What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him?
O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason! Bear with me:
My heart is in the coffin there with Cæsar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

1 Pleb. Methinks there is much reason in his sayings. 2 Pleb. If thou consider rightly of the matter,

Cæsar has had great wrong.

3 Pleb. Has he, masters?

I fear, there will a worse come in his place.

4 Pleb. Mark'd ye his words? He would not take the

crown:

Therefore, 'tis certain, he was not ambitious.

1 Pleb. If it be found so, some will dear abide it.

2 Pleb. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with weeping. 3 Pleb. There's not a nobler man in Rome than Antony. 4 Pleb. Now mark him! he begins again to speak. Ant. But yesterday, the word of Cæsar might Have stood against the world: now lies he there, And none so poor to do him reverence.

() masters! if I were disposed to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius1 wrong;
Who, you all know, are honourable men.
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you,
Than I will wrong such honourable men.
But here's a parchment, with the seal of Cæsar;
I found it in his closet, 'tis his will 2:

Let but the commons hear this testament,
(Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read,)
And they would go and kiss dead Cæsar's wounds,
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood;
Yea, beg a hair of him for memory;

And, dying, mention it within their wills,
Bequeathing it, as a rich legacy,

Unto their issue.

4 Pleb. We'll hear the will: read it, Mark Antony. All. The will, the will; we will hear Cæsar's will.

Cassius Longinus had shared in Cæsar's favours: he had appointed him to a prætorship, and to the government of Syria.

2 When Cæsar's will was opened, it was found that he had bequeathed the citizens 300 sester ces a-piece, and left them his gardens near the Tiber.

Ant. Have patience, gentle friends; I must not read it: It is not meet you know how Cæsar lov'd you. You are not wood, you are not stones, but men ; And, being men, hearing the will of Cæsar, It will inflame you—it will make you mad. 'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; For if you should, O what will come of it?

4 Pleb. Read the will; we will hear it, Antony: You shall read us the will-Cæsar's will.

Ant. Will you be patient? will you stay awhile? I have o'ershot myself, to tell you of it:

I fear I wrong the honourable men,

Whose daggers have stabb'd Cæsar: I do fear it. 4 Pleb. They were traitors. Honourable men! All. The will! the testament!

2 Pleb. They were villains-murderers! The will! read the will!

Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the will?
Then make a ring about the corpse of Cæsar.
And let me show you him that made the will.
Shall I descend! and will you give me leave?
All. Come down.

2 Pleb. Descend.

3 Pleb. You shall have leave.

4 Pleb. A ring! stand round!

[He comes down from the Rostrum.

1 Pleb. Stand from the hearse! stand from the body! 2 Pleb. Room for Antony! most noble Antony! Ant. Nay, press not so upon me: stand far off.

All. Stand back! room! bear back!

Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. You all do know this mantle? I remember

The first time ever Cæsar put it on.

"Twas on a Summer's evening, in his tent,

That day he overcame the Nervii.1

Look! in this place ran Cassius' dagger through:
See what a rent the envious Casca made!

Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd;
And, as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Cæsar follow'd it;
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved

1 The Nervii were the bravest of cupied corresponds to the modern the Belgians. The district they oc- Hainault.

If Brutus so unkindly knock'd or no;

For Brutus, as you know, was Cæsar's angel:
Judge, O ye Gods! how dearly Cæsar loved him.
This was the most unkindest cut of all;

For, when the noble Cæsar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,

Quite vanquish'd him. Then burst his mighty heart;
And, in his mantle muffling up his face,
Even at the base of Pompey's statue,

Which all the while ran blood, great Cæsar fell!
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down;
Whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us.
O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops.
Kind souls! what, weep you when you but behold
Our Cæsar's vesture wounded? Look you here!
Here is himself! marr'd, as you see, with traitors.
1 Pleb. O piteous spectacle!

2 Pleb. O noble Cæsar!

3 Pleb. O woeful day!

4 Pleb. O traitors! villains!

1 Pleb. O most bloody sight!

2 Pleb. We will be revenged! Revenge! About Seek-burn-fire-kill-slay-let not a traitor live! Ant. Stay, countrymen.

1 Pleb. Peace, there! Hear the noble Antony.

2 Pleb. We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die with him.

Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up To such a sudden flood of mutiny.

They that have done this deed are honourable :

What private griefs they have, alas, I know not,
That made them do it: they are wise and honourable,
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you.

