"How many thousand of my poorest subjects Are at this hour asleep! O Sleep, O gentle Sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down And steep my senses in forgetfulness? Why rather, Sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee, And hushed with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber, Than in the perfumed chambers of the great, Under the canopies of costly state, And lulled with sounds of sweetest melody? O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile In loathsome beds, and leav'st the kingly couch A watch-case, or a common 'larum-bell? Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains In cradle of the rude, imperious surge, And in the visitation of the winds, Who take the ruffian billows by the top, Curling their monstrous heads, and hanging them With deafening clamor in the slippery shrouds, That with the hurly, death itself awakes? Canst thou, O partial Sleep, give thy repose To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude, And in the calmest and most stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." Caesar, whom Shakespeare characterizes as "the foremost man of all this world," says:-- "Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights." And again, it is not an "old man broken with the storms of state" whom he describes when he says:-- "Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep'st so sound." The poet also in various passages expresses his emphatic belief as to what is the brightest blessing or the deadliest calamity which can be laid upon our frail humanity. Rarely is a blessing invoked which does not include the wish for tranquil sleep; and this, too, as the best and greatest boon of all. His gracious benediction may compass honors and wealth and happiness and fame,--that one's "name may dwell forever in the mouths of men;" but "The earth hath bubbles as the water hath, And these are of them," as compared with the royal benison, "Sleep give thee all his rest." The spectres of the princes and Queen Anne, in "Richard III.," invoking every good upon Richmond, say:-- "Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace and wake in joy." And again:-- "Thou quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep." Romeo's dearest wish to Juliet is,-- "Sleep dwell upon thine eyes; peace in thy breast." The crowning promise of Lady Mortimer, in "Henry IV.," is that "She will sing the song that pleaseth thee, And on thy eyelids crown the god of sleep." Titania promises her fantastic lover,-- "I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee, And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, And sing, while thou on pressèd flowers dost sleep."