b o o k (lie obferved w i t h fond fatisfadhon that the palace was f t i l l
V E IL - , . . ' *
, -viiible ; and could not be perfuaded to enter the cafiin as
long as fhe could difcover the fainteft glimpfe o f the battlements.
Itis well known that her majefty refided at Zell, where
fire was carried oft', by a fcarlet fever, in the fixteeuth day o f
her illnefs.
Queen Matilda was naturally o f a lively "difppfition, until
her misfortunes brought on a fettled melancholy, which
preyed upon her mind. In company fhe endeavoured to
diflemble her forrows, and aflume a clieerfulnefs to which
her heart was a ftranger. She became extremely fond o f
iolitude; and, when alone, indulged her g rief in the
moft bitter lamentations. She retained, to her laft moments,
the moil: unaffedted attachment to her children in
Denmark: with all the anxiety o f a parent ihe made repeated
inquiries after them, and was delighted with receiving the
minuteft accounts o f their health, amulenients, and education.
Having obtained their portraits from Copenhagen, ihe
placed them in her moft retired apartment, often apoftro-
phized them as i f they were prefent *, and addrefied them
in the tendered: manner.
Adjoining to a royal palace, which ftands about half a. mile
from Cronborg, is a garden, which our curiofity led us to
vifit, as it is called Ham let’s garden, and is faid, by tradition,
to be the very fpot where the murder o f his father was perpetrated.
The houfe is o f modern date, and is fituated at
the foot o f a fandy ridge near the fea. The garden occupies
the fide o f the hill, and is laid out in terraftes rifing one
above another. Elfinoor is the fcene o f Shakefpeare’s Hamreceived
this anecdote from a perfon at Z e l l , who had, more than onoc overheard
this age ¿ lin g fcene t
let;
Ifet;- and the originaLhiftory from which that divine author c h a p .
derived the principal incidents o f his play is founded upon, *’ ,
fadts, but fo deeply buried in remote, antiquity, that it is difficult
to difcriminate truth from fable. Saxo Grammaticus,
who flouriihed in the rath century,, is the earlieft hiftorian
o f Denmark, that relates the adventures o f Hamlet. His
account is extracted, and. much altered, by Belleforeft,. a.
French author; anEngliih tranflation o f whofe.romance was
publiflied under the title o f the “ Hiftorye o f Hamblet *
and .from- this tranflation Shakefpeare formed the groundwork
o f his play, though with many alterations and additions..
As Saxo Grammaticus is an author, whofe works are in the
hands o f but few perfons, and as I never met with an Eng-
lifh tranflation, i t cannot be unacceptable to give a fhort;
iketch o f Hamlet’s Hiftory, as recorded in the Daniih Annals
that the reader may compare the originalcharadter with that,
delineated by Shakefpeare.
Long before the introduction o f Ghriftianity into Denmark,
Horwendillus Prefedt, or King o f Jutland, was. married
to Gerutha, or Gertrude, daughter o f Ruric king o f Denmark,
by whom he had.a fon,.called Amlettus, or Hamlet.,
Fengo murders his brother Horwendillus, marries Gertrude,
and afcends the throne.' Hamlet, to avoid his uncle’s jealoufy’ .
counterfeits f o l l y and is reprefented as fuch an abhorrer o f
falfehood, that, though he conftantly frames the moft evafive.
and even abfurd anfwers, yet. artfully contrives never to deviate
from, truth. Fengo, fufpecling the reality of his.-
. * T h e “ V c °p y 1 ever faw o f this w o rk Pavie rl— -T h e heads' o f th e ch apters ' are,
| H i th^ Ilbrary o f T r in i ty C o lle g e , C am - g iv en in M r . C a p e ll’s potthnmoiis w o rk , the
.b rid g e, in th e curious co lle ftion relative to S ch o o l.o f Shakefpeare, V o l . I I I . p. Qo ; and I
th e S chool o f Shake fpe are, given b y the la te a few e x tra fts in M alon e’ s Su pplemen t to .
M r . C a p e ll to th at fo c ie ty . I t is in b la c k Joh n fon ’s and S te e rcn s ’ s Shakfpeare.
le t te r , en titled , T h e H y ilo ry e o f H am b le t; f Sax . G ram , L ib . I I I . and I V ;
Imprin ted by R ich a rd Brado ck e fo r T h om a s
madnefs,,