Poor knave, I blame thee not; thou art o'erwatch'd.

Call Claudius and some other of my men;

I'll have them sleep on cushions in my tent. Luc. Varro and Claudius!

Enter Varro and Claudius.

Var. Calls my lord?

Bru. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep;
It may
be I shall raise you by and by
On business to my brother Cassius.

Var. So please you, we will stand and watch your pleasure.

Bru. I will not have it so: lie down, good sirs; 250
It may be I shall otherwise bethink me.

Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so;
I put it in the pocket of my gown.

[Var. and Clau. lie down.

250-253. This characteristic little incident of the book was suggested by a passage in Plutarch's Life of Brutus. It makes a part of the account there given of the apparition: "As they prepared to passe over out of Asia into Europe, there went a rumour that there appeared a wonderfull signe unto him. Brutus was a carefull man, and slept very little, both for that his diet was moderate, as also because he was continually occupied. He never slept in the day time, and in the night no longer then the time he was driven to be alone, and when every body else tooke their rest. But now whilest he was in the warre, and his head over-busily occupied to thinke of his affaires and what would happen, having slumbered a little after supper, he spent all the rest of the night in dispatching of his weightiest causes; and, after he had taken order for them, if he had any leisure left him, he would read some booke till the third watch of the night, at what time the captains and colonels did use to come to him." The passage then goes on with the story, how, "casting his eye towards the doore of his tent, he saw a wonderfull strange and monstrous shape of a bodie coming towards him."-H. N. H.

Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it me. Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile,
And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
Luc. Aye, my lord, an 't please you.
It does, my boy:

Bru.

260

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. Luc. It is my duty, sir. Bru. I should not urge thy duty past thy might;

I know young bloods look for a time of rest.

Luc. I have slept, my lord, already.

Bru. It was well done; and thou shalt sleep again.
I will not hold thee long: if I do live,

I will be good to thee. [Music, and a song.
This is a sleepy tune. O murderous slumber,
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,
That plays thee music? Gentle knave, good
night;

269

I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee:
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument;
I'll take it from thee; and, good boy, good
night.

Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turn'd
down

Where I left reading? Here it is, I think.

[Sits down.

scepter. Shakespeare

268. A "mace" is the ancient term for a probably remembered Spenser in his Faerie Queene:

"When as Morpheus had with leaden mace
Arrested all that courtly company."-H. N. H.

Enter the Ghost of Cæsar.

How ill this taper burns! Ha! who comes here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me. Art thou any thing?

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That makest my blood cold, and my hair to
stare?

Speak to me what thou art.

Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

Bru.

Why comest thou? Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi. Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again.

Ghost. Aye, at Philippi.

Bru. Why, I will see thee at Philippi then.

280

[Exit Ghost.

Now I have taken heart thou vanishest.

Ill spirit, I would hold more talk with thee.
Boy, Lucius! Varro! Claudius! Sirs, awake!
Claudius!

Luc. The strings, my lord, are false.

Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument.

Lucius, awake!

Luc. My lord?

291

Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst out?

"Enter the Ghost"; in Plutarch's Life of Brutus this apparition is not spoken of as the ghost of Cæsar, but only as "a wonderfull strange and monstrous shape of a bodie coming towards him." The point is of little moment, save as showing the Poet's care to make the most out of his materials. In the Life of Julius Cæsar, he had the following: "Above all, the ghost that appeared unto Brutus shewed plainly that the gods were offended with the murder of Cæsar.-H. N. H.

Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry.
Bru. Yes, that thou didst: didst thou see any thing?
Luc. Nothing, my lord.

Bru. Sleep again, Lucius.

Sirrah Claudius!

300

[To Var.] Fellow thou, awake!

Var. My lord?

Clau. My lord?

Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep? Var. Clau. Did we, my lord?

Bru.

Aye: saw you any thing?

Nor I, my lord

Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing.

Clau.

Bru. Go and commend me to my brother Cassius: Bid him set on his powers betimes before, And we will follow.

Var. Clau.

It shall be done, my lord. [Exeunt.

ACT FIFTH

SCENE I

The plains of Philippi.

Enter Octavius, Antony, and their army. Oct. Now, Antony, our hopes are answered: You said the enemy would not come down, But keep the hills and upper regions; It proves not so: their battles are at hand; They mean to warn us at Philippi here, Answering before we do demand of them. Ant. Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know Wherefore they do it: they could be content To visit other places; and come down With fearful bravery, thinking by this face 10 To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage;

But 'tis not so.

Mess.

Enter a Messenger.

Prepare you, generals:

10. Though "fearful" is often used by Shakespeare and his contemporaries in an active sense, for producing fear, or terrible, it may in this instance bear its usual acceptation of timorous, or, as it was sometimes expressed, false-hearted. Thus in Sidney's Arcadia: "Her horse faire and lustie; which she rid so as might show a feare full boldness, daring to do that which she knew that she knew not how to doe."-H. N. H.