Since it was not until1824 that Paris I heard Weber's Freischütz, performed by a wretched, makeshift German company at the out­ of-the-way Theatre de l'Odeon, Weber can scarcely be counted among those who were influential in Paris at this time; still, his influence cannot be entirely ignored, for the romanticism that, in those days, had begun to invade every branch of French art and literature, was arousing curiosity and interest and inciting imitation. Despite the imperfect, shall I say distorted presenta­tion that, as intimated, made a recognition of the true value of the Weber masterpiece difficult, there were more than a hundred consecutive performances. << less