-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-