EVENING LED&EB PHILADELPHIA'. SATTJltDAY, FEBRUARY IS, 191S;
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tUfltiS L&DfJErVcOMrANY
CTfttJS If. K. CUTlTIS, FsMlDtNT.
mUrlei H. LtnStsjten, Vie fNlf nt j JotrnO. Martin,
ertkrjf AnH Treasurer) Philip 8. Collin. John B.
WTIIIntn. Director,
EDITOMAL BOARD 1
K- if CtclJ. tCCcRTit, Chairman.
H. WrtAI.ET ExeeutWe JMIIer
t.irn i.tr, , . .n. i n. i.. m n.h
.tOl.tt C.mnlrlN- general Dimness Mansger
Published dalljr at rcim Linatu Bui Mini,
' Independence. Square, Philadelphia.
Vt&it Ciktiai. ,..,, Bread and Chestnut Struts
AtU.N'Tic Citr rrcai-trnfon null-lir.
Tittr roeii . . , 1T0-A, ilttropolllati Towsr
CffieAfto 81' Uoitt insurance nulldlnc
tJws. 8 Waterloo rise, Pall Mall, S. W.
NEWS BUREAUS I
H4.isne Heaiuir , . .TIi rlrll Bultdlnr
Wasminotox Bijrwo ......The Pott BulMInc
ISPir YoK HUKHID ...... .The.Tfmpj llulldlnr
BctMi Urn ton ,o Friolrlrhntramx
IiOMWS BtiHJU V 2 Pall .Mall Earn. ?. W.
Ploli HceitiU 3g nua Louis la Grand
unscntrnoN temis
' S-TT 13tf rrrlr Tlltl.v nt.Y. ( ,anli- nf mall. nrt.tnatrl
I'd! V'ftetitalde ef. Philadelphia, except where for'Um potuts
fa, .4. nJ" required, Daii.t Ohlt, ont month, twenly-nve rents;
i'lTt'" "TSDiit.r Otl.r. on Year, three dot lira. All mall ub-
f-ji'..- ., actlptlona pnyable In advance.
W3X. 8000 WALNUT KEY3TOME, MAIN 3000
kV Aidrees oil cdmmunfftitlotta to livening
Ledger, Independence Sijuarr, Philadelphia.
NTen at Hit rntt-iDELriiV rosiarncc as scconb-
CLASS MAIL UATTtl.
HiiiuLU'iiu, ttxrUitDAV, h;lhuaii u, iyi.l
Charity covers
a multitude
sinners.
o sins and
The Nations Arc Our Baskets
FOREIGN trade moans more than an extra
customer or two. It mcuns salvation for
American business In time of domestic de
pression. The great corporations doing an Interna
tional business have felt tho hard times of
recent months less than the period of stag
nation has affected the companies without a
foreign market for their goods. Tho com
pany doing a national business, Jlkewlso
feels a 'period of depression less than the
compnny -whoso scle market Is In one city or
In one State. The manufacturing business
may bo dull, but good crops may make the
farmers prosperous and the farmers -will buy
when the mill workers havo no money.
Tho old advice against putting all tho eggs
In one basket applies to all big business. And
when a. great producing city like Philadel
phia can transform the nations of tho world
Into baskets and nil them with Its products
It Is safeguarded against any possible period
of serious business stagnation, Argentina
can buy one class of goods; TlusBla another
class: China still another, and England, Ger
many, Spain, Italy, Austria and Japan still
others. And some of these nations will want
gobds all of the time.
Herein lies the reason for the campaign to
enlarge the foreign trade of this port. Wo
can make ourselves prosperous and inde
pendent If we only awake to our opportuni
ties and have the courage to embrace them.
Life Not "All Clothes and Eatin's"
MR. EDISON to the contrary notwithstand
ing, life Is not ull "clothes and eatin's."
"What, for example, have Mr. Edison's talk
ing machines to do with either? Of courso
they supply money with which he can buy
clothing and food, but the people who buy
them are Interested In something beside
keeping their bodies warm and properly fed.
There Is food for tho mind, and clothing for
the spirit, and they are really of as much
consequence to any civilized nation as the
mere material necessities of tho body.
