-i t '--' w - v: H -7-1 -i - tx,:uv --r-JLl ' Y-A - v. mi ; 'V.l-:.; - ill - m mm yOT only wU Abraham Lincoln the III greatest rtory-teller who ever 111" lived, but he wa the hero of X 1 more good toHe then any other , man In Amertca'a gallery or ne roea. Admittedly, nothing o effectu ally throw the Hmelight upon, the prl ; vate tend public career-of ny celebrity . ntti ' BnfMvlatpe and lncl- dente -which are eeldom a matter of of ficial or historic record. Quite natural ly, therefore, the btogranhy of any man prominently In the public eye la certain to be raked with a fine-tooth comb for the. mlnchaoDenlngaahat--dlalJe-eow1tll much more regarding his real character than any -array at dates and data. Only too often the anecdotes that are unearthed regarding a popular Idol are M.Air .appointing Iiia podnta made - are obscure or the humor 'la seemingly forced, and altogether the gossip la not -very convincing. Not ao In the case of Lincoln, however. One the one hand, Lincoln was famous for hts pungent, pithy and practical stories drawn from an apparently Inexhaustible source and always available on every occasion. On the other hand, the civil war president - was himself the central figure In hun dreds of good stories that were illumi nating In their disclosures of his dry humor, kindly sympathy and keen In sight Into hup-ian nature. . Lincoln delighted to toll of the high ' price which he as a small boy paid for a copy of Weera'a "Life of Washington." Tie had borrowed the book from a neigh boring farmer, and was so unfortunate aii to leave It near an open window; where a drenching rain seriously 6am- aged It.- He went over to the owner and made a clean breast of the matter. . whereupon the magnanimous old farmer said: "Well. Abe, so long as It Is you, I won't be hard on you. Just come over .' end pull fodder for me for a couple of days, and I will call It square." The martyr president was known as a man who preferred peace whenever possible, but he could fight upon provo , By Waldon Fawcett - HE manufactured valentine Which, - In -one -form--or-another," has be come the curency of love and ridi cule, and as such has circulation millions strong every amid-Febru- Is an Institution little more than a rentury old, yet the. festival which these missives commemorate is an ancient one. Indeed, It had Its origin In the old Roman custom of ' celebrating in Feb ruary the Lu nerval la. In honor of Juno and Fan, at which time each young cltt ; sen of the empire chose a companion of the opposite sex with whom to henor theoe gods. When the fathers -of the arly church found -that - the people Hung tenaciously to this festival . of longing hearts the - Christian priests mads of the pagan holiday a tribute to good Bt. Valentine. l;. . ' Z: . . For all that love's celebration, by tnere chance, fell upon the day that the rhurrh had set apart as sacred to Bt Val'titine the old priest had nothing whatever to d wHh-tbe sentiment er practice which hits caused this ftival of love to endure tr all .time.- On Jhe rontrary, Instead of being a beloved pro moter of tender and romantic feelings, Valentine was regarded as a malefactor by the Roman authorities and was mar tired In noma In the third rentury; Wt.g clubbed to death and then behead ed In the ooloasei'iu. 7 , , , firad.ia'.ly, however, the1' observance of turn- int-Limed -Htimir- holiday over sr. real -'uroi. The early practices of M. Vaientlne's lr. .on the contlne'nt ir!Y)iil--d in quslnt and fanciful con tt.i. r'ur instance, la. Italy young peo- 111- . . UW,,r-:.:W - - - - . I r;.e - ,:F,-irv:, , y. ;-lH ' I 'i I-V" M ) It f M MIL f''.-'A . - In one -form or another.- has be- I vk Wf 1 lAVM II a f . f i -i I I I ey AMJmMtmysjju ,,m s ft -n .y. . ... it I rome th curenev of love and rldt. I : Y J CS A : II f-f F i ' i t , . - i" I U ' -i 77-777-7) YRnslXr A.JT nDTT7JT7---rT TTTi- , ..: r, , a iUJA: I ' II l J V? Xl - II J 'T II, II f . r rrrT. ,;r. . - I j wi i j v , .. i m 1 1 if y,- j - mi - m . mil i i i .- i i i i . i i i i i i 4 7, s . Mlb--. -v cation. ' On one occasion during his boy hood the town "bully" entered the store where, he was employed -ss clerk and raised a disturbance. Ignoring - -the clerk's requests that he behave himself. "Well" said Abe. finally, "if you must be whipped. I suppose I may as well whip you as any other man.' and he not only proceeded to give the ill-behaved visitor a thorough thrashing, but rubbed "smart weed" Into bis eyes until the fel low bellowed with pain. This recalls the fact that when. In later years, after his memorable duet General Shields, Lincoln asked by a friend n'xr he had chosen bror.4swprds..vrePant-JDteadj)f,.the customary pistols, he remarked: "I did not want to kill Shields, and felt sure L could disarm him, having had about a month to learn .broadsword exeretsert furthermore, I didn't want the darned fellow to kill me. which I rather think he would have done If we had selected pistols."