Lady's slipper

“ Coloured engravings of slipper patterns are for sale in all the worsted and trimming stores. In making your selections, it is best to avoid those patterns that have white in them; as the white crewel will look soiled very soon, and give a dirty appearance to the whole slipper. ”

“ Behind him came a herald, bearing a velvet cushion, upon which rested a little glass slipper. The herald blew a blast upon the trumpet, and then read a proclamation saying that the King’s son would wed any lady in the land who could fit the slipper upon her foot, if she could produce another to match it.
Of course, the sisters tried to squeeze their feet into the slipper, but it was of no use—they were much too large. Then Cinderella shyly begged that she might try. How the sisters laughed with scorn when the Prince knelt to fit the slipper on the cinder maid’s foot ”

“ The next day the Prince sent out a proclamation [342] far and wide that he had found a glass slipper and whoever could wear that slipper should be his bride. He hoped in this way to find the lovely Princess who had three times escaped him.
The slipper was sent around from one house to another, and every lady was eager to try it on. All hoped to be able to wear it, but it fitted none of them. Some feet were too long, and some too broad, some too fat, and some too thin.
At last the messenger came to the house where Cinderella and her stepsisters lived. ”

“ Mine were white as snow, for I had a neat foot, and was fond of nice hose and well-made shoes. I am so still, as you see.” Here the old lady displayed a small foot in a black silk stocking and delicate slipper, with the artless pride a woman feels, at any age, in one of her best points. The girls gratified her by a murmur of admiration, and, decorously readjusting the folds of her gown, she went on with the most romantic episode of her quiet life. ”

“ I was never a man of much logic, and when they came to me on that morning of which I have just spoken and took me in where she lay and pointed to her beautiful cold body stretched out in seeming peace under the satin coverlet, and then to the pile of dainty clothes lying neatly folded on a chair with just one fairy slipper on top, I shuddered at her fate but asked no questions, not even when one of the women of the house mentioned the circumstance of the single slipper and said that a search should be made for its mate. ”

“ The old lady then told Cinderella to go into the garden and seek for half-a-dozen lizards. These she changed into six footmen, dressed in the gayest livery. When all these things had been done, the kind godmother touching her with her wand, changed her worn-out clothes into a beautiful ball-dress embroidered with pearls and silver. ”

“ At times beneath the lace-hemmed snowy skirts might be seen the toe of a tiny slipper, and perhaps the gleam of a silver buckle upon the arch of an instep, but thence imagination retired, baffled, but enthralled. ”

“ Their toes are tucked into small heelless slippers, which take a certain amount of dexterity to keep in place; but all young girls learn early in life to give that flirtatious outward jerk of the heels which keep the slipper from falling, and also prevents the folds of the skirt from opening in front. ”

“ Nothing fascinates a man like a woman's slipper, from its utter incomprehensibility, its astonishing unlikeness to any article subserving the same purpose for his own sex. Eva's slippers always seemed to have a character of their own,—a prankish elfin grace, and these as they stood there seemed instinct with life as two white kittens just ready for a spring.
I put two fingers into each of the little wretches and made them caper and dance, and we laughed gayly. ”

“ They told her Yes, but that she had hurried away as the clock struck twelve, and in such great haste that she had dropped one of her little glass slippers, the prettiest in the world. They told, too, how the Prince had picked it up, and how he had done nothing but look at it all the rest of the evening, and agreed that he was undoubtedly very much in love with the beautiful owner of the little slipper. ”

“ In this situation you might behold an elegant woman with a neat yellow slipper, delicate ankle, and white silk stocking, stepping up to her garter in the mire with as little dissatisfaction as she would into her coach—there another making the first faux pas perhaps she ever did and seated reluctantly on the moistened clay. ”

“ But Doris who, with Sally’s consent, had constituted herself spokesman, before accepting the refreshment, began:
“Miss Camilla, I wonder if you’ll forgive us for speaking of something to you? It may seem as if we were intruding, but we really don’t intend to.”
“Why, speak right on,” exclaimed that lady in surprise. “You are too well-bred to be intrusive, that I know. If you feel you must speak of something to me, I know it is because you think it wise or necessary.” ”

