The adverse parties at Hexham had each a sovereign. Edward the Fourth was the lawful king of the York adherents, as Henry the Sixth was of those of Lancaster; and Edward had at least birthright on his side, being the lineal descendant of the elder brother of Henry the Fourth, and, as such, next heir to Richard the Second, setting aside the usurper.—But, possibly, the degraded state of Henry the Sixth was the strongest tie, which bound this valiant soldier to his supposed allegiance;—for there are politicians so compassionate towards the afflicted, or so envious of the prosperous, they will not cordially acknowledge a monarch until he is dethroned.—Even the people of England never would allow the Bourbon family to be the lawful kings of France, till within these last fifteen years[ 1].
The youthful reader will delight in the conjugal ardour of Adeline; whilst the prudent matron will conceive—that, had she loved her blooming offspring, as she professes, it had been better to have remained at home for their protection, than to have wandered in camps and forests, dressed in vile disguise, solely for the joy of seeing their father.—But prudence is a virtue, which would destroy the best heroine that ever was invented. A mediocrity of discretion even, dispersed among certain characters of a drama, might cast a gloom over the whole fable, divest every incident of its power to surprise, take all point from the catastrophe, and, finally, draw upon the entire composition, the just sentence of condemnation.
[!--Note--] 1 ([return])
It was since the French Revolution that the crown of England relinquished its title and claim to the kingdom of France.
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.
| Marquis of Montague | Mr. Gardner. |
| Duke of Somerset | Mr. Johnson. |
| A Nobleman | Mr. Iliffe. |
| La Varenne | Mr. Williamson. |
| Prince of Wales | Miss Gaudry. |
| Gondibert | Mr. Bannister, jun. |
| Barton | Mr. Aickin. |
| Gregory Gubbins | Mr. Edwin. |
| Fool | Mr. R. Palmer. |
| Corporal | Mr. Baddeley. |
| Drummer | Mr. Moss. |
| Fifer | Mr. Barret. |
| First Robber | Mr. Bannister, sen. |
| Second Ditto | Mr. Davies. |
| Third Ditto | Mr. Chapman. |
| Fourth Ditto | Mr. Rees. |
| Other Robbers | Mr. Mathews, Mr. Chambers, &c. |
| First Male Villager | Mr. Burton. |
| Second Ditto | Mr. Painter. |
| First Female Singing Villager | Mrs. Bannister. |
| Second Ditto | Mrs. Iliffe. |
| Margaret | Mrs. S. Kemble. |
| Adeline | Mrs. Goodall. |
| Various Robbers, Soldiers, Villagers, &c. &c. | |
SCENE—Northumberland.