The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-14
ST. VALENTINES DAY.
How II Brings Forth Combinations OF
Sentiment and Sarcasm.

Sentiment and Sarcasm.
To-day is the anniversary Of that time
honOred eveut-St. Valentines day. The
shopwindows and the stationery stores have
anticipated the day, and foolish maidens and
unsophisticated youths have selected their
choice from a great collection, embracing
all sorts Of poetic illusions, from the silllest
sentiment TO the most bitter satire.
Very little is known of good st. Valen-
tine, although it is generally accepted be-
lief that his one object in life was to mako
everybody-and especially young people
happy. Those who know say that he was
good Christian parsonage who h-urished
many, many centuries before the glorious
United States Of America was discovered.
One thing is certain, he was a martyr. His
many virtues and his decided opposition 10
the old-time deities made him exceedingly
unpopular with the paganS, and about the
year 270 he was put to death in the most
horrible manner imaginable. But although
he died, his memory has been regularly re-
membercd on Feb. IA.
The stationers' counters have the usual
piles of sentiment and sarcasm III almost
any style and at any price The old Saxon
notion that the birds paired on st, Nslen-
tines day gave it special significance among
English speaking people. Sentiment for
many years monopolized the field. But this
was not to last forever, and by and by the
comic valentine came into existence. Some
of the latter are positively vile, and the al
legged poetry under them is more so. The
purposes of st. Valentines day was origin
ally to make people happy, and it is to be
questioned il these offensive latter day
illusions have improved the time-honored
custom. There was a time when the little
valentine encouraged love. Now it devel-
ops enmity. Comic valentines are only
. l..,k % tkaN
CRATE upon the sensibility and cause as
much pain as a ruder blow.
The style in Valentines changes every
year, but the sentiment Is almost always
the same Here is one in the center Of
which, Inclosed in a wreath Of flowers is the
quotation:
Gage cannot wither her,
Nor custom stale her infinite variety"
Here is another:
LAS soft as e'er the summer sky,
Is thy bright eye Of blue;
Yet sharp as ever winters sigh
Its glanceS pierce me through"
The poetry under the pictures on some of
the so-called comic valentines forms singu-
lar combination of humor and spitefulness
They deal with all sorts of subjects, and the
ill-natured person who wants to offend a
sensitive neighbor never fails to find Just
the sort of thing he is in search of. In
this years publications the largest oppor-
tunities are afforded the rival bellies and
beaux of society to get even with one
another. The Amateur Oarsman, the
Boarding Housekeeper, and the Mother in
Law valentines are still on deck Here is
a sample of a thing that is considered excru-
ciatingly funny. 1t is headed The Painter
The man in question is represented with
large head and a small body, sleeping on a
scaffold The poetry under it reads:
Old Turpintne and Linseed Oil
Mean and greasiest man of toll
You've a very heavy head.
Since It's occupied with lead.
Always feet from Scaffold losing,
Stop your beer and overlooking;
Try and live on much less lush,
And you'll WELD better brush.
The barber is prolific source of amuse-
ment to the composers of comic valentine
poetry. Here is one representing a knight
of the razor at work on a customer He is
engaged in the pleasant operation of Slicing
off piece of the patients ear. The poetry
under it reads:
You loud-mouth scoundrel, shouting next"
While customers on chairs are veXed:
You butcher of mans chin and nose,
With badly smelling breath and toes;
Who always on foul ISLANDERS harp,
Yet like your raZors, are not sharp
Valentines day is a day that postmen
dread and the dying out of the old custom
of loading down the mails with worthless
piles of pictured rubbish is a never-failing
source CT happiness to post-office employees.