National Republican., 1888-02-05

pared for his valentine the good and bcauti-
lul Cutharnc Glover. 1T was small ruby,
rut into the form of II heart, tranSliXcd with
Il golden arrow, and was enclosed III small
purse made of links of the finest work in
steel uS lift had been designed for II haubcrk
to Il king Round the verge of the purse
were these words:
Loves darts
tlcavC hearts
Through mnil.ShrtS.
This device had caused the armurcr some
thought, and he was much pleased with his
own composition, because il seemed to imply
that his skill could defend all hearts, saving
his own.
In many parts of England and Scotland it
is still customary. ilS ii has been for many
centuries. for young men and women to re-
gard as their valentine the first person of the
Opposite sex whom their eyes behold on the
morning of It. Valentines day, and they
have the right to claim the said valentine
with kiss, which he or she is in honor
bound to accord without resistance or re-
murStrancr of any kind. Scott, in his novel
of"rhc Fair Maid of Perth already quoted
beautifully describes the manner in which
the peerless Catharinc Glover thus claimed
the bold nrmorcr Henry smith, aS her val
cntinu, after he had saved her from diShOnur
by his great valor and strength, on st, Ealcn-
tine : Eve. The English poet Gay also alludcs
To this custom Us follows:
"Iast Valentine, the day when birds Of kind
Their pnramour> with mutual chirpings find,
early roSe-iuSt at the break of day
Before the sun had chased the stars away;
Afrld went, amid the morning dew,
10 milk my kline for SO should housewives do),
Thee first spicd-and the first swain We see,
In spite Of fortune, shall our true love be-
Shakespeare also aludcS to this custom in
Hamlet where poor ophcia sings:
"To-morrow is ST. Valentines bay,
All in the morning brtimp,
And IA maid ut your window
To he your valentine
In n series of quaint essays published in
l75i-G, one who signs herself "A Forward
Miss thus writes on some of the obscrv-
anccS of this occasion. Last Friday was
Valentines Day, and the night before | got
five bay leaves and pinned four of them Ia
the four corners of my pillow and the fifth tO
the middle and then if ! drcamt of my
sweetheart. Petty said we should he married
before the year was out. But, to make II
more sure. | boiled an egg hard and took out
the yolk and filled it with salt, and, when
went to bed, ate it, shell and all, without
speaking or drinking after it. We also wrote
our lovers names upon bits of paper, anc
rolled them up in clay and put them int,
water. and the first that rose up was to b,
our valentine. Would you think it? Mr.
Blossom was my man. II lay a-bcd and shu
NV ewes all the morning till he came To on
man before him for all the world.
The custom of exchanging nmatOry ad
dresses between valentines on st, Valentines
Day. To which have already alluded, is ;
very old one. ChauCcr has left some quaint
models of this style of composition, aS ha'
also the poet Lydgatc, who died III lilo. a
| famous writer of these valentines wa'
| Charles, Duke of Orleans, who was takcl
prisoner of the battle of Agncourt. Dray
ton, a poet of ShakcSpcarc's time, whoS'
works, though now almost forgotten, abount
in passages of rare beauty, writes thu
charmingly of his valentine:
"My lips I'll softly lay
| lpOn her heavenly cheek,
| Dyed like the dawning day,
| As pOlish'd ivory sleek;
| And In her ear III say,
| 'Oh thou bright morning star.
| 'TiS that come 80 far
My valentine to seek
Each little bird, this tide,
Doth choose her loved peer
| Which constantly abide
| In wcdlOck all the year,
As nature l. their guide;
So may we two he true
This year, nor change for new,
As turtles coupled were.
In comparison with such verses rs theSt
the su-calcd poetry of the sentimental valei
tines sold in our stationcrS' ShOpsimuSt pal
It's Intellectual fire. one of the best posSibl
given by Dickens in his "Pickwick Papers
where he tells how sam Weller, on gain
into Stutioncr's window ON It. Valentine
Eve. bchcld II highly-coorcd representation
of Il couple of human hearts, Skcwcrcd tc
grthcr With an arrow, cooking before chccl
hl fire, while Il male and female cannlbal
modern altirc-thc gentleman being clad !
II blue coat and white trowscrS, and the lad
in Il deep red pcliSSc with. paraSol of til
Samc-wcrc approaching the meal with hun
gry eyes up II Scrpcntinc gravel path lcadin
thcrcunto \ decidedly indclicate y9un
gentleman, ina pair of wings. and nothin
else, was depicted aS experimenting I'll
cookng. \ representation of the Spirc
the Church in l.angham place appeared
the distance, and the whole formed II waller
tine.
But even the sending of valentines, Il
only observance of St. Valentines Day tn;
Is retained in our own land and time, seen
to be gradually dying out. For some yea
past il has been the testimony OfpOstmasc
ali over the country that the number of the
sentimental miSSivcs passing through Il
mails has steadily decreased. This falli
oil began with the introduction of Christina
, New Year and Easter cards, the number
which transmitted by post has increased Ju
in proportion to the falling oil in valentine
The reason for this is obvious. \ scntimcl
tai valentine, the only one for which Il
word is not a mi>nomcr, can only have /
proper significance when it passes bctwcC
persons of opposite sex, \ Christmas, Ne
Year or Easter card, ON the contrary, is I'M
vcrsul in its applicability. II is cqual lly al
prOpriutc and acceptable from mother
daughter from sister To sister, from lover
sweetheart, from friend to friend, Goo
wishes ON amy of those icStal occasion
Christmas New Years or Easter, may Vcl
,, gracefully and appropriately he sent by an
body To anybody, and the popularity Of the
three CLASSES of cards bids fair to finally e
tingush even the last remaining obScrvan'
of the day devoted to the honorof good
Valentine,
GEoFrHEY WILLIsroN CHRISTINE,
Il L AaLlAs-