NOTE XV. II. 2. 564. Capell quotes 'braves' as the reading of the Quarto of 1605. His own copy has 'braines.' That in the British Museum reads 'braues.' NOTE XVI. III. 1. 86. In this doubtful passage we have retained the reading of the Quartos, although the players' Quartos of 1676, 1683, 1695, 1703, have, contrary to their custom, followed the Folios, which may possibly indicate that 'pith' was the reading according to the stage tradition. NOTE XVII. III. 2. 156, 157. Jennens prints in brackets the line of the Quartos which we have omitted, and conjectures, as Johnson had done before him, that a line is lost either before or after it, which should rhyme to 'love.' As in the Quartos the line 'For women feare too much, even as they love,' occurs at the top of a page, the omission is more likely to have been caused by a line having dropped out at the foot of the previous page. Mr Keightley marks the omission of a line after 'love.' Malone supposes that the 'Either none' of the Quartos in line 158 was the commencement of the lost line, which he suggests may have run as follows: 'Either none they feel, or an excess approve.' Steevens proposes to retain the omitted line, reading 'lust' for 'love,' making a triplet rhyme with the preceding lines. The Quarto probably gives us the author's first thought, incomplete, as well as the lines which he finally adopted, as they stand in the Folio. The thought will hardly bear to be expanded over four lines. NOTE XVIII. III. 2. 329. Mason conjectured that the words 'To withdraw with you' were spoken to the players whom Hamlet wished to get rid of, and proposed to read 'So, withdraw you,' or 'So withdraw, will you?' Malone adds the stage direction 'Taking Guil. aside.' Steevens supposes that the words 'To ... you' "may refer to some gesture which Guildenstern had used, and which, at first was interpreted by Hamlet into a signal for him to attend the speaker into another room. 'To withdraw with you?' (says he) 'Is that your meaning?'" Mr Staunton, agreeing substantially with Mason, proposes to read 'So,--[_taking a recorder_] withdraw with you.' He adds that the disputed words may have been intended to mark the departure of the players. Jackson (1819) proposed the same reading and explanation, adding a stage direction, '_To the Players, who exit._' If the reading and punctuation given in our text be right, the words seem to be addressed to Guildenstern. Mr Knight, however, suggests that 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have intimated, by some signal, that they wish to speak with Hamlet in private.' NOTE XIX. III. 2. 366--371. In this passage we have followed the distribution of the Folios. In the Quartos it stands thus: 'They foole me to the top of my bent, I will come by and by, Leaue me friends. I will, say so. By and by is easily said, 'Tis now &c.'