The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-03-03

presents, as, upon other occasions, the
women used to do to the men; but that pre-.
sents were made reciprocally on this day in
Scotland.
Gay has left us a poetical description OF
some rural ceremonies used on the morning
Of this day:
Last Valentine, the day when birds of kind
Their paramours with mutual chirpings find.
early rose, just at the break Of day,
Before the sun had chase the stars away;
A-held went, amid the morning dew,
To milk my kline, (for SO should housewives
do.)
Thee first spied, and the first swaine We see,
In spite Of Fortune, shall our true love be-"
We find the following curious species Of
divination in the Connoisseur. as practlsed
on Valentines Day or Eve:--''Last Fri
day was Valentine day, and the night before
got five bay leaves, and pinned four Of
them to the four corners ofmy pillow, and
the fifth to the middle; and then, if ] dreamt
Of my sweetheart, Betty said we should be
married before the year was out. But to
make it more sure boiled an egg hard. took
out the yolk and filled il with salt; and
when | went to bed eat it, shell and all,
without speaking or drinking after it. We
also wrote our lovers names upon bits Of
paper, and rolled them up in clay, and put
them into water and the first that rose up
was to be our Valentine. Would you think
it, MIR. Blossom was my man. | lay a-bed
and shut my eyes all the morning till he
came to our house; fer would not have
seen another man before hun for all the
world"
Nilsson, in his Travels in England, p.
410, has the following observations on VAL
enlines
"On the Eve OF the 14th of February,
st. Valentines Day, time when all living
nature inclines to couple, the young folks
in England and Scotland too, by very
antient custom, celebrate a little festival
that tends TO the same end. An equal
number Of maids and bachelors get togeth-
er, each writes their true or some feigned
name upon separate billets, which they
roll up, and draw by way Of lots, the maids
taking the mems billets, and the men the
maids; so that each OF the young men
lights upon girl that he calls his Valen-
tine, and each of the girls upon young
man which she calls hers. By this means
each has two Valentines: but the man sticks
faster to the Valentine that is fallen to him,
than to the Valentine to whom he is fallen.
Fortune having thus divided the company
into so many couples, the Valentines give
balls and treats TO their mistresses, wear
their billets several days upon their bosoms
or sleeves, and this little sport often ends in
love. This ceremony is practised different
ly in different counties and according TO the
severity or freedom of Madam Valentine.
There is another kind of Valentine, which
is the first young man OF woman that chance
throws in your way in the streets or else
where on that day."
In Poor Robins Almanac for 1916, that
facetious observer Of our old customs, tells
US, opposite to St. Valentine in February:
snow Andrew, Antho-
ny. and William,
For Valentines drap
Prue, Kate, JiIian.''
The following sweet and captivating
lines are taken from a volume of ".Satyrs
Of BOileau initiated nth other poems, -
published in London in 1896:
''To DoRINDA, ON VALENTINES DAY.
Look how, my dear, the foather'd kind,
BY mutual caresses Joyn'd,
Bill, and seem to teach us two
What we TO love and custom owe.
Shall only you and forbear
To meet and make happy pair1
Shall we alone delay TO live1
This day an age of bliss may give.
But an. when ! the proffsr make,
Still coyly you refuse to take;
My heart 1 dedicate in vain,
The too mean present you disdain.
Y Ell since the solemn time allows
To choose the object of our vows;
Boldly dare profess my fame,
Proud to be yours by any name"
Those who are curious upon this subject
and desire to trace any farther the history OF
St. Valentines Day, may consult with profit
Brands Popular Antiquities" to which
we are indebted for most OF these partcu-
lars, Bourne's Antiquities Vulgares, 4"
and Goujet's Bibliotheque Francise."