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50 I am not considering the charitable aspect, however, but the artistic, for the promoters of the Œuvre pretend to have founded a true People's Theater.

L’Œuvre des Trente ans de Théâtre, the organizers of which first met on December 30, 1901, made its bow in May, 1902, with five performances: at the Théâtre de Montparnasse, the Théâtre de Grenelle, the Théâtre des Gobelins, the Théâtre de Saint-Denis, and the Concert Européen in the Rue Riot. These performances consisted of selections from miscellaneous works, classic and romantic plays, operettas, vocal music, and dancing. Among the performers were Mlles. Moreno, Fugère, the Mante Sisters, Paulette, Darty, and Polin, not to mention the lecturers, without whom no fashionable function is complete! Then, in October, 1902, began the series of classic performances, with actors from the State theaters, the Comédie-Française in particular. During the first season, from October to June, there were twenty-five Popular Galas. Horace was given in the Salle Wagram, Andromaque and Tartuffe at Ba-ta-clan, Le Misanthrope in Bellevile at the Bouffes-du-Nord, the Théâtre Marguéra, and the Théâtre Trianon; Le Malade imaginaire at the Salle Huyghens; L'Arlésienne at the Salle Humbert de Romans, etc., etc. Dancing, fragments from operas, and the inevitable addresses, were likewise a part of all these programs.