Which we will niggard with a little rest.

There is no more to say? Cas.

No more.

Good night: Early to-morrow will we rise, and hence. Bru. Lucius!

[Re-enter Lucius. My gown.

[Exit Lucius.

Farewell, good Messala: 230 Good night, Titinius. Noble, noble Cassius,

Good night, and good repose.
Cas.

O my dear brother!
This was an ill beginning of the night :
Never come such division 'tween our souls !

Let it not, Brutus.
Bru.

Every thing is well. 235 Cas. Good night, my lord. Bru.

Good night, good brother. Tit., Mes. Good night, Lord Brutus. Bru.

Farewell, every one. [Exeunt Cassius, Titinius, and Messala.

Re-enter LUCIUS, with the gown.
Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument ?
Luc. Here in the tent.
Bru.

What! thou speak'st drowsily? Poor knave, I blame thee not; thou art o'erwatch'd.

240 240. not] F 1; art F 2; omitted F 3, 4. 227. niggard] satisfy sparingly. tion and strengthened by the addition

230. gown] night-gown. See be- of his friend's name. ginning of Act 11. Scene ii.

235. Every thing is well] all is well, 231.

Noble, noble] most noble. See no shadow of difference between us line 54 and note on 11. ii. 102. remains.

235. Let it not, Brutus] Notice the 240. knave] boy, as in line 268. pathetic appeal enforced by the repeti 240. I blame thee not] The reading

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: 245

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;

It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. 250
Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so;
I put it in the pocket of my gown.

[Varro and Claudius lie down. Luc. I was sure your lordship did not give it me.

241, 243, 288, 289, 298. Claudius) Claudio Ff. Varrus Ff.

243, 288. Varro]

of the first Folio makes excellent two names being misspelt in opposite
sense. The second Folio follows the ways. As the wrong spelling is not
first, but instead of "not" gives the traceable to North, we may alter it.
misprint "art.” It is probable that 250. otherwise bethink me) change
the editors of the third Folio followed my mind.
the second, but omitted the mean. 251. Look, Lucius] The conversa.
ingless “art." The fourth Folio tion between Brutus and his attendant
followed the third. It is, however, may be compared with that between
possible with little alteration to get Desdemona and her attendant, Bianca,
good sense and metre out of the read. which has a similar position in the
ing of the third and fourth Folios, if we end of the fourth act of Othello. Both
read : “Poor knave, I blame thee! scenes are pervaded with a feeling of

Thou art over-watched.” For the con- drowsiness and peaceful tranquillity,
struction, compare Othello, v. ii. 219: which agreeably relieves the strain to
"''Twill out, 'twill out. I peace !” and which our feelings are subjected by
Swift's indignant exclamation : “I the highly-wrought scene that has
to such blockheads set my wit !” gone before, and by the tragic con-

240. oerwatched] wearied out with clusion of the drama which we know watching, as in P. L. ii. 288 : “Sea- to be imminent. In both cases the faring men o'erwatched."

ease and natural simplicity of the 243. Varro and Claudius] appear conversation conceal the dramatist's in the Folio as Varrus and Claudio, the consummate art.

1

Bru. Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile, 255

And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
Luc. Ay, my lord, an 't please you.
Bru.

It does, my boy.
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; 260

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: 265
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;
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
266. slumber] F 3, 4; slumbler F 1, 2:

254. Bear with me) be patient with “ But whenas Morpheus with his me.

leaden mace 266. murderous] because it is the Arrested all that courtly com" death of each day's life" (Macbeth,

pany." II. ii. 38), “death's counterfeit" In that passage, as in this, the meta(Macbeth, 11. iii. 81). In Midsummer phor compares sleep to an officer Night's Dream, iv. i. 86, sleep is said making an arrest with the mace, his to " strike dead," and in Tempest, v. symbol of authority, like the sergeant i. 230, men are said to be “dead of in the Comedy of Errors, iv. iii

. 28,

that “when gentlemen are tired, gives 267. leaden mace] expressive of the them a sob and 'rests them,”and sets heaviness of deep sleep, when it up his rest to do more exploits with "weighs the eyelids down" (2 Henry his mace than a morris pike." IV. 11. i. 7). Compare also line 255 Dromio's play upon the different and Midsummer Night's Dream, 11. meanings of '“ 'rest” and “rest” ii. 365:

suggests the same comparison, which “Death counterfeiting sleep is also applied to death in Hamlet, v. With leaden legs."

ii

. 348, where the "fell sergeant, Spenser gives Morpheus a leaden Death, is strict in his arrest.” mace in the Faerie Queene, 1. iv. xliv.; 269.) Compare the story of

sleep."

If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument; 270
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.

Enter the Ghost of CÆSAR.
How ill this taper burns ! Ha! who comes

here?
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes

275
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
It comes upon me.

Art thou any thing?
Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil,
That mak’st my blood cold and my hair to stare ?
Speak to me what thou art.

280 Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. Bru.

Why com'st thou ?
Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi.
Bru. Well; then I shall see thee again?
Ghost. Ay, at Philippi.

Mahomet and the cat which was Brutus, but it is not called Cæsar's sleeping on the skirt of his robe ghost. when he had to go to prayers. Rather 277. Art thou any thing?] In than disturb the cat, he cut off from Plutarch, Cassius discussing the vision his robe the piece of cloth on which tells Brutus that according to the the cat was lying.

Epicureans the senses, when idle, "are 272. leaf turn'd down] Ancient induced to imagine they see and conjecbooks were in the form of rolls and ture that which in truth they do not." had no leaves to turn down.

279. stare) stand on end. Compare 274. How ill this taper burns! Tempest, I. ii, 213: “ With hair up"The light of the lamp that waxed staring." In Hamlet, I. v. 18, the ghost very dim” (Plutarch).

says that the tale of the secrets of his 276. apparition] The apparition prison-house would make his hearer's that appears is described in the stage

"knotted and combined direction as "the ghost of Cæsar," locks to part, and this is confirmed by V. v. 18. In And each particular hair to stand Plutarch we are told that " a horrible on end, vision of a man, of a wonderful great Like quills upon the fretful porness and dreadful look," app to pentine."

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

285

[Ghost vanishes.
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.

290 Bru. He thinks he still is at his instrument.

Lucius, awake!
Luc. My lord !
Bru. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst out?
Luc. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 295
Bru. Yes, that thou didst. Didst thou see anything?
Luc. Nothing, my lord.
Bru. Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah, Claudius !
[To Varro.] Fellow thou! awake!
Var. My lord !

300
Clau. My lord!
Bru. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep?
Var., Clau. Did we, my lord ?
Bru.

Ay: saw you any thing?
Var. No, my lord, I saw nothing.
Clau.

Nor I, my lord.
Bru. Go and commend me to my brother Cassius; 305

Bid him set on his powers betimes before,

And we will follow.
Var., Clau.

It shall be done, my lord.

[Exeunt.

285. I will see thee] This com- not alarmed with vague fears on posed remark indicates the absence account of the apparition. of fear,

306. powers) forces. 285. then) in that case. Brutus is