VALENTINE'S DAY.

Kumara Times, Issue 2633, 13 February 1885, Page 2

VALENTINE'S DAY.

To-morrow, the 14th February, is, or more correctly was, celebrated in England, Scotland, and in different pans of the continent, particularly Lorraine and Maine, in France, by a very peculiar and amusing custom. On the eve of St. Valentine, a number of young folk—maids and bachelorswould assemble together, and inscribe upon little billets the names of au equal number of maids and bachelors of their acquaintance, throw the whole into a receptacle of some sort, and then draw them lottery-wise—care, of course, being taken that each should draw one of the opposite sex. The person thus drawn became one's valentine. Of course, besides having got a valentine for one's self, one became, by the universality of the practice, some other person's valentine; but, as Mission, a learned traveller in the early part of last century, remarks, " the man stuck faster to the valentine that had fallen to him, than to her to whom he had falleD." These imaginary engagements, as may readily be often led to real ones; because one necessary consequence of them was, that for a whole year, a bachelor remained bound to the service of his valentine, somewhat after the fashion of a medieval knight of romance to his lady-love. - Cupid has evidently been busy with his darts since leap-year run oat, for yesterday we had, we believe, the unprecedented coincidence in Kumara of two weddings on the same day. The " meddlesome divinity " did not allow his victims to wait till St. Valentine's Day came, but transfixed his darts so firmly that the two matrimonial knots were yesterday firmly tied by the Rev. Father Walshe, at the Roman Catholic Chapel, one at 11 a.m., the other. at 2 p.m.; the first was between Mr Denis Neville, a steady and well-to-do clnimholder, who was united to a Miss Bolton, lately arrived from the old country. He spared no expense to make the day and the occasion as happy as happy could be. The Misses Monahan acted as bridesmaids, and it is needless to say that all looked well and charming. The wedding breakfast was served at the house of Mr Neville's brother-in-law, Mr Home, of the Natioual Hotel, and the excellent spread provided by the sister of the bridegroom would have done credit to any caterer for the Governor. In the afternoon the bridal party drove out as far as the Atahura, and, coming home, diverged as far as the Loopline, returning homewards between eight and nine o'clock—The second wedding was consummated in a quiet way, not even the most intimate friends being made aware of the fact until the marriage coremony was about to take place; this was between Mr James another hardy son of toil, and Miss O'Connor, some time resident at Dillman's, and whose parents reside in Hokitika. We hear of another to take place next week.

A word for Cupid, who, through Jeremy Taylor, says—" Marriage, like the useful bee, builds a house, and gathers sweetness from every flower and labours and unites into societies and republics, aud sends out colonies and feeds the world with delicacies and exercises many virtues, and promotes the interest of mankind, and is that state of good to which God hath designed the present constitution of the world."