Alexandre Dumas _fils_ (1824-1895) was the son of the author of the
'Three Guardsmen'; and he inherited from his father the native gift of
playmaking, which he declared in this letter to be the indispensable
qualification of the successful dramatist. His 'Dame aux Camélias' has
held the stage for more than sixty years and has been performed hundreds
of times in every modern language.

Edmond Gondinet (1828-1888) was the author of a host of pleasant pieces,
mostly comedies in from one to three acts, and mostly written in
collaboration. He believed that he preferred to write alone and that
only his good nature kept tempting him into working with others. It was
probably to warn away those who wanted to bring him their manuscripts
for expert revision that led him to assert in this letter that he was "a
detestable collaborator."

Ernest Legouvé (1807-1903) was the collaborator of Scribe in the
composition of 'Bataille de Dames' and 'Adrienne Lecouvreur.' In his
delightful recollections, 'Soixante Ans de Souvenirs' he has a chapter
on Scribe in which he describes the methods of that master-craftsman in
dramatic construction; and in one of his 'Conférences Parisiennes' he
sets forth the successive steps by which another dramatist, Bouilly, was
able to compound his pathetic piece, the 'Abbé de l'Epée';--two papers
which deserve careful study by all who wish to apprehend the principles
of playmaking.

Eugène Labiche (1815-1888) was the most prolific of the comic dramatists
of France in the nineteenth century and the most richly endowed with
comic force. Most of his pieces are frankly farcical, but not a few of
them rise to the level of true comedy. The solid merit of his best work
is cordially recognized in the luminous preface written by Augier for