davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

Valentines Day or be barred from the
froues of the occasion. The manner of
the pairing of OF these ardent SWANS
and maidens was rather a novel one.
On the evening preceding the festival
day an equal number of bellies and bach
elors assembled at some appointed rem
devious and each wrote his name upon
billet, which was rolled up and placed
with others OF its kind In basket. Then
occurred drawing of lots, the maids
taking the mems billets and the men the
maids, so that each of the young men
had designated by fate girl whom he
called his valentine, and to each young
lady was delegated an escort whom she
called hers. The plan had the disad-
vantage that each person In the company
really had two valentines, but this prob
lem was In a measure solved by the I'M
written law that each man should be
more loyal to the valentine that had
fallen to him than to the valentine to
whom he had fallen. After loves lottery
had thus divided the company into cou-
pies the valentines gave balls, provided
treats of one kind or another for their
mistresses and wore their billets on their
sleeves for several days. As was to be
expected such tempungs Of fate frequent
ly fostered romances that ended In mar
rage.
Merry England was also the country
in which the practice of sending yalen-
tines in the form OF loyeladen messages
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

more forcefuIly than by his love for his
son Tad. Not even Tad's prank of wav-
ing a Confederate flag from a second
story window of the White House while
his father was making a speech to Union
veterans directly below seriously ruffied
the patient President. AT one of the
White House receptions a little shaver as
soon as he entered the main door shouted
Justify "Hurrah for Lincoln" The Presi-
dent made no sign that he had observed
the incident, but when the movement of
the long line of callers finally brought
the youngster before the President, Lin
coin tossed his dimunitive guest toward
the ceiling and shouted out "Hurrah for
you"
The marvellous skill and versatility of
Lincoln in story telling was largely an
acquired art. He, early in his public
career, came to appreciate the value of a
good story well told, and was wonderfully
adept in summoning at moments notice
witty incidents the recital of which
clinched his statements more effectually
than a world of argument All his life he
got rid of troublesome friends and trouble
some enemies by telling stories. One Of
Lincoin's favorite stories concerned Daniel
Webster. Webster, according to Lincoln's
version of the incident, was, when a
schooIboy, one Gay called before the
teacher for some infraction OF the rules.
Told to hold out his right hand for
feruling," the lad reluctantly put forth
a decidedly .grimy paw. Daniel" said
the Disguised pedagogue, IF you will find
as that ! will let you off this time" In
stantly from behind the lads back came
his left hand. Here 1t Is, SIR" was tEa
ready response of the future orator.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
Adams ale from the spring. ]"

Adams ale from the spring."
When Lord Lyons, who was during the
Lincoln administration British envoy at
Washington, called at the White House to
announce the betrothal of the present
King and Queen of England, the presi-
dent listened attentively, and then re-
marked in all seriousness to the bachelor
diplomat: Lord Lyons, do thou so and
do likewise" In receiving the thousands
of callers who visited the White House
Lincoln evidenced a remarkable memory.
Greeting at a public reception a man
named Flood, whom he had met casually
II years before, the president said: 81
am glad to see that the Flood flows on"
A visitor from Nebraska referred to
place in his state which bore as its name
the Indian equivalent of weeping wa
ter" but could not recall the name.
WELL" said Lincoln, according to Long
fellow, laughing water is Minnehaha, so
that l suppose this must be Minneboo-
hoo"
At another time when a delegation of
weak-kneed financiers had descended upon
the White House with expressions of mis-
givings as to the way the administration
was conducting things Lincoln met their
dire forebodings with the statement:
Now, gentlemen, suppose all the prop
erty you were worth was in gold and you
had put 1t in the hands of Blondin to
carry across the Niagara River on a rope,
would you continually shake the cable or
would you hold your breath? The gov
eminent is carrying an immense weight.
Keep silence and we will get you safe
across"
Lincoln's fondness for children was re-
peatedly illustrated, but in no manner
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

