The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1914-02-05

tousled-and his hands and face are uanswer-
able testimony to the fact that the rising genera
ton occasionally gets back to Mother Earth even
in the private city streets, pessmists to the con-
trary notwithstanding. He has been having
great time. St. Valentines night is almost as
much fun as Halloween! Valentines? Sure, he's
been giving yalentines-but they aren't exactly
the kind Sister Lu or even little Jane received.
He's presented the almond-eyed Celestial down
at the corner with most touching reminder OF
how he looks when he irons sfirt-and he's had
thrilling, har-breadth escape from the aforesaid
washee-washee, who couldn't see 1t as a joke at
all. Pshaw, Chinaman never could run anyway!
Then there old Peanut Caruse. who kept the
fruit stand on the opposite corner. Poor, ex-
citable old Dago! If there hadn't have been quite
SO many little American devils in the gang he
might have run one of them down and gotten MS
revenge But, If he did, what would become OF
his peanuts and his smooth, sleekly polished ap-
pies in the meantime, with all those other little
pests swarmlng around and yelling like Comanche
Indians?
And grandma and grandpa. They sit quietly
by in their big armchairs and smile complacently
at the enthusiasm of the youngsters. IN their
hearts are memories of other st. Valentine 8
eves-'way back in other days, in the dim and dis
tant past when they both were young and the
fever of love beat strong in their breasts. There
are valentines for them now, for they are old
and gray and their course of life Is almost run,
and, somehow, st. Valentines day is day for the
young But wait What is that on grandma 8
lap? Can 1t be? Yes-t is-it's valentine!
Grandpa has remembered! It is not one of those
gaudily- painted modern of elaborate manu-
facture; no, but an old-fashioned Of many
layers of carved and curly-cued paper, framing
tiny picture of the Madonna and bearing the
simple message: BE my valentine" 1t Is the
kind grandma knew and learned to love long
years ago when grandpa, then as fine a young
dandy as was to be found in all the country
round, came sparkling her She smiles happily
and mods across at the old man. who understands
all that she feels-and remembers
In the morning the mail comes loaded
down with more valentines. Indeed, 1t seems JUS
like another Christmas to little Jane, when sh'
beholds his pouch full to overhowlng. But NJ
can't see it in that light at ALL or in any othe
light except that he has been Juggling that blame'
old pouch for ten squares, leaving something
almost every door, and the darned old thing
heavier than when he first started out with II
Christmas is bad enough, and the people WIN
made these fool holiday stunts ought to be salts
fed with plagueing mail once year; bu
instead they don't give him time to recover fro1
the Christmas avalanche of mail before they jail
all this crazy Valentine foolishness down hi
throat. After that pouch has gotten to r.
snectable convenient size-so that 1t feels NOR
like mail pouch and less like ton OF coal
the mail man may appreciate the sentimental SIC
of the day. He may recall the flushed, cage
faces that fairly hurled themselves almo
through the door in their eagerness to snatch tt
mysterious letters from his hands. He may
call his own boyhood when he himself both gay
and received valentines with childish gee al
couldn't understand why In the world, on this
all mornings the mail man was SO late. If so
smiles good naturally and remembers that eve
task. however onerous it may be, has its own 7
ward when viewed in the right light.
Watch your newspapers on St Valentines d
for one particular item-eloping coupl
who chose the day because it is especially Cupid
Some years they ara many in number, and sor
times but few and far between. But there is
wavs a half-dozen at least. Cupid sees to TIL
himself And to the lovers themselves, 1t is
day of all days. for each gives himself to the 9th
as really truly valentine for life