/ ANTONY AND OCTAVIUS. SCENES EOR THE STUDY. WALTER SAVAGE LANDOE. LONDON : BRADBUEY & EVANS, 11, BOUVEEIE STEEET. 1856. w^ v .KH •J* 28114 i.o>do>": SRADBCRY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFHIA R S. *6 THESE SCENES ARE DEDICATED TO EDWARD CAPERN, Poet and Day-laborer at Bideford, Devon. We are fellow-laborers ; you work in two fields, I in one only ; yon incessantly, I intermittently. Well do I know the elevation of your mind above your worldly con- dition, and that in Christian humility there walks with you a spirit conscious of its divine descent. This shall not deter me from offering what may be eventually of some service, however small ; and I offer it with confi- dence, because it is not personally to yourself, but to your children. Should there be at the close of the year any small profit accruing from the sale of this first, and perhaps last, edition of Scenes for the Study, accept it for their benefit. Little is to be expected from so old- fashioned and obsolete a style of composition, and that little will be owing to the virtues and genius, not of the author, but of Edward Capern. Eely on your own ex- ertions, and on that Supreme Power whence is derived whatever is worth possessing. Depend not on the favor of Royalty ; expect nothing from it ; for you are not a hound or a spaniel or a German prince. PREFACE. Few have obtained the privilege of entering Shake- speare's garden, and of seeing him take turn after turn, quite alone, now nimbly, now gravely, on his broad and lofty terrace. Let us never venture where he is walking, whether in deep meditation or in buoyant spirits. Enough is it for us to ramble and loiter in the narrower paths below, and to look up at the various images which, in the prodigality of his wealth, he has placed in every quarter. Before you, reader, are some scattered leaves gathered from under them : carefuller hands may CONTEXTS. SCENE THE EIGHTH. OCTAVIUS. AGRIPPA. C.ESARION. MEOENAS . . 62 SCENE THE NINTH. DOLABELLA. CJESARION. SCOPAS 76 SCENE THE TENTH. EROS AND ANTONY . 83 SCENE THE ELEVENTH. OFFICER. OCTAVIUS. MEC^NAS. GALLUS . . . 89 SCENE THE TWELFTH. OCTAVIUS AND OCTAVIA 96 ANTONY AND OCTAVIUS. SCENE THE FIRST. SOOTHSAYER AND ANTONY. SOOTHSAYER. Speak it I must. Ill are the auguries. Ill ever are the auguries, O priest, To those who fear them : at one hearty stroke The blackest of them scud and disappear. Now, not a word of any less than good To Cleopatra. SOOTHSAYER. 'Twas at her command I hasten' d to consult them. 1 2 ASTT01ST AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE 9 ANTONY. Rightly done To follow her commands ; not rightly conies Whate'er would grieve her ; this thou must withhold. SOOTHSAYER, Not this, not this : her very life may hang Upon the event foretold her. ANTONY. What is that ? Announced then is the accursed augury So soon ? SOOTHSAYER. She waited at the temple-door With only one attendant, meanly drest, That none might know her ; or perhaps the cause Was holier ; to appease the offended Grods. ANTONY. Which of them can she ever have offended ? She who hath lavisht upon all of them Such gifts, and burnt more incense in one hour Before her Isis, than would wrap in smoke A city at mid- day ! The keenest eye I.] SCENES FOB THE STUDY. Of earth or heaven could find in her no guile, No cruelty, no lack of duty. SOOTHSAYER. True; Yet fears she one of them, nor knows she which, But Isis is the one she most suspects. ANTONY. Isis ! her patroness, her favourite ? SOOTHSAYER. Even so ! but they who patronize may frown At times, and draw some precious boon away. I deem not thus unworthily of Gods ; Indeed I know but Jupiter and Mars ; Each hath been ever on my side, and each Alike will prosper me, I trust, to-morrow. SOOTHSAYER. But there are others, guardian Gods of Egypt ; Prayers may propitiate them, with offerings due. ANTONY. I have forgotten all my prayers. b 2 4 ANTONY AND OCTAYITTS, [scene SOOTHSAYER. No need, When holier lips pronounce them. ANTONY. As for offerings,. There shall be plenty on the day's success. SOOTHSAYER. Merit it. ANTONY. Do your Gods or ours mind that ? Merit ! and where lies merit ? SOOTHSAYER. In true faith On auguries. Eirds hither thither fly, And heard there have been from behind the veil Voices not varying much from yours and mine. II.] SCENES FOB THE STUDY. SCENE THE SECOND. SOOTHSAYER AND CLEOPATRA. SOOTHSAYER. Our lord Antonius wafts away all doubt Of his success. CLEOPATRA. What ! against signs and tokens ? SOOTHSAYER. Even so ! CLEOPATRA. Perhaps he trusts himself to Hercules, Become of late progenitor to him. SOOTHSAYER. Ah ! that sweet smile might bring him back ; he once Was flexible to the bland warmth of smiles. CLEOPATRA. If Hercules is hail'd by men below fi AFTOST AND OCTATIT7S. [SCENE For strength and goodness, why not Antony f Why not snccede as lawful heir ? why not Exchange the myrtle for the poplar crown ? Antony enters. Soothsayer goes. CLEOPATRA. Antony ! is not Ca?sar now a god ? We hear so. CLEOPATRA. Nay, we know it. Why not thou ? Men would not venture then to strike a blow At thee : the laws declare it sacrilege. ANTONY. Julius, if I knew Julius, had been rather First among men than last among the Gods. CLEOPATRA. At least put on thy head a kingly crown. I have put on a laurel one already ; As many kingly crowns as should half- cover The Lybian desert are not worth this one. II.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. CLEOPATRA. But all would bend before thee. ANTONY. 'Twas the fault Of Csesar to adopt it ; 'twas his death. CLEOPATRA. Be then what Caesar is. Antony! To laugh so loud becomes not state so high. He is a star, we see ; so is the hair Of Berenice : stars and Gods are rife. What worth, my love, are crowns ? Thou givest pearls, T give the circlet that encloses them. Handmaidens don such gear, and valets snatch it Sportively off, and toss it back again. CLEOPATRA. But graver men gaze up with awful eyes . . ANTONY. And never gaze at that artificer "Who turns his wheel and fashions out his vase 8 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene From the Nile clay ! 'Tis easy work for him ; Easy was mine to turn forth kings from stuff As vile and ductile : he stil plies his trade, But mine, with all my customers, is gone. Ever by me let enemies be awed, None else : bring round me many, near me few, Keeping afar those shaven knaves obscene Who lord it with humility, who press Men's shoulders down, glue their two hands together, And cut a cubit off, and tuck their knees Against the cushion mother Nature gave. CLEOPATRA. Incomprehensible ! incorrigible ! wretch ! if queens were ever taught to blush, 1 should at such unseemly phrase as thine. I think I must forgive it. "What ! and take Before I grant ? Again ! You violent man ! Will you for ever drive me thus away ? in.] SCENES FOB THE STUDY. SCENE THE THIRD. 1 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. ANTONY. "What demon urged thy flight ? CLEOPATRA. The demon Love. I am a woman, with a woman's fears, A mother's, and, alas Antony ! More fears than these. ANTONY. Of whom? CLEOPATRA. Ask not of whom But Siskfor whom, if thou must ask at all, Nor knowest nor hast known. Yes, I did fear For my own life . . ah ! lies it not in thine ? How many perils compast thee around ! 10 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene ANTONY. What are the perils that are strange to me ? CLEOPATRA. Mine thon conldst not have seen when swiftest oars, Attracted by the throne and canopy, Pounced at me only, numerous as the waves ; Couldst not have seen my maidens throwing down Their fans and posies (piteous to behold !) That they might wring their hands more readily. I was too faint myself to still their cries. antont {aside). I almost thought her blameable. {To Cleopatra.) The G-ods So will'd it. Thou despondest . . too aware The day is lost. CLEOPATRA. The day may have been lost, But other days, and happier ones, will come. ANTONY. Never : when those so high once fall, their weight Keeps them for ever down. III.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 11 CLEOPATRA. Talk reasonably, And love me as . . til now . . it should be more, For love and sorrow mingle where they meet. ANTONY. It shall be more. Are these last kisses cold ? CLEOPATRA. JN'or cold are they nor shall they be the last. ANTONY. Promise me, Cleopatra, one thing more. CLEOPATRA. 