I think Hamlet is on to me. I arrived in Elsinore and told him that "I came to see [his] father's funeral" (1.2.176), but he knew that I really came to see his mother's wedding, just as everyone else in Denmark had. The wedding, as I see it, is a little questionable. The King was too quick to marry; while the Queen is still "weighing delight and dole" (1.2.13), he speaks only of the memory of "our dear brother's death" (1.2.1). Hamlet is furious. Rightfully so, he believes that King Claudius is "no more like [his] father/Than [he is] to Hercules" (1.2.70-80). My brave master Hamlet always seems to have unique ideas. Obviously the death of the King has caused the people of Denmark to be on alert. What if it wasn't an accident? What if the King was murdered? I had to tell him about what happened two nights ago. In the dead of the night, Marcellus, Bernardo, and I saw "A figure like [Hamlet's] father" (1.2.199). It did not talk to us, nor did we completely expect it to--it was a ghost. So, I told Hamlet about the ghost, and he talked to it. I warned him that the ghost could "assume some other horrible form,/Which might deprive [his] sovereignty of reason" (1.4.72-73), but Hamlet, being the brave man he is, disregarded my warnings. He did not tell us exactly what his ghostly father revealed to him, but I think he has it in his head that Claudius is to blame for the death of his father. No matter, I will trust him in any endeavor he chooses to follow. To think that Hamlet and I could be endangered because of a wedding is an interesting concept. I too, find it suspicious that Gertrude would marry so soon, and that Claudius was more than happy to marry his brother's widow (of course, it meant taking the crown as well).
I will be sure to keep everyone updated on how the newly-weds are, and naturally, how my dear friend Hamlet is (I worry that he is becoming more and more crazy with each day). That is all for tonight.
From Elsinore,
Horatio
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