-" ; 7 " rr,- -- ; - It was while Lincoln was clerk In the store above mentioned that he re ceived the nickname of "Honest Abe." On one occasion, after closing the store at night, he walked four miles to re fund a few cents to a woman whom be had unintentionally overcharged for a purchase. History - has : given great prominence to the fact that as a young man Lincoln split rails for. the neces saries of life, but Is silent ss to . the terms upon which-he performed . this arduous work... The ; rallspllttlng was the means of securing not only bed and board, but also clothing. At one time the hard-worklnK young man made a bargain with Mrs. Nancy Miller to split 40 rails for every yard it brown jeans, dyed with whit walnut bark, required to make a pair of trousers no small contract, since the railsplitter was tall and ungainly, -t . ' Lincoln was appointed a postmaster by President Jackson, and Inasmuch as he did not want to be tied down by the! duties of tha efflce, he hit upon the pie took to following singing birds un til led by the winged messengers of song Into the presence of their valentines. In France the youthful believers In ro mance were wont to seek secluded wood land pools In the hope of finding mir rored therein the faces of their destined loves. i -It wasln England and Scotland. 'bow ever, the featival attained the most uni versal popularity from its earliest Intro duction, and that the . most hilarious spirit characterised lutbeerYance. Ia ys olden time the young folks drew jots tor one another on the eve ef 8U- VaJan tine's day, and the swain who was not forehanded must needs audaciously choose a valentine out of hand at sun rise on Bt. Valentine's. day. or -t barred from the frolics of the occasion.' The msnner o( the pairing off of these ar dent swains and maidens was rather a novel one. . Ob the evening preceding the festival -;.-..:?.'..,'.:..! i - -V' k--rr-. ,V-' :--JS MK:;..: . .j iv " I , .y w, , M rt i5 . :wyyi : :. -v 1 1 1 - xfeV. ri virfAC4;i uyys . f '. : -tL y in V"-y , tt jt t s ' Mi&ti ,.. , ..,.,. . i i . - - - , wws j THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL. PORTLAND, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY novel expedient of converting himself Into a portable postoffloe. Whenever he had occasion ia go. about he -carried all undelivered letters In his bat. and any patron of the office who wanted his mail had only to locate the postmaster In order to secure It immediately. The first nolltlcal aneech made by Lincoln was delivered In 1831. when he was IS year of age. . It was on the oc casion of a debate, and his opponent, the rival candidate, had wearied tha au dience, . to Lincoln .contented himself with . the following: "GenUemeOfFellow-CltlsenBrTt pre sume yon know who I am. I am hum ble Abe Lincoln. I nave been solicited by many frtenda to become -a candidate for the legislature. My politics can be briefly stated. I am In favor of the Internal Improvement system jind a high protective tariff. These are my senti ments and political principles. If elect ed I shall be thankful. If not.. It will be all the same." - . , After Lincoln entered the state legis MumniiZGrozrn , , ; day an equal number of belles and bach elors assembled at soma appointed ren dezvous and each wrote his name upon a billet, which was rolled up and placed with others of Its kind In a basket Then occurred a drawing of (lots, the maids taking the men's billets and the men the maids, so that ' each - of the young men had designated . by fate i girl whom he called his valentine, and to each young lady was delegated an escort whom she called hers. The plan had the disadvantage that each person In . the - eompany really had two valen tlnea. but thla nroblem was in a measure ijalved by . the unwritten law. that each man should be more loyal to the valen tine that had fallen to hlra than-to the valentine to whom he had fallen. After love's lottery- had thus divided tha. com pany into couples, the. valentines gave balls, provided - treats "of one kind or another for, their mlstreeseg and wore their billets on their sleeves for several lature his fellow-members had no "end of fun with him. They teased him unmercifully- about ; his large feet, and once when he complained of cold a quick-witted confrere remarked thateit waa no wonder he was cold "there Is so much-of him on 'the ground.". How evert Lincoln had a way of turning the joke on the 'other fellow In the most unexpected') manner. ..Once when he had agreed to trade horses, "sight , unseen" with a brother lawyer he ahowed up at the appointed time with ft sawhorae on his shoulders. '.' , . ; -"Th witty statesman was always "will ing to 'join in laugh at his own ex-, pense. He -never tired of gleefully re counting an - experience when traveling when a fellow-passenger on the train gravely Informed Lincoln that he had something that belonged to him. When ths future president inquired what H was his new acquaintance produced a pocketknlfe and said: "This knife was given to me some years ago with the injunction that I keep It until I found davs. As was to-be expected, sucn temptinga-'ot ; fate j frequently fostered romances that ended In marriage. Merry England was "alsd the country in which the practice of sending