But let the fluent pen of the illustrious and enthusiastic witness picture them to you. “I have already made the avowal,” declares Anatole France, “I love the marionettes and those of M. Signoret please me particularly. These marionettes resemble the Egyptian hieroglyphics, that is to say, something mysterious and pure and when they represent a drama of Shakespeare or Aristophanes I think I see the thoughts of the poet being unrolled in sacred characters upon the walls of the temple.” Of the representation of _The Tempest_ he writes: “M. Signoret’s marionettes have just acted Shakespeare’s _Tempest_. It is hardly an hour since the curtain of the little theatre fell on the harmonious group of Ferdinand and Miranda. I am still under the charm; as Prospero says, ‘I do yet taste some subtleties of the Isle.’ What a delightful play! And how true it is that exquisite things are doubly exquisite when they are unaffected.... “Look at the marionettes of _The Tempest_. The hand that carved them imprinted on them the features of the ideal, whether it be tragic or comic. M. Belloc, a pupil of Mercie, has modelled for the little theatre heads which are either powerfully grotesque or of a charming purity. His Miranda has the subtle grace of a figure of the early Italian Renaissance and the virginal fragrance of that fortunate fifteenth century which made beauty bloom a second time in the world. His Ariel in his gauze tunic spangled with silver reminds one of a miniature Tanagra figure, doubtless because aerial elegance of form is a particular attribute of Hellenic art in its decline. “These two pretty puppets spoke with the clear voices of Mesdemoiselles Paule Verne and Cecile Dorelle. As for the more masculine parts in the drama, Prospero, Caliban, and Stephano, poets such as MM. Maurice Bouchor, Raoul Ponchan, Amédée Pigeon, Felix Rabbé spoke for them. Not to mention Coquelin, cadet, who did not disdain to repeat the prologue as well as the amusing part of Trinculo, the clown. “The decorations also had their poetry. M. Lucien Doucet represented Prospero’s cave with that cunning grace which is one of the characteristics of his talent, etc.” Again: “In the meantime I have seen the marionettes of the Rue Vivienne twice and I have enjoyed them very much. I am infinitely thankful to them for having replaced living actors. “They are divine, these dolls of M. Signoret and worthy of giving form to the dreams of the poet whose mind Plato says, was ‘the sanctuary of the Graces.’