Illustrated Australian News (Melbourne, Vic. : 1876 - 1889), Wednesday 21 February 1883, page 17


ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.

OUR ILLUSTRATIONS.

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY.

The fourteenth of February is annually looked forward to by thousands of the youth of Australia with feelings of joyful expec-tancy, and while the advent of the day is dreaded by the unfortunate postmen, the re-

cipients of the tender missives that are dis-played in such bewildering variety in the stationers' shops hail it as a red-letter day in every sense of the term. Then it is that these pretty love tokens intimate to the receiver that she has lit a tender flame in the breast of the sender, who, too modest, or pos-

sibly doubtful of the feelings of the fair one towards himself, adopts this method of imparting his passion. She, with the cun-ning of her sex, generally finds out from what quarter the valentine emanated; and it may happen that an indication of her feelings is given to the love-sick swain. The practice is a harmless and quaint repetition of what has been going on yearly since St. Valentine first gave the custom a name; and though its ori-ginal idea has been somewhat departed from in view of the fact that opportunity is taken on the occasion to send carricatures and squibs that are the reverse of complimentary to the receiver, it is yet to be hoped that St. Valen-tine's day will continue to flourish. A bevy of bush damsels is the subject of our sketch, and they await the arrival of the country mailman with as eager anticipation as do their town cousins of Hawthorn or Kew the arrival of the red-coated Mercury who staggers under his load of valentines. In the present case the mailman, who from local knowledge would no doubt be able to make a shrewd guess where the valentines came from, is handing over a perfect budget, to the un-mitigated disgust of the surly old bushman, who leans over the fence and no doubt wonders what pleasure the girls can take in such rub-bish, though at the same time a gleam of "the tender grace of a day that is dead" may flash through his mind, and he conjures up what might have been had his love's young dream gone differently.