let and Laertes were known to excel at this sword
play; and Hamlet taking up the foils chose one, not at all suspecting
the treachery of Laertes, or being careful to examine Laertes' weapon,
who, instead of a foil or blunted sword, which the laws of fencing
require, made use of one with a point, and poisoned. At first Laertes
did but play with Hamlet, and suffered him to gain some advantages,
which the dissembling king magnified and extolled beyond measure,
drinking to Hamlet's success, and wagering rich bets upon the issue:
but after a few passes, Laertes growing warm made a deadly thrust at
Hamlet with his poisoned weapon, and gave him a mortal blow. Hamlet
incensed, but not knowing the whole of the treachery, in the scuffle
exchanged his own innocent weapon for Laertes' deadly one, and with a
thrust of Laertes' own sword repaid Laertes home, who was thus justly
caught in his own treachery. In this instant the queen shrieked out
that she was poisoned. She had inadvertently drunk out of a bowl which
the king had prepared for Hamlet, in case, that being warm in fencing,
he should call for drink: into this the treacherous king had infused a
deadly poison, to make sure of Hamlet, if Laertes had failed. He had
forgotten to warn the queen of the bowl, which she drank of, and
immediately died, exclaiming with her last breath that she was
poisoned. Hamlet, suspecting some treachery, ordered the doors to be
shut, while he sought it out. Laertes told him to seek no farther for
he was the traitor, and feeling his life go away with the wound which
Hamlet had given him, he made confession of the treachery he had used,
and now he had fallen a victim to it: and he told Hamlet of the
envenomed point, and said that Hamlet had not half an hour to live, for
no medicine could cure him; and begging forgiveness of Hamlet, he died,
with his last words accusing the king of being the contriver of the
mischief. When Hamlet saw his end draw near, there being yet some venom
left upon the sword, he suddenly turned upon his false uncle, and
thrust the point of it to his heart, fulfilling the promise which he
had made to his father's spirit, whose injunction was now accomplished,
and his foul murder revenged upon the murderer. Then Hamlet, feeling
his breath fail and life departing, turned to his dear friend Horatio,
who had been spectator of this fatal tragedy; and with his dying breath
requested him that he would live to tell his story to the world