“ She’s kind of queer too, folks think. But I don’t see why you’re so interested in her.”
“I like her looks,” answered Doris. “She has a fine face. Somehow she seems to me like a lady,—a real lady!”
“Well, she sort of puts on airs, folks think, and she doesn’t care to associate with everybody,” admitted Sally. “But she’s awfully good and kind, too. Goes and nurses people when they’re sick or have any trouble, and never charges for it, and all that sort of thing. But, same time, she always seems to want to be by herself. She reads lots, too, and has no end of old books. ”

“ And when the women were all assembled, noble and ignoble, rich and poor, old and young, beautiful and ugly, and when all was ready, the king tried the slipper first on one and then on another of the guests, to see whom it should fit to a hair, and to be able thus to discover by the form of the slipper the maiden of whom he was in search ”

“ There the sun's sheen on golden locks falling.
⁠How could I go?
“Dearly beloved, shaken with sorrow,
⁠Branded with blows.
Which way does honour lie? think! for to-morrow
⁠Only God knows!”
One man should use her so: he in whose keeping
⁠Broken she lay;
One man should love her so, see her there weeping. ”

“ It took the united efforts of every man present to move that plank, and when they had forced it aside, Mr. Craig stooped down with a smothered cry.
And the next thing Genevieve knew, they had lifted out some one and laid her on the ground, inert, lifeless and so covered with dirt and sand as to be scarcely recognizable. But from the light, golden hair, Genevieve knew it to be Doris. Before she knew where she was, Genevieve found herself cascaded from Mrs. Craig’s lap, and that lady bending distractedly over the prostrate form. ”

“ When the curtain went down on the finale, I saw our aviator chap spring to his feet and plow up the aisle. He was in such a hurry that he was downright rude. Soon his beautiful hawky profile vanished, and I came back to earth.
I say, what a rummy old top it is! Fancy me stumbling upon that slipper! A little white slipper, no bigger than my hand, light as thistledown—a proud and patriotic little slipper. But did I stumble on it? I rather fancy was positively led to it. Fact! I say, how the deuce do you roll those rotten “makings,” as you Yankees call 'em? ”

“ But it was not I who walked in it down the balcony."
"Alicia!"
A month's apprehension was in that cry. The silence, the pent-up emotion brooding in the air was intolerable. A fresh young laugh broke it.
"Oh," exclaimed a roguish voice, "I knew that you were all in it! But the especial one who wore the slipper and grabbed the pendant cannot hope to hide herself. Her finger-tips will give her away." ”

“ You know so many women, young and old, who do this, that our advice is, try to recall those who do not. Yes, now you see what we aim at; the women you have in mind always continue the line of their gowns with their feet. You can see with your mind's eye how the slender black satin slippers, one of which always protrudes from the black evening gown, carry to its eloquent finish the line from her head through torso, hip to knee, and knee down through instep to toe,—a line so frequently obstructed by senseless trimmings, lineless hats, and footwear wrong in colour and line. ”

“ Honestly, now, I began to see an undercurrent of real tragedy in this young chap's stony attitude. On his way to France with but five chances in a hundred of ever coming out; and the black-eyed beauty fluttering about with a mad gayety no theatrical manager could have bought, her great eyes sending magic flashes across the lights, and that boy sitting there like a snow-image. But I could see. Not once did he take his eyes off her. He was literally eating her up. Fact!
The slipper? Oh, I'm jogging along toward that. Suddenly I happened to notice a bruise under the chap's right eye. ”

“ It was evident to all the Court that the Prince was determined if possible, to find out the owner of the slipper; and a few days afterwards a royal herald proclaimed that the King's son would marry her whose foot the glass slipper should be found exactly to fit. ”

