The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1917-02-09

or saucy documents, of lighter import like the
sugary rhymes of our grandmothers time nor the
| flowers and gloves of today. Instead, they were
real human beings whom destiny paired for the
space of a twelvemonth.
1t was the duty of the Roman youth on the day
OF the feast of Lupercalia which, according TO
ancient chronicers, comedies with our st. Vaen-
tines day, to repair to the Sacred urn in search
OF sweetheart In the urn were the names of
the madens of the neighborhood, written on Sins
of parchment The Roman youth never thought
OF shrinking from the ordeal. Any attempt on
his part to go around by the back streets on his way
to business or to spend the day on the golf links
instead of doing his duty as man and a citizen
would have marked him out as q man with no
sporting blood in his veins. So assuming an air
OF gay indifference, he took his place in the line
called upon the gods for succor and boldly
plunged his hand into the Sacred urn
Then, like the historic Horner, he pulled out let
us hope, not a plum, but, in the modern language
of admiration, peach. If So his face lighted de-
lightfully and he hurried out to buy an unusually
rich and varied assortment Of sacrifices for the
altar OF Venus, Cupid and the rest Of the really
important divinities. If, however fate had gone
against him and he had drawn an undesirable
maiden from the bowl, striking his clenched fist
fercely upon his brow he strobe in silence from
the place of DOOM
But he never thought of demanding a second
helping No, the gods had willed It, and so II
was to be. He had acquired a sweetheart for n
year, and he stuck by her until next ST. valen-
tines day gave him the opportunity to break the
engagement.
1t in the year 496 that Pope Gelasus
noting with pain the ancient method of observing
the feast of Lupercalia, which took place on
February 15 decided that something would have
to be done about 1t. AS the youths of the time
seemed to be strangely addicted TO the practice
of pulling the names of young women out of the
Sacred urn. IL decided that IL would not do
to deprive them altogether of this playful diver
sion. Instead, they could he led by easy stages
away from the heathenish portent Of the game.
So the leaders Of the reform movement hit upon
the scheme Of permitting the Sacred to per-
form on its usual day, but the names Of saints and
martyrs substituted upon the papers which
the youths picked out Of this receptacle for those
of madens in the community. Then, reasoned the
reform leaders, the youths could consider that the
saints whose names they drew out were their
patron saints and could pattern their lives by
those of these worthy persons. This would be
quite exciting picking out the name of ones
next seasons girl.
And to make the transformation Of this day Of
pagan rites into Christian festival complete, 1t
was decided by the reform element that the day
should henceforth be known as st. Valentines
day and that 1t should be set February IA in
honor of the fact that in go A. D. the good bishop,
afterward st. Valentine, beheaded by the
prosecutors Of the early Christians because he
had performed the remarkable miracle of making
his jailer's blind daughter see.
The Day of Lovers.
St Valentines day February IA indeed became,
but, alas for human fraty although the name
changed the spirit Of the day remained as before.
Down to our time 1T is still the day of lovers
the world over The names of the saints which
out of the Sacred urn instead Of those Of the
pretty girls Of old Rome were powerless to turn
the thoughts of young men away from love and
happiness toward self-sacrfce and piety. The
ancient usages persisted, and thus originated the
! incongruous situation whereby ecclesiastic OF
ascetic life and pous history has given his name
i for all time to n festival devoted TO the mpas-
4 stoned sentiment of lovers.
In later days, when valentines had come to be
delicate mssives In which lovers expressed their
! ardor in their own verses, the duke Of Orleans
was one of the many great persOnages who thought
the inditing Of valentine verses not too small a
! goal for his poetcal ambitions. IL was after
Charles was taken prisoner at the battle of Agin-
court in 1915 that he did the greatest amount Of
his valentine poetizing. He composed the first
written valentine which exists AS he was a
prisoner of England for % years, he had plenty Of
time TO polish up these dainty epistles, and he left