Page:The Mysterious Mother - Walpole (1781).djvu/59
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A TRAGEDY.
51
Ne'er struck mine ear till now. Commanding sex!
Strength, courage, all our boasted attributes,
Want estimation; ev'n the preheminence
We vaunt in wisdom, seems a borrow'd ray,
When virtue deigns to speak with female organs.
Yes, O my mother, I will learn t'obey:
I will believe, that, harsh as thy decrees,
They wear the warrant of benign intention.
Make but the blooming Adeliza mine,
And bear, of me unquestion'd, Narbonne's sceptre;
Till life's expiring lamp by intervals
Throws but a fainter and a fainter flash,
And then relumes its wasted oil no more. [Exit.
Strength, courage, all our boasted attributes,
Want estimation; ev'n the preheminence
We vaunt in wisdom, seems a borrow'd ray,
When virtue deigns to speak with female organs.
Yes, O my mother, I will learn t'obey:
I will believe, that, harsh as thy decrees,
They wear the warrant of benign intention.
Make but the blooming Adeliza mine,
And bear, of me unquestion'd, Narbonne's sceptre;
Till life's expiring lamp by intervals
Throws but a fainter and a fainter flash,
And then relumes its wasted oil no more. [Exit.
End of the Third Act.
ACT