* * * * * Throw wide the window, Isis--fling perfumes o'er me now, And bind the Lotus blossoms again upon my brow. The rain has ceased its weeping, the driving storm is past, And calm are Nature's pulses that lately beat so fast. Gone is my jealous frenzy, and Eros reigns serene, The only god e'er worshipped by Egypt's haughty queen. With Antony--my loved--I'll kneel before his shrine Till the loves of Mars and Venus are nought to his and mine; And down through coming ages, in every land and tongue, With them shall Cleopatra and Antony be sung. Burn Sandal-wood and Cassia, let the vapor round me wreathe, And mingle with the incense the Lotus blossoms breathe. Let India's spicy odors and Persia's perfumes rare Be wafted on the pinions of Egypt's fragrant air. With the sighing of the night breeze, the river's rippling flow, Let me hear the notes of music in cadence soft and low. Draw round my couch its curtains: I'd bathe my soul in sleep; I feel its gentle languor upon me slowly creep. O let me cheat my senses with dreams of future bliss, In fancy feel his presence, in fancy taste his kiss, In fancy nestle closely against his throbbing heart, And throw my arms around him, no more--no more to part. Hush! hush! his spirit's pinions are rustling in my ears: He comes upon the tempest to calm my jealous fears; He comes upon the tempest in answer to my call. Wife--fame--and even honor--for me he leaves them all; And royally I'll welcome my lover to my side. I have won him--I have won him from Cæsar and his bride. MARY BAYARD CLARKE. THE DRAMATIC CANONS. II. In our late inquiry[2] into the secrets of dramatic success, our researches were principally directed toward the ascertainment of such general and technical rules as might recommend themselves for the treatment of all dramas, whatever the nature of their subject, tragic, comic, or melodramatic. The limits of space unavoidable in a magazine article prevented anything more than a fragmentary treatment of that part of the subject, indicating the general line of argument that seemed to be the soundest in the light of the present day, and presenting for consideration twelve technical rules, more or less general, which we shall here summarize for the sake of convenience, to make clear what follows: [2] "The Galaxy" for March, 1877. I. The subject of a play should be capable of full treatment in fifteen scenes at most. II. It should be acted without the aid of narrative. III. It should have a connected plot, one event depending on the other. IV. The interest should hinge on a single action or episode. V. Furniture and set-pieces should be kept out of front scenes if possible. VI. The best dialogue should be put in front scenes. VII. They should end in suspense to be relieved by the full scenes.