revenge for the ruin of Françoise. The memorable battle of Pavia ensues,
and terminates with the death of the King and the triumph of Bourbon.

Triboulet, the jester of the Court of Francis, is introduced with some
pleasantry, by way of relief to the darker deeds.

We cannot conclude this imperfect sketch better than by the following
judicious observations from the _Quarterly Review_: "How high Miss Kemble's
young aspirings have been--what conceptions she has formed to herself of
the dignity of tragic poetry--may be discovered from this most remarkable
work; at this height she must maintain herself, or soar a still bolder
flight. The turmoil, the hurry, the business, the toil, even the celebrity
of a theatric life must yield her up at times to that repose, that
undistracted retirement within her own mind, which, however brief,
is essential to the perfection of the noblest work of the
imagination--genuine tragedy. Amidst her highest successes on the stage,
she must remember that the world regards her as one to whom a still higher
part is fallen. She must not be content with the fame of the most
extraordinary work which has ever been produced by a female at her age,
(for as such we scruple not to describe her Francis the First,)--with
having sprung at once to the foremost rank, not only of living actors but
of modern dramatists;--she must consider that she has given us a pledge
and earnest for a long and brightening course of distinction, in the
devotion of all but unrivalled talents in two distinct, though congenial,
capacities, to the revival of the waning glories of the English theatre."


[1] This disadvantage is greater on the stage, since the audience neither
see nor hear more of Bourbon, and only four acts of the piece are
performed. In the closet it will not be so obvious, as Bourbon