keepsakes be of the home made or early
crudely manufactured variety-that pos
sesses the greatest interest for present
day beholders. Very few of the present
generation, however, gain an opportunity
to have a peep at the sentimental confess
sions of their ancestors. Oddly enough
none of our great American museums num-
Der collections of old valentines among
their treasures and even the famous
Library of Congress at Washington. which
is so rich in rare prints and other similar
art objects, has not so much as one old
valentine in its archives. Fortunately, how
ever, one private collector in America has
made this his hobby. The collector of this
unique class of relics is Mr.. Frank ii.
Baer, one Of the best known railroad Off
Gals of the Middle West, and means and
the opportunity of travel have enabled
him to compile an art gallery of old val
entines that numbers hundreds of speci-
mems and is without a peer anywhere In
the world.
The Oldest specimens of valentines in
this famous collection date from the lat
ter part of the eighteenth century and
are, of course, homemade and OF what is
known as the cut-paper variety. Such
valentines, invariably delicately cut with
saw-tooth edges, were found, when opened,
to be filled with written sentiments. The
sheet of paper employed in making one OF
these valentines was about as large as
pocket handkerchief, but it was folded and
refoded until 1t was reduced to an area
of not more than four square inches.
The unfolding of such valentine treat
ed the recipient to a continual succession
of surprises For instance, in the collec-
ton is a valentine sent to Sarah Brett in
1890, and upon the outside of which is
penned:
When you. dear. this harte behold,
Twill break as you these lines unfold.
The power of envy cannot pretend
To say have falls verses pend.
For in the inside, Sweet Turtle Dove,
I've wrote the MORALS Of my love
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
TIT CzHZZZEQ6lX
HLDH-IC With ZZ-ZE
ar. ZzIRLE- ELZzZZzzW

nerves of my soul. Now hope you will
excuse the holiness with which l now ad-
dress you and let the warmth of my feel
ings be sufficient apology.
Now is the time to choose your mate,
The day will be past and it will be tho
late;
And pray beware Of flirting. for this Is
loves own day.
am, with great affection, your sweet,
beloved, precious
SALLY CRUIKSHANKS-
Some of the beaux Of two-thirds Of a
century ago were not SO madly In love
that they lost all sense of humor, and
some of the more yenturesome were wont
to combine soulful sentiment and good
natured teasing. In that age, as in this,
the girl with the large hat came in for
her full share of attention. One old val
entine, bearing a picture of smartiy
gowned woman wearing a colossal hat.
has appended the inscription:
From chilling rain alike and solar heat,
Your hat affords me a secure RETREAT
Accept. Dear Girl, this loving Heart Of
mine
And be my Fashionable Valentine"
However, any affronted belle had ample
material with which to repay Sights. A
sample of the wit of the age Is seen In
a crude picture valentine of the year 1905,
which bears the lines:
ION go, you little harmless thing,
dandy all so fine.
The Gods l hope Man win bring
To be my valentine
Equally wonderful were some Of the
transformation pictures that seem to have
quite passed out of fashion, but were
once the very acme of elegance in the
valentine marts. A favorite subject of
this character judging by the specimens
in the unique valentine collection above
mentioned, was that wherein a lone
bachelor was beheld alone and unloved,
bemoaning his sad and solitary fate. The
transformation revealed him enjoying the
bliss of companionship of the idol of his
dreams. The same idea was extensively
utilized for the comic valentines of half
a century or more ago. For instance, a
simple movement of one of these dual
satires would cause the picture of a
laxative lady's head to give way to that
of a parrot Many of the most fanciful
valentines of all ages have been furnished
by the proverbially skilful German crafts
men, yet the custom of exchanging these
messengers of love has ever beee con-
fined to English speaking people.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

