For its _mise-en-scène_ alone the revival should attract all
London. But there is more than this--there is the clever and careful
impersonation of _Enobarbus_ by His Gracious Heaviness, Mr. ARTHUR
STIRLING; then there is a lighter-comedy touch in the courteous and
gentlemanly rendering of _Octavius Cæsar_ by Mr. F. KEMBLE COOPER--one
of the best things in the piece, but from the inheritor of two such
good old theatrical names, much is expected. And then there is
the _Mark Antony_ of Mr. CHARLES COGHLAN, a rantin', roarin' boy,
this _Antony_, whom no one, I believe, could ever have made really
effective; and finally. Her Graceful Majesty, Mrs. LANGTRY, Queen of
Egyptian Witchery. Now honestly I do not consider _Cleopatra_ a good
part, nor is the play a good play for the matter of that. I believe
it never has been a success, but if, apart from the really great
attraction of gorgeous spectacular effects, there is any one scene
above another which might well draw all London, it is the death of
_Cleopatra_, which to my mind is--after the fall of WOLSEY, and a long
way after, too,--one of the most pathetic pictures ever presented on
the stage. So lonely in her grandeur, so grand, and yet so pitiable in
her loneliness is this poor Queen of Beauty, this Empress-Butterfly,
who can conquer conquerors, and for whose sake not only her noble
lovers, but her poor humble serving-maids, are willing to die.

[Illustration: The Run of Cleopatra.]

Her last scene is beyond all compare her best, and to those who are
inclined to be disappointed with the play after the first Act is
over I say, "Wait for the end," and don't leave until the Curtain has
descended on that gracious figure of the Queen of Egypt, attired in
her regal robes, crowned with her diadem, holding her sceptre, but