]
CLEOPATRA. Already, death, I feel thee in my veins:
I go with such a will to find my lord,
That we shall quickly meet.
A heavy numbness creeps through every limb,
And now 'tis at my head: My eyelids fall,
And my dear love is vanquished in a mist.
Where shall I find him, where? O turn me to him,
And lay me on his breast!--Caesar, thy worst;
Now part us, if thou canst.
[Dies.]
[IRAS sinks down at her feet, and dies;
CHARMION stands behind her chair, as dressing her head.]
Enter SERAPION, two PRIESTS, ALEXAS bound, EGYPTIANS
PRIEST. Behold, Serapion,
What havoc death has made!
SERAPION. 'Twas what I feared.--
Charmion, is this well done?
CHARMION. Yes, 'tis well done, and like a queen, the last
Of her great race: I follow her.
[Sinks down: dies.]
ALEXAS. 'Tis true,
She has done well: Much better thus to die,
Than live to make a holiday in Rome.
SERAPION. See how the lovers sit in state together,
As they were giving laws to half mankind!
The impression of a smile, left in her face,
Shows she died pleased with him for whom she lived,
And went to charm him in another world.
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