Art In nil Its forms painting, sculpture,
music; literature all feed a hunger which
grows with advancing civilization. Tho sav
age Is not content with mere covering from
tho cold. He wants adornment, and thereby
differentiates himself from the animal. The
crowd which Alls tho moving picture shows
disproves Mr, Edison's estimate of life. They
distract? Yes. They amuse and lift people
out of the thought of tho struggle for exist
ence, comprised In the fight for food and
clothing. And every school, every church,
every art gallery, every theatre, every ornate
building, when a mere shell would answer, is
vocal with its protest against the dominance
of the stomach In human affairs.
Fanny Crosby
WHOEVER, In full possession of all his
faculties, can read the story of the Ufa
of Fanny Crosby and then repine, Is either a
neurasthenic and In need of a physician, or
an Inveterate pessimist, deserving no sym
pathy whatever. This remarkable woman,
Who Is Just dead at the ago of 95 years, de
voted her life, not to repining, but to beguil
ing others from their woes. No woman of
the three generations through which she
lived has written more to bring consolation
to breaking hearts than this blind producer
Of beautiful hymns.
What Is the Matter With Kansas Now?
WHEN William Allen Whlto asked the
question that made him famous ha did
Ttot think his State was so bad as It was
painted, But In these degenerate days a
member of tho State Legislature Is per
suaded that It Is so bad that to make a pre
sentable appearance it must be painted. As
he is opposed, to all shams ho is trying to
Induce his fellow legislators to forbid women
under the age of 45 years to appear In pub
lic decorated with paint and powder.
This was not the trouble with Kansas a
few years ago. Her women were so beauti
ful that paint could not adorn them. Indeed,
the natural blush of their blooming com
plexions made the painted beauty look like
pale, ascension Illy beside an American
Beauty rose. But Kansas was less prosper
ous thn than now. Can it be that lily crops,
the disappearance of mortgages from the
farms and the popularity of the automobile
arev ruining the complexions of the Kansas
Women so that legislation Is necessary to pre
vent half the population from trying to seem
vhat they are pot? qod forbid. At this dis
tance the Kansas girls seem as beautiful as
aver with their natural complexions.
If Sjjain Can Do It, Why Not America?
SOSfB Spaniards have foresight enough to
we" that when this war Is over thero will
fc a demand for new ships. They are build
tn shipyards' at Bllboa for the construction
flf great merchant vessels
Philadelphia baa Its shipyards already
fcullt. It hn Its workmen trained In tho art,
and it is within easy access of the raw ma
terial for ships. All that Is lacking to fill
Uie Ulpyrda with growing vessels Is
Ar!eaa with. vJslpn enough to see thfttthe
'-JtrueUott of merefcsnj shipping thaf ta
'-IjMljurtg mo Wor the war Is over will
Jk4 Apers4 W demand tar asw aWps at
ifjMpft ami iavet with nerve aough to get
tHos lilp started in time to be rwdy when
ths Juunwi com-
Tbr i plenty of lata Mjtitftl. TkuI
t ..itfrftMy of Ota Unit two N Uas
m4 iviw UkL Hir ar HWf
tholr fund In the banks. Thoy would serve
themselves hrid their country If lhey" would
only ptit It Into ships. They may argue that
the Investment la too uncertain, flut even
It the amount of merchant shipping destroyed
should be small tho destruction of warships
has hlready been considerable and Is bound
to bo greater, and tho biff shipyards of Eng
land and Germany will bo worked to their
full capacity In rebuilding the navies and
canhot build merchant ships enough to sup
ply the normal demands of an Increasing
ocean trade.
Speculating In ships' Is much safer than
speculating In wheat and much better for
tho country. If Spain has tho nerve, why
not America?
Two Vigorous Notes in Spite of
Unnrcp'ircdiicss
rpiIE American notes to London and Ber-
tin will take rank among the most Im
portant state documents ever sent out from
Washington,
There Is n. rigor of logic. In tho London
note that Is particularly notoworthy and
gratifying. "Tho occasional uso of a flag of
a neutral or an enemy under tho stress of
Immediate pursuit seems to this
Government n very different thing from an
explicit sanction by u belligerent Govern
ment for Its merchant ships generally to fly
tho flag of n neutral Power within certain
portions of tho high seas, which aro pre
sumed to be frequented by hostile warships."
