The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1909-02-13

= H'l' - tNNaNlOllhtlN a uiNlUt
consistency IN the calendar and
this year 1t lies ia the iac' that st.
Valentine day comes on Sunday,
tomorrow to be exact. Tha,
gives all oil the newstands a tull
chance 10 close out their wares, and
n section Of the purchasers TO
arrive on the ground shortly after
the receipt OF their soft stuff. II
is a great thing, this st. Nalcn-
tine day, and its luster is no wise
diminished by the tact that 1t is OF
Pagan origin, and that its chiet
feature Is the AMUSEMENT OF seven
billion different patterns by the
dealer. The whole festival is a
phase OF evolution almost as old as
Darwin's and a heap more inter.
esting TO anybody with IN blood
in them, 1t began with the Roman
festival OF the L~upercalia, which
IN turn was OF still more primitive
tracery, and which was hung
around the spring soIstice, when
the sun crosses the line, and the
young mans fancy is supposed to
lightly turn to thoughts OF love
and other things. Its frs, ,radi-
ton was that II was the time OF
mating in all nature, and the be.
ginning OF the subsequent inter-
esting proceedings. Those old
timers had no use tor the bachelor,
correctly classifying them as out.
laws and warts upon the social
body. 80 following the ancient
custom the Lupercaiia gave the
men a chance. On that day all OF
the manageable girls were ranged
up in line and the lads picked one
to suit. II is too bad there isn't
some such game nowadays. The
girls could not turn a poor devil
down, and then as now they in.
variably worked it so that the
right fellow "axed them. Now
there is such a 10, OF red tape and
ioolishneSs about this mating bust.
ness that the average man mus,
wait until he has got it bad, and
his nerve is ironclad. The result
is a slew OF bachelors, who, as a
class, are obnoxious TO social law,
and sucn a nuisance that the gov.
ernor OF Nebraska seems justified
in his plan. All that would be
done away with IT there could be
a reversion 10 the good Roman
plan, which would be nuts tor tn,
old maids, and Incidentally relieve
the people OF the presence OF a lo'
OF old stays, who have gotten &c
be a nuisance o. general princi
plies. Confronted with the Ne
braskan alternative, there woulc
be no trouble about the demand
and the result would be distinct,
beneficial TO the state.
! As in many other things, tn,
early church tried 10 eliminate tn,
festival OF the Lupercalia. The,
couldn't cut Il. The church cal
never eliminate humanism, an,
while 1t did stop the old custom o
selection, it could not undo tradi
ton. So il did the next best thin
and rugged the whole thing into
more or less Christian festival
/ with an appropriate saint, who wa
conveniently boiled in oil on III
; I4th Of February, which was ais.
, the date OF his greatest miracl
and his greatest conversion. Thi
was the opportunity, and tn
Canonization OF Valentine legitI
: matted the day as we now have
though il eliminated the most in
, teresting features OF the primitives
and made il the time 81 love token
, OF all sorts and the interchange c
the sentiments that bother tn
most OF ms AZ times,
4 The comic valentine, so called
. was not the invention either OF IN
D Romans or the church. That wa
= a little plan OF the Devil to butt i
$ where he has no business. Tn
|, alleged humor OF these comics
D gives an excellent chance Tor th
/ old disturber. IL allows any low
lived whelp who hasn't the couraR
| to be mean ordinarily to use UncI