The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-02-14
CUPID STILL RULES
Cynics Who Decry Power of st.
Valentine Are Unable to
Prove Their Case.
CYNIC once remarked that tn

! ~ TWO most irritating days or
/ ~ the calendar were those con-
Secrated to Saints Swithin
and Valentine, because, said he, the
/ first often brought with it a stretch of
| rain and the second a wretch of a
| strain; for, of all strains in the world,
he argued, the worst was that imposed
! by having to read q silly lot Of foot
| less and useless valentines.
The cynic probably does not stand
| alone in his opinion of Saint Valen-
tines day. There are thousands of
men like him who believe that the day
| has degenerated; that, where once Gu
{ pid conquered hearts through loving
missives sent on February II, he now
merely yawns and fails to heed.
! But does he? Have the old valen-
| tines, as love messages, really lost
| their power? Or have new kinds of
valentines succeeded the tlimsy lace
! kind Of other years? And are they at
| all effective?
The printed chronicles of the last
several years reveal numerous cases
that go to disprove the statement Of
the cynic and his followers.
On Saint Valentines day, 1908, Ar
thur Trumbull Of Oswego, N. Y, sent
! q young woman named Alice Cayvan,
| whom he had been counting with in
different success for several years,
large heart fashioned out Of crimson
! cardboard. Through the heart he had
stuck a papier mache arrow. On it
he had written the single interrOgatory
word "Hopeless?" The next day the
heart was returned to him by mail;
but the arrow had been removed and
the hole in the center had been patched
! up with a bit of white paper on which
Miss Cayvan had written a clearly
after.
Not less productive of result was the
effort of Albert Hi1drummel of Topeka
Kan, who, according to an article
printed in Western newspapers, sent
the young woman he loved, Clara
Sedgwick, blank marriage certificate
on last Valentines day with these
verses on the back:
This is my idea of valentine,
Practical, indeed, but true.
II you'll write your name in 1t,
1t will be q valentine for two.
1t is interesting to note that the re-
cipient did as directed.
An odd valentine was that sent two
years ago by Francis Everlin of Chi
cago to Sarah Collins of Toledo, o.
Everlin had asked the latter to marry
him on numerous occasions; but the
J young woman had always asked him to
refrain from regarding her otherwise
than "a sister," Everlin had no such
intention, however, and, hiding his
time till Valentines day, sent her a
valentine made up to resemble bal
lot such as is used in municipal cleo
ton. At the top Of the ballot was a
pen and ink picture of house, and
beneath appeared Eyerlin'S name op-
posite all the Offices to be voted for,
viz, rentpayer, bundle carrier, loving
husband, and so on. A slip was ap
pended asking the voter to vote the
straight ticket. Whether it was the
humor of it or something else is I'M
known; but the fact remains that Miss
Collins put the matrimonial X under
the house.
The "missing-line" puzzle craze
gave Herbert Randall of San Fran
cisco his valentine cue in 1907. To
his sweetheart. Vera Salison of the
same city, he sent this incomplete
stanza, asking her to fill out the last
line. The verse ran:
TT might have been" are saddest words
In world of woe and love and strife;
For thee, these are the gladdeSt words:
The stanza was returned the follow
ing day with this line: Eyes, dear, l
now will be your wife"
One of the most peculiar valentines
on record was the one sent year ago
by Allen Straw of Pittsburgh to Louise
Rovayer of Erie 1t was nothing more
or less than a large roll of white silk.
bearing the words: '"This is for a
wedding dress. Please valentine me
with a yes" The silken valentine
was effective.
On Valentines day three years ago
two uen sent their SweetheartS rail-
road timetables to Niagara Falls, and
another man sent his lady love trunk
tied with white ribbons and strewn
inside with rice.
John Thomas Ray of Omaha won a
wife through a valentine sent to
young woman living in st. Louis.
Rays valentine took the form of
big red apple, to the stem of which he
had attached a card reading: Love
me and world of happiness shall be
yours. Love me not, and all that you
will have will be this apple. 1t Is big
and red and pretty, but it will not
last any more than will the semihappi-
ness you believe you are enjoying
while single"
The popular jigsaw puzzles were
used as valentines by several woOers
last year. One man, named Shaw, of
Atlanta, sent one to his sweetheart
in the same city and with it the lines:
give puzzled my brain to guess your
answer. Won't you put me in shape
again with 'Yes'?' The girl sent the
valentine puzzle back with a note that
read: II do not want this puzzle. I'll
give you myself. 1 have been puz-
zle, | admit; but I'm going to solve
myself for you"
Another man, Stanley Lemoyne of
Denver, sent one of the puzzles as a
valentine to Rhea Knowles of the
same town, with the note: This will
help pass away the dull hours for you
in case you refuse to marry me-" The
girl married him.
Odd valentines, these, indeed; but
odder still the valentine sent in 1906
by Reynolds Touhey of New York to
May Lindstrom Of Brooklyn, valen-
tine that succeeded in leading the lat
ter to the altar. Touhey'S valentine
was Dresden doll baby, and attached
to it was a card reading: Imagine
having nothing more real than this all
your life THE Sunday Magazine.