1905.} 
this fociety; with the two Schlegels, one 
of whom was afterwards Danith hiftorio- 
grapher; and (till more intimaiely with a 
younger brother of his firft preceptor, 
Chrittopher My jus, who did, perhops, no 
great honour to the (e& of freethinkers, but 
who efpouied their boldeft do&tiines with a 
vehenence of eloquence which gavewele me 
aid in the debate, and which attached 
Leff g not only to his fumal but to his: 
privote focie'y.. Mylius was often out of 
cath, and viry fhabby 3 but Leffing would 
{till accompany aim in the ftreets, and pub- 
lic walks of the Rofentnal, with an air of 
fatisfattion, and {eemed proudeft of the 
friend{hip of philofophy when in rags. 
The tafhion for infidelity, for it was at this 
period a fafhion in Leipzig, - appears. to 
have refulted from the encouragement 
given at the court of Berlin to Voltaire 
and other French anti-chriftians, whofe 
writings then began to make an impreffion 
in Germany. 
Mylius publithed a weekly paper called 
. the Free-thinker ; it neither fucceeded nor 
lived. 
Weiffe, the dramatift, and children’s 
friend, then a ftudent at Leipzig, but not 
of the debating club, was alfo one of 
Leffing’s habitual companions : they par- 
took a kindred peffion for the theatre, atid 
in-concert tranflated into German Alex- 
andrines the Hanibal of Marivaux. Lef- 
fing was as fond of the green room as of 
the pit. He frequented the actors and 
attreffes, and was in high favour with 
Madame Neuberin, a fine performer anda 
fine woman, the then directrefs of the 
theatre at Leipzig. He was fuppofed to 
influence her tafte in the choice of plays, 
and the coftume of decoration, to be a wel- 
come critic at her toilet, and a ‘permitted 
gueft inthe dozdoir. Some of the old ac- 
tors, Briickner, for inftance, recolleéted to 
have rehearfed in Leffing’s prefence, and 
to have been tutored by him in difficult 
paflages. He read expreflively and judici- 
oufly, Brickner fays, but not with dignity 
enough for public recitation. 
When the three feffions were elapfed, 
and they terminated in 1749, during which 
‘Leffing’s father expected that his fon fhould 
be prepared to take orders, or a medical 
degree, an explanation and a very natural 
cooinefs enfued. Religion he did not be- 
Neve; medicine he did not like. «It was 
with difficulty that our economy and 
privation hoarded enough to fupply you 
thus long: nor fhould we have been able to 
accomplifh it, without the help of anexhi- 
bition, which the city allows to theological 
fudents only,’ I fhall not take orders 
Momairs of Gotthold Ephraim Leffing: 
571 
and be a hypocrite.* You mut ther” 
provide for yourfelf, henceforth.” Leffing 
undertook it. 
He'now emptied his port-folio of all its 
entire feraps, chiefly confilling of verfified ~ 
tranflations made at {chool, into a periodix: 
cal publication, which Mylius bad under- 
taken at Leipzig. He altered from the 
Frenchy fome theatrical pieces, which were 
acted with fufficient fuccefs in a great dee 
gtee to funply his wants; he followed 
Madame Neuberin and her players to 
Hamburg, launched a weekly publication 
of his own, the model of his fubfequent 
Dramaturgy, which contained critical ani+ 
madverfions on the ftage, and alfo fuch of 
his tranflations from the French drama as 
were not accepted by the a€tors. His firft 
original play was entitled the Young: 
Author, and was offered with trembling 
hands to Madame. Neuberin’s company. 
She read it witha more partial glance than 
that of tafte and friendthip, congratulated 
her acquaintance with prophetic confidence 
on the dawn of native German theatric gee 
nius, played with all her habitual glow, 
and f{natehed from the audien¢e at Ham-: 
burg a triumphal reception for the piece. 
Lifling was happy, crowned by the hand 
of beauty with the wreath of genius. A, 
few alterations were to be made again the 
next reprelentation, and the author’s name 
was to be announced in the bills for the 
night of his benefit. i 
Juft in this interval a letter arrives from 
Kamenz, that his mother was dying, that 
fire withed to fee him, and that the hoped 
yet to be the mean of reconciling him. ta. 
the family. Leffing was well aware of the 
horror with which fhe regarded his con- 
nexion with the players, and of the pain 
with which fhe would fee it advertifed : he 
ordered the fuppreffion of his name in the 
bills, and fet off in froft and {now by the 
poft-waggon (this is not only a clofe but 
a defcriptive tranflation of the German 
appellation) for Kamenz. The mother’s 
illnefS-had abated, or had been overttated 
as a pretext for recall. Lefiing had fuifer- 
ed fromthe fevere cold of a journey under 
taken with fuch alacrity of piety, and was 
himfelf an objeét of folicitude and pity 
every way adapted to aroufe in his favour 
the domeftic charities. His penitence was 
prefum+d, bis reception was cordial; in- 
tereft had been made with the ¢orporation, 
to prolong his ftipend for another year, and 
the father eafily induced his fon to go baci 
for one feflion more to college, previous 
to any final determination on the choice of — 
a profefhon. 
Lefling returned indeed to Leipzig, bug 
2 , net 