'Tis promist, and now tell me what it is. ANTONY. Eememberest thou this ring ? CLEOPATRA. Dost thou remember The day, my Antony, when it was given ? Day happiest in a life of many happy, And all thy gift. 12 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE CLEOPATRA. 'Tis call'd tlie richest ruby, The heaviest, and the deepest, in the world. ANTONY. The richest certainly. CLEOPATRA. And not the deepest And broadest ? Look ! it hides all this large nail, And mine are long ones if not very wide ; !Now let me see if it don't cover yours As wide again ! there ! it would cover two. "Why smile you so ? ANTONY. Because I know its story. CLEOPATRA. Ha ! then you have not lost all memory quite. I told it you. The king of Pontus sent it When dying to my father, warning him By letter that there was a charm in it Xot to be trifled with. ANTONY. It shall not be. ill.] SCEKES EOE THE STUDY. 13 CLEOPATRA. But tell me now the promise I must make ; What has the ring to do with it ? ANTONY. All, all. Know, Cleopatra, this is not one ruby. CLEOPATRA. The value then is smaller. ANTONY. Say not so, Remark the rim. CLEOPATRA. The gold is thin, I see. ANTONY. And seest thou it will open ? It contains Another jewel, richer than itself. CLEOPATRA. Impossible ! my Antony ! for rubies Are richer than all other gems on earth. ANTONY. Now, my sweet trifler, for thy promise. 14 ANTOXY A^D OCTAYIUS. [scene CLEOPATRA. Speak, By all the Powers above and all below, I will perforin thy bidding, even to death. To death it goes ; not nntil after mine. CLEOPATRA. I kiss the precious charm. Methinks aD odor Of almond comes from it. How sweet the flower Of death ! ANTONT. 'Tis painless death, 'tis sudden too. CLEOPATRA. Who could wish more, even were there more to wish ? "With us there is not. ANTONY. Generous, pious girl ! Daughter of Ptolemies ! thou hast not won A lower man than they. Thy name shall rise Above the pyramids, above the stars, Nations yet wild shall that name civilize, And glorious poets shake their theaters, And stagger kings and emperors with applause. III.] SCENES EOB, THE STUDY. 15 CLEOPATRA. I was not born to die ; but I was born To leave the world with Antony, and will. The greatest of all eastern kings died thus, The greater than all eastern kings thus died. glorious forgeman who couldst rivet down Refractory crowds by thousands, and make quake Scepters like reeds ! we want not here thy voice Or thy example. Antony alone And queenly pride, tho' Love were dumb, would do. 16 ANTOSY AjSD OCTAYIUS. [SCENE SCENE THE EOT7KTH. CLEOPATRA. CHAEMIAN. IRAS. CLEOPATRA. At the first entrance of your lord, before He ordered yon, before he spake a word, Why did ye rnn away ? CHARMIAN. I was afraid, Never so in my life ; he lookt so fierce He fear'd his own wild eyes, he placed one hand (His right) across them on lowered brow, his left Waved us away as would a hurricane A palm-tree on the desert. CLEOPATRA (to Iras). And wert thou, Iras, so terrified ? IRAS. Not I indeed ; My lady, never man shall frighten me. IV.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 17 CLEOPATRA. Thou sill j creature ! I have seen a mouse Doit. IRAS. A mouse is quite another thing. charm ian (hesitating). Our lord and master . . CLEOPATRA. What of Antony ? CHARMIAN. Octavius . . CLEOPATRA. Who ? Our lord and master he ? He never shall be mine . . that is to say . . CHARMIAN. What! lady? CLEOPATRA. I forget . . 'twas not worth saying. Charmian ! where hast thou been this last half-hour ? CHARMIAN. In my own room. IS ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE CLEOPATRA. So fearful? CHARMIAN. Far more sad. CLEOPATRA. "Where, Iras, thou ? » IRAS. I wanted to report To my sweet lady what I might espy. CLEOPATRA. And what have those long narrow eyes espied ? All. CLEOPATRA. 'Twas done speedily ; but what is all ? Army and fleet from any terrace-roof Are quite discernible, the separate men Nowhere. IRAS. My heart had told me what delight IV.] SCENES EOB, THE STUDY. 19 Its queen would feel to hear exactly how The leaders look. CLEOPATRA. And how then did they look ? Tell me : some might have ridden near enough The town to judge by, where the sight is sharp. Merciful Isis ! ridden ! and so close ! Horses are frightful, horses kick and rear And whinny, full of wickedness ; 'twere rash To venture nigh them. CLEOPATRA. There are things more rash. Quieter creatures than those generals are Never were seen. CLEOPATRA. Barbarians ! not a word About them, Iras, if thou lovest me ; They would destroy my city, seize my realm, And ruin him we live for, c2 $0 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene IRAS. Surely no ; It were a pity ; none are so unkind ; Caesar the least of all. CLEOPATRA. Ah simple child ! Thou knowest not his heart. IRAS. I do indeed. CLEOPATRA. No, nor thy own. IRAS. His better ; for of mine I never askt a question. He himself Told me how good he would be. CLEOPATRA. He told thee ? What ! hast thou seen him ? IRAS. Aye, and face to face, Close as our lord's to yours, IV.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 21 CLEOPATRA. impudence ! IRAS. But he would have it so ; just like our lord. CLEOPATRA. Impudent girl ! thou shalt be whipt for this, IRAS. I am too old ; but lotuses don't hurt Like other things ; they cool the strokes they give. CLEOPATRA. I have no patience with thee. How I hate That boy Octavius ! Dared he touch thy cheek ? IRAS. He could ; he only whispered in my ear, Holding it by the ring. CLEOPATRA. Whispered ? what words ? IRAS. The kindest. 22 AKTOKT AKD OCTAYIFS. [SCENE CLEOPATRA. Ah ! no doubt ! but what were they ? IRAS. He said, The loveliest creature in the world . . CLEOPATRA. The vulgar brute ! Our ferrymen talk so : And couldst thou listen, Iras, to such speech ? IRAS. Only when people praise our gracious queen. CLEOPATRA. Me ? this of me ? Thou didst thy duty, child : He might have fail'd in what he would express. The birds have different voices, yet we bear To hear those sing which do not sing the best. Iras ! I never thought thee half so wise. And so, he said those gentle words of me ? All, and forgot to kiss me when I vow'd I would report them faithfully. CLEOPATRA. Is there IV.J SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 23 Resemblance in him to that marble image I would have broken, but my Antony Seiz'd both my hands ? Alas ! that image wants The radiant eyes, and hair more radiant stil, Such as Apollo's may have been if myrrh Were sprinkled into its redundant waves. CLEOPATRA. He must be tenderer than I fancied him If this be true. IRAS. He spoke those very words. CLEOPATRA. Iras ! 'tis vain to mind the words of men ; But if he lookt as thou hast said he lookt, I think I may put trust in him. IRAS. And see him ? CLEOPATRA. I am not hasty. 24 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [scene IRAS. If you could but see him ! CLEOPATRA. Call Charmian : I am weary : I must rest Awhile. IRAS. My sweetest lady ! could not I ? Who have been used to it almost a year, Help you as well as Charmian ? "While you sleep Could I not go again and bid him haste To comfort you ? CLEOPATRA. Is the girl mad ? Call Charmian. (To Charmian.) Charmian ! hath Iras tickled thee away From moping in thy chamber ? thou hast sped. CHARMIAN. Iras is growing bold. CLEOPATRA. I was bold too While I was innocent as Iras is. IV.] SCENES EOB THE STUDY. 25 CHARMIAN. Our lady looks more flurried than deprest. CLEOPATRA. I am not flurried, I am not deprest. [After a pause. Believest thou in Csesar's generosity ? CHARMIAN. I know it. CLEOPATRA. In what matter ? CHARMIAN. Half the guards And half the ministers of state have shown Signs of his bounty to the other half. CLEOPATRA. Gifts are poor signs of bounty. Do not slaves Slip off the gold-black pouches from their necks Untied but to buy other slaves therewith ? Do not tame creatures lure into the trap Their wilder brethren with some filthy bait ? All want companions, and the worst the most. I am much troubled : even hope troubles me. 26 ANTOjST AXD OCTAYirS. [scene CHARMIAN. I dare not ask our lady why she weeps. CLEOPATRA. Caesarion, my first-born, my dearest one, Is safely shielded by his father's name : He loves his brothers, he may save them both, He only can : I would fain take the advice Of Dolabella, fain would venture him In Caesar's camp : the father's voice and look Must melt him, for his heart is not so hard That he could hurt so beautiful a child ; Nay, what man's is ? CHARMIAN. But trust not the two younger ; Their father will not help them in their need. CLEOPATRA. Csesarion in fit hour will plead for them. Charmian, what ponderest thou? what doubtest thou? CHARMIAN. Caesar I doubt, and Dolabella more ; And what I pondered were your words : It may he That givers are not always oenefactors. IV.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 27 CLEOPATRA. I have one secret, but keep none from thee : He loves me ! CHARMIAN. All do. CLEOPATRA. Yes, but some have power. CHARMIAN. Power, as most power is, gain'd by treachery. CLEOPATRA. Whom, In Egypt, Europe, Asia, can I trust ? CHARMIAN. Few, nor those few too far, nor without watch. CLEOPATRA. Not Charmian ? CHARMIAN. Bid her die ; here ; now ; and judge. 28 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [scene SCENE THE EIETH. OCTAVIUS. MEOENAS. GALLUS. OCTAVIUS. Is Dolabella to be trusted ? MECENAS. Youth There is on Dolabella' s side ; with youth Conies always eloquence where women are. OCTAVIUS. G-allus is honester and prudenter. MEC^NAS. But Grallus is the older by some years. A poet says, Love at odd hours hath smiled, And covered with his pinions sportively, Where he espied some hairs that seem'd like Time's Rather than his. v.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 29 MECJBFAS. There must have been but few, Or else the poet dreamt it. OCTAVITJS. Who comes hither ? MEGSNAS. Not Dolabella, but the better man. "Welcome, brave Gallus, opportunely met. We were debating how to lure that dove Of Antony's, now in her cote, a tower, Prom which we would not frighten her away, But tempt her down. GALLUS. It might be difficult. OCTAVIUS. Unless thou aidest us, indeed it might. MEC^JNAS. AVhat sport 'twould be to see her mate descend And catch him too ! 30 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene GALLUS. Nor this more easily. OCTAVIUS. To Gallus all is easy. MEC.2ENAS. Pleasant too Would such task be. . GALLUS. 'No better judge of pleasures Than Cilnius here ; but ours are not alike, OCTAVIUS. Gallus ! one word apart. We need thee much. GALLUS. What ! after Egypt won ? OCTAVIUS. Antony lives ! GALLUS. Beaten, disgraced, imprisoned, his own jailer. MECJENAS. Defying us, however, by the power The queen his mistress gives him with her name . . v.] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 31 GALLUS. AVorthless as his. MEOENAS. Were she within our reach We soon might bring him down. GALLUS. "What ! lower ? OCTAYIUS. Even yet ? GALLUS. She might succumb, and must, by promising That Caesar's son, after her death, shall reign. A prudent thought. But will she give up Antony Unless she hear it from the giver's mouth ? There is one anxious to deserve the grace Of princes. Dolabella could persuade The queen to trust herself to him for Csesar. I doubt it. MEC^NAS. Doubt his honor, not his skill. 32 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene He could not keep the secret that he loves And that he often in times past hath seen her. GALLUS. He loves her ? then, by all the G-ods ! he never Will win her for another than himself. Beside, he was the friend of Antony And shared with him the toils at Mntina. Altho' no eagle, he would soar aloft Rather than bow for others, like an owl, The smallest of the species, hooded for it. Who knows not Dolabella ? MECLENAS. Thou hast sense, Comeliness, courage, frankness. Antony Tore from thy couch the fairest girl in Eome. And let him have her, let him have her, man. What then ? MEC^NAS. There are who would retaliate. GALLUS. The girl hath left no mark upon my memory . V.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 33 Or mine, beside a few soft lines ; but mine Retains them, mindful of a friend who sang, Unless my singing mars the harmony, I thought it once an idle tale That lovely woman's faith could fail ; At last I said, It may be true, Lycoris, of them all but you. And now you leave me ! and you go O'er pinnacles of Alpine snow. Another leads you (woe is me !) Across that grim and ghastly sea ! Let him protect those eyes from sleet, And guide and chafe those tender feet, And fear for every step you tread, Then hardly will I wish him dead. If ice-barb'd shafts that ring around By his neglect my false one wound, O may the avenging Grods for this Freeze him to death in the abyss ! They have reserved him for a sadder fate. Sleep, without painful dreams that crush the breast, Sleep, without any joyous ones that come Only to mock the awaken' d, comes unfelt 34 AS TONY AND OCTAYIUS. [SCENE And unsolicited among those cliffs Of ice perennial. Antony hath dreamt His broken dream, and wakened to despair : I never wisht him that ; the harm I wisht him "Was when my youth was madder than his age. He stood a prouder and a better man At Mutina, when Famine walkt the camp, When I beheld him climb up painfully A low and crumbling crag, where servises Hung out above his head their unripe fruit : That was my day. Some grains of sodden maize I brought and offered him : he struck them down. OCTAVIUS. Rejoice at pride so humbled. I rejoice At humbled pride, at humbled valor no. OCTAVIUS. But those avenging Gods whom thou invokedst Stand now before thee and demand why call'd. They know : they pardon such irresolution v.] SCENES EOB THE STUDY. 35 As pity, and not cowardice, persuades. One woman has betraid me ; not one woman Will I betray. MECLENAS. that poetic mind ! GALLUS. Where others sneer, Meesenas only smiles. MEC^NAS. Such is my nature, and I widely err, Gallus, if such be not thy nature too. OCTAVIUS. Did then Lycoris, that wild girl, prefer The unworthy to the worthy, the most rude To the most gentle, scampering beyond reach ? Let her repair her fault : no danger here That angry skies turn coral lips to slate Or icicles make limp the runaway. GALLUS. Those days are over. He who won the prize May say as much and add a little more. OCTAVIUS. Laughest thou not to see the tables turn'd ? d2 36 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE The little queen who fascinates her fool Is now as lovely as Lycoris was, And never ran away from any man : Fain would I see that roysterer's spirit broken, And she alone can do it : help her on. GALLUS. In any such attempt, in such a place Fortune would baffle me. ocrAvius. Then baffle her ; She baffles only those who hesitate. The queen, we hear, takes refuge in the depths Below the palace, where but reptiles lie. OCTAVIUS. Indeed ! what ! scorpions, serpents ? Haply these. Poor woman! they may bite her! let my fears Prove not prophetic ! v.] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 37 Now, my friend, adieu ! Reflect upon our project ; turn it over. [Gallus goes. These poets look into futurity And bring us glimpses from it more than dreams. Asps ! But the triumpli then without the queen ! Alas ! was ever mortal so perplext ! I doubt if your frieud Gallus can be won. All may be won, well handled ; but the ear Is not the thing to hold by. Show men gold, Entangle them in Gallic torquises, Tie stubborn necks with ropes of blushing pearls, Seat them on ivory from the realms of Ind, Augur them consulates, proconsulates, Make their eyes widen into provinces, And, gleaming further onward, tetrarchies. It strikes me now that we may offer Gallus The prefecture of Egypt. MEC.ENAS. Some time hence : Eetter consult Agrippa. 38 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE OCTAVIUS. None more trusty. Yet our Agrippa hath strange whims ; he dotes Upon old Borne, the Rome of matted beards And of curt tunics ; of old Rome's old laws, Worm-eaten long, now broken and swept off. {Pausing. He stands forth high in station and esteem. MEC^NAS. So should the man who won the world for thee. OCTAVIUS. I must not play with him who won so much From others ; he might win as much from me : I fear his fortunes. MECJSNAS. Bind them with your own. Becoming are thy frowns, my dear Octavius, Thy smiles alone become thee better : trust Thy earliest friend and fondest : take not ill My praises of Agrippa, tried in war And friendship. OCTAVIUS. And for this wouldst thou, my Cilnius, Send him away from me ? V.] SCENES EOB, THE STUDY. 