** And now remains that we find out the cause of this
effect." That it is a marvelous tribute to Shakespeare's
genius is patent in any view. The man who could so
stir the depths of German intellect by any wand he
might create, whether one of magic or poetic structure,
needs no greater praise. Is it a cunning monster that
has so agitated this intellectual sea? Or, is it a crea-
ture of such delicate and mysterious anatomy that its
structure has been destroyed by every effort at dis-
section ?

If this, play is such a mirror as now suggested,
and was designed and well calculated to reflect the
spiritual struggles of man in this world, it would be
natural to expect that he who looks into it with no
pre-conception of its character, so that the reflected
image pictured on the retina of his ** mind's eye " is
undistortedby a defective vision or imperfect medium,
will see Zr/;;/.?^^ reflected ; and, in his heart, the strug-
gling prince will find a sympathy born of fellow-feeling.
Herein is the secret of the universal interest in this
•play. The simple spectator finds a response to his
own struggles. For such a view the play was designed.
The critic's eye may find what he is looking for (as the
believer in any creed may find seeming support to his
doctrine in the Bible), but he may, at the same time,
fall far short of Shakespeare's thought.