valen tines In the form of love-laden messages found earliest favor,. One explanation advanced for thla was that, the British swain, though quite as amative as hts eousins on the continent, did not pos sess tha agile tongue of the southern races nor the boldness of the Latins in lovemaklng. Consequently, ao trsdltlon runs, the, young 'Britons early adopted the plan of dispatching tender verses or complimentary pictures In lieu of verbal declarations of affection. At first the messengers of - love were home-made verses penned In colored Ink and accom panied in- many Instances by a crude drawing designed to. typify tha devotion of the artist. ' - - ; Ere long the poets of the TJnlted King dom came to the aid of lovelorn young people, and --the market began to be flooded with booklets of "appropriate rhymes" for lovers and sweethearts of all ages And stations in life. The first ef these aids to the sentimentally in clined appeared about J780, and there after they continued in vogue with BO less of popularity until about 1830. Borne of these booklets vers issued annually, like almanacs, each new edttfon stored wlththe very latest productions of the poetasters. -. ',' ' ' ' " x ' " ' The choice rhetoric and lofty senti ment that abounded In these Uttle vol- a man more homely than myself. - Now I think you are entitled to the prop erty,", . . " . ; During, the civil war a' committee ap peared before President Lincoln and de manded the removal of General Grant because, as the spokesman put It, "He drinks too much - whiskey." "By tha way, gentlemen." dryly remarked Lin coln, "can any ef you tell me - where General Grant procures his whiskey, be cause if I can find out I will send a barrel . of It to every general In the field," For all -that Lincoln was broad minded, he waa personally most temper ate. On one occasion when ha enter tained party of politicians who plainly expected some liquid, refreshment he had a huge old china pitcher brought In and announced: "Gentlemen; we must pledge our mutual healths in the most healthy beverage which God has given to man. It Is the only beverage I have everlused. and I cannot conscientiously depart from it on the present occasion it is pure Adam a ale from the spring. jHrJ3!22Tt CEKTl722r r.ZKTZKZ amet of ' "gems for valentine senders was la a measure reflected In the titles of the volumes. Witness, for Instance, "The 'Annual and Universal Valentine Writer," "Cupld'g Festlvsl," "Cupid's Budget" "Cupld'g. Cabinet and Court of Love,"- "Polite Valentine- Writer," "Rhapsodies and Pastimes," "Select Verses - for Belles ' and Bucks Who Throng to Hymen's Court." "Cupid's An nual Charter." "The School of Love." "Ladles Polite Valentine Writer." "The Bower of Cupid" and others In the same strain.- " - '-, - ' " Not all of these works of ready refer ence were Intended, however, for those fond beings ' for whom the course of true love was - seemingly -running smoothly.- For those disappointed and revengeful creaturea who made this sig nificant day an- occasion for venting their spite because of rejected affection there were such volumss as "Qutssioal and' Satirical ' Valentine Writer," and that yet more famous source of polsorlVd shafts, "Hymen's Bevenge Against Old Mslds, Old Bachelors and Impertinent Coxcombs,", being, as the subtitle ex- f lalned. ,'a choice' collection of valen Ines, humorous end . satirical, chiefly original," The-valentine - versemakers even went further In their specialising and provided special verses for tha vaii cus classes of trades-people, some tell ing of love in the approved fashion; but others deftly advertising the , sender's business. .. . - . ' . Along ' About llOt the - manufactured y..,....s-.,-r s . 13. 1SC7. When Lord LyeW who ' was during the Lincoln administration British en voy at Washington called at the White House to announoe the batrothaLoffee present king and queen of England, the president listened 'attentively, and then remarkodf in aH seriousness to the bach eiorirLloro.trLo.riL.liyons dauthou go anddjllkewlsei"ln receiving the thousands of callers who visited the White- House Lincoln, evidenced a re markable memory. Greeting at a public recer.tloijaman namcdJFleoUwhQm-he. had met casually 12 years- before, the president said: s "I are glad to sea that the. Flood flows on." ,r. A visitor' from Nebraska referred to a place In his state which bore as its name the Indian equivalent of "weeping water," but could not recall-the name. "Well," said Lincoln, "according,, to Longfellow, laughing water is Minne haha, so that I suppose-this must be Mlnneboohoo." . . ' . . At another time when a delegation of weak-kneed - financiers had descended upon the White House with expressions of misgivings as to tha way tha admin istration waa conducting things Lincoln met their " dire " forebodings with - the statement: "Now, gentlemen, suppose all the property you were worth was In gold and you had put it In the handa of Blondln to carry across the Niagara river on a rope, would you continually shake the cable or would you. hold your breathf The government Is carrying an immense weight Keep silence and we will get you safe across." Lincoln's fondness for children was repeatedly Illustrated, but In no manner more forcefully than by his love for valentine,, ready prepared and complete in ever detail, began to make its appear ance .and gradually these tokens, of af fection began , to supplant the - home made variety, even though the publish er of valentine -text-hooks redoubled their efforts to. provide their patrons with fascinating' effusions. .'Gradually valentine manufacture grew . from the simplest processes to . the creation Of these ornate concoctions of lace paper, silver and gold, artificial flowers and embossed pictures, with. which the world baa become familiar during more recent yesrs.. .