1938-02-14 — Page 22

10

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. MONDAY, FEBRUARY

14, 1938.

VALENTINE

The needia was thought

to be true to the pole.||

where Arctic seas roll;

the true honest heart,;

Yet it varies, they tell us,

But constancy lives in

And unlike the needle

T

st clings to its part.

HERE is a tradition that the little god of Love was once stung by a bee and, in startled consternation at the unusual pain, dropped his bow and arrow and ran to his mother full of protests and tears.

Aphrodite, however, merely told him with one of her com- plicated smiles, that he, who was responsible for hurting so many people every day of the year; should have small reason. to complain at a single wound from so inconsequent a scimi- tar.

Shakespeare wrote: "Men have died and been eaten by maggota, but not for love," How far experience confirms the poet's opinion it is difficult to ascertain.

There are those who believe that men and women often

PRESIDENT LINER

from Llewelyn POWYS

Here is set forth the lusty lore of. every February the Fourteenth. And it is of note that Victorian Valentines were not always

kind! The verses repro duced from the one on the left are gentle enough: But therude legend on the right must have levied many a tear! layer upon layet, in the limp. lovelorn, lace-liko paper such as is apt to surround wedding cakes, with "the heart of the matter" carefully hidden at the centre.

come" to wear a green coat," as we say in the country, because of this heroic passion.

In any case, it has been proved, for times out of mind, that the hazards we dally run from the sling stones of Eros begin to multiply after Saint Valentine's Day.

It is of as little use trying to explain why this should be so as it is to discover why the perilous day should ever have been as- sociated with the unfortunate Bishop who, in the second cen- tury, was first chastised and then beheaded.

Custom prompts us to cele- brate our awareness of the "open secret" by pretty repre- sentations of hearts and arrows;

and fle for though, alack! shame," our modern sophisti- cated cards are not always as perfect as they should be.

A strictly orthodox perfect Valentine should be enfolded

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The tradition that the birds choose their mates on Febru- ary 14 comes put to the truth. All winter, long my garden on the downs is populated by little round, jolly, plump, coconut, bacon fat-cating blue tits, and two successive yours I

on

noticed that it is on February 14 that they disappear, preferring, so it seems, a lowly, less exposed- country to the downs, for their spring-time play, as, with bill and claw and yellow-green' breast, they delicately weave and pad a marriage-bed saga- clously concealed in cranny of wood or crevice of atonc.

The wayward manners of house-top sparrows and Congo cuckoos are shared but by few English birds. From the swan to the swallow there are many pairs of these feathered crea- tures, who

cling together through the years, for better, for worse.

It is truly touching to con- template such faithful love matches expressed so prettily by chattering song, by brief niry flights, and by shining berry- bright eyes, during those swift fresh days when the gardens are smelling of wallflowers and snow on the mountain and each wayside ditch is golden with celandines,

The poet Donne has cele- brated February 14 with the fol- lowing practised and character- istic verses:-

"Hall, Bishop Valentinet whose

day this is!

All the air is thy diocese

And all the chirping choristers And other birds are thy parish-

Loners;

shy heads of provocative, half- hwakened giris. Poetical boys also and themselves drawn irresistibly to the bowers, where their sweet- friends bleep. **

An Elizabethan poet writes:

By ipal softly lay

Upon her heavenly check, Dyed like the dawning day, As polish'd ivory sicek: And in her car l'’U say,

'Oh, thou bright morning-

star!

'Tis I that come so far

My Valentina to scek!"

In Caroline times it was the cus- tom to give costly jewels as Valen- tine plits.

Miss Stuart received from the Duke of York a jewel valued at eight hundred pounds, and the same

who desirable girl, afterwards became the Duchess of Richmond, received from Lord Mandeville a ring worth three hundred pounds.

the February Pepys in 1603 has the following entry "This evening in hla diary: my wife did with great pleasure

OUR

90

Thou mak'st the blackbird speed

as soon

As doth the goldfinch or the

halcyon,"

It is part of the ancient ritual of this queynte day", that the Arst boy that a girl secs on leaving her chamber must be her Valentine for the year, and will have a right throughout the ensuing twelve months to demand many a charm- ing

privilege.

