"And ftill conclufion, fhall acquire no honour "Demuring upon me.-But come, come, Antony,— “Help me, my women, we must draw thee up ;— "Affilt, good friends. [Cleopatra, and ber Women, "throw out certain Tackle, into rubich the People "below put Antony, and he is drawn up.

"Ant. O, quick, or I am gone.

"Cle. Here's fport, indeed! How heavy weighs my

"lord?

"Our strength is all gone into heaviness,

“That makes the weight: Had I great Juno's power, "The ftrong-wing'd Mercury should fetch thee up, "And set thee by Jove's fide. Yet come a little,— "Withers were ever fools ;-O, come, come, come; "And welcome, welcome! die, where thou haft liv'd: "Quicken with kifling; had my lips that power, "Thus would I wear them out.

"All. A heavy fight!

"Ant. I am dying, Egypt, dying:

"Give me some wine, and let me speak a little. "Cle. No, let me fpeak; and let me rail fo high, "That the false huswife fortune break her wheel, "Provok'd by my offence.

"Ant. One word, fweet queen :

"Of Cafar feek your honour, with your fafety. O! "Cle. They do not go together.

“Ant. Gentle, hear me :

"None about Cæsar trust, but Proculeius.

"Cle. My refolution, and my hands, I'll truft, "None about Cæfar.

"Ant. The miserable change now at my end "Lament nor forrow at: but please your thoughts, "In feeding them with those my former fortunes "Wherein I liv'd: the greatest prince o'the world, "The nobleft: and do now not bafely die, Not cowardly put off my helmet; to

66

My countryman, a Roman by a Roman

"Valiantly vanquish'd. Now my fpirit is going,

"I can no more.

"Cle. Nobleft of men, wou't die? "Halt thou no care of me? fhall I abide

[finks

"In this dull world, which in thy abfence is,

"No better than a fty ?-O, see, my women, [Ant. dies.. "The crown o' the earth doth melt:-My lord !"O,.wither'd is the garland of the war,

"The foldier's pole is fall'n; young boys, and girls,. "Are level now with men: the odds is gone,

"And there is nothing-left remarkable

"Beneath the vifiting moon

Cha. O quietness, lady.

[Cleopatra woons.

"Ira. She is dead too, our fovereign..

Cha. Lady,

"Ira. Madam,

"Cha. O madam, madam, madam !

"Ira. Royal Egypt !

"Emperefs!

Cha. Peace, peace, Tras.

Seeing her recovers

"Cle. No more but e'en a woman;, and commanded

"By fuch poor paffion, as the maid that milks, "And does the meaneft chares. It were for me, "To throw my fcepter at the injurious gods; "To tell them, that this world did equal theirs, "Till they had ftol'n our jewel. All's but naught; "Patience is fottish; and impatience does "Become a dog that's mad: then is it fin, "To rush into the fecret houfe of death,

Ere death dare come to us ?-How do you, women ♪ "What? what? good cheer! Why, how now, Char"mian?

"My noble girls!Ah, women, women! look,

"Qur lamp is fpent, it's out :-Good firs, take heart :"We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's

"noble,

Let's do it after the high Roman fashion; And make death proud to take us. Come, away: "This case of that huge spirit now is cold.

Though this fcene is enriched with fome great fentiments as to poetical fancy, and is in favour of Cleopatra, yet we are doubtful how it would answer in reprefentation, if the plan and directions of the author were followed. There is much more merit than in feveral scenes, which must neceffarily be retained. “Ah,

"Ah, women, women! come; we have no friend "But refolution, and the briefeft end.

66

[Exeunt; thofe above bearing off the body †.

ACT V.

SCENE I. Camp before Alexandria. Enter Cæfar, with Dolabella, Agrippa, Mecænas, Gallus, Proculeius, and others.

CESAR.

O to him, Dolabella, bid him yield;

G Being fo fruftrated, tell him, he mocks

The pauses that he makes.

Dol. Cafar, I fhall.

[Exit Dolabella.

Enter Dercetas, with Antony's Sword.

Caf. Wherefore is that? and what art thou, that dar’ff Appear thus to us?