nual and Universal Valentine Writer"
"Cupids Festival" "Cupids Budget"
"Cupid's Cabinet and Court of Love"
Polite Valentine Writer" "Rhapsodies
and Pastimes," Select Verses for Bellies
and Bucks Who Throng to Hymen's
Court" "Cupid's Annual Charter" The
School of Love-" Ladies' Polite Valen-
tine Writer" 1.-The Bower of Cupid" and
Others In the same strain.
Not all of these works OF ready refer
ence were intended, however, for those
fond beings for whom the course of true
love was seemingly running smoothly.
For those disappointed and revengeful
creatures who made this significant day
an occasion for venting their spite be-
cause of rejected affection there were
such volumes as "Quizzical and Satirical
Valentine Writer" and that yet more
famous source Of poisoned shafts "Hy-
mems Revenge Against Old Maids, Old
Bachelors and Impertinent Coxcombs, +"
being, as the subtitle explained, "a
choice collection OF valentines. humorous
and satirical, chiefly original" The val
entine yersemakers even went further in
their specializing and provided special
verses for the various classes Of trades
people, some telling of love in the ap-
proved fashion, but others deity adverhs-
ing the sender's business.
Along about 1900 the manufactured val
entine, ready prepared and complete in
every detail, began to make its appear
anee and gradually these tokens Of affec-
ton began to supplant the home made va
riety, even though the publishers of valen-
tine textbooks redoubled their efforts to
provide their patrons with fascinating
illusions. Gradually valentine manufac-
ture grew from the simplest processes to
the creation of those ornate connections
of lace paper. silver and gold, artificial
flowers and embossed pictures. with which
the world has become familiar during more
recent years.
After all, however, II is the valentines
of our dmothers-whether the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

tion. on one occasion during his boyhood
the town bully entered the store where
he was employed as clerk and raised a
disturbance, ignoring the clerks requests
that he behave himself. "Well," said
Abe, finally, '1f you must be whipped, |
suppose | may as well whip you as any
other man." and he not only proceeded
to give the ill-behaved visitor a thorough
thrashing. but rubbed Smart weed" into
his eyes until the fellow beloved With
pain.
This recalls the fact that when, in
later years. after his memorable duel
with General Shields, Lincoln was asked
by friend why he had chosen broad
swords as weapons instead of the custo-
mary pistols. he remarked: 81 did not
want to kill Shields, and felt sure l
could dlsarm him, having had about a
month to learn broadsword exercise; fur
thermore, didn't want the darned fellow
to kill me- which | rather think he would
have done If we had selected pistols"
1t was while Lincoln was clerk in the
store above mentioned that he received
the nickname of Honest Abe" On one
occasion, after closing the store at night,
he walked four miles to refund few
cents to a woman whom he had uninten-
tionally overcharged for a purchase. His
tory has given great prominence to the
fact that as a young man Lincoln split
rails for the necessaries of life, but Is
silent as to the terms upon which he
performed this arduous work. The rail
splitting was the means of securing not
only bed and board, but also clothing. AT
one time the Woodworking young man
made bargain with Mrs. Nancy Miller
to split 400 rails for every yard of brown
jeans, dyed with white walnut bark, re-
quired TO make a pair of trousers-no
small contract, since the rail splitter was
tall and ungainly.
Lincoln was appointed n postmaster by
President Jackson, and innsmuch MS he
did not want to be tied down by the du-
ties of the office, he hit upon the novel
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
Thou art the maid and only maid
That hast my honest harte trapad.

Thou art the maid and only maid
That hast my honest harte trapad-
When the seal was broken the favored
young lady found a representation of two
little pink hearts and the words:
my dearest dear and blest divine,
1 have pictured here your heart and mine
So the plaintive appeal continues on
various layers of the valentine until at
the last unfolding the fair Sarah finds in
the handwriting of her poetic admirer the
words:
"If you refuse with me to wed,
Twill bring destruction to my head
'Pale death at last shall stand my friend
And bring my sorrow to an end"
That the demure maidens of the days of
the minuet would sometimes condescend
to offer encouragement to presumably
bashful suitors is attested to by a number
of the valentines now yellow with age.
One such token consists of a folded piece
of cardboard, on the outer portion of
which is hand-painted view of a church
and the words:
Let Hymen's bands the happy knot en-
Irvine
And ! will prove faithful valentine"
Upon lifting the flap of this labor of
love there is disclosed a view of the in
terror of the church, with Flora and
John, duly labeled, standing before the
altar. Anything further would appear to
be supertiuous, but, nevertheless, there is
a postscript as follows: BELIEVE l love
thee, my dear Johnny and will be true
and faithful till death us do part! Flora. 50
OF a later date is a missive adorned
with hearts, which reads:
February. 1916.
My Much Respected Sir-I came very
near forgetting that this was a very i'm
portant day, but / shall never forget the
time when ! first saw you. Your music
inspired my heart with rapture, and your
tones Of affection went to the very inmoat
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

