The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 280, October 27, 1827   By: Various

VOL. X, NO. 280.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1827. [PRICE 2d.

Illustrations of Shakspeare.

NO. XIII. ELSINEUR, FROM HAMLET'S GARDEN.

[Illustration: ELSINEUR, FROM HAMLET'S GARDEN.]

We augur that the above will prove one of the most interesting of our Shakspearian Illustrations, inasmuch as the garden where Hamlet was wont to revel in the fitful dreams of his philosophic melancholy, is holy ground. "The lapse of ages and the fables of the poet," says a delighted visiter, "were all lost in the reality of Shakspeare's painting: the moment of his scene seemed present with me; and eager to traverse every part of this consecrated ground, I had already followed Hamlet every where; I had measured the deep shadows of the platform, encountered the grey ghost of the Royal Dane, had killed Polonius in the queen's closet, and drowned poor Ophelia in the willowed stream. The modern aspect of Elsineur is, however, far from inviting, and not a single vestige presents itself that bears the smallest trace of this town ever having been hallowed by the mausoleum of an Ophelia, or proudly decorated with the stately walls of a royal palace."