Der. I am call'd Dercetas ;

Mark Antony ferv'd, who beft was worthy

Beft to be ferv'd: whilft he ftood up, and fpoke,

He was my mafter; and I wore my life,

To spend upon his haters: If thou please

To take me to thee, as I was to him
I'll be to Cafar; if thou pleafeft not,
I yield thee up my life.

Caf. What is't thou fay'ft?

Der. I fay, O Cafar, Antony is dead.

Caf. The breaking of fo great a thing fhould make
A greater crack in nature: the round world

Should have fhook lions into civil streets,
And citizens to their dens: The death of Antony
Is not a fingle doom; in that name lay

A moiety of the world .

+ We have no doubt of pronouncing the fourth Act to be more important than any of the preceding, yet, as it ftands originally, it is extremely disjointed and tedious: we have, without additions to connect, endeavoured prudently and advantagecully to retrench it.

Shakespeare never miffed any opportunity of advancing or fupporting the extravaganza ftile respecting prodigies, when he had Ra.. man characters to deal with; and to say truth, his ideas kept vigorous pace with that ideal nonfenfe.

Der. He is dead, Cafar;

Not by a public minifter of justice,

Nor by a hired knife; but that self hand,
Which writ his honour in the acts it did,

Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it,
Splitted the heart itfelf.

This is his fword*,

I robb'd his wound of it; behold it ftain'd

With his moft noble blood.

Caf. Look you fad, friends?

The gods rebuke me, but it is a tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.

Agr. And ftrange it is,

That nature must compell us to lament

Our most perfifted deeds.

Mec. His taints and honours

Weigh'd equal with him.

Agr. A rarer fpirit never

Did fteer humanity: but you, gods, will give us

Some faults to mark us men

Cæfar is touch'd.

Mec. When fuch a fpacious mirror's fet before him,

He needs muft fee himself.

Caf. O Antony !

I have followed thee to this ;-but we do lance
Diseases in our bodies. I must perforce

Have fhewn to thee fuch a declining day,
Or lock on thine; we could not stall together
In the whole world: but yet let me lament,
With tears as fovereign as the blood of hearts,
That thou, my brother, my competitor
In top of all defign, my mate in empire,
Friend and companion in the front of war,
The arm of mine own body, and the heart
Where mine his thoughts did kindle,—that our stars,
Unreconcileable, fhould divide

+ Our equalness to this.-Hear me, good friends,

It was not his own but Enobarbus's fword ended him, as appears precedently; our author nevertheless cannot be deemed guilty of an error or contradiction. It was very natural for Dercetas to fuppofa he had flain himself with his own fword.

+ Octavius's panegyric on his deceased friend, and late foe, is generous, fenfible, and manly.

Enter a Meffenger.

But I will tell you at fome meeter season ;
The bufinefs of this man looks out of him,
We'll hear him what he fays. Whence are you, fir?
Mef. A poor Egyptian: The queen, my mistress,
Confin'd in all fhe has, her monument,

That the preparedly may frame herself
To the way the's forc'd to.

Caf. Bid her have good heart;

She foon fhall know of us, by fome of ours,
How honourably and how kindly we

Determin'd have for her: for Cæfar cannot

Leave to be gentle.

Mef. So the gods preferve thee!

[Exit Meffengers

Caf. Come hither, Proculeius; go, and say

We purpose her no hame: give her what comforts
The quality of her pathon fhall require;
Left, in her greatnefs, by fome mortal stroke
She do defeat us: for her life in Rome
• Would be eternalizing our triumph: Go,

And, with your speedieft, bring us what she says,>
And how you find her.

Pro. Cæfar, I ball.

[Exit Proculeius.

Caf Gallus, go you along. [Exit Gall.] Where's Do

To fecond Proculeius?

All. Dolabella!

Caf. Let him alone, for I remember now

How he's employ'd; he shall in time be ready.
Go with me to my tent: where you shall fee
How hardly I was drawn into this war;
How calm and gentle I proceeded ftill

In all my writings: Go with me, and fee
What I can fhew in this.

[tabella,

[Exeunt

SCENE II. Alexandria. A Room in the Monument.

Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, and Igas.

Cle. My defolation does begin to make

A better life: 'Tis paltry to be Cafar;

Cafar here fhews double-dealing, ambition, and much more of

the politician than the honest man,

Not