ppily. Voltaire, as successful in
tragedy as his models permitted him to be, was not successful at all in
comedy, and, indeed, rarely tried it. His best piece, _Nanine_, a
dramatisation of _Pamela_, or at least suggested by it, is chiefly
remarkable for being written in decasyllabic verse. The third, Rousseau,
who lived to denounce the theatre, wrote a short operetta, _Le Devin du
Village_, which is not without merit. Desmahis, a protege of Voltaire,
produced, in 1750, a good comedy, _L'Impertinent_, on a small scale; and
La Noue, another of his favourites (for he was as indulgent to his
juniors as he was jealous of men of his own standing), the _Coquette
Corrigee_. A third member of the same class, Saurin, already twice
mentioned, must be mentioned again, and still more deservedly, for _Les
Moeurs du Temps_. The best dramatists, however, among the immediate
followers of the _Philosophes_ were Sedaine and Marmontel. Sedaine is,
indeed, with the possible exception of Beaumarchais, the best dramatist
of the last half of the century. _Le Philosophe sans le Savoir_, 1765,
and _La Gageure Imprevue_, 1768, are both admirable pieces. The author,
like many of his predecessors, was a constant worker for the Opera
Comique, and one of the best of the class. Marmontel also adopted this
line of composition, to which the musical talent of Gretry gave, at the
time, great advantages. His best light dramatic work is a kind of comedy
vaudeville, the _Ami de la Maison_.

[Sidenote: Beaumarchais.]

Beyond all doubt, however, the most remarkable, if not the best,
dramatist of the late eighteenth century is Beaumarchais. Some critics
have seen in the enormous success of the _Barbier de Seville_, 1775, and
the _Mariage de Figaro_, 1784, nothing but a _succes de circonstance_
connected with the political ideas which were then fermenting in men's
minds. This seems to be unjust, or rather it is unjust not to recognise
something very like genius in the manner in which the author has
succeeded in shaping his subject, without choosing a specially political
one, so as to produce the effect acknowledged. The wit of these two
plays, moreover, is indisputable. But it may be allowed that
Beaumarchais' other productions are inferior, and that his _Memoires_,
which are not dramatic at all, contain as much wit as the Figaro plays.
As a satirist of society and a contributor of illustrations to history,
Beaumarchais must always hold a very high place, highe