To
this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived
more than a quarter of a century; here my
children were born, and here one of them lies buried.
I know not how soon I shall see you again. A
duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater
than that which has devolved upon any other
man since the days of Washington. He never
would have succeeded except by the aid of Divine
Providence, upon which he at all times relied.
I feel that I cannot succeed without the same
Divine aid which sustained him, and on the same
Almighty Being I place my reliance for support;
and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that
I may receive that Divine assistance, without
which I cannot succeed, but with which success
is certain. Again I bid you an affectionate farewell.''
SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY
(FEBRUARY 14)
SAINT VALENTINE
The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome
in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius
aided the Christian martyrs, and for this kind
deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and
dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned
him to be beaten to death with clubs and
to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom
on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.
At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very
ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month
of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a
heathen god.
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