The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1871-02-16

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270.; bgt most assuredly that worthy
bad nothing to do with the choosing
Of Valentines upon the day devoted
to bis honor. The usage was in
vogue many years before his sanity
foOt;t the earth. It was custom
with the ancient Roman youth, to
draw the names Of girls in honor OK
their goddess, Februata-Juno, on the
10Th Of February, in exchange for
which, certain Roman Catholic pas
tors substituted the names Of saints
in billets given the day before, nance
lyi on the 14lh of February. In
spite, however, of all the priests could
do to eradicate what they termed su
old pagan custom, the youth deter
mined to perpetuate the practice,
though they accepted the new title
given by the, priests, and thencefOrth
called the owners ofthe names drawn
their Valentines. All, the perverse-
ness of youth, the power of lovel
To-day not a vestige of those R0s
man boys remains. Their graves
many hundred years ago. faded from
the earth, and yet to-day thousands
who never even heard tell of Roman
ground are playing the game as deity
as though the lesson had been dealt
out but yesterday. Such the impor-
tance Of the lifting Of a hand
Such the pertinacity. with which the
children of men follow in the footsteps
of their fathers
The fact of the CONTINUATION Of the
custom is plainly shown by. our mod
'ern bards and press. From a colleo-
ton of Norwegian ballads, We takS
the following:
Gan trembling doth sweet 1nznr psus6
moment ere tho name she draws
Other true Valentine"
From a volume Of Irish songs
''Thsre Is no Hss IN taking, dear 1wssthssrti
We cannot do battle with fate:
Thrice and once at the Valentines draviny,
Came into my hand the nams, 'katg.'
From Burns:----
''Iestrs+n st ths Valentines dealing.
Ny heart to my Ihou. gied stem:
For thrice drew ouee withsut faifiny
And thrice 1t was written Tam Glen"
Nilsson, Q learned traveller, thus
describes the ceremony :-"On thu
eve Of the 18th of February, St Val.
entine'S day, the young folks of EDgs
land Scotland, by a very ancient Gus
tom, celebrate a little festival. An
equal number of maideDs and bacho-
lors got together, each writes their
true or some foigned name upon sep
crate 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 a,girl he calls his Valen-
tine, and each of the girls upon a
young man whom she calls hers. By
this means, each has two Valentines,
but the man sticks faster to the Val
entine that has fallen to him, than to
the Valentine to whom he has 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 oft ends in
love. There is another kind of Vale,
eutine which is, the first man or wo-
man that chance throws in your way
that day"
The poet, Gray, mentions this
usage:
81 early rose lust at the brrai Of day,
Before the sun had chased the stars away
To milk my kline lfor so should housewives do,)-
Thee first I spied, and the arst swain csc,
in spite OF fortune, Shall our true love be-"
Many, many, are the devices resort
ed to by maidens from off whose
leaves the morning dew-has long since
dried, in order. to dream of or meet
the coveted lover on the ominous day.
This extract will illustrate one or two:
Last Friday was Valentines day,
and the night before 1 got five bay
leaves, and pinned four of them to
the four corners of my pillow, and the
fifth in the middle, and then, if 1
dreamed of my sweet heart, our SER
want Betty said we should be married
before the year was out. We also
wrote our lovers names upon bits {
paper, rolled them up in clay, put
them into water, and the first thai
rose up was to be our Valentine
Would you think it, Mr.. Blossom was
my man. / lay abed and shut my
eyes all the morning, till he came to
our house, for 1 would not have seen
another man before him tor all the
world"
The custom Of choosing Valentines
is still greatly in vogue, but it is con-
fined principally if not wholly 10 rural
districts. Since the last century, very
little has been seen of it in our great
growing cities. And there is no
doubt that the old time-honored Gus
tom of "sending Valentines" is also,
like a snow wreath in weak Spring
sunshine, slowly but surely passing
away.
The experience Of England, despite
the earlier complaints, is decidedly in
favor of government control CT the