_Cendrillon; ou, la Petite Pantoufle de Verre_. Here, again, could
it enter the heart of an Englishman to call this anything but
_Cinderella_? I am proud to say I was not equal to such a sacrifice
to principle. I should have been afraid to meet the eyes of my
grandchildren. There are persons, however, who have been cruel enough
to tamper with the second title, to destroy "the little glass slipper,"
and tell us that in the original story it was not a pantoufle "de
_verre_," but "de _vair_"--_i.e._, a fur much worn in the middle ages,
and from which the charge of vair in heraldry was taken. I thank the
stars that I have not been able to discover any foundation for this
alarming report. Even should it be unfortunately the fact, it would not
affect the _Conte de ma Mère l'Oye_, as handed down to us by Perrault.
In that, it is an undeniable "pantoufle de _verre_," and has been said
to represent allegorically the extreme fragility of woman's reputation,
and the prudence of flight before it is _too late_. There appears to
be no doubt that this story is founded on an old Armorican tradition,
as in 1826 an alteration of an ancient Breton chronicle was published
by Madame Piette, entitled _Laurette de Karnabas; ou, la Nouvelle
Cendrillon_, which is taken from the same source, but divested of its
fairy agency; and the Countess d'Aulnoy had previously availed herself
of some portions of the tale of _Cendrillon_ in her story of _Finette
Cendron_.
The trial of the slipper is like that of the ring in the story of _Peau
d'Ane_, and a "little glass shoe" is the subject of a German fairy
tale. The Germans have also a version of _Cinderella_, in which the
slipper is of "pure gold."
At the banquet it will be remembered that the Prince is said to have
given Cinderella both oranges and citrons. These do not appear to us
at present as particularly suggestive of the magnificence of a royal
collation; but in the seventeenth century, Portugal oranges were
considered a present worthy princes of the blood. "Monsieur, me vint
voir," says the Duchesse de Montpensier, in her _Memoirs_, "il me
donne des oranges de Portugal." Molière, in his description of the
comedy which formed a portion of the famous fêtes given at Versailles,
in 1668, by Louis XIV., tells us that "d'abord on vit sur le théâtre
une colation magnifique d'oranges de Portugal;" and in his own comedy,
_L'Avare_, when Harpagon apologises to his mistress for not having
prepared a collation for her, his son replies, "J'y ai pourvu, mon
père, et j'ai fait apporter ici quelques bassins _d'oranges de la
Chine, de citrons doux_, et de confitures." Also, according to L'Emery
(_Traités des Aliments_, 1705), the citron was supposed to give a
better colour to the lips, and the ladies of the Court in the 17th
century, therefore, "portoient en main _des citrons doux_, quelles
mordoient de tems en tems pour avoir les livres vermeilles."--Le Grand
D'Aussi.--_Vie Privée des Français_, tom. i. p. 251.