CAESAR. Be afraid if you dare. (_The note of the bucina resounds again in the distance. She moans with fear. Caesar exalts in it, exclaiming_) Aha! Caesar approaches the throne of Cleopatra. Come: take your place. (_He takes her hand and leads her to the throne. She is too downcast to speak._) Ho, there, Teetatota. How do you call your slaves? CLEOPATRA (_spiritlessly, as she sinks on the throne and cowers there, shaking_). Clap your hands. _He claps his hands. Ftatateeta returns._ CAESAR. Bring the Queen's robes, and her crown, and her women; and prepare her. CLEOPATRA (_eagerly--recovering herself a little_). Yes, the crown, Ftatateeta: I shall wear the crown. FTATATEETA. For whom must the Queen put on her state? CAESAR. For a citizen of Rome. A king of kings, Totateeta. CLEOPATRA (_stamping at her_). How dare you ask questions? Go and do as you are told. (_Ftatateeta goes out with a grim smile. Cleopatra goes on eagerly, to Caesar_) Caesar will know that I am a Queen when he sees my crown and robes, will he not? CAESAR. No. How shall he know that you are not a slave dressed up in the Queen's ornaments? CLEOPATRA. You must tell him. CAESAR. He will not ask me. He will know Cleopatra by her pride, her courage, her majesty, and her beauty. (_She looks very doubtful._) Are you trembling? CLEOPATRA (_shivering with dread_). No, I--I--(_in a very sickly voice_) No. _Ftatateeta and three women come in with the regalia._ FTATATEETA. Of all the Queen's women, these three alone are left. The rest are fled. (_They begin to deck Cleopatra, who submits, pale and motionless._) CAESAR. Good, good. Three are enough. Poor Caesar generally has to dress himself. FTATATEETA (_contemptuously_). The Queen of Egypt is not a Roman barbarian. (_To Cleopatra_) Be brave, my nursling. Hold up your head before this stranger. CAESAR (_admiring Cleopatra, and placing the crown on her head_). Is it sweet or bitter to be a Queen, Cleopatra? CLEOPATRA. Bitter. CAESAR. Cast out fear; and you will conquer Caesar. Tota: are the Romans at hand? FTATATEETA. They are at hand; and the guard has fled. THE WOMEN (_wailing subduedly_). Woe to us! _The Nubian comes running down the hall._ NUBIAN. The Romans are in the courtyard. (_He bolts through the door. With a shriek, the women fly after him. Ftatateeta's jaw expresses savage resolution: she does not budge. Cleopatra can hardly restrain herself from following them. Caesar grips her wrist, and looks steadfastly at her. She stands like a martyr._) CAESAR. The Queen must face Caesar alone. Answer "So be it." CLEOPATRA (_white_). So be it. CAESAR (_releasing her_). Good. _A tramp and tumult of armed men is heard. Cleopatra's terror increases. The bucina sounds close at hand, followed by a formidable clangor of trumpets. This is too much for Cleopatra: she utters a cry and darts towards the door. Ftatateeta stops her ruthlessly._