A. correspondent reveals the plea: sant circumstance that she was the fortunate reciotent of Valentines on the day dedicated to the now deposed Saint. She objects, however, to the anonymity of the senders of the kitts. "It is a mistake to believe that] curiosity on this point must _neces-' sarily remain unsatisfied. Samuel Pepys, being a practical as well as loving husband. used to give his wife gloves on Valentine's Day—six, pairs" of gloves, a pair of ilk stockings and garters to be txect—and made no. secret of It Indeed, he consoled his thrifty mint with the thought that, as he would have had to make the purchases anyway, no great expense had been incurred. A young woman knows of course, that the Arst man met on February 14 is her future husband—of ought to be (she can fine him Fibbon or a pair of gloves if he otherwise disposed). Valentine's Day has cadly lost {te old sentiment. Perhaps it was killed by some sort of confusion with All Fools Day, for the practice of displaying, discipline ary annoyance with an inadequate valentine ultimately became merged fin the issue of those appalling colured prints which, at one time, used be flaunted in village shops round shout February 1 in England And those vulgarities are supposed tr have been the descendants of the retort discourteous sent by the lady who, annoyed with her swain's gift, tent him a picture of a pig with the eminently Ladylike inscription: rit fats say smore's the ereatet Yin your society surely they've never been: the exquisite taste and elegant poe-Gy of the couplet will at once be
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.