116 
fpecies of compofition that poetry is ca- 
pable of producing, flowed abundantly 
trom his pen, and filled not lefs than ten 
thick oftavo volumes. His tragedy of 
Chorew was the firit good play in the 
Ruffian language. It is written in Alex. 
andrine verfes, in rhyme, like his other 
tragedies, as Hamlet, Sinaw and Tru- 
wor, Artiftona, Semira, Jarop lk and 
Dimifa, the Faife Demetrius, &c. ; and 
this firft performance fhewed, that in the 
plan, the plot, the charaéter, and the 
ftyle, he had taken Corneille, Racine, and 
Voltaire, for his models. Though Su- 
marokow poflefled no very brilliant ge- 
nius, he had however a very happy talent 
of giving to his tragedies a certain origi- 
nality, which diftinguithes them from 
thofe of other nations. He acquired the 
unqualified approbation of his country- 
men by the felection of his fubjeéts, almof 
all of which he took fromthe Ruffian 
hittory, and by the energy and boldnefs 
which he gave to his chara&ers, But his 
fuccefs rendered him fo haughty and fo 
vain, that he could not endure the mildeft 
criticifm. Jealous of the fame acquired 
by Lomonoffow, another Ruffian poet, he 
fought every opportunity of difcouraging 
him ; and it was a great triumph to Su- 
marokow to obferve that the public 
fearcely noticed the firft dramatic eflays of 
that writer, and that they were foon con- 
figned to oblivion. 
Sumarokow has likewife written a great 
mumber of comedies, in which the manner 
of Moliere is difcoverable. In {pite of 
their original, and fometimes rather low 
humour, they were not much liked. The 
principal are, The Rival Mother and her 
Daughter; The Imeginary Cuckold; 
‘The Malicious Man, &c. He has com- 
pofed fome operas ; among others, Cepha- 
jus and Procris, fet to mufic by D’Araja, 
mafter of the imperial chapel, and repre- 
fented for the firft time at Peterfburg 
during the carnival of 1755. The per- 
formers of beth fexes were children under 
the age of fourteen years. 
The reader will probably be pleafed to 
find here the names of fome of the tragic 
and comic writers of Ruffia, and the fitles 
of their principal works. 
To Kniaichin the Ruffians are indebted 
for the comedy of The Boafter. It is 
written in verfe, in a very pure ftyle, and 
is ftil] performed with applaufe. This 
author however owes all his reputation to 
his operas, the moft celebrated of which 
are the Sbiten{cht{chik (the D-aler in Hot 
Liquor calied Sbiten) 5; The Misfortune 
éTijtory of the Ruffian Stage. 
[March f, 
of a Carriage ; The Mifer, &c. A new 
edition of his works has recently appeared. 
Denis van Wiefen would have been an 
accomplifhed comic writer, had he but be- 
fiowed more paivs on his compofitions. 
His comedy of The Spoiled Child affords 
a fufficient proof of his genius and talents, 
Tt ftili continues to give great fatisfattion. 
Its tendency is highly moral ; and the 
charaéter of a young profligate named 
Mitrofan, who is totally deftitute of edu- 
cation, is delineated with fuch (pirit and 
truth, that it has been proverbial in Ruf- 
fia, where a young man of that defcrip- 
tion is now calied a Mitrofan. The Bri- 
gadier is likewife one of the good pieces 
of the Ruffian Stage. Van Wiefen pol 
feffed an admirable talent for feizing and 
expofing the abfurdity of a variety of cuf- 
toms. 
Kopieu is not inferior to him in the 
truth of his characters. His Fair of Le- 
bedian is received with great fatisfaction 
during the carnival.. The chara@ers 
feem to have been drawn on the fcene of 
action; their burlefque manners and lan- 
guage command the loud appiaufe of the 
populace. This author is ftiil living. 
_ Ablefimow was the firft who wrote in 
the manner of the preceding dramatif. 
His plays are replete with comic fa'lies and 
farcaftic humour. The principal are, 
The Writers Shop; Departure from 
Winter-Quarters ; and Luck in the Lot- 
tery ; but his opera of The Miller has 
conferred on him more celebrity than all 
the reft of his compofitions. It is one of 
the favourite pieces of the Ruflians, and 
as it delineates the manners of their coun- 
try, it will always be feen with pleafure, 
In 1799 it was performed before the 
Court, and twenty-feven times fuccefflive- 
ly at the theatre of Knteper, and the ap- 
plaufe of the audience proved that ever 
then they were not tired of it. 
The Corruptible Man is the only come- 
dy written by Bibikow ; it. is confidered 
as one of the beft pieces of the Ruffian 
{tage, and far fuperior to that publifhed. 
ky Sumarokow with the fame title. 
Alexis Woichow compofed two good co- 
medies, Filial Love, and Self-Love Dee 
luded. 
The Irrefolute Man; Bemocritus; and- 
the Lunatic, are by. Iwan Dmitrewiky, 
who has approached to the prefent tafte, 
and has likewife tranflated into Ruffian 
the Englith tragedy of.'Beverley. To 
his talents as an author he added thofe of 
an excellent actor. He was. the pupil of 
the celebrated Garrick. The public with 
concern 
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