Page:Antony and Cleopatra (1921) Yale.djvu/45

Antony and Cleopatra, II. ii

Eno. Her gentlewomen, like the Nereides,

So many mermaids, tended her i' the eyes,

And made their bends adornings; at the helm

A seeming mermaid steers; the silken tackle

Swell with the touches of those flower-soft hands,

That yarely frame the office. From the barge

A strange invisible perfume hits the sense

Of the adjacent wharfs. The city cast

Her people out upon her, and Antony,

Enthron'd i' the market-place, did sit alone,

Whistling to the air; which, but for vacancy,

Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too

And made a gap in nature.

Agr. Rare Egyptian!

Eno. Upon her landing, Antony sent to her,

Invited her to supper; she replied

It should be better he became her guest,

Which she entreated. Our courteous Antony,

Whom ne'er the word of 'No' woman heard speak,

Being barber'd ten times o'er, goes to the feast,

And for his ordinary pays his heart

For what his eyes eat only.

Agr. Royal wench!

She made great Cæsar lay his sword to bed;

He plough'd her, and she cropp'd.

Eno. I saw her once

Hop forty paces through the public street;

And having lost her breath, she spoke, and panted

That she did make defect perfection,

And, breathless, power breathe forth.

Mæc. Now Antony must leave her utterly.

Eno. Never; he will not:

 214–218 Her gentlewomen hands; cf. n.

214 Nereides: sea nymphs

219 yarely: nimbly

233 ordinary: dinner

239 That: so that