39 MEC.ENAS. Thyself did fear His popularity : all Eome applauds His valor, justice, moderation, mercy. OCTAVIUS. Not one word more. One word I have to speak, And speak it I will now. He must away. OCTAVIUS. Can Cilnius then be jealous of Agrippa ? MECJENAS. No ; crown him king and give him provinces, But give him not to clench the heart of Borne. OCTAVIUS. I could make kings and unmake kings by scores, But could not make nor unmake one Agrippa. Well spoken ! wisely ! worthily ! No praise Can equipoise his virtues, kings may lay Their tributes on the carpet .of his throne 40 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE And cities hope to honor -whom they serve, The royal mantle would obscure Agrippa. OCTAYITJS. I would be generous, but be cautious too. MEOENAS, Then grant him all beyond the sight of Home ; Men's eyes would draw him thither tho' his will Hung back : thus urged the steddiest might give way. OCTAVIUS. I hate suspicion and suspicious men. Gallus I fancied was the bitterest foe Of Antony, his rival, and successful, Then he should hate him worse than I. MEC.ENAS. Is more worth hatred than a silly girl, Every day to be won and lost again. OCTAVIUS. Our Grail us is weak -minded to forgive So easily. MEOENAS. I find that on the hearth But empire v.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 41 Where lie love's embers there lie hatred's too, Equally cold and not to be stir'd up. OCTAVIUS. I do not think, my Cilnius, thou hast felt Love but for me ; I never knew thee hate. MECENAS. It is too troublesome ; it rumples sleep, It settles on the dishes of the feast, It bites the fruit, it dips into the wine ; Then rather let my enemy hate me Than I hate him. OCTAVIUS. AVe must look round. What think you ? Is Dolabella to be trusted ? MEOENAS. Try. OCTAVIUS. I wish this country settled, us return' d. Resolved am I to do what none hath done, And only Julius ever purposed doing ; Resolved to render Rome, beneath my rule, A second Alexandria. Corinth, Carthage, One autumn saw in stubble : not a wreath 42 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [SCENE Enough to crown a capital was left, Nor capital to crown its pillar, none ; But here behold what glorious edifices ! What palaces ! what temples ! what august Kings ! how unmoved is every countenance Above the crowd ! And so it was in life. ]STo other city in the world, from west To east, seems built for rich and poor alike. In Athens, Antioch, Miletus, Rhodes, The richest Roman could not shelter him Against the dogstar ; here the poorest slave Finds refuge under granite, here he sleeps Noiseless, and, when he wakens, dips his hand Into the treasured waters of the Nile. I wish, Octavius, thou wouldst carry hence For thy own worship one of those mild Grods, Both arms upon the knees : 'tis time that all Should imitate this posture. OCTAVIUS. We will close The gates of Janus. JOOENAS. Janus looks both ways ; V.] SCENES EOB THE STUDY. 43 . He may like best the breezy air abroad And knock too bard against tbe bolted brass. octavius (to a Guard). Call Gallus hither. GALLUS. Caesar ! what commands r OCTAVIUS. I would entrust a legion, more than one, To our friend Gallus : I would fix him here In Egypt : none is abler to coerce The turbulent. GALLUS. Let others flap their limbs With lotus-leaves when Sirius flames above, Give me the banks of Anio, where young Spring, Who knows not half the names of her own flowers, Looks into Summer's eyes and wakes him up Alert, and laughs at him until he lifts His rod of roses and she runs away. OCTAVIUS. And has that lovely queen no charms for thee ? 44 ANTONY AISD OCTAVITTS. [scene GALLUS. If truth be spoken of her, and it may, Since she is powerless and deserted now, Tho' more than thrice seven # years have come and stolen Day after day a leaf or two of bloom, She has but changed her beauty ; the soft tears Fall, one would think, to make it spring afresh. OCTAVIUS. And not for Grallus ? Let one brave man more Ascend the footstool of the regal bed. GALLUS. As the Gods will ! but may they not will me ! * History and poetry do not always well agree. Julius Caesar had left Egypt before tiie birth of Csesarion, at which time Cleopatra was about fourteen. That she retained her freshness seven or eight years longer, may be attributed in part to the care she took of it, and in a greater to her pure Macedonian blood. Beside, Alex- andria is not sultry ; and the architects of antiquity knew how to keep up an equable and healthy temperature. VI.] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 45 SCENE THE SIXTH. ANTONY AND DOLABELLA. ANTONY. Welcome, my Dolabella ! There is none Erom yonder camp I would embrace beside. My little queen hath given at last an audience To thy persuasive tongue ? DOLABELLA. Most graciously. ANTONY. I never thought she would permit Caesarion To leave her side ; hardly can I myself Bear separation from that brave young boy ; I love him as my own. DOLABELLA, Tour own thus stand Safe from all peril. 46 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [SCENE Is not it disgrace ? A boy save me ? for to save them is me. DOLABELLA. Create a generosity of soul In one whom conquest now hath made secure ; Bid him put forth his power, it now is greater Than any man's : consider what a friend Caesarion hath in Julius, all whose wounds Will bleed afresh before the assembled tribes On the imperial robe thy hands outsprad With its wide rents, for every God above And every Eoman upon earth to number. ANTONY. Ah ! those were days worth living o'er again. DOLABELLA, Live them again then. Never, stript of power, Of dignity, of Rome's respect, of theirs Who compass me, who fix before these eyes The very eagles which adorn'd my tent. VI.] SCENES FOB THE STUDY. 47 DOLABELLA. Brave thoughts ! but are none weaker intermixt ? ANTONY. Smile, Dolabella ! Oh, could but that smile Kill as it pierces me ! Eut tread the ground Softly and lightly where her feet have moved. My Cleopatra ! never will we part, Thy son shall reign in Egypt. DOLABELLA. Much I fear'd, O Antony, thy rancour might prevail Against thy prudence. Csesar bears no rancour. ANTONY. Too little is that heart for honest hatred. The serpent the most venomous hath just Enough of venom for one deadly wound, He strikes but once, and then he glides away. DOLABELLA. Octavius strikes not Antony. ANTONY. One man Alone dares strike the man whom thou hast named. But let me hear the phrase of fraudulence. 48 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene DOLABELLA. Caesar's, I trust, will not deserve that name, He says his reign shall be the reign of peace. Peace ! what is that r a pleasant room to sit Or walk about in, nor could heart desire A cooler place wherein to spread the cates : First, bring these cates ; bring liberty, the salt That seasons with true relish all things else. DOLABELLA. "We sometimes leave but little, when we rise From its enjoyment, for those servitors Who toil'd for us throughout the heat of day : Eeckless we riot : never can spilt wine Enter the golden cap it sparkled in : Harpies above defile the half-eaten fruit. Rome now would rest awhile." Tea, long will be Her rest ; the scourge of Earth will be the scorn. DOLABELLA. We must submit. VI.] SCENES FOE, THE STUDY. 49 ANTONY. Thou must ; thou hast submitted ; But never I ; what I have been I am. DOLABELLA. Less prosperous than once, thy fortunes may Be yet restored. ANTONY. I would not take them back, By any man, least by that man, bestow'd ; I would not have my portion of the world, No, nor the whole of it, if that glib tongue Call'd every Grod to ratify the gift. Show me the foe he ever fairly met, The friend he hath embraced, and not betray' d, And tell me, Dolabella, for thou canst, "Who murder' d Hirtius ; by whose agency Poison was dropt into the wound of Pansa. DOLABELLA. Of this ask Grlyco, ask Aquilius Niger Of that. ANTON T. Both know the secret, both have told it : And now will I tell thee one. 50 AIN'TOIST AISD OCTAVITTS. [SCENE At the noon Of yesterday, when fruit is most refreshing, A countryman who brings the yellow figs t His queen is fond of, brought a basketful, Saying to Iras : " These my little daughter, Whom once you used to play with in the garden, Bids me to give into your hands ; she thinks The queen requires some frolic ; you alone Can venture so far with her. Place within The smooth cool linen of her bed this basket Of cane-leaves and of rushes intertwined, "With all the fruit below, the leaves a-top ; Tou see it is but shallow, scarce a palm, Mind it lie flat ; yet she will find it out Tho' it be always dusky in that room." What is there in the tale that thou shouldst stare? DOLABELLA. Enough. An idle rumor reacht the camp That Cleopatra stung herself to death, Vexing two asps held close against her bosom. Are Eomans all so ignorant of the asp That two are wanted ? that he must be vext ? VI.] SCENES FOE, THE STUDY. 