Come, let's go in, and blush again. This one word,

You shall believe.

Cleo. I must; you are a conqueror.

[Exeunt.

ACT III. SCENE I.

A Room in the Palace.

Enter PTOLEMY and PHOTINUS.

Pho. Good sir, but hear!

Ptol. No more; you have undone me! That that I hourly fear'd is fallen upon me, And heavily, and deadly..

Pho.. Hear a remedy.

Ptol. A remedy, now the disease is ulcerous, And has infected all? Your secure negligence Has broke through all the hopes I have, and ruin'd me!

My sister is with Cæsar, in his chamber;

All night she has been with him; and, no doubt, Much to her honour.

Pho. 'Would that were the worst, sir! That will repair itself: But I fear mainly, She has made her peace with Cæsar.

Ptol. 'Tis most likely;

And what am I then?

Pho. 'Plague upon that rascal Apollodorus, under whose command, Under whose eye

Enter ACHILLAS.

Ptol. Curse on ye all, ye are wretches!
Pho. 'Twas providently done, Achillas.
Achil. Pardon me.

Pho. Your guards were rarely wise, and wondrous watchful!

Achil. I could not help it, if my life had lain for't.
Alas, who would suspect a pack of bedding,
Or a small truss of household furniture,

And, as they said, for Cæsar's use? or who durst,
Being for his private chamber, seek to stop it?
I was abused.

Enter ACHOREUS.

Achor. "Tis no hour now for anger,
No wisdom to debate with fruitless choler.
Let us consider timely what we must do,
Since she is flown to his protection,
From whom we have no power to sever her,
Nor force conditions.

Ptol. Speak, good Achoreus.

Achor. Let indirect and crooked counsels vanish, And straight and fair directions-

Pho. Speak your mind, sir.

Achor. Let us choose Cæsar (and endear him to us)

An arbitrator in all differences

·Betwixt you and your sister; this is safe now, And will shew off, most honourable.

Pho. Base,

Most base and poor; a servile, cold submission!

Hear me, and pluck your hearts up, like stout counsellors;

Since we are sensible this Cæsar loaths us,
And have begun our fortune with great Pompey,
Be of my mind.

Achor. 'Tis most uncomely spoken,

And if I say most bloodily, I lie not:
The law of hospitality it poisons,

And calls the gods in question that dwell in us.
Be wise, oh, king!

Ptol. I will be. Go, my counsellor,

To Cæsar go, and do my humble service;
To my fair sister my commends negotiate;
And here I ratify whate'er thou treat'st on.
Achor. Crown'd with fair peace, I go. [Exit.
Ptol. My love go with thee;—

And from my love go you, you cruel vipers!
You shall know now I am no ward, Photinus.

[Exit.

Pho. This for our service? Princes do their

pleasures,

And they that serve obey in all disgraces.
The lowest we can fall to is our graves;

There we shall know no difference. Hark, Achillas! may do something yet, when times are ripe,

I

To tell this raw unthankful king

Achil. Photinus,

Whate'er it be, I shall make one, and zealously: For better die attempting something nobly, Than fall disgraced.

Pho. Thou lovest me, and I thank thee.

[Exeunt.

Dol. Nay, there's no rousing him; he is bewitch'd sure,

His noble blood crudled, and cold within him; Grown now a woman's warrior.

Sce. And a tall one;

Studies her fortifications, and her breaches,
And how he may advance his ram to batter
The bulwark of her chastity.

Ant Be not too angry,

For, by this light, the woman's a rare woman;
A lady of that catching youth and beauty,
That unmatch'd sweetness

Dol. But why should he be fool'd so?

Let her be what she will, why should his wisdom, His age, and honour-

Ant. Say it were your own case,

Or mine, or any man's that has heat in him: 'Tis true, at this time, when he has no promise Of more security than his sword can cut through, I do not hold it so discreet: But a good face, gentlemen,

And eyes that are the winning'st orators,

6 Crudled ] So the first folio exhibits the word, consonant to a frequent mode of spelling and pronouncing it. The second, and the more modern editions, make it curdled, very unnecessarily. Thus, Dryden:

"I felt my crudled blood

Congeal with fear; my hair with horror stood."

* Tall.] It has been before observed, that this word frequently signified stout, brave.

A youth that opens like perpétual spring,
And, to all these, a tongue that can deliver
The oracles of love-

Sce. I would you had her,

With all her oracles and miracles;

She were fitter for your turn.

Ant. 'Would I had, Sceva,

With all her faults too! let me alone to mend 'em ; On that condition I made thee mine heir.

Sce, I had rather have your black horse than your harlots.

Dol. Cæsar writes sonnets now; the sound of war Is grown too boistrous for his mouth; he sighs too. Sce. And learns to fiddle most melodiously, And sings 'twould make your ears prick up to hear him, gentlemen.

Shortly she'll make him spin; and 'tis thought he'll prove

An admirable maker of bonelace ;

And what a rare gift will that be in a general! Ant. I would he could abstain.

Sce. She is a witch sure,

And works upon him with some damned enchant

ment.

Dol. How cunning she will carry her behaviours, And set her countenance in a thousand postures, To catch her ends!

Sce. She will be sick, well, sullen, Merry, coy, over-joy'd, and seem to die,

She will be sick, well, sullen,

Merry, coy, &c.] Here our poets follow their master Shakspeare in the character of Cleopatra; we shall find in the sequel, that they have added more of the dignity of the queen to the coquetry of the wanton than Shakspeare has done. Corneille, in order to form an interesting amour between Cæsar and Cleopatra, has endeavoured to draw them both unexceptionably virtuous.

Seward.

It is but justice to observe, that the intention of Shakspeare and