The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-01-28
Why Love
St. Valentines
> Day .
Because 1t Helped Me In MY
courtship and to Get the
Girl / Wanted.
BY ARTHUR GRAY.
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
Association.


A hundred years ago, when there
were but a few million people in the
United States, u ~progenitors fell in
love in the old fashioned natural way
and, being C in love, married as a
matter Of course, very few of them
considering what they would live on
in the married state. One reason for
this, or cause, whichever one chooses
to consider it, was that they fell in
love and married young.
eThe reason why 1 appreciate st. Val.
entine's day is that it had a great deal
to do with my present domestic happi-
ness. A valentine began it, a valen-
hne furnished e Of keeping it up,
and q valentine settled it.
Efie Winston at seventeen was at
the exact age her mother married.
married for love-married without any
provision for the future. But Mrs.
Winston married much later than a
hundred years ago, when getting a liv-
ing was easier and not so much was
required. Consequently she didn't find
married life as charming as it might
have been had Ef1e's father had a for
tune or at least an income common
surate with the requirements Of an in
creasing family. Therefore, as might
be expected, the lady did not propose
that her sons should take wives until
they could support them or that her
5o,,rh%pr., cho,,11 ,,,o - ,no,, -,1,1 ,,,,uo
not prosperous.
This vas sensible, but when a sensi-
BILE idea is carried too far It ceases to
be sensible. To come to the point,
Mrs. Winston determined that her
daughter Efie, in whom came to be
Interested. should marry none other
than a rich man. I wanted Efie, and
l hadn't a cent. Ergo, Mrs. Winston
was a very stupid and a very obsti-
nate woman. This was my boyhood
Reasoning. and since I have grown to
middle age | have not, i'll my case.
seen any reason to change it. L ou-
Tess. however, that my daughter Efie
5hall not marry a pauper.
made Ettie's acquaintance at dane
ing school. I asked her to dance with
me twice in one of our afternoon dane
ing school meetings. st. Valentines
day came along soon afterward, and
she sent me n valentine. This was
the beginning of it. Indeed. the pretty
little missive was my first intimation
that a member of the opposite sex saw
in me something more than in the
other boys Of her. acquaintance. l
didn't stop to consider that she might
have sent one to n dozen other boys.
If had the heavenly flower of love
might have been nipped in the bud. !
knew Efie had sent me the valentine.
for, fearing l might be mistaken with
regard to it, she scrawled her name
on it.. I assumed that the verses print
ed on it had been laid down there by
the printer for the express purpose of
letting me know that Effie loved me.
Many a verse. many a letter. has
been penned by q woman who intends
to tell Of the love she bears q man
that have not in them a 1.-THE of the
.nnre sentiment that came to me in
those lines, which had been slung off
in thousands by q pressman in a dirty
apron. l dreamed over my valentine,
and / dreamed Of Effie. She is now
sJtEEery necessary to me, but she is In
capable of inspiring me with any OF
that delicious feeling which welled up
within me like waters fitted to be
quaffed by angels. carried it to
school with me and at recess stole
away from the other children to look
at It. I had it with me in my room
when / went to bed and studied it till
/ knew every flower, every vine, every
cupid. 1t was the last thing ! thought
Of before going to sleep and the first
after awaking in the morning.
Where, was I? l remember was
abusing my future mother-in-law Tor
being SO stupid as to refuse me her
daughters hand. This vas long after
/ had received the valentine, for Ellie
was nineteen and I vas twenty. Eff
de. was as stupid. l thought. as her
mother about the matter, for although
she declared she would never marry
any one but me, she demurred at be-
coming my wife. 4 being in posses
sion OF an income Of nothing a year.
At any rate. she told me that. her
mother having forbidden her from re-
ceiving II communicating With me.
abe, would obey. Indeed. she was
forced to obey. ! couldn't take care
4of# herS as my wife, and I had no right
to be dangling about her keeping de
sigab,sa niitora 3 Sa ISL.
accused her Of heartlessness and
other unattsacttYe traits till I drew
tears, then easled myself q brute. then
Kissed her soodhy and then went
away detsrmined to put myself In 9
position I earn enough to marry on.
/ worked like! a. Trojan. did not
only my own work, but every one
else's In the once where was EN-
ployed. While other boys who had no
such spur as i had thought only Of
getting a holiday nov and then OF Of,
Sinking what work they didn't fancy
4 was thinking only Of IEf8ie and}a tiny
Attage.@ I worked all day and often
rat night. Indeed, worked 50 hard lal q.
that my 8 employers noticed II and kept
on raising my salary and advancing
me till one day was %astonished at q
lroposition for me to manage the de-