sacrifices made by the author, M. de Vaudreuil obtained permission to have this far-famed “Mariage de Figaro” performed at his country house.  M. Campan was asked there; he had frequently heard the work read, and did not now find the alterations that had been announced; this he observed to several persons belonging to the Court, who maintained that the author had made all the sacrifices required.  M. Campan was so astonished at these persistent assertions of an obvious falsehood that he replied by a quotation from Beaumarchais himself, and assuming the tone of Basilio in the “Barbier de Seville,” he said, “Faith, gentlemen, I don’t know who is deceived here; everybody is in the secret.”  They then came to the point, and begged him to tell the Queen positively that all which had been pronounced reprehensible in M. de Beaumarchais’s play had been cut out.  My father-in-law contented himself with replying that his situation at Court would not allow of his giving an opinion unless the Queen should first speak of the piece to him.  The Queen said nothing to him about the matter.  Shortly, afterwards permission to perform this play was at length obtained.  The Queen thought the people of Paris would be finely tricked when they saw merely an ill-conceived piece, devoid of interest, as it must appear when deprived of its Satire.

["The King,” says Grimm, “made sure that the public would judge unfavourably of the work.”  He said to the Marquis de Montesquiou, who was going to see the first representation, ’Well, what do you augur of its success?’—­’Sire, I hope the piece will fail.’—­’And so do I,’ replied the King.

“There is something still more ridiculous than my piece,” said Beaumarchais himself; “that is, its success.”  Mademoiselle Arnould foresaw it the first day, and exclaimed, “It is a production that will fail fifty nights successively.”  There was as crowded an audience on the seventy-second night as on the first.  The following is extracted from Grimm’s ‘Correspondence.’

“Answer of M. de Beaumarchais to -----, who requested the use of his
private box for some ladies desirous of seeing ‘Figaro’ without being
themselves seen.

“I have no respect for women who indulge themselves in seeing any play which they think indecorous, provided they can do so in secret.  I lend myself to no such acts.  I have given my piece to the public, to amuse, and not to instruct, not to give any compounding prudes the pleasure of going to admire it in a private box, and balancing their account with conscience by censuring it in company.  To indulge in the pleasure of vice and assume the credit of virtue is the hypocrisy of the age.  My piece is not of a doubtful nature; it must be patronised in good earnest, or avoided altogether; therefore, with all respect to you, I shall keep my box.”  This letter was circulated all over Paris for a week.]

Under the persuasion that there was not a passage left capable of malicious or dangerous application, Monsieur attended the first performance in a public box.  The mad enthusiasm of the public in favour of the piece and Monsieur’s just displeasure are well known.  The author was sent to prison soon afterwards, though his work was extolled to the skies, and though the Court durst not suspend its performance.