This tragedy, by Voltaire, was translated, and brought on the English stage, by Aaron Hill—a man, whose various enterprises should be a caution to adventurers; for, in the boundless range of his attempts, he was never once completely successful.²

Mr. Hill was born in London, 1684, and was, by descent, the legal heir of an estate in Wiltshire, of 2000l. a year. But the indiscretions of his father made this fortune, on his death, of no value to the son; and he was left, in childhood, dependent on his grandmother.³

At the age of fourteen, Aaron had passed through Westminster School, and now gave evidence of that spirit of enterprise, which never forsook him during life. His near relation, Lord Paget, was, at this time, ambassador from England at the Ottoman court, and the youth resolved to set out, unprotected and alone, for Constantinople, to pay him a visit. He had never seen Lord Paget, yet that nobleman received him kindly, and conceived a favourable opinion of his talents, from this juvenile exploit.

That Mr. Hill possessed mental endowments, of no very common kind, is certain; but he appears to have
b 2[Page 4] been so restless to display them, and so blind to their just appreciation, that, in his haste to do good, he often did ill, and never endeavoured to make a fortune that he did not lose one.

Not content with the high gratification of having beheld Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, and other famed countries, during his stay abroad,—on his return to England he had the hardihood, young as he was, to write his travels;⁴ and this puerile book made all he had seen of less use to his reputation, than if he had staid at home and seen nothing.

He now became a dramatic writer, and, with a mediocrity of success, joined to some interest with persons in power, he was made the manager of Drury Lane Theatre, and of the Opera Theatre in the Hay Market.⁵ But these situations were both relinquished in the course of a few months, on account of some misunderstanding with the Lord Chamberlain;⁶ —and Mr. Hill immediately directed his attention to the making sweet oil from the beech nut, which should preclude the necessity of any such distillation from the olive.⁷

His ingenuity here embroiled him in disputes with his associates in the concern; and, after the loss of time, content, and much money,—he turned his thoughts to an epic poem.⁸

His biographer has, however, declared, that his poetry was but the mere offspring of hours relaxed from drier studies, and that he soon recalled his wandering fancy from the muses, and produced a tract upon the art of war—another upon agriculture.

Again he wrote a poem—it was called "The Northern Star,"⁹ and recorded the heroic actions of the Czar Peter the Great. Several years afterwards, he received a gold medal from the Empress Catharine for his reward, and with it the promise of some papers, from which he was to write the Memoirs of the Deceased Czar;—but the death of the Czarina deprived him of this honour.

Soon after the above disappointment, Mr. Hill contracted with the York Buildings Company, concerning woods of vast extent in Scotland, which were to be converted into timber for the uses of the navy; and great and various were his exertions on this occasion. The difficulties he encountered in conveying these trees down the river Spey were numerous beyond conception; he had the sagacity, however, to surmount them all, except the last; and that one destroyed the whole undertaking.¹⁰

The want of a large sum of ready money was now the sole obstacle to his design of establishing a plantation upon an extensive territory in the south of Carolina, where he had purchased a grant from the Lords Proprietors;—and death deprived him of all the advantages he was about to reap, from having contrived to make pot-ash in England, equal to that which is brought, at much expense, from Russia.¹¹

Voltaire and Pope accomplished that notoriety for Aaron Hill, which all his own industry could never have done so effectually without them. The first has sent him down to posterity as his translator—the second as one of his dunces.¹²

"Zara" was first performed in the year 1735, and is memorable, as well as for its own merits, for having first introduced Mrs. Cibber on the stage;¹³ who, though extremely young, had every talent of an actress so matured, that, in her whole life to come, there was no charm, no grace, to be improved,—all those which she possessed were so near perfection.

Mr. Hill, who is said to have been as excellent a judge of the abilities requisite for a performer as if he had practised the profession, received abundant praise for having encouraged Mrs. Cibber's attempt of this part; for having instructed her in it, and even foretold her extraordinary success:—but, as if no one event of this man's life should do him perfect credit, he encouraged, instructed, and predicted also in favour of the young gentleman who made his appearance that night in Osman,¹⁴ and whose total failure in the part, rendered all Mr. Hill's prescience at least doubtful.

It is impossible to read this play without being delighted, or to see it without being weary. Love is seldom the passion, or religion the subject, which pleases greatly on the stage—the one is hard for the actors to describe, the other is difficult for the auditors to reflect upon.

The English critic accuses this play of being filled with bigotry—but surely it is a pleasure to observe, that the author was no bigot. Divest him of the pernicious character attached to Voltaire, change but his well known opinions in regard to christianity, and suppose "Zara" the work of a religious man,—[Page 7]it becomes instantly a production of the most virtuous tendency.—It is surprising how the author, with his hatred to fanatics, could have the forbearance here to describe them with such good hearts, accompanied by such weak understandings! Remarkable instances of human imperfection only, but no traits of intentional guilt, blemish the characters of this drama. They are all amiable, and yet all are in an error.

It is objected by some commentators, that, in liberal notions, Voltaire has decidedly bestowed the superiority upon the unbeliever Osman. The christians are certainly made the most intolerant; but, surely, in that, the author meant no disgrace to them; for the French nation, at the period this play was written, esteemed the persecution of infidels and heretics as a holy employment, in which relaxation had been a crime.