BRU.

Every thing is well.

CAS. Good night, my lord.

BRU.

Good night, good brother.

TIT. MES. Good night, lord Brutus.

BRU.

Farewell, every one.

[Exeunt Cas. TIT. and MES.

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'er-watch'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; 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.

[Servants lie down. Luc. I was sure, your lordship did not give it me. BRU. Bear with me, good boy, I am much for

getful.

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile,
And touch thy instrument a strain or two?
Luc. Ay, my lord, an't please you.
BRU.

It does, my boy:

"And never come mischance between us twain."

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 is well done; and thou shalt sleep again; I will not hold thee long: if I do live,

I will be good to thee.

[Musick, and a Song. This is a sleepy tune :-O murd'rous slumber! Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,

7

That plays thee musick ?-Gentle knave, good night;

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.

[He sits down.

Enter the Ghost of CESAR.

How ill this taper burns!-Ha! who comes here?

7

thy leaden MACE -] A mace is the ancient term for a sceptre. So, in The Arraignment of Paris, 1584:

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look upon my stately grace,

"Because the pomp that 'longs to Juno's mace," &c.

Again :

"Fair Venus' Ceston, than dame Juno's mace.” Again, in Marius and Sylla, 1594:

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56

proud Tarquinius

Rooted from Rome the sway of kingly mace." Again, in Spenser's Fairy Queen, b. i. c. x. :

STEEVENS.

"Who mightily upheld that royal mace." Shakspeare probably remembered Spenser in his Fairy Queen, [as Mr. Upton has observed,] b. i. cant. iv. st. 44:

"When as Morpheus had with leaden mase,

"Arrested all that courtly company." HOLT WHITE. 8 Let me see, let me see ;] As these words are wholly unmetrical, we may suppose our author meant to avail himself of the common colloquial phrase-“ Let's see, let's see." STEEVENS,

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 mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare? Speak to me, what thou art.

GHOST. Thy evil spirit, Brutus.

BRU.

Why com'st thou ? GHOST. To tell thee, thou shalt see me at Phi

lippi.

BRU. Well;

Then I shall see thee again??

9 Then I shall see thee again ?] Shakspeare has on this ocsion deserted his original. It does not appear from Plutarch that the Ghost of Cæsar appeared to Brutus, but "a wonderful straunge and monstruous shape of a body." This apparition could not be at once the shade of Cæsar, and the evil genius of Brutus.

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Brutus boldly asked what he was, a god, or a man, and what cause brought him thither. The spirit answered him, I am thy euill spirit, Brutus; and thou shalt see me by the citie of Philippes. Brutus being no otherwise affrayd, replyed againe vnto it: well, then I shall see thee agayne. The spirit presently vanished away; and Brutus called his men vnto him, who tolde him that they heard no noyse, nor sawe any thing at all.”

See the story of Cassius Parmensis in Valerius Maximus, lib. i. c. vii. STEEVENS.

The words which Mr. Steevens has quoted, are from Plutarch's Life of Brutus. Shakspeare had also certainly read Plutarch's account of this vision in the Life of Cæsar: "Above all, the ghost that appeared unto Brutus, showed plainly that the goddes were offended with the murther of Cæsar. The vision was thus. Brutus being ready to pass over his army from the citie of Abydos to the other coast lying directly against it, slept every night (as his manner was,) in his tent, and being yet awake, thinking of his affaires, he thought he heard a noyse at his tent-dore, and looking towards the light of the lampe that waxed very dimme, he saw a horrible vision of a man, of a wonderfull greatnes and dreadful looke, which at the first made him marvelously afraid. But when he sawe that it did him no hurt, but stoode by his bedde-side, and said nothing, at length he asked him what he was. The image aunswered him, I am thy ill angel, Brutus, and thou shalt see me by the citie of Philippes. Then Brutus replyed agayne, and said,

GHOST.

Ay, at Philippi.
[Ghost vanishes.

BRU. Why, I will see thee at Philippi then.—
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!

BRU. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so cry'dst out?

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!

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.

Ay; 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;

Well, I shall see thee then. Therewithall the spirit presently vanished from him."

It is manifest from the words above printed in Italicks, that Shakspeare had in his thoughts this passage, which relates the very event which he describes, as well as the other. MALone. That lights grew dim, or burned blue, at the approach of spectres, was a belief which our author might have found examples of in almost every book of his age that treats of supernatural appearSee King Richard III. Act V. Sc. III. STEEVENS.

ances.

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 us1 at Philippi here,
Answering before we do demand of them.

1

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 2, thinking, by this face,

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1 - WARN US] To warn is to summon. So, in King John: Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?" Shakspeare uses the word yet more intelligibly in King Richard III. :

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"And sent to warn them to his royal presence." Throughout the books of the Stationers' Company, the word is always used in this sense: Receyved of Raufe Newbery for his fyne, that he came not to the hall when he was warned, according to the orders of this house."

Again, in a Letter from Lord Cecil to the Earl of Shrewsbury. See Lodge's Illustrations, &c. vol. iii. 206: "I pray yo' LP, therefore, let him be privatly warned, without any other notice (to his disgrace) to come up," &c. STEEVENS.

2 With fearful bravery,] That is, with a gallant show of courage, carrying with it terror and dismay. Fearful is used here, as in many other places, in an active sense-producing fear-intimidating. MALONE.

So, in Churchyard's Siege of Leeth, 1575: