Come what come may.

But to shorten the pain of suspense, he calls upon Time In the usual stile of ardent desire, to quicken his motion,

  Time! on! —­

He then comforts himself with the reflection that all his perplexity must have an end,

  —­the hour runs thro’ the roughest day.

This conjecture is supported by the passage in the letter to his lady, in which he says, they referred me to the coming on of time, with Hail, King that shalt be.

I.iii.149 (416,1) My dull brain was wrought] My head was worked, agitated, put into commotion.

I.iv.9 (417,3) studied in his death] Instructed in the art of dying.  It was usual to say studied, for learned in science.

I.iv.12 (417,4) To find the mind’s construction in the face] The construction of the mind is, I believe, a phrase peculiar to Shakespeare; it implies the frame or disposition of the mind, by which it is determined to good or ill.

I.iv.26 (418,5) Which do but what they should, by doing everything, Safe toward your love and honour] Of the last line of this speech, which is certainly, as it is now read, unintelligible, an emendation has been attempted, which Dr. Warburton and Dr. Theobald once admitted as the true reading: 

—­our duties Are to your throne and state, children and servants, Which do but what they should, in doing every thing Fiefs to your love and honour.

My esteem for these critics inclines me to believe that they cannot be much pleased with these expressions fiefs to love, or fiefs to honour, and that they have proposed this alteration rather because no other occured to them, than because they approved of it.  I shall therefore propose a bolder change, perhaps with no better success, but sua cuique placent.  I read thus,

—­our duties Are to your throne and state, children and servants Which do but what they should, in doing nothing, Save toward your love and honour.

We do but perform our duty when we contract all our views to your service, when we act with no other principle than regard to your love and honour.

It is probable that this passage was first corrupted by writing safe for save, and the lines then stood thus: 

  —­doing nothing
  Safe toward your love and honour.

which the next transcriber observing to be wrong, and yet not being able to discover the real fault, altered to the present reading.

Dr. Warburton has since changed fiefs to fief’d, and Hanmer has altered safe to shap’d.  I am afraid none of us have hit the right word.

I.v.2 (420, 6) by the perfected report] By the best intelligence.  Dr. Warburton would read, perfected, and explains report by prediction.  Little regard can be paid to an emendation that instead of clearing the sense, makes it more difficult.