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170 —these are the first words we hear him speak after the play-scene. His first comment on the death of Polonius is,

and his second is,

He was not, however, stupid, but rather quick-witted and adroit. He won the Queen partly indeed by presents (how pitifully characteristic of her!), but also by ‘witch-craft of his wit’ or intellect. He seems to have been soft-spoken, ingratiating in manner, and given to smiling on the person he addressed (‘that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain’). We see this in his speech to Laertes about the young man’s desire to return to Paris ( ii. 42 f.). Hamlet scarcely ever speaks to him without an insult, but he never shows resentment, hardly even annoyance. He makes use of Laertes with great dexterity. He had evidently found that a clear head, a general complaisance, a willingness to bend and oblige where he could not overawe, would lead him to his objects,—that he could trick men and manage them. Unfortunately he imagined he could trick something more than men.

This error, together with a decided trait of temperament, leads him to his ruin. He has a sanguine disposition. When first we see him, all has fallen out to his wishes, and he confidently looks forward to a happy life. He believes his secret to be absolutely safe, and he is quite ready to be kind to Hamlet, in whose melancholy he sees only excess of grief. He has no desire to see him leave the court; he promises him his voice for the succession ( ii. 108, ii. 355); he will be a father to him. Before long, indeed, he becomes very uneasy, and then more and more alarmed;