51 That, like domestic animals, he bites ? He bites not, but he strikes with upper jaw As other vipers do, and the black lid Drops, and he crawls away ; one pang, one shriek, Death hears it, nor delays : the hind knows that. An earlier story now. So exquisite In luxury, my queen dissolved a pearl Above all price, and drank it in her wine. Bid thou the tatler of the tale expound How that same acid which dissolved the pearl Darken' d no tooth, abbreviated no smile, But gave her spirits for the festive song. Ah ! had she done so, Medicine had run up In vain to help her ; Death had interposed. DOLABELLA. Another tale, alike incredible. 'Tis said she shook from off her coronal Poison into your cup, dashing it down Just at the lip, and proving its effect On household beast before you, thus to show How easy were the deed to one who will'd. Is such a fiction workt by homespun yarn ? I doubt it : surely some Greek needle wrought e 2 52 ANTONY AND 0CTAVIUS. [scene The quaint device, for poet to adorn By metaphor, and sage by apologue. Thou hast among thy friends one capable, In man's attire, fresh-blooming from Hymettus, Handmaid of Cilnius the rich Aretine. Romans ! are your ears to falsities "Wide open, and your mouths agape for them As are the callow sparrows for their food, Hour after hour ? Ye little know that asps Are not mere worms of one span-length, one cubit, But longer than the vipers in your fields, So hideous that no woman, young or old, Or rustic, or well train' d to monkey-gods, But must abhor them. Tour credulity "Will urge the whisper in each other's ear That she, the daintiest of all womankind, "Would handle them, now plague them, now caress And hug them as she might a tender babe . . Yet even the serious may believe the tale, For what in Rome is not believed . . but truth ? DOLABELLA. To me the queen said nothing of this snare. ANTONY. Nothing she knows of it. VI.] SCENES FOB THE STUDY. 53 I heard a scream From Iras, and rusht in. She threw herself Before my feet, prayed me to strike her dead, And ran toward the corner, where I saw The beasts coil'd up, and cut them thro' and thro'. Then told she all ; but not until her prayer For death was fruitless, not until I warn'd her How life and death, while yet we live, are ours, DOLABELLA. Might I advise . . ANTONY. Not me : I never took Any advice, in battle or debate : DOLABELLA. Osesar hath urged thee sorely, and may worse ; What wouldst thou do with him were he the vanquisht ? Do with him ? throw him to the fishermen To bait their hooks with and catch crocodiles, If crocodile feeds upon crocodile. Take him these words : we keep no secrets here. 54 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene DOLABELLA. Caesar is lenient. ANTONY. ]N"ever let that word Grlide o'er thy lips, no word is it for me. Tell him uo friend of mine shall ask my life, Xo enemy shall give it. I am lord Of my own honor ; he has none to lose : The money-changer's granson calenlates Bnt badly here. He waits for thee : depart. VII.] SCENES EOB THE STUDY. SCENE THE SEVENTH. ANTONY AND AGBIPPA. And so, the victor comes to taunt the vanquisht ! Is this well done, Agrippa ? AGRIPPA. 'Twere ill done, And never done by me. There have been some Who carried to the forum and there cast The tags and rags of mimes, and tarnisht spangles Bag'd from the dusthole corner ; gravity Becomes me better and plain Roman garb In action and in speech ; no taunt is mine. What then demands the vanquisher ? I come 56 ANTONY AND OCTATIUS. [scene To ask a favor, ask a gift, of thee, (live me thy children. ANTONY. To adopt ? AGRIPPA. To save : They may have enemies ; they shall have friends If thou accedest to my last request : Lose we no time ; we shall be soon at Eome. ANTONY. Yentidius may prevent it. AGRIPPA. He hath serv'd thee Faithfully, and is steddy to thy cause : The sea is closed to him, the river closed, Wide as the desert is, it is not open, And half his army, more than half, is ours. ANTONY. But many yet are left me, brave and true. AGRIPPA. When Fortune hath deserted us, too late Comes Valor, standing us in little stead. VII.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. o7 v They who would die for us are just the men We should not push on death or throw away. Too true ! Octavius with his golden wand Hath reacht from far some who defied his sword. How little fire within warps loosen' d staves Together, for the hoop to hold them tight ! I have too long stood balancing the world Not to know well its weight : of that frail crust Friends are the lightest atoms. Not so all. I thought of Dolabella and the rest. Ventidius and Agrippa, these are men Eomulus might have wrestled with nor thrown. I have proved both. One thou shalt prove again, In guise more friendly than when last we met. ANTONY. To me well spoken hast thou for Ventidius, 58 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene Speak for him in that manner to another, Tell him that he has done against the Parthian What Julius might, perhaps might not, have done. Triumph must follow. I shall never see it, Nor shall I see, nor shalt thou either, one On which cold eyes, dim even in youth to beauty. Look forward. Are there not kings left enow To drag, by brace or leash, and back to back, Along the Sacred Way ? Yile wretch ! his steeds Shall never at the cries of Cleopatra Prance up against their trappings stiff with gold. AGRIPPA. Sad were the sight. ANTONY. Too far hath Dolabella Prevail' d with her. AGRIPPA. Hath Dolabella come AYithin these walls ? ANTONY. Hast thou not seen him then Leave them within the hour ? VII.] SCENES FOB, THE STUDY. 59 AGKIPPA. Indeed not I. My station is the harbor where the ships Are riding, his lies nearer to the town. Thon rnusest, Antony ! ANTONY. And well may muse. He was my friend . . is he. Away with doubt ! AGRIPPA. He was the friend of Tullius, friend of Brutus, Friend too of Lepidus, akin to each, And. yet betraid he them. Grive me the boys ; "With me they enter Eome. ANTONY. Take, take them ; both ? Yes ; both are safer, both are happier so. I loved them ; but I might have loved them more ; Now is too late. Take them ; be kind to them . . Nay, look not back. Tears scorch the father's eyes, The Eoman should extinguish them . . and shall. Farewell ! farewell ! 60 ANTONY AND OCTAVIUS. [SCENE But turn thy face aside . . ]S~o . . one word more. Thy gladness gladdens me, Bursting so suddenly. What happy change ! ANTONY. Thou hast a little daughter, my old friend, And I two little sons . . I had at least . . Give her the better and the braver one, "When by thy care he comes to riper age. AGKIPPA. O Antony ! the changes of our earth Are suddener and oftener than the moon's, On hers we calculate, not so on ours, But leave them in the hands of wilful Gods, Inflexible, yet sometimes not malign. They have done much for me, nor shall reproach Against them pass my lips : I might have askt, But never thought of asking, what desert "Was mine for half the blessings they bestow' d. I will not question them why they have cast ¥11*] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 61 My greatness and my happiness so low ; They have not taken from me their best gift, A heart for ever open to my friends : It will be cold ere long, and one will grieve. 62 ANTONY AND OCTATIUS. [scene SCENE THE EIGHTH. — ♦ — OCTAVIUS. AGRIPPA. C31SABI0N. MECJENAS. OCTAYIUS. What said that obstinate and proud old thief ? Couldst thou not draw hiin from his den, Agrippa ? I tried not. AGRIPPA. OCTAYIUS. JSor perhaps desired. 