Sardou's Cleopatra — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| | | | SARDOUWS CLEOPATRA. 9 ing soldiers, vessels and subsidies to the murder- ers of Ceesar—that very Ceesar whose mistress she has been—has been ordered to appear before the tribunal of the all-powerful triumvir. The great square close to the Cydnus is thronged with an anxious, expectant crowd; a crowd that is full of suppressed excitement and yet strangely silent, intimidated by the soldiers of the Roman legions, who are omnipresent. Many an anxious glance is cast upon the gleaming waters of the river, straining to catch a glimpse | of some sail rounding the promontory where the stream makes an abrupt turn to the south. Itis close upon the appointed time, and yet no sign of the great queen. Wi§ull Cleopatra disobey the mandate of Rome and refusetocome? ‘The gods forbid! In her alone rests their only hope. Over the marble portico of the market-house has been stretched an awning of white and pur- ple, the supports adorned with banners, shields, and lances, and everywhere the terror-inspiring letters, S. P. QO. R. A scarlet cloth has been stretched down the steps, at the top of which is a gilded chair, surmounted by the golden eagles of Rome. On each side, leaving a passage clear, is stationed a long line of soldiers, ‘comicboo Si: a=}