1. On this account some fearful- ladies can scarce be persuaded to leave their beds on this treacher- ous morning until they have found out for certain that there is no chance of

nce of an unwanted encounter. As far back as 1754 we read of this maidenly anxiety-

28

of

Sit and stitch, stitch

from morn till night,

For it's all you are fit for,

vou ugly fright; You need never think to marry,

for no man would, incline To have a needle driver

for a Valentine.

show mo her stock of jewels, en- creased by the ring she hath made lately, as my Valentine's gift this a Turkog-stone set with dia- Fonda

it is at the wretch should have something to content *herself with."

It is in the middle of February that there comes to us at the flower-selling corner-kerbs of our city streets, on broad sun-splashed country roads, and in windy colts- foot flelds, tha Brst tremulous in- timation that the spring is really and truly approaching. Again the voices of chüdren are heard play- ing out of doors after tea.

From root to top-most twig the sap is stirring in the hedgerows, and already on the branch of the elder bush that shelters the garden bank, where there "comes each Ovening at the twilight hour a speckled thrush to sing her heart- breaking song of love, little purple buds are showing, and each day appear larger and firmer.

BRITISH CROSSWORDS

ACROSS

10

1 To talk of volunteering .under this would be contradictory

(10)..

- One may hear this rot on it in

summer (4).

10 Pigs met and confused (10). 11 Book of O.T. (0).

We also wrote our lovers' names on bits of paper, upon

and rolled them up in clay and put them into water; and the first that rose up Would was to be our Valentine, you think it?-Mr. Blossom was my man. I lay a-bed and shut my eyes all the morning, till he came to our house; for I would not have15 scen another man beford him for all the world."

ملا

The Eve of St. Valentine's is favourable for love dreams! If a girl pins a bay leaf to the four córners of lier fragrant pillow and one leat in centre she will most certainly find herself

Walking with her awcatheart'in ithat fair land where all the lanes are bluebell Innes, and all the meadows lo in the sun thick grown with tall sorrel and other hayfold flowers.

Nor ara these dreamland assignations confined only to the

-To-day's Thought----- EVERY man feels instinctively that all the beautiful senti- ments in the world weigh lase than a single lovely action,

“J, TL, LOWELL,

COUNT THE

12 He indulged in poetie Alghts

Half of a good tug-of-war (5).

18 The result of his work crops.

up sooner or later (5). io Fundamental (7).

in

20 Abode with no fortunate - In-

terior (5),

21 Town of the U.S.A. (8).

22 Where one. may study the ups

and downs of flying (7).

23 The fellow on the other sido

(5).

24 Often high features of woman's.

lowest cares (5).

20 A bnd woman not in her

most correct form (5).

29 Garment that could be worn

by the first half (0).

31 "Sign or code" (anag.) (10). 32 More, and less, than one (4). 33 If without the fifth letter” this musing might settle differences (10).

DOWN

2 Not a good word, but usual ni

court (4),

Water can be got from part of this stone (0).

4 A sticker (5).

5 Not the first thing one learns

In a languago (5),

6 A great river (5), -

TELEGRAPHS "It is through this that many

EVERYWHERE.

people show Interest In their helghbours doings (10).......

B Where motorists should be slow to show consideration to others

(10).

13 Not necessarily a neat soldier

(7).

14 Surround (7).

15 It is seldom the party forming this that takes exception to the rule (10).

16 A spur can be this, as horse-

men know (10).

17 A home by the o' down, per-

lisps (5).

it loziness, there's a lot in it (8).

iB Some call

25 Can be made silent (6).

and

20 A medical preparation (5). 27 Contested with one spot in the

middle (5).

28 Most of this time is near (5). 30 Bon (4).

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