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    The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day
    The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day
    The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day
    Ebook90 pages53 minutes

    The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day

    By Elizabeth F. Guptill

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    About this ebook

    Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus, and is recognized as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.

    Several martyrdom stories associated with the various Valentines that were connected to February 14 were added to later martyrologies, including a popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome which indicated he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

    The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver's heart", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
    LanguageEnglish
    Publisheranboco
    Release dateJun 17, 2017
    ISBN9783736420120
    The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day

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      Book preview

      The Changed Valentines and A Romance of St. Valentine's Day - Elizabeth F. Guptill

      Acts

      The Changed Valentines

      CHARACTERS

      Bobby, the small boy of the family.

      Evelyn }

      Helen } his older sisters.

      Louise, his younger sister.

      Mrs. Winston, his mother.

      Bert, his older brother.

      Mr. Bertram Elliott, his bachelor uncle.

      ACT I

      SCENE.—The setting is the same for both Acts—a living-room or library.

      (As the curtain rises Bert is sitting at a desk, evidently just finishing a letter or note.)

      Bert. There! I’ll just tuck it in here with the valentine, and let her get both together. (Does so, and directs envelope.) Miss Eloise V. Worthington! A pretty name, and a stately one, but somehow I like Winston better. I wonder if she will?

      (Finishes addressing it, and sits looking at it.)

      Enter Bobby, in a hurry.

      Bobby. Bert! Frank’s out here in his brother’s buzzcart, and wants to see you. He says you can ride up-town if you’ll get a move on.

      Bert. I will that.

      (Steps out, comes back through, putting on his coat.)

      Bobby (with a grin). Going bare-headed?

      Bert (putting hand to head). Why, I thought I put it on! Run and get it, kid.

      (Exit Bobby. Bert paws around on table, upsetting everything.)

      Bobby. Here’s your lid.

      Bert. Thanks. Where in the name of common sense are my gloves? I put them here for Mother to mend, last night.

      Bobby. They’re sticking out of your pocket.

      Bert. So they are. So long, kid.

      (Hurries out, forgetting valentine. Bobby spies it and picks it up.)

      Bobby. Gee! It’s a valentine for Eloise. Bet it ain’t as pretty as the one I bought. There won’t no silly girl get it, either. I wonder——

      (He starts to take it out of envelope, hears some one coming, and runs out, dropping it. There should be a curtain, apparently separating two rooms, and behind this Bobby hides.)

      Enter Uncle Bertram; goes to desk.

      Uncle B. (addressing his envelope). Well, well! That’s the fortieth valentine I’ve sent Ellen. I sent the first, I remember, when I was a three-year-old, in kilts, and she a baby in little white dresses and blue shoes. Ha, hum! Such is life! Here we are, both middle-aged people, though blest if I feel so! If she’d only answered that twentieth one, I might not have been sending the fortieth. I wonder—— (He toys with letter.)

      Mrs. Winston (looking in). Oh, here you are, Bertram. You’re wanted on the ’phone.

      Uncle B. (rising). I’ll be right there.

      (He hurries out, and Bobby hurries in, and picks up the dropped letter.)

      Bobby (going to desk). Gee! I’ve thought of the best joke! This ain’t sealed, either. I’m a-going to change ’em. Thirty-nine valentines are enough for one lady to get from the same man, anybody’d know! (Makes the change, and seals both letters.) There! I guess a change’ll be a difference, as Aunt Emily says, and Eloise oughtn’t to care. This one’s from Bert, too. Didn’t know Uncle Bertram ever signed his name Bert. Jumping frogs! He’s coming!

      (Hides again, Bert’s letter in his hand. His uncle takes the letter, and sees it is sealed.)

      Uncle B. Funny! I thought I hadn’t sealed that. Getting absent-minded, I guess.

      (Puts it in pocket, and goes out, whistling.)

      Enter Evelyn and Helen. Both start toward desk. Helen reaches it first.

      Evelyn. Oh, dear, Helen, won’t you let me have the desk a minute? I just want to address a letter.

      Helen. So do I, and I’m in an awful rush.

      Evelyn. What is it? A valentine?

      Helen. Is yours?

      Evelyn. Well, why don’t you address it, or else let me have the desk?

      Helen (rising). You may have it, Evvie. I’ll wait. (Evelyn seats herself, toys with pen.) Well, why don’t you do it, if you’re in such a rush? (Evelyn laughs.)

      Evelyn. For the same reason you don’t, I guess. Here! (Hands her a fountain pen.) You can do yours on the table. Then we won’t bother each other.

      Helen. I’ll let you see who mine is addressed to, if you will, too.

      Evelyn. No, thanks. (Both hesitate, laugh, and Helen takes hers to table. Both write hastily. A crash is heard, followed by a loud scream, and both girls rush out. Bobby comes out of his hiding-place, and changes valentines swiftly, sealing both, then darts back as he hears girls coming. They enter.) Katy will scare us to death some day. Did you ever see any one who could get so many tumbles?

      Helen. Or smash so many dishes?

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