Show HONOR DAY OF SAINT the martyred marty red saint whose choso name ro re flues and beautifies tho the merry customs of tho the ancient roman festival 0 bt the Lu Luper calla knew naught of those sufferings fai rings of his bis death seeni seem to assort III with the season of tho the mating birds and the jolly forms of lovo love making with which that season has boon been celebrated from time immemorial it Is not known whether hla his place in the calendar was waa assigned to the middle of rebr february uary with the purpose ot 01 lending a more serious tone to tho giddiness of roman youths and maidens in drawing their sweethearts by lot but certain it Is that though the lottery of drawing ones valentine continued until a late period of english history IV changed to a form more worthy of approval by the serious and saintly man whose namo name commends it though in this athla country and this generation the proper observance of st valentines day Is limited to the anon amous sending of tender or sentimental missives leaving tho the recipient to solve the mystery of the sender I 1 in n his or her ber own imagination there have been in tho the past nany many pretty or fanciful notions associated with the day one was that the first person of the opposite sex one mot met on st valentines morning was to be his or her companion for life and wo we may imagine the care with which tho votaries vot aries of this little superstition avoided meeting the wrong person sometimes young women sought to decide the personality sona lity of their valentines by dreaming and even resorted to indigestible food at going to bed on st valentines eve in order to induce the dreams A sport of tho the young folks in en england 9 was to celebrate a little festival on st valentines eve in which tho the company was divided into couples by lot lo 10 and the young man was expected to bo be attentive for somo some days to the lady who was drawn as his valentine taking her to parties part libs and so forth in these days the fortunate or unfortunate young man who had drawn a valentine in this way wo would uld be expected to pay something for carriage hire and theater tickets it cost the courtiers of charles 11 II something to bo be chosen as a valentine for pepla in his diary informs us of a certain bolle belle of the court who received it a jew jewel el of value from be her r valentine of one year and a ring worth 1300 from her valentine of another year no true disciple of st valentine will indulge in the license of the caricatures and libels that are nowadays sent through tho the malls mails under cover of at the secrecy that Is sacred to his bis day they are altogether allen alien to the spirit of oc the season to 00 t Ts I 1 aw ar to yera ON 1 |