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HAMLET 
 
 A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF ITS 
 PERFORMANCE WITNESSED 
 
 BY 
 
 Jack Howison 
 
 AGED 12 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 1894 
 

 \LuLyU 
 
PREFACE 
 
 These pages were written by a little boy twelve years of 
 age after attending a performance of Hamlet. His account 
 is printed precisely as it fell from his pen, without the slightest 
 change in orthography, punctuation, or arrangement. In other 
 words, the impressions created by the representation of the 
 divine tragedy upon his boyish mind are here translated into 
 his own diction, the spring of his emotion bubbling to the 
 surface in an unaffected and unsought course of nature. 
 
 Master Howison had never read or seen the play of 
 Hamlet until the eventful evening he mentions. For some 
 days after the performance he amused and interested those of 
 us in his family by reciting various passages, and illustrating 
 the manner of the actors he had seen. His mind seemed to be 
 filled with the spirit of the play and his ear had caught the 
 deathless music of Shakspere's verse. It occurred to his 
 friends that an account of the play as he had seen it, written 
 by himself might be interesting; hence these pages. 
 
 He recognizes completely the crudity of his performance, 
 but has been persuaded to allow his words to be printed in 
 order that his name may be connected, however unworthily, 
 with that of the immortal master. 
 
 There is reason to believe that the interest in the study 
 thus begun will continue. He has already provided himself 
 with Shakspere's works and is giving all the attention he may 
 spare from his school duties to that delightful avocation. 
 
 The photographic portrait which appears as a frontispiece 
 
 was taken, developed, and printed by Master Howison without 
 
 assistance. It is copied from an engraving, a folio proof 
 
 before letters, of the Chandos portrait. 
 
 SAB 
 
The other night I went to see Hamlet at 
 the Girard avenue theater. I think it was Oct 
 22 1893 
 
 The first scene was where two men were 
 on guard and they heard some one coming and 
 said stand and unfold your self it was Marcel- 
 lows you come most careful on your hour said 
 the guards. They were not there long before 
 Marcellows said look look what comes speak 
 to it one of the guard said speak speak I pray 
 you speak I charge you speak no it will not 
 speak said Marcellows it is offended so the 
 ghost went away. It was the finest ghost I 
 ever saw. Then Marcellows and the guards 
 went right to Hamlet's house and told him all 
 about what they had seen the night before. 
 Hamlet said I will be there betwix eleven and 
 twelve so the next night Hamlet was there 
 when the clock struct twelve and then the 
 ghost came in Hamlet said to it speak speak 
 and the ghost turned around and made motions 
 for Hamlet to come with it. Marcellows did 
 not want Hamlet to go but he would and he 
 followed it till it came to a certain spot where 
 
It stoped and said I am thy father spirit who was 
 killed by my own brother. 
 
 Doomed to walk the earth for a certain 
 time but soft me thinks I smell the scent of the 
 morning air I must away. 
 
 f Then Hamlet went back to the 
 
 2 scene < 
 
 \ castle and was not there long before 
 
 Ophilia's father came in and Hamlet said to 
 him have you not a daughter and the old man 
 said he is harping on my daughter again. 
 Ophilia came in and her father would not let her 
 stay long but made her go away with him 
 Hamlet was in love with her but she thought 
 he did not love her but in a little while Ophilia 
 came in again and Hamlet was talking to her 
 when her father came and took her away. 
 The next act was where Hamlet and his 
 mother were in the room together and Hamlet 
 told her to pray over his father and after that 
 he showed her the picture of his father which 
 he carried on a chain around his neck and said 
 this was your husband and pointed to the 
 picture on the wall and said this is your hus- 
 band now and Hamlet thought the king was 
 coming in the door so he drew his sword out 
 and stabbed Ophilia's father instead of the king 
 
after that Ophilla went crazy and very soon 
 after drowned herself The next act was 
 church and crrave yard the old grave diger was 
 diging a grave Hamlet and Marcellows came 
 and asked whose grave this is the old fellow 
 said it is my grave Hamlet said I mean who is 
 going to be hurried there A young lady said 
 the old grave diger the old fellow dug a skull 
 up out of the grave and Hamlet asked him 
 whose it was the old fellow looked at it for a 
 while and said it was David Garrick and 
 Hamlet looked at it and showed it to Mar- 
 cellows and then handed it back to the grave 
 diger. The old fellow sings while he digs the 
 grave in a litde while the bell toles and the 
 funeral comes in first six women earring the 
 coffin and then her brother and the King and 
 Queen and some others they open the lid of 
 the coffin and look at her and close it again and 
 the old grave diger lets the coffin down the 
 hole the Queen throws a few flowers down in 
 the grave Hamlet and Marcellows are hiding 
 behind a tree and they see it all. 
 
 I forgot to put in where Hamlet stabbes 
 Ophilia's father behind the bed curtains he 
 thought it was the king. In a very litde while 
 the white light's go out and they show blue 
 
light on the stage to represent night this made 
 me nervious. While Hamlet and his mother 
 are in the room the ghost comes in and Hamlet 
 asks his mother wheather she sees it and she 
 thinks he has gone crazy. I thought it was the 
 best play I ever saw the ghost was a dandy and 
 Creston Clarke played his part so very well 
 and the scenery was very pretty. 
 
 And another thing I forgot to say that 
 Ophilia comes in the room where the king and 
 Queen is with her hair hanging drown her back 
 and with some flowers in her hand and she gets 
 aown on the floor and spreads flowers all 
 around in a circle and after that gets up and 
 goes out. 
 
 Near the first act Hamlet and some others 
 get up a play to scare the King. They play 
 that a man was lying down a sleep in his garden 
 and some one comes and pours some poisen 
 liquid in his ear that kills him They do this to 
 remind the King how he killed Hamlet's father 
 and so he gets scared and runs out and every 
 body wonders what is the matter with him 
 The last act was a scene in the palace the King 
 and Queen was sitting on the throne and a 
 good many others are around the King had 
 fixed it up with Ophilia's brother to be there to 
 
fight a duel with Hamlet so he took two cups 
 and put some good wine in one cup and some 
 poisen in the other cup so the time came for 
 Hamlet and Ophilia's brother to fight the duel 
 and so they began. Hamlet got the best of 
 him the first time and the King said I drink to 
 Hamlet but he did not mean it so they com- 
 mense again and Hamlet wounded him and so 
 the King handed Hamlet the poisen cup to 
 Hamlet but he would not take it and the Queen 
 says I will drink to Hamlet and so she takes it 
 and says Hamlet I am poisned, and Hamlet runs 
 right up to the King and stabbed him And so 
 the play of Hamlet ended. 1 think it was the 
 best play that Shaksphere or any body else 
 ever wrote. The dresses were very pretty but 
 looked queer to me though I suppose that was 
 the way they looked in Shakspere time. I 
 think Shakspere must have been a very great 
 man and writer to have thought out such a 
 great play. 
 
 I think it is just right I don't think any 
 body could improve this play. 
 
 I hear that he has written a great many 
 more good plays but I don't think any of them 
 could be a fine as HAMLET I hope I will see 
 some more of his plays sometime soon. 
 
I expect I have not remembered all but 
 this is as near as I can come to it. 
 
 I am glad 1 am getting payed for my first 
 literary work although it is only a criticism on 
 another fellow. 
 
i LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 
 
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