Sardanapalus

ACT I. SCENE I. --_A Hall in the Palace_. _Salemenes_ (_solus_). He hath wronged his queen, but still he is her lord; He hath wronged my sister--still he is my brother; He hath wronged his people--still he is their sovereign-- And I must be his friend as well as subject: He must not perish thus. I will not see The blood of Nimrod and Semiramis Sink in the earth, and thirteen hundred years Of Empire ending like a shepherd's tale; He must be roused.…