 | Boadicia
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SCENE the tenth.
Venusia, Dumnorix, and Tenantius.
Venusia
to Tenantius.
Thou future parent of my orphan babes,
Soon as their gen'rous minds imbibe thy precepts,
And thy example warms their budding virtues,
Do not forget to tell them, that no perils,
Nor death in all its terrours can efface
Maternal love; that their ill-fated mother
Amid this awful season of distress
Wept, but for them, and lost her fears in fondness.
Dumnorix.
We have been long companions, brave Tenantius,
Thy leader I, once fortunate and great,
And thou my faithful and intrepid soldier.
Nay, do not weep—we have not time for wailing.
By thy approv'd fidelity and love
Thy chief, just ent'ring death's unfolded gates,
Stops, and once more conjures thee to retain
This his last charge in memory—his children.
| Boadicia
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