Would have reverted to my bow again,
And not where I had aim'd them. 24
Laer. And so have I a noble father lost;
A sister driven into desperate terms,
Whose worth, if praises may go back again,
Stood challenger on mount of all the age 28
For her perfections. But my revenge will come.
King. Break not your sleeps for that; you must not think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more; 33
I lov'd your father, and we love ourself,
And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine,—
Enter a Messenger.
How now! what news?
Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet:
This to your majesty; this to the queen. 37
King. From Hamlet! who brought them?
Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say; I saw them not:
They were given me by Claudio, he receiv'd them 40
[Of him that brought them.]
King. Laertes, you shall hear them.
Leave us. Exit Messenger.
"High and mighty, you shall know I am set
naked on your kingdom. To-morrow shall I
beg leave to see your kingly eyes; when I shall,
first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the
occasions of my sudden and more strange re-
turn. Hamlet."
23 reverted: returned; cf. n.
27 praises . . . again; cf. n.
28 challenger on mount; cf. n.
40 Claudio; cf. n.
44 naked: without resources
