III. THE TERCENTENARY CÉLÉBRATION OF CORNEILLE'S BIRTH

The three-hundredth anniversary of Corneille's birth was celebrated at Rouen, the poet's birthplace, and more elaborately at Paris, during the fortnight May 27-June 10, 1906. Nine of his plays were acted at the Comédie Française, including ail the masterpieces and some plays seldom given, such as Nicomede^ and scènes from rillusion. On the 27th of May, in the présence of state dignitaries, the Académie Française, and the actors of the Comédie Française, the maquette of a statue of Corneille by H. Allouard, to be replaced later by the permanent bronze, was erected in the Place du Panthéon. It was intended to transfer the remains of Corneille to the Panthéon where Voltaire, Rousseau, and Hugo hâve been buried, but search at the church of Saint-Roch, where they were supposed to be interred, failed to reveal them. For accounts of the célébration see les Annales politiques et littéraires^ 27 mai ; V Illustration^ 26 mai and 2 juin ; le Figaro^ 26 raai- II juin; and le Temps ^ 3-1 1 juin, 1906.

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Corneille, Pieire Polyeucte, mart^o?