Genius will come to them in
the fine arts, and particularly in literature, when they shall have
found out the means of infusing their real disposition into
language, as they show it in action.
I witnessed the performance of a Russian tragedy, the subject of
which was the deliverance of the Muscovites, when they drove back
the Tartars beyond Casan. The prince of Smolensko appeared in the
ancient costume of the boyars, and the Tartar army was called the
golden horde. This piece was written almost entirely according to
the rules of the French drama; the rhythm of the verses, the
declamation, and the division of the scenes, was entirely French;
one situation only was peculiar to Russian manners, and that was the
profound terror which the dread of her father's curse has inspired
in a young female. Paternal authority is almost as strong among the
Russians as among the Chinese, and it is always among the people
that we must seek for the germ of national character. The good
company of all countries resembles each other, and nothing is so
unfit as that elegant world to furnish subjects for tragedy. Among
all those which the history of Russia presents, there is one by
which I was particularly struck. Ivan the Terrible, already old, was
besieging Novorogod. The boyars seeing him very much enfeebled,
asked him if he would not give the command of the assault to his
son.
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