-. . 's - ' After all,' however,' It is the valentines of our great-grandmothers whether the keepsakes be cf the home-made or early crudely manufactured variety that pos sesses the greatest Intersst for pres ent day - beholders. Very few of the present generation, however, gain an op portunity to have 4 peep at the senti mental - eorifessions of - their ancestors. Oddly enough none of our great Amer ican museums number collections of eld valentines-among their treasures, and even the famous Library of Congress at Washington, which is so rich In 'rare prints and other similar art objects, has not so much aa one old valentine in Its archives. Fortunately,- ho wever, - ene private collector In' America has made this his hobby. The nllector of this unique class of' relics is Mr. Frank H. Baer, one of the best-known railroad, officials of the middle west, and mlrans and-the -opportunity -of - travel halve en abled him to compile an art gallery of old-valentines that nii&bert hundred ef his son Tad. Not even Tad's prank of waving a confederate flag from a ond-story . window of the White House While, -hla lather-was -making a a peer h to - union veterans directly, below seri ously ruffled the patient president At one of the White House receptions Uttla shaver as soon as he entered the1 main door shouted lustily "Hurrah for Lincoln. The president made no sign that he had observed tha Incident, but when the movement of the long line .of rollers .finally brought the youngstee before tha president, Lincoln tossed his dlraunltlve guest toward the-celling and shouted out "Hurrah for you - . Tha marvelous skill and versatility ef Lincoln In story-telling waa largely an acquired art He. early in his publlo career, came to appreciate the value of a good story well told, and ' waa won derfully adept in summoning at a mo ment's notice witty Incidents the recital of which clinched his statements" more effectually than a world of argument All his life he got rid Of troublesome friends and troublesome enemies by te ing stories. One of Lincoln a favorite stdries concerned Caniel Webster. Web sterr eeordtng to Lincoln's -version- of the Incident, was. when a schoolboy, one day called before 4he teacher for some Infraction of . the rules. Told to hold out his right hand for "feruling,' the lad reluctantly put - forth a decidedly grimy paw. "Daniel,". said the' disgusted pedagogue,- "if you will find in this schoolroom another hand as filthy as that I will let you off this time.',' In stantly from behind the lad's back earn his left hand. "Here it Is, sir," was the ready response of the future orator. "A 1 ' - i y i t i dr , ' - , (i COPTIC KZLZZfJO! specimens and is without a pees any where In the world. . , , The oldest Specimens of valentines in this famous, collection date from the latter part of the eighteenth century and. are. of course, home-made and of what Is known as the out-paper variety Such valentines, invariably delicately cut with -sawtooth edges, were foil wnen opened, to do fined wnn wri sentiments. , The sheet of paper em ployed In making one of these valentines was about as large as a pocket hand kerchief, but It waa folded and refolded until it was -reduced to an area, of not more than four square Inches. - The unfolding of such a valentine treated the recipient to a continual suo eeealon of -surprises. .For Instance, ia the collection 1s a valentine , sent to Sarah Brett In -170, and upon .the out side of which- la penned: - . ' , When you, dear, this barte behold, 'Twill break as you -these lines unfold. The powe of envy cannot pretend To say I nave, fals .verses pend. For .in the inside. Sweet Turtle Dove, I've wrote the morrals of my love. . Thou' art the maid, and only maid ,That bast my -honest , hart tranaeV . ' When the seal waa broken the favored young lady found a representation of two little pink hearts and the words: "My .dearest dec; and blest divine X have pictured . here your heart- and - t mine.". Bo. the plaintive appeal continues on various- layers of the valentine until at the last unfolding the fair Sarah finds In 'the handwriting of her poetic admirer the words: - - - . . i . ' u . -j ..j-. . , : i , l "It you refuse wth me, to wed, 'Twill bring destruction to my hsad. .SPale death at last ' shalr: stand my friend .. ... . And bring my sorrow to gii-and. - -iCentloued on Following Page.), -t-