Incidents In themselves defensible, If con
stantly repealed and habitually adhered to,
becoming a custom, may readily acqulro In
defensibility, Tho United States cannot
acquiesce In a patent misuse of its colors,
for purposes of deception, when such mlsuso
Imperils all American shipping and chal
lenges tho Integrity of tho flag. It becomos,
In fact, an unfriendly act and must bo so
Interpreted.
Tho note to Berlin, In other times, would
be considered practically an ultimatum. It
warns tho Kaiser that the sinking of an
American ship or the killing of an American
citizen by Germon naval vessels, without
previous determination of the status of the
ship and the people on board It, would be
"an indefensible violation of neutral rights,
which It would be very hard. Indeed, to
reconcile with tho friendly relations now so
happily subsisting between tho two Govern
ments." Germany must renounco Us de
clared policy or Invito tho severance of
friendly relations with the United States. It
is a situation that It would bo folly to char
acterize as not critical. Washington has
taken a deliberate stand and a right stand.
It cannot withdraw or compromise. Our
shipping must be protected and wanton de
struction of It will not be tolerated.
Allies and Germans are becoming more
and more anti-American; the one side be
cause we are not openly unneutral In Its be
half, and the other for tho same reason.
Our International relations are critical and
are certain to remain so until this great war
Is ovor. Tet In the face of such conditions,
the cry for "no preparation" is heard about
tho land and Washington becomes economical
when naval appropriations aro concerned.
It Is our wealth -that saves us from humilia
tion. Was there ever a nation so obviously
in need of a great navy, so well able to
afford It and so stolidly obatlnnto In refusing
to get it?
The backbone the Administration has
shown must cheer every good American.
Let It be accompanied by a comprehensive
pollay of national defense, that our voice
may have behind it the weight of might,
that wo may not be humiliated and mocked
because of our unpreparedness. Wo can be
suro of an honorable and everlasting peace
when we aro prepared Irresistibly to protect
and enforce our rights.
The Moon Docb Not Use a Calendar
STARTING with the simple fact that the
whole month of February will pass with
out the moon coming to its full, It would bo
possible to exhaust the science of astronomy
and the art of measuring time before the un
usual phenomenon was fully explained.
The awesome mystery of the movement of
the heavenly bodies Is Involved In the period
of the waxing and waning of the little satel
lite of tho Earth. Who hung tho stars In the
Heavens, and sent the solar system spinning
about In space? What Force holds the plan
ets In their orbits and prevents them from
crashing Into one another? What mystlo
Governor regulates the period of the appear
ance of tho planets and their disappearance
from the range of our telescopes? We have
some set terms In which we attempt to ex
plain the Inexplicable, but It amounts to little
more than giving names to things about
which wo know as little as Adam knew of
anatomy when he made a catalogue of the
Inmates of the first zoological garden.
Although there will be no full moon In Feb
ruary, we need not worry. The little satellite
will present Its round face to us In due time,
for the man In the moon does not know or
care anything about the arbitrary divisions
of time In the Gregorian calendar.
This Is New Year's Day for the Chinese.
China was always a backward nation.
The British ought to have let the Wilel
mlpa go through to Holland, on account of
her name, If for no other reason.
' " '"
Who wrecked the Unlontown Bank, the
"money trust" or the men who got Its affairs
so badly entangled they could not be un
raveled? , ,- (
The New York Sun's suggestion that April'
1 should ba sot apart as Democracy Day. In
honor of the way the party has fooled tha
country.' deserves the serious consideration
of Congress,
1 " "" t
Tbera was money enough for the Penrose
campaign, but there seems to be none In
Washington to pay for an Inquiry Into how
tho slush fund was spent. The ruts seems to
be millions for carrying elections, but not one
cent for disclosing who sot the money.
If you did not do It yesterday, go down to
Independence Hall to-day and stand on the
feronie tablet In the sidewalk, where Lincoln
stood in 1S1, and vow to be as true to tha
plain. pegi ef yaur eity tur Lincoln was to
the mwmm pta&e of tha United JWatM.
