+ VALENTINES
February 14th is fast approaching. As part of my Ebay Treasures project I was hoping to put some images and text from genuine Victorian Valentine cards on Lulu. Alas it will take a little time to prepare some attractive images. The Valentine cards would have looked charming when new: white paper cut in lace patterns, and the text written on white satin cushions. Today the white looks a little grubby and the images do need some "tarting" up.
So - for all you readers who are waiting impatiently for a Victorian Valentine to send to your loved one(s), I have put on this page some text from genuine old Valentines.
Most of the text will look better if centred, something I have not yet learnt to do on this wiki.
Something
to Love.
Something to love,
not fickle friends' love,
Something so true as the
blue realms above;
Something to love in this
hollow world find;
Something to love, truth-
ful and kind;
Something to love, from
me never to part;
Something through
sorrows, ne'er
to depart.
TRUE LOVE
-o-
If while my
passion I impart
you deem my words
untrue, - Oh place your
hand upon my heart, -
Feel how it throbs for
you. - Ah, no! reject the
thoughtless claim
In pity to your lover
- That thrilling
touch would aid
the flame, - It
wishes to
discover,
-o-
TO THEE!
-o-
As the ivy clings
to the oak, - So do I
cling onto thee; - Con-
tented to hear the sweet
yoke of love - So that thou
lovest me. - As the spring to
the river runs, - and the river
flows on to the sea; - As
the sun-flower turns to
the sun, - So, ever I
turn unto thee.
-o-
A Warm Young Heart
A beautiful face and
a form of grace
Were a pleasant sight to see,
And gold and gems and diadems,
Right excellent they be;
But beauty and gold, tho'
both be untold,
Are things for worldly
mart;
The wealth that I prize
above ingots or eyes,
Is a heart - a warm
young heart.
Forget-Me-Not
Sweet the bloom of
affection's flower
Around our native cot,
Which love in fancy's fairy hour,
First called "Forget-me-not!"
Sweeter amid a farewell gloom
In our memory the spot,
To foster in unfading
bloom.
Love's flower,
"Forget-me-not."
True Affection
Emblem fair to you
I send, - Token of
affection true, Showing
where my feelings tend,
Like the magnet, unto you.
Worlds may pass away and
perish, - Every feeling die
away, - But the constant
love I cherish, - Never
shall decay.
A LOVE CHOICE.
Oh! thou knowest I have
given,
All my love to thee,
Of thy love I pray thee
keep not,
Back a part from me.
Woo me, then, because
thou lovest,
With an earnest soul;
I would thou bestow
upon me,
None or else the whole.
I LOVE THEE.
It is the verdict
of my eyes - Amid
the gay and young,
I love thee, I love thee,
A thousand maids among
The very echo of my
heart, - The blessing
when I pray, - I
love thee, - I love
thee, - 'Tis all
that I can
say.
THE FRIEND I LOVE.
The friend I love is youth
ful and fair,
And gentler and pure as
the angels are.
Sincerity dwells in her
earnest eyes,
And her soul is warm as
the southern skies,
Ah, the friend I love is a
friend indeed.
AFFECTION.
Art thou not dear unto
my heart?
Oh! search that heart and
see,
And from my bosom
tear the part
That beats not true
to thee!
A
LOVE SURPRISE.
Dearest, I swear by all
I ever swore,
That from this hour I shall
not love thee more!
What! love no more? oh,
why this altered vow?
Because, I cannot love
thee more than
now.
IF I HAD BUT
TWO LITTLE WINGS.
If I had but two little
wings,
To thee I'd fly, my dear!
But thoughts like these are
idle things,
And I, alas! stay here.
Waking I miss thee, and I sigh
And of they absence weep,
But in my dreams to thee
I fly,
Then, ever welcome
sleep.
To One I Love
Like the dazzling light which noon-
day throws,
Ten thousand charms revealing,
The memory of thy presence glows,
Awakening deepest feeling.
Dearest in sad and lonely hours,
Thy memory shall a presence be
Filling my heart with purest joy,
Until once more thy face I see.
To One I Love.
Tho' bright the flower it will die
Or cease to please the roving eye
Or cast unloved, unheeded by,
Early to fade.
But fondly my heart will cling
to thee
While time shall last unchang-
ingly,
Bringing the purest joy to me
In hope arrayed.
