134 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN.

ber that M. Jourdain’s surprise at the discovery that hehad been talking prose all his life, was a witty plagi-arism from the count de Soissons ’ own lips — theycould even enjoy the fun of the unintelligible mum-mery of the dancing Turks; and one of the noblestamong them, who had looked censure itself on thepreceding evening, could exclaim in a smiling ecstasy ofpraise : “ Moliere is inimitable — he has reached apoint of perfection to which none of the ancients everattained.”

The “Fourberies de Scapin ” followed—the play thatcould excite Boileau’s bile; so that not all his admira-tion of its author could prevent his exclaiming : —

“ Dans ce sac ridicule oii Scapin s’envelope,

Je ne reconnais plus 1’auteur du Misanthrope.”

Still the comedy of tricks and hustle is still comedy,and will amuse; and there crept into the dialogue alsothe true spirit of Moliere ; the humour of the father's fre-quent question : “ Que diable alla-t-il faire dans cettegalore,” has rendered the expression a proverb.

The Countess d’Escarbagnas is very amusing. Theold dowager, teaching country bumpkins to behave likepowdered gold-caned footmen; her' disdain for hercountry neighbours, and glory in her title, are trulyFrench , and give us an insight into the deep-seatedprejudices that separated noble and ignoble, and Pari-sians from provincials, in that country before the revolu-tion.

The “ Femmes Savantes” followed, and was an addi-tional proof that his vein not only was not exhausted,but that it was richer and purer than ever; and thatwhile human nature displayed follies, he could put intothe framework of comedy, pictures, that by the groupingand the vivid colouring showed him to be master of hisart. The pedantic spirit that had succeeded to thesentimentality of les Precieuses, the authors of society,whose impromptus and sonnets were smiled on in placeof the exiled Platonists of the ruelle, lent a rich harvest.“Les Femme Savantes” echoed the conversations of the