antiquarians declare it to be a corruption of 

 the Roman Lupercalia, which took place on 

 the 14th of February, in honor o£Pan, when, 

 amidst a variety of ceremonies, it was the 

 custom to put the names of young women 

 into a box, from which, as chance directed, 

 they were drawn by the men. Pepys gives 

 the following account of the celebration of 

 the day in his time :" This morning came 

 up to my wife's bedside, I being up dressing 

 myself, little Will Mercer to be her Valen- 

 tine ; and brought her name writ upon blue 

 paper, in gold letters, done by himself, very 

 pretty, and we were both well pleased with 

 it. But T am also this year my wife's Valen- 

 tine, and it will cost me £5 ; but that I must 

 have laid out, if ive had not been Valentines." 

 Again he says, "I find that Mr. Pierce's 

 little girl is my Valentine, she having drawn 

 me ; which I was not sorry for, it easing me 

 of something less than I must have given to 

 others. But here I do first observe the fashion 

 of drawing of mottoes as well as names ; so 

 that Pierre, who drew my wife, did draw also 

 a motto, and this girl drew another for me. 

 What mine was, I have forgot ; but my wife's 

 was, ' Most courteous, most fair ; ' which, as 

 it may be used, or an anagram made upon 

 each name, might be very pretty. One 

 wonder I observed to-day, that there was no 

 musique in the morning to call up our new 

 married people; which is very mean, me- 

 thinks." 



We learn, from Timers Telescope, that 

 the sweet " St. Valentine " is, even in the 

 present day, remembered with due honors 

 throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland ; 

 but perhaps the most agreeable method of 

 keeping this day of days, is that to which 

 the young people of Norwich are accustomed. 

 The Valentines are prepared some days pre- 

 vious, and sent out on the evening of the 

 13th, not by post ; for these are good sub- 

 stantial gifts, to be laid at the house-doors 

 of the happy receivers, who often lose many 

 a rare present, from numerous wicked 

 urchins being on the watch to seize and 

 snatch them away with a loop-string, as 

 soon as fairly out of the servant's hands. 



Cakes, oranges, packets of sweetmeats 

 (made purposely for the day), work-boxes 

 and bags, silver knives and pencils, music- 

 books, drawing materials, colors, puzzles, 

 &c, delight those fortunate children who 

 have friends rich enough to bestow them. 

 But most of the inhabitants of Norwich 

 think Valentines an extremely costly custom, 

 and money very ill spent, so it is most pro- 

 bable that, in a few years, these presents will 

 be discontinued. 



Children's balls are also held on this eve. 



" At in Scotland, the nobility and 



gentry of the town and neighborhood, wish- 

 ing a select ball, have instituted a Valentine's 

 j Club, which, from the rules and the different 



orders of the members of it, is apparently a 

 jocose model of the society of the Knights 

 Templars. To the sublime ' Order of the 

 Pincushion,' belongs a Grand Master and a 

 Grand Mistress ; different ranks of females, 

 who are all ladies ; and different titles and 

 orders of gentlemen, who are all knights. 

 The society, which is wholly of a private 

 nature, meet for a ball twice in the year, 

 arid once for the celebration of this as- 

 sembly." 



On this day, the London ladies gather 

 in a very delightful literary harvest. They 

 awake earlier than they are known to do 

 through the remainder of the year ; while 

 their dear faces, having worn all the night the 

 same sweet smiles they intend to wear all the 

 day, never appear in more lively or pleasing 

 colors. 



It is our custom, during this anniversary, 

 to look in a footman's face, on his opening 

 the door tous ; our knowledge of physiog- 

 nomy enabling us, at the first glance, to de- 

 cide whether it be prudent to advance or to 

 recede. If there appear a faint and im- 

 promptu kind of smile on his face, we ad- 

 vance ; our reading telling us, that he has had 

 to use his leg oftener than he considers his 

 salary will cover. If, on the contrary, a 

 placid and sleep-cemented satisfaction pre- 

 vail in it, we quickly rid ourselves of a card, 

 evaporate, or wander; it is observable to us 

 that he has been ordered to keep to his chair 

 for the day, and it is not lost upon us that 

 we have been the first to break his slumbers 

 since that order was given. 



At a certain house, of which we have the 

 entree, and from which the prophetic " not 

 at home" is levelled not at us, the poor 

 fellow who officiates, looks, about one o'clock, 

 so jaded and physically prostrate, that we 

 invariably prop him with a shilling, as much 

 to keep him civil as to secure his services 

 in presenting our own Valentine some minutes 

 after he has ushered us into the presence. 

 This he manages in a manner every way sa- 

 tisfactory to us. First, he thunders at the 

 door ; then, we hear him ventriloquising, 

 and, presently after, he appears with the 

 freight, which he presents with a melan- 

 choly and mysterious air, insinuative of " Ah, 

 ladies ! these billey-doos will do for me." 



On the 8th Febuary, 1789, a city wag laid 

 the following wager : " Next St Valentine's 

 Day, for the space of ten miles in and around 

 London, all females (except those of whom 

 marriage has deprived society) shall each 

 receive at least one Valentine." He imme- 

 diately advertised his capacity and readiness 

 to provide the public with " amatory missiles 

 [as he called them] in the energetic, mild, 

 melancholy, tender, touching, quaint, brisk, 

 smart, witty, and audacious styles." In a 

 day or two, there were as many applications 

 made to him as he and three dozen amanu- 



