Comparatively little has been written by him for the theatre, but he has always been a welcome contributor and when, during the year 1900, the Director of the Teatro Español asked him for a piece for the next season he seized the opportunity of advancing, in Electra, his liberal ideas.

This drama was represented at Madrid, January 30, 1901, and made a deep impression on the Spanish people. "At the end of the first act," says the Imparcial, "the applause was frantic."

The last word of the play, "resucita," is not only the key note of the drama, but the summing up of Galdós' desires, and the expression of his ambition for his country and his countrymen.

The purpose of the play and the spirit of the author are accurately voiced by Lopez Ballesteras, in the Heraldo, January 31, 1901. "Last night," said he, "will mark a great date in history for the Spanish theatre and for liberty. It is a movement of social and political renovation, Spain demands light and liberty; she demands the right to live under modern, European conditions; she is coming to life."

O. G. B.

PERSONAJES

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