Page:The Poetical Works of Elijah Fenton (1779).djvu/21

 before given the cruel orders for putting the Queen to death, she, to prevent the execution of such barbarity, drank poison. The Queen is conducted in by the high-priest in the agonies of death, which gives such a shock to Herod, that, not able to survive her, he dies in the sight of the audience.

Sohemus, who knew what tortures would be reserved for him, kills himself, after having sacrificed Sameas, by whose treachery the plot was discovered, and who, in his falling, stabs Salome to the heart, as the last effort of his revenge.

As the plan of this play is regular, simple, and interesting, so are the sentiments no less masterly, and the characters graphically distinguished. It contains likewise many beautiful strokes of poetry.

When Narbal, a lord of the Queen's party, gives an account to Flaminius, the Roman general, of the Queen's parting with her son, he says,

Flaminius, consistent with his character as a soldier, answers,