ACT THE FIFTH,

SCENE I.

Outside of the City of Alexandria.

Enter ANTONY and VENTIDIUS.

Ant. 'Tis plain, Ventidius, Cæsar has dissembled; He knows no honour, he!-and the conditions, Sent by Octavia and Dolabella,

Were treacherously meant.

Ven. You please to think so.

Ant. Is it not clear?-He'll not withdraw his troops.

Ven. And thus the war continues.-I had hopes

To patch up peace.

Ant. Thou see'st it cannot be.

Ven. Well, well!

Ant. So cold! wilt thou, as numbers have, When fortune is upon the wane, forsake me? Ven. I shall forsake you when I die; not sooner. Ant. My friend !

[Softened.
Ven. Come, cheerly, general; your genius
O'er Cæsar's still may rise. For him you conquer'd;
Philippi knows it ;-then you shared with him
That empire which your sword made all your own,
Ant. Fool that I was! upon my eagle's wing

I bore this wren, till I was tired of soaring,
And, now, he mounts above me.

Ven. We lose time.

The day advances.

Ant. We'll to yonder eminence :-
The preparation is, to-day, by sea;
We please them not by land,
Ven. The preparation

Is both for sea and land: On sea, I fear,
'Tis a frail venture, since your loss at Actium.
Ant. I would they fought in fire, or in the air!
We'd fight there too. But, this it is, Ventidius:
Order for sea is given; and our best force
Is forth to man the gallies.-With our foot,
Upon the hills adjoining to the city,
Their naval movements we may best discover,
And look on their endeavours.-Follow me.

Ven. Swallows have built

[Exit ANTONY,

In Cleopatra's sails their nests; the augurers
Say, they know not,-they cannot tell,-look grimly,
And dare not speak their knowledge. Antony
Is valiant, and dejected; and, by starts,
His fretted fortunes give him hope, and fear,
Of what he has, and has not. To the last,
Though my brave general be fall'n to dotage,
My love, against my judgment, clings to him.

[Exit.

SCENE II.

Interior of CLEOPATRA's Palace.

Shouts at a distance.

Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMION, and IRAs,

Cle. Hear'st thou how fares the battle?
Char. Antony

[Shout again.

Now stands surveying our Egyptian gallies

Engaging Cæsar's fleet.

Cle. Now death, or conquest!

Įras. Have comfort, madam; 'twas a cheering shout.

Hark! they redouble it.

Cle, Good news, kind Heaven!

Enter ALEXAS.

Alex, O, horror, horror!

[Shouts repeated,

Egypt has been;-our latest hour is come;
Time has unroll'd our glories to the last,
And, now, closed up the volume.

Cle. Say the worst.

Alex. Proud on the waves, your well-appointed fleet Row'd forth to sea, and smooth the well-timed oars Were dipt to meet the foe. Soon did they meet, But not as foes! In brief, we saw their caps On either side thrown up; Ægyptian gallies (Received like friends) past through, and fell behind The Roman rear; and, now, they all come forward, And ride within the port.

Cle. Enough, Alexas;

I've heard my doom!-What says Mark Antony?
Where is he? Oh, he will be more enraged
Than Telamon for his shield!

Alex. You must avoid him.

He raves on you, and cries he is betray'd.
His fury shakes his fabric like an earthquake;
Heaving for vent, he bursts like bellowing Etna,
In sounds scarce human.-Do not see him yet.
Cle. I must not.-Whither go?

Alex. Retire, awhile,

Within your monument :-meet not this tempest; It will o'erblow.

Cle. Not till he hears I'm dead ;

Then would this gust of anger end in grief.

Alex. E'en that way turn it, then ;-let me report

To Antony that you have slain yourself:
When undeceived, his joy will be so great,
He will forgive, if not forget, the ills
Our fleet hath wrought him.

Cle. Well, well, be it so. Away, Alexas!

[Exit ALEXAS.

And yet, 'tis not for fear that I avoid him :
I know him noble; when he banish'd me,
And thought me false, he scorn'd to take my life.
But I'll be justified, and then die with him.

[Exeunt CLEOPATRA and her Women.

SCENE III,

Within the Town of Alexandria.

Enter ANTONY and VENTIdius.

Ant. Gods! how this foul Ægyptian hath betray'd me!

Her fleet and Cæsar's mingle in the port,

And there, like long-lost friends, carouse together.
O, sun! thy up-rise shall I see no more;
Fortune and Antony part here, even here!
All come to this! to this!

Ven. This Egypt is

One universal traitor; and their queen
The spirit, and the extract, of 'em all.
Ant. Is there yet left a possibility?—
The least unmortgaged hope?-for, if there be,
Methinks I should not fall beneath the fate
Of such a boy as Cæsar.

Ven. There are yet

(The remnant now fled with us from the hills)
Three legions left. If death be your design,
As I must wish it now, these are sufficient
To make a heap about us of dead foes,
An honest pile for burial.

Ant. They're enough.

Ven. Now you shall see I love you :-not a word Of chiding more: By my few hours of life, I am so pleased with this brave Roman fate, That I would not be Cæsar to outlive you. Ant. Who knows but yet we may—

How now,

Enter ALEXAS.

Alexas?

Ven. He comes from Cleopatra;- -from
And looks a lie before he utters it.
Hence, villain, hence!

Ant. Away from me for ever!

No syllable to justify thy queen:

Let her begone; the blot of my renown,

your ruin;

And bane of all my hopes! Let her be driven
As far as man can think, from human commerce;
She'll poison to the centre!

Alex. Sir, be satisfied,

She'll ne'er molest you more ;-she could not bear
To be accused by you; but shut herself

Within her monument: Her silent tears
Dropt, as they had not leave, but stole their parting;
At last, with dying looks

Ant. My heart forebodes!

Ven. All for the best: Go on.

Alex. She snatch'd her poniard,

And ere we could prevent the fatal blow,
Plunged it within her breast. Go, bear my lord,
(Turning to me, she said,) my last farewell;
And ask him, if he yet suspect my faith:-

More she was saying, but death rush'd betwixt :