PLA.NCHE'S EDITION OF MADAME D'AULNOY..
MR. Pr.orcnt, who has long familiarized the public with the charming creations of the Countess d'Aulnoy, by clothing them with dramatic forms and placing them on the stage as holiday entertainments, has sought repose from the toils of the adapter by taking upon himself the lighter labours of translator and editor. Strange to say, although the fame of the tale-telling Countess is almost as widely spread as that of Cervantes, this is the first time that a really complete and genuine edition of her Fairy Tales has been presented to the English public. Just as in the historical myth some conspicuous personage is made to bear on his shoulders the deeds of his less celebrated contemporaries, so have the English collectors of the last century concocted an olla podrida, ticketed indeed with the name of D'Aulnoy, (which, however, was misspelt " D'Auois,") but containing besides portions of the genuine article the productions of the Countesses de Murat and d'Anneuil.
Proceedings of this kind are very apt to throw a sort of haze over an individual; and as the English publishers of D'Aulnoy are neither agreed among themselves in the tales they gave, nor explained the cause of their discrepancies, while current biogra- phies were most scanty in their information, there is no doubt
• Fairy Tales, by the Countess d'Aulnoy. Translated by J. R. Phosehe. With Illustrations by John Gilbert. Published by Routiedge and Co.
that to many persons the Countess d'Aulnoy has herself become a fiction, and has been looked upon as a sort of aristocratic "Mother Goose." As for certain "Memoirs of her own Life," which osten- sibly proceeded from her own pen, and were published in English towards the beginning of the last century, they have rather weak- ened than confirmed her historical position, inasmuch as everybody who knows anything about them regards them as a fabrication. Under these circumstances, the world must thank Mr. Planche for laying before it such a plain piece of biography as the follow- ing, in addition to an authenticated portrait, placed in a frontis- piece to the entire work.
"Marie Catherine, daughter of Monsieur le Jumel de Barneville, was born in 1649, and died at Paris in January 1705. Her father was connected with some of the first families in Normandy. She married Francois de is Mothe, Comte d'Aulnoy; who was accused of treason by three Normans, im- prisoned, and would have lost his head, had not one of his accusers, struck with remorse of conscience, declared the whole charge to be groundless. The Countess herself was at another period compromised through her inti- macy with the beautiful Madame Tiquet,_ who was beheaded on the Place de
-Gave for the murder of her husband. 'To considerable personal attractions, Madame d'Aulnoy joined much wit and great facility of expression. She was universally popular in society, and possessed to a remarkable extent the talent of combining instruction with amusement in her most ordinary conversation. She had read much, travelled a little, and was gifted with an excellent memory. Whatever might be the subject under discussion, she is said to have always had some information to impart upon it. Nobody could relate an anecdote better or more seasonably, and her facility in compo- sition equalled that evinced in her conversation. She left four daughters, one of whom became Madame de Heere."
So much for the lady. With respect to the Fairy Tales, and the
confusion respecting them that has arisen in this country, the case stands thus. The Countess d'Aulnoy wrote her tales in two dis- tinct portions ; the first simply entitled "Lea Contes des Fees," the second "Lea Fees d la Mode." A translation of the former was printed in London in the year 1717, in a book entitled "The diverting Works of the Countess d'Anois "; a translation of the latter was printed also in the last century, and was reprinted in 1817, in the collection of cheap editions published by Walker. The translators of the first. portion performed their task with compara- tive fidelity ; for their book really contained the whole of the " Contes des Fees," though it contained much spurious matter like- wise. These tales were never reprinted in their entirety ; but some of them have found their way into miscellaneous collections, such as the "Child's Fairy Library," while others have been ig- nored altogether. Most of the tales of the second portion—Les Fees d la Mode—have been long accessible to the English public, through the reprint of 1817; but, unfortunately, the original editors of this collection had a literary conscience which allowed them to do anything they pleased, and they pleased to leave out sundry tales by the Countess d'Aulnoy, and to put the works of others in their place.
In making up the collection of tales which he now presents to
the public, Mr. Planche has put together the two portions, ori- ginally published in French, translating them anew; and, regard- less of the proceedings of his uncritical predecessors, has rejected their spurious interpolations, while he has introduced all the genuine tales that have previously been passed over. Moreover, as his book is devoted to fairy tales only, he has omitted the no- vels in which the stories of the "Fees a is Mode" are narrated, (somewhat after the fashion of Boccitocio's Novella,) and which were contained in the English edition of 1817. Notes, pointing out the connexion of the tales with the customs of the times, an explanatory introduction, and a critiCo-historical appendix, com- plete the utility of the volume, while its beauty is enhanced by the excellent wood-cuts of Mr. John Gilbert.
In his second edition, (which he will of course attain,) we would suggest to Mr. Planche a slight emendation. He says in his In- troduction, that "the allegorical romances of Argenuis de Bar- clay, the Cleopatras and Cassaudras which the Polexandra of Gomberville had introduced, were no longer to be admired." Mr. Planche of course, knows as well as any one in the world, that john Bt:rday's Latin book entitled " Argenis " was one of the most favourite works in the seventeenth century ; but the ignorant may imagine from the above sentence that " Argennis de Barclay" is the name of a literary gentleman—possibly a relative of that French author named "Tom," whose fertility so much surprised Lord Daberley in the Heir at Law.
Not the least pleasant part of Mr. Planche's book consists of his translations of those little " moralites " in verse, which the good Countess, eager to instruct while willing to amuse, affixed to her stories. In the semi-ironical tone of these small ethics we may per- oeive the hand of the practised writer of elegant burlesque. As a specimen, we give the moral of the " Eam,"—which, no doubt, many of our young readers will still persist in calling the "Royal Pam," albeit the French title is simply "Le Mouton."
"The choicest blessings sent by Heaven
Oft to our ruin only tend ; The charms, the talents, to us given, But bring us to a mournful end. The royal Barn had happier been Without the graces which first led Ragotte to love, then hurl her mean But fatal vengeance on his head. Sure, he deserved a better fate, Who spurn'd a sordid Hymen's chains; Honest his love, unmask 'd his hate,— How different from our modern swains! Even his death may well surprise The lovers of the present day,— Only a silly sheep now dies, Because his ewe has gone astray."
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