I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts;

I am no orator, as Brutus is;

But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man,
That love my friend: and that they know full well
That gave me public leave to speak of him.
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men's blood: I only speak right on;

I tell you that which ye yourselves do know ;

Show you sweet Cæsar's wounds-poor, poor dumb mouths!
And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,
And Brutus Antony, there were1 an Antony
Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue
In every wound of Cæsar, that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.

LESSON XI.

Shakespeare.

There were at this time (A. D. 1590.) two parties in France which contended for the mastery: the one consisted of all the most resolute Roman Catholics, who had united to support the Romish religion, and were denominated The League; the other was composed chiefly of Protestants, or, as they were termed, Hugonots, and had as their head or chief, Henry of Navarre. Henry III. of France having died without issue, the crown of France devolved upon Henry of Navarre, who owed his title to his descent from a brother of Saint Louis, and traced his pedigree through three centuries and a half up to a crowned head. But the throne thus inherited was still to be won, as his accession was opposed by a considerable party, headed by the principal members of the League. The Duke of Mayenne, as lieutenant-general of the kingdom, carried on the war against the Hugonots. As Henry was besieging Dreux, he was informed that the army of the League, reinforced by the Prince of Parma, and consisting of 16,000 veteran soldiers, was advancing upon him. He immediately gave up the siege, and having posted himself at Ivry, on the banks of the river Eure, he determined to hazard a decisive engagement. The Duke of Mayenne was unwilling to commit the fortune of his party to the fate of a single battle, but his objections were overruled by the reproaches of the citizens of Paris, and by the daring counsels and presumptuous vaunts of Count Egmont, whose father had perished the victim of the jealousy of Philip II. of Spain, and of the cruelty of the Duke of Alva. Egmont boasted that the cavalry which he led were able alone to encounter and vanquish the royal army; and the Duke of Mayenne reluctantly yielded to his impetuous courage. The conflict was

There were,

that is, I should prove such an Antony, &c.

long obstinately maintained, but the superior genius of Henry at length prevailed. Count Egmont, with the greatest part of his detachment, perished on the field; 2500 of the Leaguers were involved in the same fate; and the Duke of Mayenne, after having discharged the several duties of a general and a soldier, escaped with difficulty from the sword of the conqueror. Immediately before the battle, Henry thus addressed his soldiers: 66 My comrades, if you follow my fortune, remember, I also follow yours; I am determined either to conquer or to die with you. Keep your ranks, I beseech you; but if the violence of the battle should make you quit them, endeavour to rally again, for that will ensure victory." Then, taking off his helmet, which was ornamented with a plume of white feathers, he said, "You will rally under those three trees on yonder eminence; and though you lose your standards, do not lose sight of this white plume; you will ever find it in the road to honour."

Now glory to the Lord of hosts, from whom all glories are! And glory to our sovereign liege, King Henry of Navarre !! Now let there be the merry sound of music and of dance, Through thy corn-fields green, and sunny vines, O pleasant land of France!

And thou, Rochelle! our own Rochelle !2 proud city of the waters!

Again let raptures light the eyes of all thy mourning daughters.

As thou wert constant in our ills, be joyous in our joy;

For cold, and stiff, and still are they, who wrought thy walls

annoy.

Hurrah! hurrah! a single field hath turn'd the chance of

war;

Hurrah! hurrah! for Ivry 3, and Henry of Navarre!

Oh, how our hearts were beating, when, at the dawn of day,
We saw the army of the League drawn out in long array;
With all its priest-led citizens, and all its rebel peers,
And Appenzel's stout infantry, and Egmont's 5 Flemish
spears.

1 Henry of Navarre was the son of Antony, duke of Bourbon, and Jane, queen of Navarre. As Henry III. of France died without children, Henry of Bourbon became heir to the throne.

2 Roche, a fortified sea-port of France, in a plain at the bottom of a small gulf of the Atlantic. This was one of the places of refuge granted to the Protestants. It afterwards stood a siege of six months' duration against the royal forces. A treaty

was afterwards concluded between the King of France and the Hugonots.

3 Ivry, to the west of Paris, in the department of Eure. Here Henry of Navarre defeated the Duke of Mayenne, A. D. 1590.

+ Appenzel, a canton in the northeast part of Switzerland, bordering on the Tyrol. The Swiss troops in the pay of the League are here meant by "Appenzel's stout infantry."

5 Egmont, Count Egmont of Flan