'Tis true, I entered not by stealth, and broke no confidence ; Tatius, who knew and once fought under me . . OCTAVIUS. And would not he who knows thy power, and who Admitted thee within the royal hold, Do more ? YIH.J SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 63 AGRIPPA. Not even this would he have done For any other, nor for me without Permission from his general ; this obtain' d, I enter'd. His audacity, no doubt, Abated with his fortunes, and he droopt As droops a lotus when the water fails. AGRIPPA. Neither in life nor death will that man droop ; He holds down Fortune, stil too strong for her. OCTAVITJS. We must then starve him out, or slay his sons Before his eyes. AGRIPPA. Thus nothing will remain For him to fear, and every honest sword "Will skulk within its scabbard for mere shame. This may not be the worst . . when brave men fall Ey treachery, men like them avenge the blow ; Antonius did it . . was Antonius blamed ? 64 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [sCENS OCTAYIUS. But ay ho will answer for our own dear lives If these boys live ? AGRIPPA. I will . . the boys are mine. OCTAYIUS. Caesarion is secure. AGRIPPA. I do rejoice At this. OCTAYIUS. I wonder he hath not arrived. Bescued from Egypt is the Roman lad ? I long to see him. OCTAYIUS. Wait then, and thou shalt. AGRIPPA. Women and eunuchs and Greek parasites Educate ill those who may one day rule. VIII.] SCENES EOR THE STUDY. 65 OCTAVIUS. True, very true . . we will bear this in mind. AGRIPPA. He must learn better soon. OCTAVIUS. Be sure he shall. AGRIPPA. "What are those sistrums and those tamborines That trifle with the trumpet and intrude ? OCTAVIUS. The very things thou wouldst provide against. Heigh ! who commanded such obstreperous shouts? AGRIPPA. The man who gave us Egypt, sir, and thee. The sound bursts louder from his hollow tomb : Such are the honors which attend his child. OCTAVIUS. Hark ! the arms strike the ground ! AGRIPPA. Soldiers, well done ! Already do they know whom they salute. 66 ANTONY AND OCTAVIUS. [scene CESARION. Hail ! hail ! my cousin ! Let me kiss that hand So soft and white. Why hold it back from me ? I am your cousin, boy Csesarion. OCTAVIUS. Who taught you all this courtesy ? C^ISARION. My heart. Beside, my mother bade me wish you joy. OCTAVIUS. I would myself receive it from her. C^SARION. Come, Come then with me ; none see her and are sad. OCTAVIUS. Then she herself is not so ? CJESARION. Not a whit, Grave as she looks, but should be merrier stil. OCTAVIUS. She may expect all bounty at our hands. VIII.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 67 (LESARION. Bounty ! she wants no bounty. Look around ; Those palaces, those temples, and their gods And myriad priests within them, all are hers ; And people bring her ships, and gems, and gold. cousin ! do you know what some men say, (If they do say it) that your sails ere long "Will waft all these away ? I wish 'twere true What else they talk. OCTAVIUS. What is it ? OESARION. That you come To carry off her also. She is grown Paler, and I have seen her bite her lip At hearing this. Ha ! well I know my mother ; She thinks it may look redder for the bite. But will you really carry us to Eome In triumph ? thro' the streets, and up the hill, And over arches . . foolish folks say under . . With flowers all round them ? ! what joy to see The people that once loved my father so ! f2 68 ANTONY AND OCTATITJS. [scene OCTAVIU8. We will do all that may oblige the queen. C^SARION. And yet she shudders at the very thought Of those fresh honors which delight my heart. OCTAVIUS. For her, or for yourself? (LESARION. "We boys, you know, Think of ourselves the first ; and yet, and yet, If my sweet mother is averse to change, And weary of it, I would pass my days With her ; yes, even in that lonely tower (Which to my eyes looks like a sepulcher) Whence she protests the Gods alone shall take her. octavius {to a Guard). See due attention paid this royal guest. CSESARION. Unwillingly I part from one so kind. OCTAVIUS (tO AgRIPPA). Agrippa, didst thou mark that comely boy ? VIII.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 69 I did indeed. OCTAVIUS. There is methinks in him A somewhat not unlike our common friend. AGRIPPA. Unlike ? There never was such similar Expression. I remember Caius Julius In youth, altho' my elder by some years ; Well I remember that high- vaulted brow, Those eyes of eagle under it, those lips At which the senate and the people stood Expectant for their portals to unclose ; Then speech, Jiot womanly but manly sweet, Came from them, and shed pleasure as the morn Sheds light. OCTAVIUS. The boy has too much confidence. AGRIPPA. Not for his prototype. When he threw back That hair in hue like cinnamon, I thought I saw great Julius tossing his, and warn 70 ANTONY AND OCTATIUS. [sc The pirates he would give them their desert. My boy, thou gazest at those arms hung round. I am not strong enough for sword and shield, Nor even so old as my sweet mother was "When I first rioted upon her knee And seiz'd whatever sparkled in her hair. Ah ! you had been delighted had you seen The pranks she pardon' d me. What gentleness ! What playfulness ! OCTAVIUS. Go now, Csesarion. C^SARION. And had you ever seen my father too ! He was as fond of her as she of me, And often bent his thoughtful brow o'er mine To kiss what she had kist, then held me out To show how he could manage the refractory, Then one long smile, one pressure to the breast. OCTAVIUS. How tedious that boy grows ! Lead him away, Aufidius ! VIII.] SCENES TOR THE STUDY. There is mischief in his mind, He looks so guileless. AGRIPPA. He has lived apart From evil counsellors, with grey -hair' d men Averse to strife, and maidens of the queen. OCTAVIUS. This makes me think . . We will another time Consider what is best. Here comes Mecsenas. (To Meoenas.) Cilnius ! you met upon the stairs that boy r I did. OCTAVIUS. What think you of him ? MECENAS. At one glance 'Twere rashness to decide. OCTAVIUS. Seems he not proud ? 72 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene MEOENAS. He smiled, and past me by. OCTAVIUS. What insolence ! quite insupportable ! MECiEBTAS. Perhaps he knew me not ; and, if he knew me, I have no claim on affability From Caesar's enemies. agrippa (to himself). By Jove ! the man At first so calm begins at last to chafe. O, the vain Tuscan of protuberant purse ! OCTAVIUS. What said Agrippa ? AGRIPPA. That our friend here chafes, Altho' the mildest of all mortal men. OCTAVIUS. Excepting one ; one whom no wrongs can ruffle. I must give orders for some small affairs, And will rejoin you soon. VIII.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 73 AGRIPPA. My gentle Cilnius ! Do save this lad! Octavius is so calm, I doubt he hath some evil in his breast Against the only scion of the house, The orphan child of Julius. MECiENAS. Think, Agrippa, If there be safety where such scion is, Safety for you and me. AGRIPPA. The mother must Adorn the triumph, but that boy would push E/ome, universal Rome, against the steeds That should in ignominy bear along The image of her Julius. Think ; when Antony Show'd but his vesture, sprang there not tears, swords, Curses ? and swept they not before them all Who shared the parricide ? If such result Sprang from torn garment, what must from the sight Of that fresh image which calls back again The latest of the G-ods, and not the least, Who nurtured every child within those walls, 71 AKTONY AND OCTAVIUS. [scene And emptied into every mother's lap Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, Gaul, And this inheritance of mighty kings. No such disgrace must fall on Caesar's son. Spare but the boy, and we are friends for ever. MEC^NAS. Friends are we, but Octavius is our master. AGRIPPA. Let him brush kings away and blow off queens, But there are some of us who never struck At boys, nor trampled on a prostrate head ; Some of us are there too who fain would see Eome better than they left her, with high blood Bounding along her veins ; enough hath flowed. MEO-ENAS. Here comes Octavius. We attend his will. Enough that I know yours, my truest friends ! I look into your hearts and find my own. Thy wishes, Agrippa, I divine. Antony was thy comrade in the wars Of Julius ; Eulvia was thy enemy vni.] SCENES EOR THE STUDY. 