Page:A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country (1804).djvu/575

Rh the reports he had formerly heard of her beauty, he left the kingdom in the care of his uncle Joseph; desiring, if any thing fatal happened to him, that he would immediately put her to death. This imprudent man, whose situation made him frequently about the queen, often talked to her of the great love her husband bore towards her, and when she or Alexandra turned his discourse into raillery, he mentioned the charge he had received, as a proof that he could not bear even the separation of death. They, however, thought very differently of the matter. The mother and sister of Herod hated Mariamne, who, proud of the superiority of her own birth, treated them frequently with disdain; so that on his return from Antony, whom he had rendered as usual favourable by presents, they accused her of improper familiarity with his uncle. The defence of Mariamne, however, pacified the king, and he made an apology for having believed aught against her, acknowledged her merit, and they were completely reconciled; till, proceeding in assurances of his confidence and love, Mariamne, recollecting this order, reproached Herod with it, who now, confirmed that the accusations were true or his uncle would not have betrayed him, in the agony of his mind, was near destroying her; but immediately caused Joseph to be slain, and her mother to be kept in close confinement, accusing her as the cause of all. His mind, however, afterwards became tranquil, and love was re-established between them—till fresh injuries roused a greater degree of hatred against him, in her bosom. Her grandfather, Hyrcanus, out of his partiality to his native country, wished to return there, cially