UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 103 



opinion, pro or con ; are you one of those who 

 overlook the merits to mark the faults ? Tell me 

 what you think." 



This direct question of my uncle's was really 

 terrible ; every creature was silent and I was 

 obliged to acknowledge that I had only read 

 Hamlet once, not having felt as much interest 

 in it, as in many other tragedies of Shakspeare. 

 There was something which appeared to me a 

 little confused in the whole plot the ghost, too, 

 disappointed me : and Hamlet seemed unne- 

 cessarily unkind to poor Ophelia and in short 

 I did not very much like the play, perhap 

 because I did not understand it. 



My uncle praised me for having courage to ex- 

 press honestly what I thought ; and he said he 

 would read the play to us, that I might enter into 

 the spirit of it while the conversation was fresh 

 in my recollection. He had taken but little part 

 in the conversation, his object being rather to 

 draw out all our opinions, than to influence 

 them by his own ; but as he was going to begin, 

 he said, " It appears to me that Hamlet is not 

 quite suited to very young people : it scarcely 

 comes within the range of their views of the 

 human mind. One of the earliest critics on 

 Shakspeare remarked that Hamlet ' can only 

 please the wiser sort ;' and I will therefore en- 

 deavour, by a few hints, to direct your attention 

 to the main object of the play, and to one or 