ture his fellow-members had no end of fun
with him. They teased him numerically
about his large feet and once when he
complained of cold quick witted con-
frere remarked that it was no wonder he
was cold there is so much of him on the
ground" However, Lincoln had a way of
turning the joke on the other fellow in
the most unexpected manner. Once when
he had agreed to trade horses sight UNI
seen" with a brother lawyer he showed
up at the appointed hour with saw
horse on his shoulders.
The witty statesman was always willing
to join In a laugh at his own expense
He never tired of gleefully recounting an
experience when travelling when a fellow
passenger on the train grayely informed
Lincoln that he had something that be-
longed TO him. When the future president
inquired what it was his new acquaint-
ance produced a pocketknife and said:
This knife was given to me some years
ago with the injunction that l keep it
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

found earliest favor. One explanation ad-
vanced for this was that the British
swain, though quite as amative as his
cousins on the Continent, did not possess
the agile tongue OF the Southern races
nor the holiness of the Latins in love
making. Consequently, so tradition runs,
the young Britons early adopted the plan
OF dispatching tender verses or compli-
mentary pictures In lieu of verbal decla-
rations OF affection. At first the messen-
gers of love were homemade verses,
penned in colored ink and accompanied in
many instances by a crude drawing de-
signed TO typify the devotion of the
artist.
Ere long the poets of the United King
dom came to the aid of loyelorn young
people, and the market began to be
flooded with booklets of appropriate
rhymes" for lovers and sweethearts of
all ages and stations in life. The first
of these aids to the sentimentally in
clined appeared about 1880, and there
after they continued in vogue with no
loss Of popularity until about $780, Some
of these booklets were issued annually,
like almanacs, each new edition stored
with the very latest productions of the
poetasters.
The choice rhetoric and lofty sentiment
that abounded in these little volumes of
gems" for valentine senders was In a
measure reflected in the titles of the vol
umes. Witness. for instance. THE An
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
Z01T GzH24GZZQI7ZN M%SNMk4ZADzNaLAYLIAN
lHlRZQH/T NEN2RAH1NZZHNLN SM@NAANULA0ONI cQS0

q or only was Abraham Lincoln the
hgreatcst story-teller who ever lived,
y but he was the hero of more good
stories than any other man in America s
gallery of heroes. Admittedly, nothing
SO effectunlly throws the llmelight upon
the private and public career of any
celebrity as the little anecdotes and incl
dents which are seldom matter of
o$cial or historic record. Quite natural
ly therefore, the biography of any man
prominently in the public eye is certain
to be raked with a fine-tooth comb for
those minor happenings that disclose so
much more regarding his real character
than any array of dates and data.
Only too often the anecdotes that are
unearthed regarding a popular idol are
sadly disappointing. The points made are
obscure or the humor is seemingly forced,
and altogether the gossip is not very con-
vincing. Not so in the case of Lincoln
however On the one hand, Lincoln was
famous for his pungent, pithy and prac-
tical stories drawn from an apparently
inexhaustible source and always available
on every occasion. On the other hand,
the Civil War President was himself the
central figure in hundreds of good stories
that were illuminating In their disclos-
ures of his dry humor, kindly sympathy
and keen insight into human nature
Lincoln delighted to tell of the high
price which he as a small boy paid for
a copy of Weem's Life of Washington :"
He had borrowed the book from neigh
boring farmer, and was so unfortunate as
to leave 1t near an open window, where a
drenching rain seriously damaged 1t. He
went over to the owner and made clean
breast OF the matter, whereupon the mag
unanimous farmer said: well, Abe, so
long as 1t Is you, won't be hard on you.
Just come over and pull fodder for me
for couple OF days and l will call 1t
square,"
The martyr President was known as
man who preferred peace whenever pos
sbe, but he could fight upon provoca-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