UNC0tNS EDUCATION
WAS 1N0T MIRACULOUS
Its History Is a Plain Narrative of Work,
and Shows That a Mali, by (he Aid of
His Will, Can Establish , His Own
College.
Br JOSEPH II. ODELL
A'
S THE decades pass tho flguro of Abra
ham Lincoln looms up greater nnd
greater. Time Is giving us tho tight perspec
tive nud each year makes him seem moro of
a miracle. Tot In sober truth no man evcr
had less of the miraculous lit his history. Ills
rise wan not even sudden, but by the slowest
and most tedious gradation, Every step has
been distinctly traced, and there Is not one
or them that any other man might not havo
taken. Whcro ho differed from other men
wao In the fnct that ho never Slopped step
ping until ho reached tho dlzxy height of
power mid Influence. It did not make him
dizzy, because he had ascended so slowly.
Lincoln began absolutely at tho bottom, and
when ho stood on tho steps of tho Capitol
In 1S65 to deliver his second Inaugural Ad
dress ho was tho embodiment of 46
years of careful sclf-cducatlOn. Tho world
soon rang with applause for the wise and
prophetic speech, and the London Times
said tho Inaugural wan the greatest Stato
paper of tho century. But whence came tho
flawless logic and the faultless form? Accord
ing to "his own nccount, Lincoln went to
school "by littles"; "In all, It did not amount
lo moro than a year." Scarcely one of his
teachers could go beyond "rcadln', wrltin' ami
clpherln' to tho rule of three." Such a curric
ulum wns not likely to lead to the greatest
State paper of the century; such a courso of
education was hardly planned for tho making
of a President. Tho secret lay elsewhere In
Lincoln's determination to mako a man of
himself.
Seeking Knowledge Afoot
Shut off from schools and colleges, Lincoln
road and studied every book ho could find.
His father's library was pitifully small, so ho
borrowed far and wide. Ho onco told a friend
that ho had "read through every book ho had
ever heard of In that country for a circuit
of CO miles." With nothing but a turkey
buzzard pen and homc-mado Ink, ho made a
careful synopsis or copied long extracts fiom
everything ho read. These ho committed to
memory. Shingles, boards, shovels, doors.
served as note books when he ran short of
paper. Ho always kept a book In the crack
of the logs by his rough bed, ready to solzo
the moment ho a,woko In .the morning. Ho
carried books with him wherever he went,
valued every spare moment as an oppor
tunity for reading, oven choso his occupa
tions with a view to the chances they offered
for study.
Difficulties could not daunt a man who
early In life had cultivated such a habit.
When Lincoln began to study law he hud to
tramp 20 miles every time ho wanted a
law book. In doing so ho would read and
digest about 40 pages each trip. Ho never
allowed the subject-matter to slip from his
mind; when manual labor made It Impossible
for him to be reading ho would reclto aloud
what he had last read and nx It forever In
his mind. Twenty years after this tlmo,
when ho was nn acknowledged leader of the
Illinois bar, ho gavo tho following advice to a
young man who wished to become a lawyer:
"Get books and rend and study them care
fully. Begin with Blackstonc's 'Commenta
ries,' and after reading carefully through
pay twice, tnko up Chltty's 'Pleading,'
Greonleaf's 'Evidence' and Story'3 'Equity,'
in succession. Work, work, work, is tho
main thing."
Lincoln Learns Surveying
At the age of 24 Lincoln saw that there
was not much of n future in general store
keeping. Ho was ofTcred tho position of
deputy county surveyor. The only difficulty
In tho way of accepting was that ho know
absolutely nothing nbout surveying. But
what did such n trivial obstacle amount to?
He borrowed Flint and Gibson's treatise on
the subject and bent his will to tho task of
mastering It. He worked as If his temporal
nnd eternal well-being depended upon the
effort; everything else was banished; friends,
pleasures and food were nlmost forgotten;
day nnd night ho kept at It. denying himself
sleep, until he was pale and haggard and the
neighbors expostulated, in six weeks he had
mastered every branch of the subject upon
which ho could get any Information and re
ported for work. No wonder ho was a good
surveyor! Ono of his blographors says: "Lin
coln's surveys had tho extraordinary merit
of being corroct. Ills verdict was Invariably
tho end of any dispute, so general was tho
confidence In his honesty nnd skill."