75 And mine : her children to the Infernal Gods Devote I, but the born of Cleopatra Thou shalt have saved : Csesarion shall rest here. 76 ANTONY A^D OCTAYIUS. [scene SCENE THE NINTH. DOLABELLA. OESARION. SCOPAS. DOLABELLA. "Where hast tliou put Csesarion ? DOLABELLA. What is he doing ? Nigh at hand. SCOPAS. Just what lads like most ; Munching a water-melon. There is good, At least good-nature, in that simple soul. While most were sleeping in the night of noon I brought him hither. Thirsty were we both, And wine I offer' d him : he pusht it by And said, " I drink no wine ; bring water-melons.'' I brought him one : he cut it fairly thro', IX.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 11 And gave me half before lie toucht the other, Saying, " but keep the seeds, the round and black, That I may plant them, when we get to Borne, With my own hands in garden all my own." DOLABELLA, Poor innocent ! I could not help but smile. DOLABELLA. For once I envy thee. But call him in. SCOPAS. Ho! youngster! here! OESARION. "What means that loud rude speech ? This man seems civiler ; I may converse With him, but never more, thou chur], with thee. DOLABELLA. I would, my fair young friend, his voice less rough, But honest Bomans are sometimes abrupt. Scopas is sorry. 78 ANTONY AND OCTAVITJS. [scene C^SAKION. Honest ! sorry too ! I then was wrong, and am more vext than he. Boy ! I could wish I never saw thy face Nor heard thy tongue. C^SAKION. "What can he mean ? DOLABELLA. He feels The offence he gave. C^SARION. Good man, be comforted, And let my hand atone for face and tongue. scopas (to Dolabella). That smile disarms me. DOLABELLA. My sweet prince, observe How he repents. I have some words to speak IX.] SCENES EOB THE STUDY. 79 In private to him : but I first would hear How fare your little brothers. (LESARION. They are gone, Both gone : two maidens carried them away Before a noble-looking man they call Agrippa. DOLABELLA. Gone ? say you ? and with Agrippa ? that I could have seen them ere they went ! No matter ; I will tell you all about them, It is not much, if you desire to know. One can not talk, the other talks all day, One smiles at me, the other pulls my hair, But he smiles too, and then runs off as fleet As my gazelle, yet easier to be caught. You have heard all, and now will I return And leave you, as you wish : I know my way. DOLABELLA. The duty must be done ; 'tis Caesar's will. SCOPAS. Then done it shall be. 80 A1STTONT A^D OCTATTTJS. [SCENE DOLABELLA. Take this token : here ; Take this too ; ninety golden of like weight Lie in the leather. Thanks ; the deed is done [Alone, AVhat do these letters, bright and sharp, denote ? Ccesar Dictator ; and what else beneath ? Perpetuo, Gods above ! Perpetuo too ! Ashes may be perpetual : nothing more E/emains of our dictator. Take the urn, Empty it, weigh its inwards : poise the two, This inch-broad coin with it ; and what I toss On my forefinger is the solider. I must go in. OESARION. 'Tis very kind in you To visit me again : you bear no malice. I know at once who loves me. And do I ? IX.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 81 CjESARION. One moment yes, one moment no. My handsome And gentle cousin does not love me quite ; I wish he did, I want so to love him. How cool and quiet is this small dim room ! It wants no cushion : I begin to think The hard stone-seat refreshes more the limbs. Will you not try ? SCOPAS. Not yet ; but presently. C^SARION. My mother is not here ; you need not mind. People must not sit down before a queen ; But before boys, whatever boys they are, Men may, and should. Oh ! what can I have done ? And did you strike me ? Would you strike again ? What runs into my sandals from my breast ? Oh ! it begins to pain me . . sadly, sadly ! SCOPAS, By all the Gods and Goddesses above ! I have no strength to strike the boy again. 82 AjS t TOKY and octavitts. (LESAKION. father ! father ! where is now that face So gravely fond that bent o'er jour Csesarion ? And, mother ! thou too gone ! In all this gloom Where shall I find thee ? Scopas ! Scopas ! help ! Away with me ! Where is the door ? Against it Stands he ? or follows he ? Crazed ! I am crazed ! had but he been furious ! had he struck me ! Struggled, or striven, or lookt despitefully ! Anything, anything but call my name So tenderly. O had that mild reproach Of his been keener when his sense return' d, Only to leave him evef-iastingly, 1 might not have been, what I now am, frantic. Upturn' d to me those wandering orbs, outspred Those quivering arms, falling the last of him, And striking once, and only once, the floor, It shook my dagger to the very hilt, And ran like lightning up into my brain. X.] SCENES JOB, THE STUDY. 83 SCENE THE TENTH. EROS AND ANTONY. Eros ! I speak thee welcome. EROS. Hail, our lord ! Thou hast been ever faithful to thy trust, And spoken freely, but decorously, On what concern' d the household and the state. My glory is gone down, and life is cold Without it. I have known two honest men Among the senators and consulars . . EROS. None among humbler ? By the Powers above ! I thought but of the powerful, men of birth. s2 84 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene EROS. All men are that. Some sink below their cradle, Others rise higher than parental roof, And want no scepter to support their steps. ANTONY. Such there may be whom we have all past by. EROS. Men cast long shadows when their life declines, "Which we cross over without noticing ; We met them in the street and gave not way, When they were gone we lifted up both hands, And said to neighbors These were men indeed ! Reflections such as thine had wearied me Erewhiie, and from another even now; But what is that thou bringest me wrapt up, Tardy in offering it as worth too little ? EROS. I bring a ruby and a hollow ring Wheron it fitted. ANTONY. Gods of Borne ! at last X.] SCENES TOR THE STUDY. 85 Te make me grateful. Thanks, and thanks alone, Have I to give, and one small sacrifice ; I vow it you before this hour is past. My heart may beat against its bars awhile But shall not leave me yet. Go, Eros, go, I must lie down and rest, feeble and faint. But come back presently. eros {after some absence). How fares our lord ? Recovered, sound again, more sound than ever. And yet our lord looks more like other men. antony {smiling). We can not always swagger, always act A character the wise will never learn : When Mght goes down, and the young Day resumes His pointed shafts, and chill air breathes around, Then we put on our own habiliments And leave the dusty stage we proudly trod. I have been sitting longer at life's feast Than does me good ; I will arise and go. 86 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [scene Philosophy would flatten her thin palm Outspred upon my sleeve ; away with her ! Cuff off, cuff out, that chattering toothless jade ! The brain she puzzles, and she blunts the sword : Even she knows better words than that word live. Cold Cato, colder Brutus, guide not me ; No, nor brave Cassius. Thou hast brought me balm. EROS. Our lord may have some message for the giver, Which will console her. ANTONY. She expected none : I did ; and it is come. Say, lookt she pale ? Spake she no word ? EROS. Alas, most noble sir, She would not see me. Charmian said her face Was indeed pale, yet grew less pale than usual After she gave the ring, and then she spake Amid some sighs (some spasms too interposed) More cheerfully, and said she fain would sleep. X.] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 87 ANTONY. The fondest heart, the truest, beats no more. She listened to me, she hath answered me, She wanted no entreaty, she obeyed, She now commands : but no command want I. Queen of my soul ! I follow in thy train, Thine is the triumph. Eros, up ! rejoice ! Tears, man! do tears become us at this hour ? I never had too many ; thou hast seen (If thou didst see) the last of them. My sword 1 I will march out becomingly. EROS. sir! Enemies watch all round, and famine waits Within. Thou knowest not the prudent sons Of Egypt ; corn and wine have been supplied Enough for many years, piled underground. Tho' stiffened by the sludge of barbarism, Or indolent and overgorged at home, Briton or German would take heed that none 88 ANTONY AND OCTATIUS. [scene Who fought for hiin should perish for the lack Of sustenauce : the timid bird herself "Will hover round and round until she bring The grain cried out for in the helpless nest. Give me my sword ! Is the point sharp ? In vain To trust it now ! Come, bring it ; let me try it. EROS. heavens and earth ! Help ! help ! no help is nigh, No duty left but one : less worthily Than willingly this duty I perform. [Stabs himself. It pains not : for that blood I see no more. XI.] SCENES TOR THE STUDY. 