V.

VALENTINE

_FROM A YOUNG LADY TO HER MOTHER._

1811.

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It is a custom, in some parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, to send little
presents with verses on Valentine's Day, to relatives and friends.

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Hope has her emblem, so has Love,
But I have vainly sought
For one, that might entirely prove
The picture of my thought.

If violets, when fresh with dew,
Could amaranthine be,
Their soothing, deep, and glowing hue
Would justly speak for me.

Or to some plant with tendrils fine,
With blossoms sweet and gay,