One day, while still a law student at Spring
field, Lincoln found he did not Understand the
meaning of tho word "demonstrate." He
told tho story himself: "At last I said, 'Lin
coln, you can never make a lawyer If you do
not know what "demonstrate" means,' and
I left my situation at Springflold, wont home
to my father's house nnd stayed there until I
could give any proposition In tho six books
of Euclid nt sight, I then found out what
demonstrate" meant, and went back to my
law studies."
Fighting It Out
There are times when an Inherited Inclina
tion or an acquired taste may threaten to
overthrow a man's purpose. At such a
moment ho must summon his sternest resolu
tion and act toward the tempting disposition
as though It were a traitor about to sell him
body and soul to his deadliest foe. No mar
gin of hesitation or leniency must be al
lowed. The world is full of examples of men
Who have triumphed over difficulties and
Impediments qulto as great as any that a
young man can face today, Having once set
the mark and established tho goal, ho must
put his will in command and force overy
other desire, appetite, wish and emotion Jnto
unconditional obedience and "flght It out
along that line If It takes all summer" all
winter, and many Summers and winters com
bined. ROBBING WOMEN OP THEIR PROPWrX
7o d EMqr If Evtning LtiffttI
Sir There Is much discussion as to whether
the moving-picture play, "Your Girl and
Mine," now running at a theatre In Philadel
phia, depicts impofslbla situations when ft
shows a young wife legally robbtd of her
property and earnings by er huiband and
bereft of tier little children, who are taken
from fatr by this samo brutal husband, sorely
against her will.
"Absurd V 9ry tus skf piles. "Th law In
this country protects women better than that!"
But lawyers tell us that In North Dakota,
Oklahoma and deorfla u wire controls her own
wagts only If living apart from her husband
in the latter Stato If sha is carrying on a
Mparate business with Mr consent, made public
by a notice In newspanery for a specified time,
tftuiw tbs Saw of MsryUml and Virginia a
hub may wtll sway &U minor alilidrsiu wits-
8t ttojsnAi9t Of tbetr mglHur. TMa If lrua I
ala JlfBiiteware, YwuMHW. l,jisylvaiil1 ON, I
' ' T i IMF - IT ITfF i ;
Michigan, Georgia, Florida. Tennessee, West
Virginia and New Mexico.
Thuso laws aro survivals from a less-cnllght-ened
period, when a married woman was prac
tically the chattel of hor husband, and ore dis
appearing from our statute books as they ore
swept away by tho growing power of women.
MART WINSOR,
Havcrford Postofllce, Pa., February 10,
FOR AN INDUSTRIAL FAIR
To the Rdtlor of the livening Ledoer:
Sir Wc can give this city the biggest kind of
a "boost" by starting a movemont among tho
manufacturers for a great Industrial fair or ex
position to be held each fall or winter at Con
vention Hall or other suitable, building.
In this manner tho diversified manufacturing
Interests of this locality could be shown to the
best advantage, and prizes could be glvon to the
best exhibit or most perfect product of each
Industry exhibited.
New York city some years ago held a very
successful annual exhibition, called the Ameri
can Institute Fair, and Pittsburgh, Pa,, has Its
annual Industrial Exposition; then why not
Philadelphia, which leads them all In the mag
nitude of Its varied manufactured products?
There Is no doubt that a Philadelphia Indus
trial exposition or fair could bo mado finan
cially successful If properly conducted In the
interests of those vitally concerned so as to best
exploit this great manufacturing centre.
WILLIAM D. THOMAS.
Philadelphia, February 8.
WHAT MAKES THE DREAD LINE LONG?
To the Editor of tha Evening Ledger:
, Sir The Evbnino Ledoer nils such an Im
portant place in our municipal life, also in our
Lhomcs, that It Is hard to find fault with It, but
ii, u ,uiiu,vmjk cuiiuriui uem aoes not maKe Pleas
ant reading: "Of course, every friend of the
Administration insists that It Is the war which
makes the bread line so long."
