drew no comfort from the reflection that his late
benefactor, the murdered king,

'After life's fitful fever he sleeps well.'

"Burdened with thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls, the
sometimes Thane of Cawdor indulged in an apostrophe to 'the dull
god' which has enduring place in all language:

'Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in Life's feast, ----'

"At this crucial moment, came the untimely interruption of Mrs.
Macbeth, demanding of her husband, _'What do you mean?'_

"The spell was broken, and for all time the sublime apostrophe
to sleep unfinished. What he might next have said, whose lips can
tell? Words possibly to be spoken by every tongue, to be crystallized
into every language. Her ill-fated interruption can never be
forgiven. The practical lesson to be drawn, one for all the ages,
is the peril involved in a wife's _untimely interruption_ of the
wise observations and sage reflections of her husband.

"This coming together to-night may justify the remark that satire upon
the proverbial caution of candidates in expressing an opinion _upon
any subject_ was perhaps never better illustrated than in the
incident now to be related. Upon a time many years ago, when
approaching the Capitol from Pennsylvania Avenue in company with
my friend Proctor Knott, a tall, solemn-appearing individual
addressed the latter as follows; 'Mr. Knott, I would like to have
your opinion as to which is the best play, "Hamlet" or "Macbeth."'
With a characteristic expression of countenance, Knott, with
deprecatory gesture, slowly replied:

"'My friend, don't ask me that question; I am a politician, a
candidate for Congress, and my district is about equally divided; Hamlet
has his friends down there, and Macbeth has his, and _I will take no
part between them.'_

"This observation recalls an incident of recent occurrence in a
neighboring city. A friend of mine, a minister of the Gospel--you
will bear in mind that my friends are not _all_ actors--and this
recalls the dilemma of a candidate who, upon inquiry as to the
comparative merits of heaven and its antipode, cautiously declined
to express an opinion, on the ground that _he had friends in
both places_--this minister, upon being installed in a new pastorate,
was almost immedi