Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/236

 228 ANTONY. removed her treasure, her gold, silver, emeralds, pearls, ebony, ivory, cinnamon, and, after all, a great quantity of torchwood and tow. Upon which Ctesar began to fear lest she should, in a desperate fit, set all these riches on fire ; and, therefore, while he was marching towards the city with his army, he omitted no occasion of giving her new assurances of his good intentions. He took up his position in the Hippodrome, where Antony made a fierce sally upon him, routed the horse, and beat them back into their trenches, and so returned with great satisfiictipn to the palace, where, meeting Cleopatra, armed as he was, he kissed her, and commended to her favor one of his men, who had most signalized liimself in the fight, to whom she made a j^resent of a breastplate and helmet of gold ; which he having received, went that very night and deserted to Ctesar. After this, Antony sent a new challenge to Csesar, to fight him hand to hand ; who made him answer that he might find several other ways to end his life ; and he, considerina; with himself that he could not die more hon- orably than in battle, resolved to make an effort both by land and sea. At supper, it is said, he bade his sei'vants help him freely, and pour him out wine plentifully, since to-morrow, perhaps, they should not do the same, but be servants to a new master, whilst he should lie on the ground, a dead corpse, and nothing. His friends that were about him wept to hear him talk so ; which he per- ceiving, told them he would not lead them to a battle in which he expected rather an honorable death than either safety or victory. That night, it is related, about the middle of it, when the whole city was in a deep silence and general sadness, expecting the event of the next day, on a sudden was heard the sound of all sorts of instru- ments, and voices singing in tune, and the cry of a crowd of people shouting and dancing, like a troop of bacchanals