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Show ? TRUE ORIGIN OF A Vory Ancient Festival, It? 1 if Was First Observed by the f j ST. VALENTINE'S DAY aK7Alwfy5 .Tim? I 7n .- m w- j. For jrjjSptty 0f Sentiment, f It Is tho fashion nowndays to speak )f many old customs thnt Btlll survive, sur-vive, nlthough much diminished, as If they woro to nil Intents nnd purposes already dead. St. Valentino's day Is now hero observed, It is true, ns much as It was 200 years ago, nor even as much as It was in tho early recollection recollec-tion of somo of the elder generation of tho present; yet It Is very far from bo-Ins bo-Ins oxtlnct an a peculiar and popular holiday. In somo of tho rural dlstlcts of England It Is still celebrated with much quaint fidelity to tradition, and ovon In this country certain of Its well known features uro not likely to bo wholly nbandoned, If over, for many years to como. Indeed, the social prophet mny well question whether St. Vnlonllno's day may not rather regain much that It has lost through tho nt-trltlon nt-trltlon of tlmo and change by the natural natu-ral reaction that follows all positive movomonts. Tho tendency toward re-nowed re-nowed respect for somo noclnl institutions insti-tutions of tho past that hao fallen Into partial desuetude Is rather marked. mark-ed. Tho domjnnnt Instinct of tho twentieth century thus far seems to bu conservative ns well m progressive. Not very lorg ngo It was thought thnt St. Vnlontino's day wns given ocr almost absolutely to the sorry wits nnd thoir patrons who mado it a con-venlonco con-venlonco for vulgar lampooning nnd inonymous llbol. nut oven then the rrctty sentiment belonging to It had not boon altogether lost, and slnco then It has steadily rovlvcd. Tho proof cf tho assertion Is In tho fact that thero is now n greater demand for rrlntod valentines of real poetic and nrtlstle merit than over before, nnd that thoso of tho cheap, illiterate and mnllcloim tjpo aro comparatively lit-tie lit-tie sought aftor. So much that is within tho reach of nil has been written about St. Vnlen- miraculous suckling of the Itoinnn twins by a sho wolf In n cavo near this spot. Part of tho unspeakable mysteries of tho I.upercalln was celebrated cele-brated In such a cavo. Hut much of this Inf'iiuncu Is puro nfter-thouglit. It iloi-H not affect In the least the theory that the festival was begun as n recognition of tho prodigious powers of naturo. Choice by Lots. During the Lupercnlla It wns tho custom of the mnle celebrnnts to draw from a box tho names of young women rnil girls, possession of whom was thus determined by chnnee. It wns tho policy of tho early Church to adapt to Its own sjstem thosn customii of tho pagsns which It could not oxtirpnto. This method of mntlng or betrothal resisted re-sisted prohibition nnd even substitution. substitu-tion. It Is related tint St. Frnncls do Sales and other Christian pastors put tho names of saints on tho lots to bo drawn, in the placo of those of maldoiH, and charged tho joung men who received thorn to Imitate those hnlnta throughout tho jear. Hut whllo they may hao tried very hard to obey this Injunction, It appears that the lot-drawing, lot-drawing, not In honor of Fobrnata Juno, but in honor of that which hIio personified, continued in secret. Tho of a material dloccso, and others that he was only a presbyter. Wheatley writes that ho "was n man of most admlrablo parts, and so famous for his charity and lovo that tho choosing choos-ing of valentines upon his festival took rlso from thonco." In thla explanation ex-planation however, tho causo is evidently evi-dently mistaken for tho effect. Tho custom of choosing valentines wns already established, and chancing, through Its derivation from the pagan festival, to fall upon tho Ides of February, Feb-ruary, In which nlso occurred olthor tho birth or tho martyrdom of St. Valontlno, tho appropriation of tho name to that custom was most natural nat-ural In vlow of his character. In England nnd Scotlard and tho countries colonized by them St. Valentino's Val-entino's day retained all through tho Mlddlo Ages and down almost to tho present a moro typical character than It did olsowhero. In Austria and Hungary Hun-gary It Is a fostlval of floweis rather than of love billets. Young girls who wish for a. husband cast flowers Into the Danubo, nnd If thoy aro homo steadily dowu ht s'ream, without meeting with serious obstruction, tho omen Is held to bo auspicious of speedy marriage. In somo parts of Franco tho nvo of St. Valentino's day is callod tho Toast of tho Torches; but tho colobratlon, which, Indeed Is sometimes hold on tho first Sunday of Lent has. apparently, a closer historical his-torical relation to that period of abnegation ab-negation than to tho patron of lovo'a courtship. Tho torches that aro used aro mado of twisted etraw, and are brandished In tho nlr by thoso