I am glad to bo a friend of tho Administration,
but do not Insist that it is the war that makes
the bread line so long. Tho absence of war on
rum, the creator of bread lines for the last 20
j cars. Is tho reason. I noticed the bread line nt
tho rear of the Hotel Knickerbocker, New York,
last week, but Inside of that hotel was a line in
front of its palatial bar, somo of whom would
go to make more bread-liners. Help eradicate
the boozo drinking, Mr. Editor, and when It Is
stamped out, bread lines will only bo a memory,
nvEnso.v w. jenninqs.
Philadelphia, February 10.
A GOOD WORD FOR GOOD WORK
io the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir I want to thank you for the invaluable
abslstancc you havo rendered tho Emergency
Aid Committee with your excellent stories about
Its work. Your paper has been largely respon
sible for tho maintenance and increase of public
Interest and public help.
MARIAN N. HOUWITZ.
Public Director, Emergency Aid Committee.
Phlladelph la. February 11 .
GETTING AFTER COUNCILS
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir I would suggest that every cltUen who
wants rapid transit go to tha polls at the next
election and cast votes for a different Council
man. Do not give these men another chance to
do anything for the public. McNIchol jhould go
down to defeat, and I have not the least doubt
but thathe will. At the next meeting of Coun
cils the poople of Philadelphia should declare
that afternoon a holiday and march to City
Hall and demand that the Taylor plan goes
through. The people know the plans; why
shouldn't tho Council? It's a mistake to have
them In office. Can't we put them all out?
t,ki. , u, ,. L LOUIS MOIIGAN.
Philadelphia, February 11,
GIVE THE WOMEN A CHANCE
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir Thin is Just a line to express to you my
gratification In your splendid editorial In
a recent Eveniko LSDaon, entitled "Give the
Women a Chance." I have been delighted, as
I know many others have been also, with the
fine, progressive policy taken by the Evening
Ledoer in regard to woman suffrage.
... , . I'ANNY THAVIS COCHRAN.
Philadelphia, February 7,
THE FIRST STEAMBOAT
To the Editor of the Evening Ledger:
Sir Peimlt one of your readers to take ex
ception to Edward W. Townsend's article In
the Eveniko Ledobr.
Not Robert Fulton nor John Fitch, but to
William Honry, of Lancaster, Pa., should
credit be given, who. In 17(3, operated tha first
steamboat on the Conestoga IUver.
If General Sadler will consult the "Life of
William Henry" he will readily sea to whom
Congress should erect the monument.
JOHN HUSTON.
Philadelphia. February Z. 116.
"Our Country Is tho World"
From the Kw Totk rtnlog JPtut,
"Our country Is the world. Our countrymen
aro mankind." This Is the Idea shadowed
forth in the greeting of the English writers" to
kindred souls in nusala. Literature is a bond
of unity. Art and science know no national
boundaries. Truer than all else, In this day
and generation it la the humane Instinct in the
heart Of men which makes them all brothers.
Already we have a, world-citlzemblp of grow
ing -strength nrnj of Increasing self-conscious-nfM.
It has manifested itself, and will again
wltlt renewed power when this cruel war la
.bvrr, In ft love of all that is beautiful in art
and lit, and In concerted efforts to bind up
earth's broken-hearted and to bring in every,
whers fuller opportunity and larger liberty.
Various CompanionbJpi
If one's jailmate In lova or frlendahlp cannot,
or && not. share ail one's intellectual tastes
or pursuits, that U s, small matter. Intellectual
companion esq bo found easily la men and
pooMu After all. If wa think of l, most of th
world's love and ftteads&ip have betn bi-
tw4tt'M4s that eud not read
dttv-ifr IftH ,
aar epwir-
VS10P THAT, BOTH OF YOU!"
&3MfH
THE FESTIVAL OF OLD BISHOP VALENTM
Customs of Other Days Evidences
Foolish A Valentine "Which Cost Five Pounds and Another
Which Was "Wrought With Magic.
ONE of the Essays of Ella begins with
a welcome to Valentine's Day. "Hall to
thy returning' festival, old Bishop Valentino!
