rms, giving him his dinner after the usual maternal fashion, and
afterwards disposing of him in the trundle-bed, to complete his infant
slumbers.

Overdale explained that they had tried to get a bigger _Hamlet_, but
that, upon the whole, he thought the little fellow would "speak his
piece" pretty well, taking into consideration the fact, that in the
dying groans, he was supposed to have no superior.

Wagstaff was totally ignorant of the plot, and as from the obfuscation
of the performers, no one could have formed the slightest idea of what
they were all talking about, he seemed in no very fair way to find out
anything about it.

The peculiar rendition of the story of the King of Denmark was so
uncertain, that even John Spout found it exceedingly difficult to tell
where they were or how they would come out, or what they intended to do
next. He was a little uncertain whether the queen would finally subdue
_Hamlet_, or _Hamlet_ succeed in thrashing the queen. In the closet
scene, especially, the battle was conducted with such varying success
that it was impossible to bet, with any kind of certainty, on the
result, or to prognosticate, with reliability, whether _Hamlet_ would
knock his mother down with a chair, and damage her maternal countenance
with the heels of his boots, or whether the old lady would succeed in
_her_ design, which was evidently to conquer her rebellious offspring,
and give him a good spanking. Neither could he tell whether _Laertes_
would kill _Horatio_, _Hamlet_, or the _Second Grave-digger_, who stood
behind the wing, with his hands in his pockets, and his breeches in his
boots. He was also a little undecided as to which was _Polonius_, and
which was the king, and when the player queen came on, he thought it was
only _Ophelia_, with a different-colored petticoat on. John swore the
_Ghost_ looked as if he hadn't had any dinner, and said he was perfectly
certain his ghostship had been refreshing his invisible bowels with a
mug of ale, behind the scenes, because when he came on the last time,
with the broomstick in his hand, he could see the foam on his whiskers.

One of the richest and most incomprehensible scenes ever witnessed on
the modern stage was the final one between _Hamlet_ and the _Ghost_,
who, finding the weather chilly, had done his best to mitigate his
sufferings by putting on an overcoat. _Hamlet_, trying to look fierce,
holding his sword at arm's length, performing a kind of original