The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-02-12
WHO BEGAN IT?
BY OLIVE THORSE.

teentn OF feDruary excitement, Out VINO
did is question not SO easy to answer
don't think any one would have begun it il
he could have known what the simple GUS
toms of his day would have grown into, OF
could even have imagined the frightful
valentines that disgrace our shops to-day.
1t began, for us, with our English ances-
tors, who used to assemble on The eve Of
St. Valentines day, put the names of all
the young maidens promiscuously in box,
and let each bachelor draw one out. The
damsel whose name fell to his lot became
his valentine for the year. He wore hel
name in his bosom, or on his sleeve, and it
was his duty to attend her and protect her.
AS late as the fifteenth and sixteenth cen
turtles this custom was very popular, even
among the upper classes.
But the wiseacres have traced the GUS
tom farther back. Some of them think it
was begun by the ancient Romans, who
had on the fourteenth OF fifteenth of Feb
ruary a festival in honor of Lupercus,
"the destroyer of wolves "a wolf de-
stroyer being quite worthy of honor in
those wild days, let me tell you. At this
festival it was the custom, among other
curious things, to pair off the young men
and maidens in the same chance way, and
with the same result of years attentions.
Even this is not wholly satisfactory.
Who began it among the Romans becomes
the next interesting question. One old
writer says it was brought to Rome from
Arcadia sixty years before the Trojan war
(which Homer wrote about, you know
I'm sure that's far enough back to satisfy
anybody. The same writer also says that
the Pope tried to abolish it in the fifth
century, but he succeeded only in sending
it down to US in the name of St. Valentine
instead of Lupercus.
Our own ancestry in England and Scot
land have observed some very funny Gus
toms within the last three centuries. At
one time valentines were fashionable among
the nobility, and, while still selected by
lot, it became the duty of gentleman to
give to the lady who fell to his lot hand
some present. Pieces Of jewelry costing
thousands of dollars were not unusual,
though smaller things, as gloves, were
more common.
A gossippy old gentleman named Pepys,
whose private diary has come to afford
great interest and amusements to our times,
tells how he sent his wife silk stockings
aud garters for his valentine. And one
year, he says, his own wife CHANGED to be
his valentine, and grumbles that it will
cost him five pounds.
There was a tradition among the country
people that every bird chose its mate on
Valentine day; and at one time it was the
custom for young folks to 60 out before
daylight on that morning and try to catch
an owl and two sparrows in a net. If they
succeeded, it was a good omen, and entitled
them to gifts from the villagers. Another
fashion among them was to write the val
entine, tie it to an apple or orange, and
steal up to the house of the chosen one in
the evening, open the door quietly, and
throw it in.
The drollest valentine I ever heard of
belongs to those old times in England, and
consisted of the rib of a small animal
wrapped in white satin ribbon, which was
tied in true lovers knots in several places.
This elegant and suggestive gift was sent
to bachelor, and accompanied with verses:
eco contemplate this lovely sign.
Haste thee away to Reasons shrine,
And listen to her voice;
No more Elusive shades pursue,
To happiness this gives the clue,
Make but prudent CHOICE
So far, it is uncertain whether or not the
lines refer to the pleasures of eating, sug-
gested Ito modern minds by a rib. But
they go on to explain:
"Till Adam had partner given,
Much as fair Eden bloomed like heaven.
His bliss was Incomplete;
No social friend these joys to share,
Gave the gay scene a vacant air;
She came-'twas all replete!'
which leaves nothing to be desired, I'm
sure.
Those were the days of charms, and of
course the rural maidens had sure and
infaIlible charm foretelling the future hus-
band. On the eve Of St. Valentines day,
the anxious damsel prepared for sleep by
pinning to her pillow five bay leaves, one
at each corner and one in the middle
(which must have been delightful to sleep
on, by the way). If she dreamed of her
sweetheart, she was sure to marry him
before the end of the year.
But to make it "dead sure" thing,
the candidate for matrimony must boil an
egg hard, take out the yolk, and fill its
place with salt. Just before going to bed,
she must eat egg, salt, shell and all, and
neither speak nor drink after it. If that
wouldn't insure her vivid dream, there
surely could be no virtue in charms.
Modern valentines, aside from the valu-
able presents often contained in them, are
very pretty things, and they are growing
prettier every year, since large business
houses spare neither skill nor money in
getting them up. The most interesting
thing about them, to "grown-ups," is the
way they are made; and perhaps even you
youngsters, who watch eagerly for the
postman, "sinking beneath the load of
delicate embarrassments not his own,'
would like to know how satin and lace and
flowers and other dainty things grew into
valentine.
1t was no fairys handiwork. 1t went
through the hands of grimy- looking work.
men and dowdy looking girls; it made
familiar acquaintance with sand paper and
glue pots, and steel stamps and inky
presses, and paint brushes and all sorts Of
unpleasant things, before it reached your
hands.
To be sure, a dreamy artist may have
| designed it, but photographer, with inky
| fingers, printed the picture part of it; a
die cutter, with sleeves rolled up, made a
pattern in steel of the lace work on the
edge; and dingy-looking pressman, with
paper hat on, stamped the pattern around