The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-02-19

ihcle expression or GOllNntry; but thii
| proving vain, the GA was chan rcd TO In,
birthday Of st, Valcpt ne February "A
| This saint was canoaiZel soon after nj,
execution by osdcr of the Emperor Clau
dius, about s1O, lie was Christian
Bishop, and he was made the patron OF
the day, because of the loving charity OF
his character Another theory is that the
festival, in its ees initial II not in its pre-.
else date, is as Old rs the human race,
being an expression Of the vernal impulse
common to IN living beings, and which
Tennyson sings in the famil ar lines:
In the spring l'yelier iris changes On the burn
In spring the Young mans fancy lightly turns
to thuGghlsof love.
References 10 Ike mating of birds in the
spring, and to the feelings Of love which
thrill the breast at the ason when nature
wakes from her winter sleep are scattered
though all litcrg turc hnck to the earliest
times C2tul.us, in particular, has charm
ing lyric on the impulse OF spring, which
is curiOusly like the opening lines of
Chaucer's prologue;
Whaune that Aprllc with his showres swote
The drorghte Of March hath pcrced to the
roo,c.
And sr,a'e foulcs mahen melolie,
That Siepen all the night with open eye.
The cercr,orics OF what Is now ~.
Valentines day, in this view, becomes the
expression OF n great human lass,on,
coexistcnt with the race. Valentine was
made its patron, and its date was fixed by
his birthday, simply because his name IL
equivalent t. gal0tin, French for gallant
This derivation, is quite reasonable, for
like change is found In valiant" and
gallant" 10th from the Latin vaiens.
The theory Of the origin from the lurarcal
has in its favor, however, the fact that II
became custom for Roman lads AMI
maidens to write their names upon tablets
which were drawn by lot from box. aud
the coarles thus thrown together were
supposed to he devoted to each other for q
certain period. A Ike ceremony, according
to Nilsson, a learned traveller of the early
part CT the last century, had been an
ancient custom among the young folks Of
England and Scotland, on the eve Of 81.
Valentines day, He says; " An equal
number Of maidens and bachelors get to-
Eother: each writes their true or some
feigned name uCon separate billets, which
they roll M and draw by way of lots, the
maids taking the young mems bilcts and
the young men the maids; 40 that each Of
the young men li%hts rpon n girl that he
calls his valentine, 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 valentine that
has fallen TO him than to the valentine to
whom he has fallen. Fortune having
thus diviCc the company into so many
couples, the Valentines give balls snd
treats to their miStrcSses, wear their
billetS several DAYS upon their bCsJms or
sleeves, and this little sport often ends in
love"
The custom Of sending valentines is as
Old as the hills. a couple of hundred
years ago in England it appears that mar
ried and single were alike liable to be
chosen as n valentine, and that a present
was invariably and necessarily given to
the choosing party. Sam Pepys in his
diary about that time wrote "This morn
ing came up TO nv VIII = ledsiGe | being
up dressing myself Little VIII Mercer to
be her valentine, ami brought her lane
written upon bluc paper in gid letters,
done by hilns elf, very pretty, and we were
pleased with IT, But am also this year
my wife's valentine. and II will cost me
IS; but that must have laid CIT If we
had not been valrntincj." Two days later
he adds: 81 fin that MS P:c"Ce's little
girl is my val"l ne she having drawn !ne,
whi"h WIS n;i sorry tor, i: Easing me If
more than must have given to
others. Hr' hye do first observe the
:
names, so tt.n' Pierce, who drew my wife,
did also draw Il motto, and this girl dew
another for me. What mine WAS | forget,
but my Wife'S was most cOur;enu AID
most fair which cs it may be used as an
upon each name might be very
pretty" Noticing soon af erward the
jewels of the celebrated Miss Stuart, who
BECAME duchess Of Richnond, lie says:
- The duke Of York being once her vaien-
tine did give her n Jewel Of about tS;hl, and
my Lord Vaudeville, her valentine this
year, ring of about ECO This evening
my wife did, with great pleasure, show me
her stock of jewels, increased by the ring
she hath made lately as my Valentines
gift this year-a Turkey stone set with
1t is evident that there is considerable
change in the observance of Valentines
day since the playful Pepys lived. In that
time presents were undoubtedly given in
order to relieve the obligation under which
he being drawn S va! ,ntineS had placed |
the donors. Outstanding the pi]l,iice
OF relieving, tlclc GEMS to have hecu a |
disposition toiairyc that the Re III drawn |
as valc.,tuc had considerable. likelihood |
Of hecomln2 t!!e 4 sociaie oil the party in |
wedlock. AT Ied:,t ii may he supposed |
that this idea wnrld lac gladly and easily |
arrived at where the party SO drawn was |
~ all eligible from other considerations. |
There was it appears, n prevalent notion |
among the common English people that
This was the day (Fclri.ry l4) OH which |
The birds selected their mates. They |
seemed to have imagined that an Influence |
was inherent in the day which rendered in |
some degree binding the lot or chance by |
which any youth or maid was now led to |
nix his attention on person of the op-
Dosite sex. 1t was supposed, for instance
hat the first unmarried person Of the
other sex whom one met on St. Valentines
morning in walking abroad was a destined
wife o. II destined husband
Thus Gay makes / ural dame say;
Last Valentine, the day when birds were kind,
heir paran Ours with mutual Chirr n = find,
early rose, just at the break OF day
5etore the sun had chast:i tine stars away;
\ field went. amid the morning dew,
10 milk my Kline ttGr 10 should housewives do)
Thee first Spic,i- and the iilsl swain We see,
II spite of fortune. shall oar true-lovc be.