Great Is thy name In tho rubric, thou vencr
nblo Archflamen of Hymen! Immortal Go
between! who and what manner of person
nrt thou? Art thou but a name, typifying
tho restless principle which Impels poor
humans to seek perfection In union? or wcrt
thou Indeed a mortal prelate, with thy tip
pet and thy rochet, thy apron on, and decent
lawn sleeves? Mysterious pcrsonngc! liko
unto thee, assuredly, there is no other mitred
father in the calendar. Thou comest
attended with thousands and ten thousands
of little Loves, and the air Is
Brushed with tho hiss of rustling wings.
Singing Cupids are thy choristers and thy pre
centors; nnd Instead of tho crosier, the mystical
arrow Is borne beforo theo.
St. Valentino was a Christian who was put
to death at Rome, February 14, 270. "There
has long been a popular superstition" so
sayeth a plain account "that on that day
of tho year birds begin to mate. Hence, per
haps, arose the custom of observing It by
sending missives containing professions of
lovo and affection." But for tho Valentino
birds, go to tho old poet Donne:
Chirping Choristers
Hall. Bishop Valentine! whoso day this Is:
All the air Is thy diocese.
And nil tho chirping choristers
And other birds aro thy parishioners:
Thou marryest every year
Tha lyric lark and the grave whispering dove;
The sparrow that neglects his life for love.
The household bird with the red stomacher;
Thou mak'st the blackbird speed as soon
As doth tho goldfinch or tho halcyon
This day moro cheerfully than over shine,
This day which might Inflame thyself, old
Valentine!
Somo say that of lato years the festival
has degoncrnted. Literature records that
married people used to participate In the
festival. That was In tho tlmo when tho
chief ceremony consisted In tho drawing of
lots. By this custom names were written on
pieces of paper, tho men drawing tho
women's names and the women the men's.
Each recipient became by this method some
body's valentine. Presents wero given, ns
may bo seen from tho entry In Pepys' Diary
for Valentine's Day, 1667: "This morning
came up to my wlfe'B bedside (I being up
dressing myself) little Will Mercer to bo her
valentine, and brought her name written
upon blue paper in gold letters, done by him
self, very pretty; and wo wero both well
pleased with It.. But I am also this year my
wlf6's valentine, and It will cost me five
pounds; but that I must havo laid out If wo
had not been valentines."
Drawing Moltoes
Two dayB later: "I find that Mrs. Pierce's
little girl Is my valentine, she having drawn
me; which I was not sorry for, It easing mo
of something more that I must have given
to others. But hero I do first observe the
fashion of drawing mottoes as well as
names, so that Pierce, who drew my wife, did
draw also a motto, and this girl drew another
for mo. What mine was, I forget; but my
wife's was 'Mos courteous and most fair,'
which, as it may be used, or an anagram
upon each name, might be very pretty."
It seems as If tho custom must havo re
sulted In considerable perplexity, or at least
considerable drain upon tho PQcketbook, How
long It continued la uncertain, but Lamb
describes a valentine which was a missive
and not a person.
Like Some, Fairy Prcjent
He prefaces his story of it with tha re
mark that "All valentines are pot foolish."
"E. B. lived opposite a young maiden, whom
ho had often seen, unseen, from his parlor
window In O o street. 8hq was all Joy.
ousnesa and Innocence, and just of an age to
nJoy receiving a valentine, and Just of a
temper to bear the disappointment of miss
Ins ono with good humor. E. B, la an artist
of no common powers; in tha fanoy parts of
designing, perhaps Inferior to none; his
fame is known at the bottom of many a well
exeouted vignette In the way of his profes
sion, but no further; for B. B. la modest,
and tho world meets nobody half-way, B.
B. meditated how ho could repay this young
maiden for many a favor sho had dona him
unknown; for when a kindly faco greets us.
though but passing by, and never knows us
again, nor wo it, wo should fel It as an
obligation) an,d E. B. did,
"This good artist set himself at work to
pltaaa the, damsel. It was Just before Vajea
tlns'a Day throe year ainc,. hs wrought.
uasea u4 tupwwi, a wocdrouj vkrig.
