ot likely to sue for the favour of the great. Only
three of his writings, and these among his early works, contain
dedications--_l'Homere travesti_ to the Duke de Noailles, _la Double
Inconstance_ to Madame de Prie, and the second _Surprise de l'Amour_ to
the Duchess du Maine.[51] His whole life exemplified the thought contained
in these words from the _Spectateur francais_:[52] "Quand on demande des
graces aux puissants de ce monde, et qu'on a le coeur bien place, on a
toujours l'haleine courte," and we shall see this same attitude
characterizing his relations with the French Academy.

There were at this time in Paris, besides the Opera, three theatres, [53]
--the Theatre-Francais (known also as the Comedie-Francaise), the Theatre-
Italien (or Comedie-Italienne), and the Theatre de la Foire, to name them
in order of importance.

The Theatre-Francais had been regularly organized by royal edict on
October 21, 1680, when the troupe of the Hotel de Bourgogne and that of
the Theatre Guenegaud were united,[54] although its origin is much more
ancient, going back as far as 1548, when the theatre of the Hotel de
Bourgogne was opened by the Confreres de la Passion. In 1720 it occupied
the Theatre de la Comedie-Francaise, on the rue des Fosses-Saint-Germain,
since become the rue de l'Ancienne-Comedie. Its reputation, as a criterion
of dramatic art, was already established, and this reputation has ever
since been sustained.

In 1576[55] Henry III called from Venice a troupe of Italian actors, the
_Gelosi_, and, from the time of their installation at Paris, in 1577,
until 1697, when they were expelled from France by Louis XIV, for their
temerity in ridiculing Mme. de Maintenon in _la Fausse Prude_, Paris had
seen an almost uninterrupted succession of troupes of these Italian
actors. Up to this time almost unlimited license in language and themes
had been tolerated in them. The plays had been mostly in Italian, but,
some time before their banishment, French had also made its way into their
repertory, and, in spite of many complaints to the king on the part of the
members of the Comedie-Francaise, who found this prejudicial to their
interests, the French had held its ground, not, however, to the exclusion
of the Italian, until after the time of their recall.

Their exile lasted nineteen years, or until 1716, when they were recalled
by the Regent. A new troupe was organized under the direction of Louis
Riccoboni, a famous actor, a