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Show IS LOSING POPULAR FAVOR Pretty Cuctom of Sending Anonymous 'Valentine-," Threatens to Go Entirely Out of Fashion. Valentine's d&y Is now almost out of fashion. Year after year the custom cus-tom of sending anonymous letters or cards of amatory significance has been on the wane. True, it Ls an ancient custom, Instituted Insti-tuted long before the Christian era. and the day is mentioned by Shakespeare, Shake-speare, Chaucer, and as well by Lyd-gr.te, Lyd-gr.te, who died, in the middle of the Fifteenth century. One of the earliest known writers of valentines, or poetical poeti-cal amorous addresses, was no less a personage than Charles, duke of Orleans. Or-leans. Drayton, a contemporary of Shakespeare, wrote : Muse bid tha morn awak, Sari winter now declines; Kach bird doth choose a mato. This day's St. Valentine's: For that good bishop's sake Get up and let us see What beauty It shall be That fortcre us assigns. Nothwlthstanding the reference to the "good bishop," many claim that St. Valentino bad nothing to do with the matter beyond th accident of iiis day being ntjed for the purpose. r St. Valentine. "The Catholic I-incyclopefilt" tells us that at least three differc.it St. Valentines, Val-entines, all of tiiein martyrs, are mentioned men-tioned in the early mar'.yrologies under un-der the date of February 14. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as I'.ls'iop of Imeramnia (the modern Terni), and these two secni both to have snTfered in the sevond half of the- Third cerdury, and to have been buried on the Flamcninn, Way, but at different distances from the city of Home. O-f botl of these Si. Valentines Valen-tines some sort of Acta are preserved, but they are of relatively late date and of no h'.-.loriea! value. Of the thlr.l St. Val.nllne, who suffered In Africa with u nuciher of companions, nothing further is known. J |