WilWM
wSmm
it mm
That lis Observance Is Not Merelj
Wo need not say it was on the flntati
paper with borders full, not of comm!?
hearts and heartless allegory, but allir
tho prettiest stories of lovo from Ovid, juti?
older poets than Ovid (for E. B. iW
scholar). jm
"TI1I3 on Valentino's Eve lie commendeair
tho all-swallowing, indiscriminate post; E5
tho humblo medium did its duty, and from,
his watchful stand tho next mornlng-K
saw tho cheerful messenger knock and S
and by tho precious charge delivered, -.m
saw, unseen, tho happy girl unfold the valJR
tine, danco about, clap her hands, as oo
nfter ono tho pretty emblems unfolded them
selves. She danced about, not with, lljbf
lovo or foolish expectations, for she had5
lover, or, It sho had, nono sho knew that"
could havo created those bright things whltS
delighted her.
"It was moro like somo fairy present;
godsend, as our familiarly pious ancestoi
termed a benoflt received, where the ben!
factor was unknown. It would do her"
1
harm. It would do her good forever aftej
It is good to love tho unknown. I only fc-lri
tnis ns a specimen of E. B. and his model
way of doing n concealed kindness."
The Right Uso of Enemies
Prom the New Orleans Stales.
"I have, ns you observe," wrote Franklin M
John Jay tho year ho retired from the Freaca
mission, "somo enemies in Encland. but ihei
nro my enemies as an American; I have il J
io or inree in America who are my enemiji
as a minister; but I thank God there, are n?f
In the whole world nny who are my enemlti
ns a man: for by His crace throueh a lotl
life, I have been enabled so to conduct ttrMlf,
umi mere aoes not exist a human blnc WM
enn Justly Bay, 'Ben Franklin has wrongM plS
This, my friend, is an old nge of comforltKl,
reflection. You, too, have or may have your.
enemies; out let not that render you im;
happy, if you mako a right use of then), tit,
will do you moro good than harm. They pM
out to us our faults: they put us upoiuojr
uuara ana neip us to live more correctly.
Heading in Lumber Camps
From the New York Eveninr Post
The Wisconsin Library Commission reportl
that the demand for good reading In lombtr
camps Is so great that the lumberjacks Ml
read the Atlantic Monthly until Its contest!
are committed to memory. Cannot soma 4f,ot
college undergraduates be sent to Northwsuin
lumber camps?
I
How to Drive a Nail
Drive a nail homo and clinch it so fattbfuUf
that you can waUe up at night and tbinlcjcl
your work with aatlsfaction.-Henry D!
unoreau.
PSYCHE
Tender as wind of summer
That wanders nmonir tha flowers.
DoWn worldly aisles with enchanted amlltrt
She leads the mysterious hours.
This Is Immortal Psyche,
Tha winged soul of man
Ardor unspent and Innocent
As when tha world began.
Out of the ancient silence
Over tha darkling earth,
An streamers swim on the sunrise
Sho moves between sorrow and m't
The Impulse of things eternal,
Tha transport hidden in clay.
Like a dancing beam on a noonday sire''
one signals along the way. ,
Her feet are poised over peril.
Her eyes are familiar with death,
Her radiant wings are daring thlnfi.
Frail as the beat of a breath.
Over tha ocean of belnr,
In Via pav InnrerilhlA Slffht.
Sea her float and run In the gold of the j
Down to tha gates of night.
Tha storm may darken above hr
ntA ..if... .d,,n,1( h.tnw
.. ntia ,itH" mvw, . . ,-j
But on through a rift where the gold llftUJ
Sill) sha will dancing go.
Treasuring things forgotten.
As dreams and destinies fade.
Bplrjt of truth and ageless youth,
fiha laiififha And Is not afraid.
BIU CB
i H iii
A VALENTINE
Last spring the flowers wero young audi
Enamored of the spring:
And skies were blue and streams were I
And dainty winds were softly piowma
Anil VilrHa wra nn 4h win ST.
Yet-though their songs to hes-ven start
Btlll, still I lingered neavy-nearxeu,
And could not hear them sing.
Today a winter wind la rsguiff.
The sklAn km culA and Array .
The flowers ore dead and nliht is wa?
His endless war, again ngW
Th rivtnfl. aun'M irrav
Vet blossoms all about seem Pr,aJl
Awl Wra wtthiB ray heart aro WW""
Uf wvs paa w testy. ,