Valentines Day

 

Valentines Day was a great occasion among young people when our daily mail bag was distended to its utmost capacity by the seasonal offerings of lonesome swains.  Here and there are still surviving collections of such amatory tokens which, it is to be hoped, will be long treasured as interesting relics of a forgotten custom. 

Frail cardboard boxes, containing concoctions of filmy layers, among which there nestled coloured prints of hymeneal altars, hears skewered together by a cupid’s dart, bouquets of bright hued flowers, much paper lace and white silk ribbon, while subject matter lurked within in the shape of printed verses ardent but most respectful in tone.

Unfortunately beside those tender passions expressed by the foregoing tokens there were sentiments of a different nature in evidence.  For the 14th was also a day when offended or disappointed lovers of both  sexes might give vent to their grievances or ill will by ‘valentines’ of even a malicious character.  As the day approached one small shop window would break forth into an eruption of gross caricatures of old maids, of bachelors of forbidding aspect, of young fathers complete with one or more squalling infants.  Each of such ‘broadsheets’ bore a sense of descriptive ‘poetry’ fully and forcibly expressing the animous of the sender.  But, possibly, many of these vindictive missives were sent by way of seasonal jest.  Let us hope so!  Valentines of both kinds were plentiful until 1875 after which these armartory tokens declined in number in favour of Christmas cards.

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