1806.] 
bears much refemblance to that of the 
timed comedies of the Fiench: the no- 
menclature of the characters ; the valet 
and foubrette ; the chaftity and propriety 
of dialogue ; the narrow range of emo- 
tion, which, if above annoy, is below in- 
tereft, and feldom breaks loofe into laugh- 
ter or tears; aflimilate its ftruéture to the 
Parifian imitations of Terence. The cha- 
racter of Damis alone has nothing of the 
French fchool ; it conftitutes the promi- 
nent merit of the piece ; it is drawn with 
much humour, bur is a perfouage fo whol- 
ly in obfolete German college nature, that 
it is no longer played with effect. It is 
confulted as we confult the characters of 
Bifhop Hall for portraits of our forefa- 
thers. . 
A fragment of one fcene follows. _Li- 
fette is endeavouring to deter Damis from 
purtuing Juliana with his addreffes. 
** Lifette. She is rather weak. 
** Damis, No matter. 
“« LZ. She is quarrelfome. 
*«¢ D. No matter. 
** £, She is vain, very vain, diefly toa 
degree. 
‘¢ D, No matter. 
“* 7, Sheis extravagant, and nothing 
of a manager. 
«© D. Mighty well. 
** £. She will be always giving enter- 
tainments, and living away in ftyle ; and 
I thould not wonder if in a few years the 
whole of what the brings— 
**D. Mighty well. 
“LZ. A large family [ dare fay fhe’ll 
have ; her mother, if the had lived, would 
have been a great breeder. 
“ D. That is the proper duty of the 
fex. 
*¢ £. And [am not quite fo clear that 
fhe’ll choofe them all of the fame ftock. 
“ D. A good wife Il donorexpes. If 
Ican’t have a very good, I'd rather nave 
a very bad one. An every-day woman, 
neither cold nor warm, nor this nor that, 
is not fit fora man of Jetters. Who will 
trouble themfelves about her when he is 
dead ? and yet his whole houfhold fhould 
be coheirs of his immortality. If I can’t 
have a wife who wi!l affert a place in a fu- 
ture differt:tion De bonis Eruditorum Uxo- 
ribus, let me at igaft have one who will 
not efcape a writer De malis Eruditorum 
Uxoribus. Any thing but cb{curity, any 
thing but mediocrity.”’ 
The Woman-Hater defcribes a furly 
old gen:Jeman, who, having had three bad 
Wives, is very ftrenuous in oppofing his 
fon’s difpofition to marry Hilaria. Vale- 
tio comes to folicit his father’s confent, 
MontTHLY Maa., No, 143, 
Critical Survey of the Works of Leffings 
401 
and brings with him Lelio, the pretended: 
brother of the lady to whom he is attach- 
ed. Lelio humours the old man’s preja- 
dices with dexterity, and decidedly gains 
on his affegtion, At length it appears 
that Lelio is thedifguifed Hilaria, and the 
father agrees to the union. An under- 
plot unites the fifter of Valerio to Le- 
ander. 
This comedy is feeble in the clofet ; 
the fituations are more ftimulant than the 
dialogue ; its theatrical {uccefs was favour- 
ed by the effe&t of what is called a breeches- 
figure, an actrefs in man’s attire. The 
feene in which Solbift comes on the part 
of Leander to folicit the hand of Laura, 
is a curious record of thofe obfolete ulsges 
of the Germans, when the jame marriage. 
broker was employed by a whole town to 
bring on matches, without the awkward~- 
nefs of perfonal explanation. 
The Mock-Jews is a fhort after-piece. 
A German baron, returning home from 
Pyrmont with his daughter, nas been flop- 
ped by two bearded foatpads in the neigh. 
bourhood of bis feat, and refcued from 
robbery, perhaps from murder, by a gen- 
tleman and his fervant, who were pafling 
on horfeback. He brings his deliverer to 
the houfe, and begins to think of offering 
him his daughter. He inveighs againft 
the Jewith footpads and the Jewith people, 
The ftranger gradually deteéts in the Ba- 
ron’s Chriftian hevfhold the two robbers, 
and finds upon them their falfe beards : 
but his own claims upon the baron’s gra- 
titude are a'l defeated by the difcovery 
that he is himfelf a Jew. ‘There is hu- 
mour in this farce, and its bearing favours 
the caufe of toleration and imprejudice 5 
but the folution is imperfe& : love-affairs 
on the theatre fhouid terminate tragically, 
or fuccefSfully. 
The Free-Thinker is a comedy in five 
ats. Lifidor, a widcwer who has retired 
from traae, can liberally endow his two 
daughters. He is defirous of marrying 
the elder to Adraft, the fon of his late 
friend, a handfome, clever, and accom- 
plifhed young man, who has travelled, 
who has been rakifh, and who has incum- 
bered his minute inheritance with debte. 
He is defirous cf marrying the younger to 
Theophan, a young clergyman, of exqui- 
fite refpestability, and liberal expe@ations. 
Advatt is a free-thinker, a prieft-hater, 
and views the mild orderly virtue of Theo- 
phan-with contempt and with miftredt : 
he (natches from Theophan the affeciions 
of Juliana, and feems to prepare for him 
every mortification, Theophan is defi- 
rous of winning the relugtant friendfhip of 
3F Adratt, 
