The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1910-02-18

Ell ~ AilhL u8ilhHliul 4Oia
wN \ gossip Of the reign OF
jk Charles H.. enters in his
diary on Valentines day
!. :. J. !: !" J. !: !.
j II aT7Sr1H 1867 '"This morning came
IA 60 little VIII Meiser to be
IA my wife's valentine. and
A&l7A brought her name written
- 4H upon blue paper 10 gold
RIH letters. done by himself
49, Very pretty. we were both
aSmzrsu@sssg well pleased with II But
am also this year my
wife's valentine. and II VIII cost me
i've pounds; but that must have laid
out II we had not been valentines"
Two days later Pepys says Il find
that Mrs Pierce's little girl is my val
entine she having drawn nae, which
am sorry for. II easing me OF some
thing more that must have given to
| others But | do first observe the
fashion Of drawing notices as well
as names, 50 that Pierce. who drew
my wife, did also draw a motto, and
his girl drew another for me What
mine was, ] forget, but my wife's was
Most courteous and most fair which,
as IL may be used as an engagement
upon each name. might be very pref
| ty"
But fully as interesting and much
more strange were the St Valentines
customs among the common people
Many Of the observances were singu.
larry like those OF Halloween. They
were not so grewsome, but the resem.
blance is unmistakabe For instance,
pert miss. who livSd in the 1865,
writes; Last Friday was Valentines
day and the night before | got five
bay leaves and pinned four OF them to
the four corners Of my pillow and the
NTH TO the middle. and then II
dreamt OF my sweetheart, Betty said,
we should be married before the year
was out. But to make 1t more sure
! boiled an egg hard and took out the
yoik and filled II with salt and ate 1t
shell and all without speaking or
drinking after II. We also wrote our
lovers names upon bits OF paper and
rolled them up in clay and put them
into water and the first that same to
the surface was to be our valentine"
There have been endless devices for
valentines. but perhaps the uueerest
on record Is that described in the fol.
lowing little story. One st. Valen.
tines morning All English gentleman
remarked to his pretty daughter that
on that day 100000 more letters than
the average passed through the Lon.
don twopenny post
Why. papa" replied the girl, that's |
Just the number OF young folks that
must be In love with each other
that's the way to reckon"
At that moment bachelor friend |
OF the family came in and learning the
subject Of their talk. drew a small
package from his pocket.
Here's my valentine" he exclaimed
and presented 1t to the young woman
1t contained small rib. carved Of
ivory and covered with white satin |
ana ornamented with true lovers |
knots. There we're also some verses
Of which this Ia one:
TIL Adam had e partner given,
MuSi as fair Eden bloomed like Heaven. |
His bliss was incomplete
No social friend those Joys to share
Gave the gay scene a vacant air,
She came-'twas all replete.
We'll. now, call that capital"
cried the lively lass After such a
valentine you must take the hint, my |
dear sir. It's settled. you must get
married"
"Will you marry me2" he asked.
Il marry you? No. You are too
old. But there are many women OF
your age. Why don't you ask one OF
them7"
He had to be contented with this
sorry consolation. though he deserved
a better fate for the ingenuity of his
valentine.
ST. Valentines day has always been
a favorite with the poets II is men.
toned by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Goe
the, Donne, Gay. Lydgate and others,
and many first.class versifiers have
written valentines, or these none is
more remarkable than Macaulay. That
renowned scholar and historian never
missed giving st. Valentines tribute
to his favorite nieces and his valen.
tine to the Countess Beauchamp
daughter of the earl OF Stanhope,
ranks with the most admirable of his
compositions.
1t is pity that the fine old festival
of st. Valentines day Is not made
more of by this generation. Some
thing should be done to bring back to
II the charm. the romance, the poetry
Of other times.
Happily, In the last few wears the
come valentines have been more hu,
moroGs and less vulsar--The Sunday
Magazine,
MR.. CROUCH SURPRISED.
TAE uzUAA
ARRIVES roe
UNCLE soDSGR
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