Let us now take another view of the question. The purpose of the passage is to record the occurrence of a series of omens, the harbingers of "fierce events." "The graves _stood tenantless_;" "the sheeted dead _did squeak and gibber_;" "the moist star _was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse_:" each circumstance is distinct. But what did "asters with trains of fire," and "disasters in the sun" do? Mr. Knight says that Malone's proposal to substitute "astres" for "as stars," appears to get rid of the difficulty; but not until the English language admits of the formation of a perfect sentence without a verb will it do so. In short, there is nothing gained by the substitution, as Malone saw when he proposed to turn "disasters" into "_disasterous_," and to supply the verb.
I have no alteration of my own to propose; but I think possibly a suggestion as to the directions to be taken in search of the right text may be of service. In the case of a line or lines being lost, nothing can be done; but I discern a gleam of hope in two other directions. In the first place it is to be observed, that the thoughts of the speaker would in all probability be turned to _night_-portents. There is a reference to the same circumstances in _Julius Cæsar_, Act II. Sc. 2., as having occurred in the night, and been seen by the watch. Now, though there is certainly no reason why Horatio might not have enumerated spots in the sun as one of the omens preceding terrible events, it seems scarcely probable that it was in the order of his allusions to the events of the "fearful night" preceding the death of Cæsar. Let the corruption then be sought for here. Or look for a verb in the place of "disasters" that shall intelligibly connect "the sun" with what precedes. "As stars" must not be changed into "asters" until it can be shown that such change is necessary to a better constructed sentence than any which has yet been suggested.
Perhaps the following will be of use to your correspondent HERMES (Vol. iv., p. 471.), referring to dials which I take to mean sun-dials.
Lately there was rather an interesting object of that kind to be seen upon the south wall of Glasgow Cathedral, with this motto or inscription:--