[Sidenote:--6--] At these words, employing a species of divination, she
let a hare escape from her bosom, and as it ran in what they considered a
lucky direction, the whole multitude shouted with pleasure, and Buduica
raising her hand to heaven, spoke: "I thank thee, Andraste, [Footnote: Not
much information is preserved regarding this indigenous goddess of
Britain. Reimar asserts that she is practically identical with Boccharte,
Astarte, or Venus.] and call upon thee, who are a woman, being myself also
a woman that rules not burden-bearing Egyptians like Nitocris, nor
merchant Assyrians like Semiramis (of these things we have heard from the
Romans), nor even the Romans themselves, as did Messalina first and later
Agrippina;--at present their chief is Nero, in name a man, in fact a
woman, as is shown by his singing, his playing the cithara, his adorning
himself:--but ruling as I do men of Britain that know not how to till the
soil or ply a trade yet are thoroughly versed in the arts of war and hold
all things common, even children and wives; wherefore the latter possess
the same valor as the males: being therefore queen of such men and such
women I supplicate and pray thee for victory and salvation and liberty
against men insolent, unjust, insatiable, impious,--if, indeed we ought to
term those creatures men who wash in warm water, eat artificial dainties,
drink unmixed wine, anoint themselves with myrrh, sleep on soft couches
with boys for bedfellows (and past their prime at that), are slaves to a
zither-player, yes, an inferior zither-player. Wherefore may this
Domitia-Nero _woman_ reign no more over you or over me: let the wench
sing and play the despot over the Romans. They surely deserve to be in
slavery to such a being whose tyranny they have patiently borne already
this long time. But may we, mistress, ever look to thee alone as our
head."

[Sidenote:--7--] After an harangue of this general nature Buduica led her