“ Pair of Old Slippers
After the last cat has disappeared, bring out the slippers; any kind except toy ones will do. Place the slippers on a sheet of white paper laid on the top of a table where all present may see.
Fig. 49.—Place one slipper on top of the other.
Explain to the girls and boys that they must take one turn each in trying their fortunes by putting one slipper crosswise on top of the other, both right side up (Fig. 49) , and while holding them so, repeat the following verse:
These slippers I toss into the air. ”

“ The gentleman of the Court who had been entrusted to try the slipper, having looked attentively at Cinderella, and seeing that she was very beautiful, said that it was only fair that her request should be granted, as he had received orders to try the slipper on all maidens, without exception. He made Cinderella sit down, and putting the slipper to her little foot, he saw it slip on easily and fit like wax. Great was the astonishment of the two sisters, but it was still greater when Cinderella took the other little slipper out of her pocket and put it on her other foot. ”

“ The gait of both men and women, thus encumbered, is singularly awkward and helpless. The feet scrape the ground, and the sole of the slipper, which scarcely adheres to the point of the toe, is dragged along, continually flapping against the heel. These characteristic parts of Oriental dress are the particular objects of Frank purchasers. ”

“ Genevieve had just about decided to go back and inquire of Doris what else to do, when suddenly the afternoon stillness was broken by the “chug-chug” of a motor car and the honking of its horn. And before Genevieve could jump to her feet, a big automobile had come plowing down the sandy road and stopped right in front of the gate.
“Here’s the place!” called out the chauffeur, and jumping down, walked around to open the door at the side for its occupants to get out. A pleasant-looking man descended and gave his hand to the lady beside him. ”

“ Then taking from his left breast a tiny embroidered slipper, proceeded to kiss it ardently, at which moment the stranger came up, and struck with the wonderful size and delicacy of the slipper, snatched it from him. Oh, how slippery is the path of love. It would seem that Ch-ng P-ng, foresaw in his mind’s eye the transcendent beauty of the owner of the slipper, for need I say it was the slipper of Chang Pang? The minister shouted “Murder!” ”

“ The diminutive foot, erroneously held to be typical of all Chinese ladies of rank, is encased in a silk or cotton slipper raised on a thick, inclined sole. Those who are incapable of getting into a shoe compared with which Cinderella's glass slipper would appear gigantic, have recourse to the stratagem of wearing a similar model fitted with a high heel set in the middle of the sole. ”

“ The Daily Mail has presented a golden slipper for the actress with the smallest feet. The slipper, we understand, is quite new and has never been used on anybody.
An American gentleman is about to offer for sale his corkscrew, or would exchange for something useful. ”

“ A nightgown followed, a pair of stockings, tooth-brush, comb and brush, tooth-powder, some handkerchiefs, the photographs of her father and mother, still in their frames, and a pair of patent leather slippers with gilt buckles. Surely no little bride of her importance and social position had ever set forth with so slender a trousseau. There it all was, dog-collar below, slippers on top, in a bag no bigger than an exaggerated purse. She smiled a little tremulously as she looked at it, touched as only a woman could be by the magnitude of her sacrifice. ”

“ There is, for instance, the modish young lady taking an afternoon stroll in high-heeled satin slippers. What could be more inappropriate? Satin slippers should be worn only with semi-evening or evening dress—never with street clothes. Pumps with fur coats are strikingly inconsistent, as are straw hats with winter attire, or velvet hats with dainty summer-time frocks. True fashion does not profess to distort the seasons, although the style authorities would often have us believe so for their own material gain. ”

“ I have always had a very great interest in the shoes of women, particularly in slippers with high heels, which is always connected with the thought of being trod upon, or of submissively kissing the foot. ”

“ This tilting forward of the pelvis interferes with the circulation of the pelvic organs, and their congestion and inflammation follow.
By walking around in her bedroom slippers any one can easily convince herself of the greater grip that the foot has on the floor when so clad, and of the greater ease and sureness in walking; this is chiefly due to the greater breadth of the sole, and the fact that the slipper has no heel. The greater firmness of men on their feet on slippery pavements is doubtless due to the difference in the cut of the shoe and the lower and broader heel. ”