But it may be doubted whether in any case the most skilful composer could have produced music of a high order adapted to the poetry of _Rosamond_. The play is neither a tragedy, a comedy, nor a melodrama. It seems that Eleanor did not really poison Fair Rosamond, but only administered to her a sleeping potion, and, as she takes care to explain to the King, "The bowl with drowsy juices filled, From cold Egyptian drugs distilled, In borrowed death has closed her eyes." This information proves highly satisfactory to the King, not only because he is gratified to find that Rosamond is not dead, but also because, even before discovering her supposed dead body, he had resolved, in consequence of a dream sent to him by his guardian angel, to terminate the relations existing between them. The Queen and he accordingly arrange, in a business-like manner, that Rosamond shall be quietly removed in her trance to a nunnery; a reconciliation is then effected between the husband and wife, who, as we are led to suppose, live happily ever after. The main motive of the opera in Addison's mind appears to have been the desire of complimenting the Marlborough family. It is dedicated to the Duchess; the warlike character of Henry naturally recalls the prowess of the great modern captain; and the King is consoled by his guardian angel for the loss of Fair Rosamond with a vision of the future glories of Blenheim: "To calm thy grief and lull thy cares, Look up and see What, after long revolving years, Thy bower shall be! When time its beauties shall deface, And only with its ruins grace The future prospect of the place! Behold the glorious pile ascending, Columns swelling, arches bending, Domes in awful pomp arising, Art in curious strokes surprising, Foes in figured fights contending, Behold the glorious pile ascending." This is graceful enough, but it scarcely offers material for music of a serious kind. Nor can the Court have been greatly impressed by the compliment paid to its morality, as contrasted with that of Charles II., conveyed as it was by the mouth of Grideline, one of the comic characters in the piece-- "Since conjugal passion Is come into fashion, And marriage so blest on the throne is, Like a Venus I'll shine, Be fond and be fine, And Sir Trusty shall be my Adonis."