Britain ... - Blue-Lite

210 THE DEVOTED ONE. lAct IV.
ERMINGILD.
Up, Zandagast, and mail thee, like a man,
In fortitude and zeal. Guards, do your office.
Let come what may, I in this holy deed
Will glory, till life's last, faint sigh hath fled :
And these oppressing Christians shall be taught
That I can die a martyr to my faith,
Right bravely as the bravest of their saints.
ZANDAGAST.
Thou dost inspire me, loved, heroic wife,
With thine exalted
spirit. Yes, these Christians,
Who have, for their devotion to the gods,
So many of our warlike tribes destroyed,
Shall find that I will not disgrace the blood
Which fills these veins, the true Sclavonian blood !
ERMINGILD.
There spoke the dauntless warrior of the Wends.
Honour be ever on thy head, and scorn
Attend our foes ! I see thou art resolved.
Now thy brave virtues once more rise, my lord,
In all their former strength, as mighty streams,
That hide their waters in the darksome earth,
Burst forth far off, and onward flow again,
Glittering in all their fulness. Be but thus,
And we shall fail not o'er our foes to triumph.
END OF THE FOURTH ACT.
[Exeunt.