When any dramatic piece _takes_--as the phrase is--with the Public, it
will usually be represented again and again with still-continued
applause; and sometimes imitations of it will be produced; so that the
same drama in substance will, with occasional slight variations in the
plot, and changes of names, long keep possession of the stage.
Something like this has taken place with respect to that curious
tragi-comedy--the scene of it laid in France--which has engaged the
attention of the British public for about sixty years; during which it
has been "exhibited to crowded houses"--viz., coffee-houses,
reading-rooms, &c., with unabated interest.
The outline of this drama, or series of dramas, may be thus sketched:
_Dramatis Personae._
A. A King or other Sovereign.
B. His Queen.