The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-08

en-. who gracefully accept them in the same
spirit in which they were sent.
| while We have no love for st. valen-
| tine SAYS the genial superintendent OF
domestic mail in this city. I'VE try to treat
all his missives with the courtesy they de-
serve. Some persons when they're dead
stay dead, but St. Valentine isn't one of
| that kind. While the valentine mail does
not. of course. equal the Christmas mail.
it more than doubles up the ordinary work.
especially in the department of misdirected
or unstamped letters.
WHEN THE RUSH COMES.
For two days beforehand, and a day
afterward, We are rushed. Where we
have ordinarily 200 letters a day In that
department to look after. We get 100. ard
that means business. Some persons think
it a great Joke TO send one of those comics
and leave the other fellow to pay the pos
tage. &C
This leads to complications not always
agreeable. When the person to whom the
valentine is directed Is out of the city. &C.
cording to postal regulations. we send a
notice to forward the necessary stamp"
Teas, luncheous. dinners. card parties
and dances are liz order on st. Valentines
Day. In table decorations pink prevails.
while the viands. as far as possible. are
usually made to carry out, the same color
scheme.
In the center of the table may be a heart
of La France roses and over 1t suspended
a bisaue cupid with bow stretched and ar
row aimed. Encircling the table may be
smilax in a succession of hearts. each one
outlining the space for a cover. Candles
and lamps should be provided with pink
shades. heart shaped bonbon dishes should
hold heart-shaped candles. both in pink.
while salads on heart-shaped plates. crisp
little lovers knots In lieu of finger rolls.
Ices In the form of cupids, quivers of arrows
md s1nync holm IN narry ont thu ultfuior.
that this. indeed, IL Cupid's heyday.
Love apples" are apropos. and tomato
bisque or tomato salad may be introduced
with advantage into the valentine menu.
For a Valentine party a post Office is the
proper ~concomitant for the entertainment.
At a successful entertainment the arriving
guests were directed to st. Valentines Office.
a pretty. trellised room at one side Of the
ballroom.
Here the Cupids were ensconced. who de-
livered to each guest a valentine engrossed
on parchment. appropriately sealed and tied
with pink ribbon. each valentine properly
directed and containing some personal al
fusion to the recipient. -
Sometimes the affair assumed more of the
character of .love's lottery each Jack
finding in his mail a section of a paper
heart whose compliments is held by a 'tJili''
that he must hunt for.
This method of finding a valentine is in
accord with the feasts of the Lupercalia.
where chance directed the young man in
drawing the name of the woman to whom
he was to swear allegiance. -
With the advent of Christianity the polftic
fathers finding they could not extirpate
this custom. to which the squl of the Ro-
man youth still fondly cleaved, decided TO
annex it; so they simply Christianized 1t. as
they did the heathenish rites of Yuletide
into Christmas. i-rs
In order to make 1t binding they turned
the February feasts into a festival of the
church and hit upon st. Valentines good
young man, prosecuted and martyred In tina
reign of Emperor Aurelian-as most lfsely
to give the old-time festival the proper
cachet of holiness.
Their weil-meant rusp succeeded. and
any yolition of his own the poor
saint. who had had no possible lt IN
the affairs of cupid and Hymen. was made
to indorse the lovemakins Of others with
his name. From this time on the eve OF 81.
feast was kept with great honor.