who carry them, whllo at tho samo time peculiar rustic dances aro performed. A Philological Theory. Antiquarians havo drawn riom philology phil-ology a means of explaining in r.n alto-gothor alto-gothor different way the narca it the festival of St. Valentine. It Is well known that In many languages ono letter of tho nlphnbet may easily bo substituted for another through popular popu-lar error In tho spelling of particular words. It Is suspected by some that tho namo Is primarily derived from tho Lntln "vale," which Is equivalent to our "farewell," a salutation thnt was plnced at tho end of letters; but a largo number moro Ingeniously find Its source In tho Iitln "vnlons," valiant, vali-ant, gallant. According to them In pnsslng from tho Latin Into the Norman Nor-man French this word took n "g" In lieu of tho "v," and a logical development develop-ment of It was tho noun "galantln," a lover of women. As gallantry nnd vallnncc. In another sense, are synonymous. syn-onymous. It wns easy for "galatln" to becomo "vnlantan" or "valantln." It Is pleasant to leave all theso conjectures con-jectures nslde after simply passing them In review, and to determine, merely for tho delectable purposes of the Imagination, thnt wo will Join with Charles I nmb nnd other most worthy drenmerd In regnrdlrg St. Valentine Val-entine as n real bishop, who has a very charming mission In connection with the loo atTnlra of humanity. Thus does tho Inimitable r nmb nuns. trophlzo him: "I ike unto thee, assuredly as-suredly thero Is no mitred father In tho calondar. Thou comest attended with thousands nnd tun thousands little I oves, ard the air Is "'KriHht with the Mrs of nulling wines' "Singing Cupids aro thy chorlstors and thy persecutors, nnd Instead of tho croler the mjstlc.il urrow Is bomo before thee." A Typical Valentine. Who would bo such a traitor to youth ns to demolish entirely tho legend of St. Valontlno? Road what an English Imltntor of Dollcnu wroto to his lady lovo: "I'll not roohe. one thing or other, t'utll I flrt consult mv mother." When he en o. 'tis hilf n grunt. And mny he tnlien for concnt. Many superstitions woro embroidered embroid-ered on the original St. .Valentino tradition, tra-dition, and some of them are held lu honor even to this day. Ono is fouqd In this most curlouii extract from a young woman's diary, published In an old-time English periodical: "Lnnt Friday was St. Valentino's Day and the night before I got flvo bny loaves nnd pinned four of them to tho four corners of my pillow, and tho fifth to the mlddlo; nnd then, If I dreamt of my sweetheart. Hetty said wo should be married before tho year was out. Dut to make It moro suro, I boiled an egg hard, and took out tho youk and filled It with salt; and when I wont to bed, cat It shell nnd all, without speaking or drinking nfter It. Wo also wroto our lovers names upon bits of paper, and rolled thorn up In clay, and put them Into water, nnd the first that ,roso up was to bo our Valontlno. Would you think It? Mr. Hlosson was my man. I lay abed and shut my eyes all tho morning till ho came to our houso; for I would not havo seen nnother man boforo him for all tho world." First Met, First Wed. Ray, tho poet, has placed In tho mouth of n country lass tho well-known well-known tradition that tho first person whom ono ineet3 on Volontlno's day Is to become ono's spouse. Sho sings: Liit Valentine, tho day when birds of kind Their inrnmours by mutual chirpings lire, I erly lose Jint nt tho lirenk of day, iicforu tho sun hnd dinted the stars away. A-flelil I went, nmld the mornlnc dew. To milk mv klne (for so should houe- wlves do) Thee first I spied nnd tho first swain we pee In splto of fortune shall our true lovo bo. "THE MARAUDERS"-Louis Prion. tlno's da that any artlclo upon It must necessarily bo only a reminder of thnt which Is already Knovyn. It has been tho thomo of numberloss poots and nnttqunrlans. Aftor all nothing better expresses tho spirit of this festival, since, upon tho oxtonsion of Christianity, It assumed Its modern character, than tho lines of that fresh Tolced English poet, tho Itov. John Donne, who was contemporaneous with Shakespearo: Hull, Illsliop Valentino) wJiobo diy this Is; All the nlr Is thy diocese. And ull tho chirping choristers And other birds nre thy parishioners: Thou mnrrett every jear lhe lvriu lnrk nnd tho Brave whispering ilovo; Tho npnrrow thnt neglects his life for lovo; Tho household bird with tho red atom- nehor; Thou mnkest tho blackbird speed ns noon Ah doth tho gold finch or tho halcyon 1 his day more eheerfully thnn ever shine. This ilny. which might onllamo thyself, old Vnlcntlnol Tho germ of tho celebration of SL Valentino's day Is found In naturo It-Bolf. It-Bolf. It was first n pagan trlbuto to tho fecundity of tho earth and of man, personified In Pan nnd Juno, and thero Is roason to hellevo that Its origin was