THEATRE AT PARIS. 229 



every one fays to himfelf (and a buz of difapprobation 

 declared it aloud), the fault is all his own. But affairs 

 take a better turn than could be expected. The piece 

 Hiuft have an end, and that a joyful one. Accordingly, 

 the prince of Brunfwic fuddenly enters the piiion ; pu- 

 nifhes general Bork ; and has in his pocket the order for 

 Trenck' s enlargement. A body of guards march up ; 

 the prince leads in the fweetheart and the filter of 

 Trenck, who receives his fword again. The flags ?.re 

 waved over him, and a ballet, fuitable to the wedding, 

 concludes the whole. 



It cannot be otherwife but that the real ftory 5 pro- 

 bability, and the pruffian coftume muft be tranfgreffed 

 to a high degree. But this is juft the character of an 

 Ambigu comique. 



The parterre likewife clapped the moral fpeeches 

 and maxims of life. 1 remarked one or two of them : 

 I am ready to facrifice myfelf for my king ; but I fhall 

 riever flatter him ! — Kings cannot always do what 

 they would ! — It is only the coward that infults the 

 fufferer [Trenck to general von Bork] ; the great man 

 has tears for him ! 



Let this idea be as trite as it will, it is enough that 

 it was comprehended ; and, being in verfe, it will be 

 retained. Certainly there were numbers in the pit to 

 whomthefe fpeeches were fo far new, that they had ne- 

 ver read or heard of fuch, but whofe feelings and ex- 

 perience were fo homogeneous to them that they were 

 very fenfibly ftruck. From this point of view the moral 

 tirades of the old grecian dramatiits were nothing; lefs 

 than aimlefs, though they might appear trite to people 

 of philofophy and experience. They had exactly th« 



a 3 fmiQ 



