INTRODUCTION

Eugène Labiche was bom in Paris in 1815, and died in Sologne in 1888.

While his plays do not rank with those of Molière or of Shakespeare as great literature, they are extremely good plays, whether they are seen upon the stage, or read at home. He generally manages to dispense with the villain. His characters are distinctly human. In smiling at their foibles, we feel that we might do just as they are doing, under similar circumstances, and we feel a sensé of almost personal gratitude to Labiche for extricating them from their difficulties, with no loss save a small degree of dignity, and that known only to us and a few other sympathetic friends.

Sometimes in collaboration with others, Labiche wrote, besides "La Poudre aux Yeux," "Le Voyage de M. Perrichon," "La Grammaire,'' "Le Prix Martin," "Le plus heureux des trois," "Le Chapeau de paille d'Italie," "Les Petits Oiseaux," and dozens of other plays.

Labiche's name will long survive as that of one of the most skillful and successful playwrights of the nineteenth century.

This édition of "La Poudre aux Yeux" has been

prepared with the aim of making the reading not only

profitable but also enjoyable. The notes not only

îv Introduction.

furnish translations of the more difl&cult passages, but also throw light, where and wten needed, upon French ways and customs, and see to it that some of the subtly delicious pièces of satire do not élude the reader.

The enjoyment of the play cannot but be enhanced by the inclusion of the delightful illustrations of S. Arcos, drawn from the Calmann-Lévy édition of the Works of Labiche.

It is hoped that the exercises will repay whatever time is devoted to them. They are so planned that one or more of the five parts thereof may be omitted, except that "D," the English-French sentences, can hardly be taken up satisfactorily if "A,'' the grammatical discussion, is omitted.

The editor wishes to extend his thanks and his acknowledgments to his excellent friend, Mr. Auguste George, for his aid in reading the proofs, and especially for his valuable suggestions in regard to the exercises.

August, 1920