_Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard_, a comedy in three acts, presented on January 23, 1730, at the Theatre-Italien, is generally considered as the masterpiece of Marivaux, although he did not include it in the number of his favourites. It is certainly his best-known play. Its success was great and immediate, according to the _Mercure_ of January, 1730. The plot is as follows: With the characteristic caution of the heroines of Marivaux, ever on their guard against an ill-assorted marriage, and with the sad experiences of certain friends of hers in mind to make her still more cautious, Silvia determines not to accept Dorante, the suitor chosen for her, until she has had an opportunity to study him in secret. She therefore modifies her dress to suit the role of her maid Lisette, which she assumes; but Dorante, who is no more willing to be mismated than is Silvia, determines upon the same stratagem, and arrives in the livery of Harlequin, who in turn is to play the part of the master. This artifice is not absolutely new to the French stage, and it is possible, as Fleury[119] thinks, that the idea of the double disguise may have been borrowed from a short play by Legrand, _le Galant Coureur_, The situation, most difficult to handle successfully, is treated with inimitable skill by Marivaux, especially that of the two lovers, whose disguise as servants is not enough to guarantee their hearts. The prejudice of birth, against which Marivaux contended so often, is overthrown, and the lovers are willing, if necessary, to yield all for love. Silvia is still struggling with her sense of duty, when she discovers Dorante's identity, but is unwilling to disclose herself and say the final word, until she is convinced that Dorante loves her for herself alone. The scenes between Harlequin and Lisette, their language, now exaggerated, now trivial, and their haste to fall in love, lend the comic to the play. _Le Legs_, a comedy in one act, was produced at the Theatre-Francais, January 11, 1736. Its reception was rather cold the first night, but enthusiastic on subsequent performances. Lenient says of it: "_Le Legs_ est entre toutes ses oeuvres le specimen de la bluette reduite a sa plus simple expression, joignant la finesse et la tenuite de la trame a l'exiguite de la donnee. Tout cela tiendrait dans une coquille de noix, et finit par remplir un acte. Les personnages, aussi legers, aussi volatils que le sujet lui-meme, s'appellent le _Marquis_, la _Comtesse_, le _Chevalier_; ils representent, comme nous l'avons dit, des especes plus encore que des individus."[120]