1807.) 
Sara Samson is of that class of plays 
which the French call tragedies bour- 
geoises: a tragedy, of which the person- 
ages belong to middle life, and-of which 
the dialogue is conducted in common 
prose. Such pieces might, in English, be 
called household tragedies, in contradis- 
tinction to those where the action is held 
in palaces. The Gamester, George Barn- 
well, and several other of our plays, are 
of his description. 
Miss Sara Samson, an_ heiress, has 
eloped with Mellefont, and is waiting at 
private lodgings in London, to be mar- 
nied by publication of bans. A cast-off 
mistress of Melletont’s, by name Marwood, 
desirous of seeing the person, for whom 
she is dismissed, gains repeated access, 
under a-teigned designation, to Miss Sam- 
"son; states that Mellefont “has a daugh- 
ter by a woman to whom he had promis- 
ed marriage, alarms the conscientious 
fears of the intended bride, and at length, 
in a transport of jealousy, administers poi- 
son to her. Miss Samson dies. Melle- 
font kills himself. Marwood, in whose 
violent character there are traits of great- 
ness, is suffered to escape. 
There are some violations of English 
costume in the manners of the personages 
in this play; and there is a protraction, 
and an absence of imagery and force, in 
the dialogue which interfere with its vi- 
vid effect : yet there isa terseness and 
rotundity in the plot; a regularity of cli- 
max in the interest and the distress; a 
striking and critical selection of situation ; 
a variety and individuality of character, 
and an affecting uatural vein of senti- 
ment; which obtained for it a tolerant re- 
ception on a suburban theatre of Paris, 
and a lasting popularity on the German 
and Italian stage. The writer has seen 
an Italian translation of Miss Sara Sam- 
son performed at Bologna with great ef 
tect and great applause, Here the lan- 
guage would be thought tame: a classical 
simplicity of dictioa is not borne at the 
English theatre: we prefer affectation to 
insipidity: we require to be stnnulated al- 
though at the expence of proba apne of 
dialogue: and are grateful to our Shake- 
speare even when he tricks. ont his cha- 
racters with the tinsel of misplaced wit, 
or with turgid purple patches of piaals- 
ling bombast. 
Philotas is an heroic drama; but -al- 
though the characters are in anililes 6 life, 
the dialogue is in prose: the story is sim- 
ple, it involves few characters, fills but one 
act. Arideus, a Grecian kineling, has 
taken prisoner Philotas, the son of hisan- 
4 
Critical Survey of Lessing’s Works. 337 
tagonist, and is desirous of exchanging the 
boy for his own son, who in like manner 
is im the power of the enemy. Philotas 
is requested to propose the interchange, 
and to send one of his countrymen heme 
with the message. Perceiving that Art 
dusis a fond parent, and would make 
sacrifices, if he had no equivalent to serine 
in order to obtain the liberty of che other 
captive prince, Philotas takes the odd but 
grand resolution of self-unmolation; he 
sends Parmenio to his father. with infor- 
mation that the object iv dispute between 
the two countries may be extorted for the 
restoration of Polytimetes, and kills him- 
self. The character of Philotas, a boy of 
seventeen, eager to distinguish himself by 
some vreat deed, and contriving even ia 
prison to die for his country, 1s a fine de- 
lineation. Aridzus is a less original 
sketch. Strato, the general of Aridzus, 
and Parmenio,the officer of Philotas sine 
also introduced: there is too much re- 
semblance between these characters: two 
old soldiers, virtuous alike, overstock a 
drama, limited to one act and to four in- 
terlocutors, and incumbered already with 
a parallelism in the fortunes of the princes, 
Parmenio is the superfluous person, he 
talks much to little purpose. -As the style 
of sentment is heroic throughout; it 
would have been more congruons to corm-~ 
pose the dialogue in blank verse. G'eirn 
felt aie defect, and has published a me- 
trical version of the piece. Short traye- 
dies of this kisd are not performedon the | 
English stage; but on the continent they 
are welcome; and a comedy of five acts 
is p piven as the after- piece. 
Emilia Galotti is the young the beau- 
cif the accomplished daughter ef Odo- 
ardo, a nebleman and a soldier grown 
grey in the service of the rulers of Guas- 
talla. She 1s betrothed te Count Appi- 
ani; but the Prince Hettore, who has 
seen her at mass, 1s desirous of possess- 
ing heras bis mistress. Marinelli,a cham- 
berlain of the prince and the contident of 
his wishes, causes Appiani to be assassi- 
nated as he is travelling wytl Emilia, and 
contrives to offer her an asylum at the 
villa of the sovereign. The countess Or- 
silva, avprevious favourite of the prince, 
soon perceives that she has a rival in the 
rescued fair ene; she detects the vdema- 
chinations of Marinelli, and brings Odo- 
ardo to take away hisdaughter. . Evnilia, 
pleased and flattered by. attentions, of 
which the baseness is veiled from her ob- 
servation, hesitates about a return, for 
which even the opportunity was not to 
subsist long. Odvardo is commanded to 
withdraw 
——— 
