Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-14
ITO morrow Is 81. Valentines Day,
All In tho morning betime,
To be J our valentine"



in 1854 G, one who signs herself ga For
ward Miss" thus writes on some OF the
observances of this occasion. "Last
Friday WAS Valentines Day, and the
night before l got five bay leaves and
pinned four Of them to the four corners
Of my pillow and the fifth to the middle,
and then, if dreamed Of my sweetheart,
Petty said we should be married before
the year wss out. But, to make 1t more
sure, boiled an egg hard and took out
the yolk and filed it with salt, Snd, when
went to bed, ate it, she'll AID all; wisha
out speaking or drinking after It, We
also wrote our lovers names upon bits
of paper, and rolled them up in clay su0
put them into water, and the first thxtT1se
vas to be our valentine. Would you
think il? Mr.. Blossom was my map. l
lay abed and shut my eyes all the norn-
ing till he came to our house, for I,would
not have seen smother man before him
for all the worldn
The custom OF exchanging amatory ad-
dresses between valentines on st. Valen-
tines Day, to which 1 have already
alluded, is very old one. Chsucer has
left some quaint models of this style Of
composition, Es has also the poet Lyd-
gate, who died in 1440. A famous writer
of these valentines was Charles, Duke Of
Orleans, who WAS taken prisoner at the
battle of Agincourt. Drayton, poet of
Sh8kespeaIe's time, whose works, though
now almost forgotten, abound in pass
sges Of rare beauty, writes thus charm-
iHgly Of his valentine:
My lips I'll softly lay
Upon her heavenly cheek,
Dyed like the dawning day,
AS polish'd ivory sleek;
Aud in her ear Ill say,
"Oh thou blight morning star ,s
IT'S have come 80 far
My valentine to seek.
Each little bird, this tide,
Doth choose her loved peer,
Which constantly abide
In wed oCk all the year,
AS nature is their guide;
So may we two be true
This year, Tor change for new,
AS turtles coupled were"
In comparison with such verses a.
these, the so-called poetry of the senti
mental valentines sold in our stationers
shops must pale its Intellectual fire. One
of the best possible descriptions Of these
latter productions is given by Dickens il
his "PickWick Papers," where he tellt
how Sam Weller, on gazing into 8 sta
toner's window on st. Valentines Eve
oeheld ga highly colored representation
! of a couple of human hearts skewered to
gether with sn arrow, cooking before {
cheerful are, while g male and female
cannibsl in modern sttire-the gentleman
being clad in blue coat snd white trow
sere, and the lady in deep red pelisst
with parasol of the same-were sp
preaching the meal, with hungry eyes, NJ
a serpentine gravel path leading there
unto. A decidedly indelicate young gen.
tleman, in pair Of wings and nothing
else, was depicted as experimenting the
cooking. A representation Of the spirt
of the church in Langham place appeared
in the distance, and the whole formed
valentine"
But even the sending Of valentines, the
only observance OF st. Valentines Dsy
that is retained In our own land snC
time, seems to be gradually dying out
For some years past 1t has been the testi'
mony of postmasters ali over the country
| that the number of these sentiments
missives passing through the mails hsi
steadily decreased. This falling of be
gan with the Introduction Of Christmas
New Year and Easter cards, the number
Of which transmitted by post has In
creased Just in proportion TO the falling
OF in valentines. The reason for this Il
obvious. A sentimental valentine, th'
only one for which the word is not mis-
homer, can only have Its proper signiA'
canoe when It passes between persons b
opposite sex. a Chrkt1as, seW 1eAr O