after his apparently brutal treatment of her, _Hamlet_ returns, and,
while he is stooping and in tears, he kisses her hair and runs away
noiselessly as if this also were another part of the same game. Then
again, in the Churchyard, after the scandalous brawling (brought
about by the stupid ignorance of a dunderheaded ecclesiastic, to whose
Bishop _Laertes_ ought to have immediately reported him), _Hamlet_
returns to weep and throw flowers into the grave. Now excellent
"returns" are dear to the managerial heart, and consoling to his
pocket, when they attest the overflowing attendance of "friends in
front;" but when "returns" are on the stage, their excellence may be
questioned on the score of monotony. Now, as to the Churchyard Scene,
permit me to make a suggestion:--the Second Gravedigger has been
commissioned by the First Gravedigger, with money down, to go to a
neighbouring publican of the name of YAUGHAN, pronounced Yogan or
Yawn,--probably the latter, on account either of his opening his mouth
wide, or of his being a sleepy-headed fellow,--and fetch a stoop of
liquor. Now, when all the turmoil is over, the remaining gravedigger
would at once set to work, as in fact he does in this scene at the
Haymarket; but here he just shovels a handful of mould into the grave,
and then, without rhyme or reason (with both of which he has been
plentifully supplied by SHAKSPEARE), suddenly away he goes, merely to
allow for the "business" of _Hamlet's_ re-entrance. But why shouldn't
there be here, prior to the return of _Hamlet_, a re-entrance of the
Second Gravedigger, as if coming back from friend YAUGHAN's with
the pot of ale? The sight of this would attract First Gravedigger,
and take the thirsty soul most readily from his work to discuss
the refreshment in some shady nook. Then by all means let _Hamlet_
return to pour out his grief; and on this picture ought the Curtain
effectively descend.