Of second Africanus; and the blind,
Deep reverence paid him by the people's hearts,
Who, knowing him their foe, respect him still;
All this disturbs me: hardly will be won
Our day of victory, if by him withstood.
Ful. Yet won it shall be. If but this thou fear'st,
Then be at peace.
Caius. I understand thee not.
Ful. Thou wilt ere long. But here we vainly waste
Our time and words. Soon will the morning break,
Nor know thy friends as yet of thy return;
I fly to cheer them with the tidings.
Caius. Stay!
Ful. And wherefore?
Caius. To reveal thy meaning.
Ful. Peace!
I hear the sound of steps.
Their conversation is interrupted by the entrance of Cornelia, with the wife and child of Caius. They are about to seek an asylum in the house of Emilianus, by whom Cornelia has been warned of the imminent danger which menaces the family of her son, from the fury of the patricians, who intend; on the following day, to abrogate the laws enacted by the Gracchi, in favour of the plebeians. The joy and emotion of Gracchus, on this meeting with his family, may appear somewhat inconsistent with his having remained so long engaged in political discussion, on the threshold of their abode, without ever having made an inquiry alter their welfare; but it would be somewhat unreasonable to try the conduct of a Roman (particularly in a tragedy) by the laws of Nature. Before, however, we are disposed to condemn the principles which seem to be laid down for the delineation of Roman character in dramatic poetry, let us recollect that the general habits of the people whose institutions gave birth to the fearful grandeur displayed in the actions of the elder Brutus, and whose towering spirit was fostered to enthusiasm by the contemplation of it, must have been deeply tinctured by the austerity of even their virtues. Shakespeare alone, without compromising the dignity of his Romans, has disencumbered them of the formal scholastic drapery which seems to be their official garb, and has stamped their features with the general attributes of human nature, without effacing the impress which distin-