89 SCENE THE ELEVENTH. OFFICER. OCTAVIUS. MEC^INAS. GALLUS. OFFICER. News ! glorious news ! news certain ! Dead as Death ! OCTAVIUS. Who dead? OFFICER. The master of the horse to Julius, Master too, but this morning, of this realm, The great . . MEOENAS. Halt there ! and know, where Caesar is There is none great but Csesar ! OFFICER. Pardon ! true ! OCTAVIUS. And nought about his paramour ? 90 ANTONY AND OCTAVITTS. [SCENE OFFICER. The queen ? OCTAVITTS. Yes, fellow, yes. Surely our emperor knows Of her ; the story now is some days old. The queen was poisoned by two little worms Which people here call asps, most venomous things, Goil'd in a yellow fig around the seeds. Her maidens wail'd her loudly ; men and maidens Alike mourn' d over . . I had nearly slipt. OCTAVIUS. Many have done the same. Art thou a Roman ? OFFICER. I have the honor, sir, to be a G-aul, A native of Massilia, that famed city Inhabited by heroes, built by Gods, Who entered it again with Caius Julius. MEC^NAS. And didst thou see them enter ? XI.] SCENES FOE THE STUDY. 91 OFFICER. Not distinctly, There were a few between : one told it me Who saw them ; which, ye know, is just the same. OCTAVIUS. Retire, my brave ! go sure of a reward. Lucretia hath escaped us after all ! But there is wax in Egypt, there are Greeks Who model it, and who can bear to look On queen or asp ; this model' d to the life, The other more like what they work upon. No trouble in thus carrying her to Rome. Grallus ! thou lookest grave : thou art the man Exactly to compose an epitaph. No matter which died first : I think the asps Rather have had the start : I may be wrong, A bad chronologist, a worse astrologer. MEOENAS. Where Caesar smiles, all others smile but Grallus. GALLUS. Not even Caesar's smiles awaken mine When every enemy has dropt away, And he who made so many safe, is safe. 92 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [scene I wish thou wert more joyous. Kind the wish- Almost enough to make me so. MECJSNAS. Come ! come ! I know you poets : any wager now Thou hast already forced the weeping Muse To thy embraces. Tell us honestly ; Hast thou not turn'd the egg upon the nest Ready for hatching ? Guilty ; look at him, He blushes, blushes from cheekbone to beard. Now, Gallus, for the epitaph. Eecite it. GALLUS. Epitaphs are but cold and chisel 1 d words, Or mostly false if warmer : quite unfit Are mine for marble or for memory. XI.] SCENES EOE THE STUDY. 93 I thought of her . . another would have said He wept : I wept not, but I know I sigh'd. And wrote ? For poet is half sigh half flame : Sigh out thy sigh. GALLUS. Would Caesar hear it ? Yea. GALLUS. I have not ventured to pronounce the name Of her I meditated on. My friend Is here judicious as in all things else. " Thou hast been floating on the o'erswollen stream Of life these many summers ; is thy last Now over ? hast thou dreamt out every dream ? Hath horn funereal blown the pageant past ? 94 ANTONY A^D OCTAYIUS. [scene Caesar ! thou too must follow : all the rods Of sternest lictor. cannot scare off Death ; She claims the earth for heritage ; our Grods Themselves have seen their children yield their breath." Grallus ! I always thought thee a brave soldier. Never a first-rate poet : I am right. Caesar ! I never heard of one who gain'd A battle and a kingdom who was not. C^SAR. If there be anything on earth I know Better than other things, 'tis poetry. MEOffiNAS. My sweet Octavius ! draw not under nose The knuckle of forefinger. Grallus aim'd A harmless arrow : Love in sport hath done it Often and often. Grallus, seize his hand. Now sing a paean ; sing a prophet's ; sing Egypt ! thy pyramid of power is closed. XI.] SCENES FOB, THE STUDY. 95 GALLUS. I would ; but want the breath : I have but strength For elegy : here is the last of mine. " The mighty of the earth are earth, A passing gleam the brightest smile, In golden beds have sorrows birth, Alas ! these live the longer while." OCTAVIUS. Unless we haste to supper, we shall soon Forfeit our appetites. Come, my two friends ! 96 ANTONY AND OCTAYITJS. [scene SCENE THE TWELFTH. OCTAVIUS AND OCTAVIA. OCTAVIUS. Embeace me, sister ; we have won ; thy wrongs Are now avenged. OCTAVIA. Speak not of wrong, but right, And bring Rome peace and happiness once more. Tis kind in thee (but thou wert always kind) To come so soon to greet me, while the altar Is warm and damp with incense for thy safety. OCTAVIUS. Octavia ! I have brought thee from the Nile Two pretty little serpents. OCTAVIA. Of all beasts The serpent is the beast I most abhor. Take them awav. XII.] SCENES EOR THE STUDT. 97 I have not brought them here, Be not afraid ; beside, they are so young They can not bite. OCTAVIA. But send them off. I will. "What thinkest thou are these two reptiles call'd ? OCTAVIA. I know not, nor can guess. OCTAVIUS. Lucius and Marcus, The brood of Antony. O Heaven ! she faints ! Eise, sister ! let me help thee up ; be sure They shall not hurt thee. Grasp not thus my wrist, And shoot not up those leaden bolts at me, For such are thy stiff eyes. I said, and swear, The little monsters never shall hurt thee. I do not like those tears ; but better they Than the cold flint they fall from, and now melt. 98 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS. [scene Brother, I know thy purpose. On my knees . . OCTAVIUS. Arise ! There wants not this to seal their doom. OCTAVIA. This is my fault, not theirs, if fault there be. OCTAVIUS. I want, and I will have, security. OCTAVIA. What is there now on earth to apprehend ? I dread lest he who guards them should adopt. Let him ! let him ! if an honest man. Frown not, debate not, struggle not against Thy better GTenius ; argue with him thus, " Octavius ! has there not been Hood enough Without the Hood of children ? " SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 99 Is my safety Not dear to thee ? OCTAVIA. Thy glory, thy content, Are . . no, not dearer, but almost as dear. Hast thou not suffer' d pangs at every head That fell ? OCTAVIUS. They fell that mine might not. But children Strike not so high. Are children always children ? O brother ! brother ! are men always men ? They are full-grown then only when grown up Above their fears. Power never yet stood safe ; Compass it round with friends and kindnesses, And not with moats of blood. Eemember Thebes : The towers of Cadmus toppled, split asunder, 100 ANTONY AND OCTAYIUS [scene Crasht : in the shadow of her oleanders The pure and placid Dirce stil flows by. What shatter' d to its base but cruelty, (Mother of crimes, all lesser than herself) The house of Agamemnon king of kings ? OCTAVIUS. Thou art not yet, Octavia, an old woman ; Tell not, I do beseech thee, such old tales. clear later ; hear what our own parents saw. Where lies the seed of Sulla ? Could the walls Of his Prseneste shelter the young Marius, Or subterranean passages provide Escape ? he stumbled through the gore his father Had left in swamps on our Italian plains. We have been taught these histories together, Neither untrue nor profitless ; few years Have since gone by, can memory too have gone ? Ay, smile, Octavius ! only let the smile Be somewhat less disdainful. OCTAVIUS, 'Tis unwise To plant thy foot where Fortune's wheel runs on. XII.] SCENES FOR THE STUDY. 101 I lack not wisdom utterly ; my soul Assures me wisdom is humanity, And they who want it, wise as they may seem, And confident in their own sight and strength, Reach not the scope they aim at. Worst of war Is war of passion ; best of peace is peace Of mind, reposing on the watchful care Daily and nightly of the household Gods. THE END. BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WH1TEFR1ARS. ^ ' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 494 520 7 •