ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1765, 13 February 1888, Page 2

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.

(" Wtttpaw* Mail.") The martyred Bishop Valentino little thought that his name would ba handed down from generation to generation, and remembered m snoh a curious manuer. It seems strange, especially as he was s>> sternly opposed to sll auoh frivolities. St. "Valetine, a Bishop of Rome, when on his trial converted the judue and his f *mily to the new faith, by restoring the sight of the Jadge'a little daughter. This hnrried on his matyrdom, at the Emperor Oiaadins immediately had him be headed to prevent him converting any more of the people. The connection of the present custom with St. Valentine, is, however, purely accidental, and has descended to us from the anoient Reman youths, who need to draw the names of girls by lots, m honor of their f^vorle Q< ddess, and exohange them with the priests, fur the name of » saint, who was to be their Valentine for a year. So thai In reality th* custom of sending valmtine* on the 14th of February, la a revival of an ancient P»giw Festival, Over four hundred years ago, Charles, Duke nf Orleans, while fighting against Henry V, at Aglu--0 art, was taken prisoner by the English He, while m prison, wrote the first ooeiical valen'lue, to his ladylove, which, was ihought ao appropriate by the English, (it aoonaa that ihey were very inquisitive), that they very soon all followed his example. Unsentimental as they were, ihey thought the idea a good one. Some of ihe missives written by him, when m the Tower of London, nny ntill be seen In tho British Museum^ How strange it seems to thiuk that tho youths and maPens of to-day are still following the example set them by the captive duke, who so many years ago languished jq his prison oel . Doubtless lie had very little e'se to amuse himself with bfsMes writ ng and compon'nii poetical verses The ouatoni oio^ Btarted rapidly spread to other countries. It even followed ur p irents over the tei until they readied thin far away p*rt of the world — New Ze .land Many an oil custom has died out, aud m almost forgotten I y us all ; but St Valentino still fl»urißnefl, and is likely 10 do go for yens to cor)© aniQEgcprtuitf glasses, us m good Bopiety it is no longer fat-hionablo but a thing of the past. Although this is the oa«o, m some respects it will not make muoh difference, as millions will be Bent which always give tho post offl je a great 1 deal of extra work. There is always gieat excitement among the young fo.k as th s day arrives. It is quite amusing to watch their faces, and to hour them express the : r pleasure or horror as the post- m in hauda 'out the various boxeß and envelopes. Of ouurao, a great many valentines are sent with mitohiovor,s or malicious motives, generally by tiie lower olusseß, who wish to annoy one another. They experience grout pleasure as they contemplate aeuding some hideous monstrosity to a rival ; euch p«tty things are pleasing to their little minds . But the majority of the valentines sent out are innocent and harm'ess. I often wonder who desigm the numberless epipio aud EentiiQ' ntal valentines, sp well that satirist and lovo-siok youths and maidens are oach bo well pleaae^ with them that they hasten to tho chop* to hay, and fill tho po-t oflloe box, for, Saint Valentine • Hay