The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-01-24


friends who had assembled to do honor to the
What tribute was this to the man, and what
the author. What new force and beauty does
such a life give TO such a genius
The Calendar,
We have receiy we'd two new cOmmunica tons
on this interesting subject. The first removes
the difficulty which we suggested, and which
We are free TO confess arose from our own
want of acknowledgements if the exact
truth be insisted on, and it be necessary to call
things by their real names. We subjoin it for
the benefit of those who are no wiser than we
were before we read it.
LEAP YEAR.
MzssRs. EDIToRs In the leader OF your Daily
Of Jannar. 18th, headed The Calendar you say:
" But the SUBJECT OF leap year, and the necessity
of supptyin, Whole additional day every fonr
yeais- the whole matter IN worlds still a m,s-
terry to u.s. 1t IL has been discovered that 366 days
5 hours and 40 minutes bring us exactly to the end
OF the year-bring the eartn back into the very
act spot IN her orbit that She held exactly that
len tn of time bef're-we cannot comprehend why
it is necessar. to rectify her hearings 10y throwing
IN a day every four years.
For good while thought fully comprehend
ed 1t, and rested satisfied On the subject. But If
yea it is possible that / have been IN error. If
have, wish 1t removed, AID will therefore suggest
nv own views, hoping that some one Will correct
A year beng exactly s6s days 5 hours and 40
minutes, no notice is taken of the hours and ~
mi Iutes In the computa'Ion of the Calendar
til The fourth var. BY The end of The fourth yeas
it has amounted t. % hours and Is minutes want
and 3o6 day are sven to every fourth year. AS the
period OF 1853 days is less than year. 1t obvious
that II the year IS closed at the end af that time,
and Lew year commenced. after while the Cal
ennar would be ahead OF time; to event this
r., other words, day added to the Bat
by this process little too much is added as four
times hours ard ~ minutes i'll mot quite make "a
hours-nence, in very long time this diferen e
would put the Calendar sehiud time. 1t is, how
ever. brought up by omlttIns leap year at the
Jorrth esm nry, which isstili cap year. fraction
Of day could not be conveniently noticed in the
Caiendar-henre resort to these artificial modes
to ADJUST the ba sance. II.
The second is a transcript from BRANpEs
Encyclopaedia, sent to us, with short note,
by friend from Pittsylvania Courthouse:
From Brande's ENJOY copad,a.I
"CALENDAA.
"a distribution or division OF time INTO periods
adapted to the purposes of civil life; also a table
or register Of such divisions exhibiting the order
DAYS succeed each other dlrinE the year. Ine
WO,d Is derived from the ancient Latin verb
the the to a. IL the wss
tether on the hfst day OF each month, to apprise
e :" the da that t. De kept sacred n
or first days of the different mont his.
" The calendars III use thfOu. bout Europe, are
borrowed rom that OF the Romans. Roinuius is
supposed to have first undertaken to divide the
year in such manueI that certain epochs should
return periodically after a revolution of the sun
but the knOwledee o. astronomy was not then SUI
h;ientiy advanced to allow tl,s to he done with
much prsc' sion. He p aced he coiumenc men. ot
the year IN spring, ard v,ded 1t ten mon his
March. April. May. June. Quinlllis sex'Ii's Sep
teMtef. october, November and Dscelnbsr -
March. May, Qulntills aud October, contained
thirty one days each, ,he other SIX contained only
ma ned IN the calendar TIL the end Of the public
when the, were chan Led into July and August the
former IN attery oil Julius Cesar, and the latter
=, The year Of Romulus contained only 3o4 days
NuIna added two months: January to the beein-
the year 4s2, B. C this Arran .ement was chan ed
by the Decem irs. who placed Februar, after Jan
months Of % and 80 DAYS ate rnaisiy. to
moon. Tine year would. the efore consist Of s54
days; hut one day was added to make the number
co respondence with the solar year, Numa ordered
al intercalar, month to be sei.ed every second
sisiins aitsrnatsy Of q and % days. Had o ,hs
re uation been strictly adhered to, the length
months Would have Continued Tor long I TINS inc e
correspond with the same seasons But q dlscre-
tinnsrs power over the interealsr, month was ex
ercIsed by the pOntitfs who frequently abused it
lot the purpose OF fastening or retaIdng the days
OF the election of magistrates; and the Roman
confusion till the time of Julius Caesar when the
civil equinox differed from the astronomical b,
Un0er the advice of the astronomer Losirenes
Sfsar abolished the lunar Year; and regulated tho
common year should consist OF SIS dsvs. but thai
every fourth year should contain 3j6 In distribute
IN: the Day anon, the different months he dor
edtnat the odt months-hat Is, the first thru fifth
seventh, ninth and eleventh-shOud contain each
o. aa,s ana the other months 30, excepting Feb
~ days. but every fourth year 80 days. THIS natu-
,ai aad So. I'VE was interrupted
ing August, the month naiaed afer hum. IN equal
number Of days with July. whicr was named alter
cured every fourth yeaI wss between eSe
2lth and 18th Ct February. Accordns to the peen-
the Romans. the assh Of FebrSsry was sslfea The
sixth before the caends Of March, sexfo eaiandas.
called Slsssxto csisndss; whesoe the term bl:.sI-
tile. The corresponding English t6rm. leap " ear,
d.y was leapt over. instead Of be ns thrust in It
may be remark. d, that In the ecclesiastical calen
ssI the stetcalary day sti between the
The Jahan year cons sted OF 1854 days, and oon-
sequensly dfered in excess by II minutes 10 IS soc
SiSd. 6h, lSm and ~ g. sec In Of this
difference. the astIonoMlcai equinox, in few cen.
pended to the 18th Of March Ia the sixteenth d
rsG.on Of this error was one Of the purposes sought
% 10 obtained BY the reformation Of the calsn-
y 10 rSs G ne a in
restored the equinox TO the 2ist Of March. the day
on which it fell at the time Of the council Of Nice,
u ~. the place Of Easter and the other movable
church feasts in tho ecclesiastical calendar having
been prescribed At tina council: And in order that
the same inconvenience might be prevented in flu
tnro, he ordered the INTERPOLATION which took place
everv fourth year to be omitted IN years ending
centuries; that 10 to say, the l0Oth 1O0th, Ac,
excepting on TIE A9th and the year: which are the
sH;aS!ss 1f toe The Gresorsan RULE Of intsrcaIa
year o. Witch the number is diyisnie BY without
Iemainoes % leap year. excepting the centesi-
~ yeam. watch are only iesp years Vhon divis-
*, ~ y atesr suppressins the two yesrs Thus
lolW va leap year-l700 and 1870 we're common
year, and n on.
The Gre xofs.n method Of intsrcaistiou TINS
alve " 3neercAlati0ns in ~ wears, ooneoGnenilv
~ yesn co1eain toxS6sxe7-loou0g daye ma fhero-
,cse vhe ioneth Of ono year 10 Is So dnye or
-. a. eSm sc which exceeds the true solar
2set ~ s0-8 eeS.-en error, which suounfs 0nlv
g one dsy y So years Tbs tTus solsr yssr.
Iveso9sag from on1 vefnal equinox a snr{her''
Il ~ ss soss % tine The year, IN our calssdsF
"a ~ ~. sd % -" back towards the beGinning
"Nos-luTuscoCass.s-Ths Savannah En-.
prsss asserts that during this winter : loco-
n.siH - 4