Identical with that of n Folasglan febtlval, observed In I.atlum boforo the tlmo of Ttomulus nnd Homus, and brought thither by Evnnder from Ar-cadln. Ar-cadln. This was a festival of seven days, beginning In tho ldos of Fob ruary, or on tho llth or lGth of that month. It was called Lupercnlla after tho wolf, lupus, which Is supposed to bo associated In somo way with Pan, and wns often represented by tho an-clonts an-clonts ns a amybol of light and tho courso of tho seasons. Pan wns tho killor of vvnlvpB nnd tho protector of tho shopherr's who dwelt upon Ir'ount 1'alatluo befrro Ilomulus and Itemus built tholr city thero. Ily some, tho namo of tho fssttval Is supposed also to hear relation to tho logend of tho personified, continued in secret. Tho Church could not do otherwise than tolorato tho custom, when tho namo of n patron saint was substituted by popuhr fancy for that of Juno. Thero Is no clear account of how St. Valentine came to bo mado tho bishop of the dloceso of lovo, which Donno so prettily describes. t Thero aro soveral St. Vnlcnt.nes, n'nd It Is not ovon known to a cortnlnty which of theso owns tho Invisible uiitTo. Tho ono who died a martyr nt Itomo under Claudius is, however, most spoken spo-ken of In this connection. Somo authorities Bay that ho was tho bishop I To Dorlnda, on St. Valentine's Dny: Look how. my dear, tho feither'd kind. Hy mutual cnresteB Jovn'd Hill, nnd seem to teach us tno What we to lovo and custom owo. Bhall only jou nnd I forbear To n-eet. nnd mnko a happy pair? blnll we nlone delay to live? fills day nn ago of bliss mny glvo. nut. nht when I tho proffer mnko, Still coyly jou refnsn to tnko My he-m t dedicate in vain, lhe too monn present jou disdain. Yet, sincf tho solemn time nllows To choose tl"c object cf our vows, lioldly I diro profess my flame, l'roud to be ours by nny nnmo. Tho writer oftenest quoted for n characteristic description of tho old manner of obsorvlng tho right of St. Valontlno Is Mlsson, n French traveler. travel-er. "An oqual number of maids and men got together," ho says; "each vvr:t2s tholr truo or somo feigned namo upon separate billots, which thoy roll up and draw by way of lots, tho maids taking tho men's billets und tho men tho maids; so that oach of tho young men lights upon tho girl that ho calls hl3 valontlno, nnd each ot tho girls upon a joung man that sho calls hers. Dy this means each has two valontlnes but tho man sticks faster to tho valontlno that Is fallon to him than tho vnlontlno to whom ho Is fallon." A Poetical Version. A poetic picture of this custom Is found In Poor Itohln'a Almanack for tho year 1757: Thli diy bright Phoebim enters Plsee Tho mnhls win have good coro of Msscs lor always when the sun comes thero ' Valentine's Dny )a drawing neir. And both the men nnd mnlds Inc'lne To chuso them cmuIi a Vilentlno; And f n man gels one ho loves.' Il gives her llrt n nalr nt gloves And bj the WJy lemunbor lulu. ' '.''"f""' fvir with n klwt ' This kls ieKrni moie love nnd then V,i",h,"Hi,r".'0..,m' man duth curb AnJ hen ho d'tb propose the iiinich". Tho woman's wlPln'u. tho' sh , j " ?he fives the man this soft rejiy i "In Norfolk," says Sir Henry Ellis librarian of tho British museum, "II Is tho custom for children to 'catch oach other for Valentines; and II thero ate elderly sons In tho family who aro likely to bo liberal, great caro is tukon to catch thorn. Tha mode of catching Is by saying 'Good morrow, Valentino,' and If thoy can ropoat this beforo they aro spoken to, they aro rowarded with a small prosont. It must ho dono, however, boforo sunrise; otherwise, Instead ol a roward, they aro told thoy aro sunburnt, sun-burnt, and aro sent back with ills graco. "In Oxfordshire tho children go about collecting ponce singing: flood morrow, Valentine rirst 'tis vnurs. then 'tis mlno. So please give mo n Vnlontlno. "In an old English ballad, tho lasses aro directed to pray cross legged to St. Valentino for luck. In some parts of England tho pooror clnssos ot children nrray thomsclvos fantastic-ally, fantastic-ally, nnd visit tho houses of tho wealthy, slnglrg: Oood morning to you, Valentine Curl your locks ns Ido mini" ' Iwo beforo nnd three behind Oood morrow to you, Valentino It is noted In an old Homan calondar calon-dar that ghosts are wont to walk on tho ovq ot St. Valentino. This superstition super-stition was doubtless duo to a tragic association of Ideas, .prompted by tho momory of tho bloody death of tho good St Valentino, who was beaten with cudgels by tho Homans and then ''ohcndod and whoso remains aro pro-served pro-served In a church noar the Porta del Popplo nt Home, long called aftor him tho Valentlnlan gate. a French almanac of 1C72 says that bloodletting blood-letting on St Valentino's day ninkes the blood clean oyerv night nlll ,norn. Int.; and that bloodletting tho day nofore guard-- from fever for a wholo cai ' '). |