until found a man more homely than my
self. Now | think you are entitled to the
property"
During the Civil War a committee APP
peared before President Lincoln and de-
manded the removal of General Grant be-
cause, as the spokesman put it, He
drinks too much whisky" by the way,
gentlemen" dryly remarked Lincoln. "can
any of you tell me where General Grant
procures his whisky, because If l can find
out l will send a barrel of it to every
general in the field" For all that Lincoln
was broad minded. he was personally most
temperate. On one occasion when he en-
tertaped party of politicians who plain
ly expected some liquid refreshment he
had a huge old china pitcher brought in
and announced: Gentlemen, we must
pledge our mutual healths in the most
healthy beverage which God has given to
man. 1t is the only beverage | have ever
used, and l cannot conscientiously depart
from it on the present occasion-it is pure
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

expedient OF converting himself into a
portable postofIice. Whenever he had oc-
casion to go about he carried all undeliv-
cred letters In his hat and any patron of
the office who wanted his mail had only
to locate the postmaster in order to Sc
cure it Immediately.
The first political speech made by Lin
coin was delivered in 1882, when he was
% years of age. 1t was on the occasion
of debate, and his opponent, the rival
candidate, had wearied the audience, so
Lincoln contented himself with the follow
Ing: Gentlemen, FeIlow-citizens: | pre-
sumo you know who | am. l am humble
Abe Lincoln. / have been solicited By
many friends to become a candidate for
the Legislature. My politics can be briefly
stated. | am in favor of the internal i'm
provement system and n high protective
tariff. These are my sentiments and po-
litical principles. If elected | shall be
thankful. II not, it will be all the same"
After Lincoln entered the state legisla-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
CUpLD Dz1A2HZZ
II MLZN-ZZlY-E OFA
0rNZTITz0N no n
CEN-ZI-QIL no

n HE manufactured valentine which,
n in one form or another, has become
~ the currency OF love and ridicule,
and as such has circulation millions
strong every amid February Is an In
sttution little more than a century old,
yet the festival which these missives
commemorate is an ancient one. Indeed.
II had Its origin in the old Roman Gus
tom Of celebrating in February the
Lupercalia in honor of Juno and Pan, at
which time each young citizen of the
empire chose a companion of the OPP
poslte sex with whom to honor these
gods. When the fathers of the early
church found that the people chung tena-
ciousy TO this festival of longing hearts
the Christian priests made OF the pagan
holiday a tribute to good St Valentine
For all that loves celebration, by mere
chance, fell upon the day that the church
had set apart as sacred to St Valentine
the old priest had nothing whatever to do
with the sentiment or practice which has
caused this festival of love to endure for
all time. On the contrary, Instead of be-
Ing n beloved promoter of tender and ro-
mantle feelings, Valentine was regarded
as lnalefaetor by the Roman authorities
and was martyred in Rome in the third
century. being dubbed to death and then
beheaded In the Colosseum.
Gradually. however, the observance OF
the misnamed Roman holiday oyerspread
Europe. The early, practices of st. Val
entine's Day on the Continent abounded
In quaint and fanciful conceits. For in
stance, in Italy young people took to fol-
lowing singing birds until led by the
winged messengers of song into the pres
ence of their valentines In France the
youthful believers in romance were wont
to seek secluded woodland pools in the
hope of finding mirrored therein the faces
OF their destined loves.
Ii was In England and Scotland, how
ever the festival attained the most uni
versal popularity from It's earliest intro
duction. and that the most hilarious spirit
characterized Its observance. In we olden
time the young folk drew lots for one
another on the eve of St Valentines
Day, and the swain who was not fore
handed must needs auda ciously choose a
valentine out Of hand at sunrise ON St