Page:The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the time of Dean Swift - Volume 4.djvu/175

Rh, has given us the following inſtance of his humane diſpoſition.

He had a great number of ſiſters, ſome of whom were leſs happy in their marriages than others; one in particular was expoſed to many misfortunes, by the indiſcretion and extravagance of her huſband. It is the cuſtom of ſome people to make very great diſtinctions between their rich and poor relations; Mr. Fenton’s brother was of this ſtamp, and it ſeems treated his unfortunate ſiſter with leſs ceremony than the reſt. One day, while Mr. Fenton, was at his brother’s houſe, he obſerved the family going to dinner without this ſiſter, who was in town, and had as good a right to an invitation, as any of the reſt who dined there as a compliment to him. He could not help diſcovering his diſpleaſure at ſo unnatural a diſtinction, and would not ſit down to table till ſhe was ſent for, and in conſequence of this ſlight ſhewn her by the reſt of the family, Mr. Fenton treated her with more tenderneſs and complaiſance than any of his ſiſters.

Our author carried through life a very fair reputation, he was beloved and eſteemed by Mr. Pope, who honoured him with a beautiful epitaph. Mr. Fenton after a life of eaſe and tranquility, died at Eaſt-Hampſtead-Park, near Oakingham, the 13th of July 1730, much regretted by all men of taſte, not being obnoxious to the reſentment even of his brother writers.

In the year 1723, Mr. Fenton introduced upon the ſtage his Tragedy of Mariamne, built upon the ſtory related of her in the third volume of the Spectator, Numb. 171, which the ingenious author collected out of Joſephus. As this ſtory ſo fully diſplays the nature of the paſſion of jealouſy, and diſcovers ſo extraordinary a character as that of Herod, we ſhall here inſert it, after which we ſhall confider with what ſucceſs Mr. Fenton has managed the plot. In