Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-04-09

may make my remarks little irksome to the
learned, but l am writing to the unIearned as
well as the learned. and l wish to be under
stood. | will say, then, in the outset that the
Dominical letters are the first seven letters of
the alphabet that when used in certain
way they called the Dominica or SUNDAY,
letters and that every four hundred years,
beginning at creation, or with the Christian
Era, constitute a Dominical cycle, bringing
around the same day of the month with the
same day of the week and with the same Do
minical letters Consequently, the cycles all
come in on the same day of the week, contain
the same number of weeks, (twenty thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one,) and all go out
on like DAYS that is, when they come in on
Monday, (as they always do,) then at the end
of twenty thousand eight hundred and seventy
one weeks, they go out on Sunday. This is as
plain, it respects twenty thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one weeks, as it is res
pecting one week, which every child knows
that if the week comes in on Monday, it will
60 out on Sunday. | say how can it be posi-
bic, then. if four hundred wears constitute a
complete Dominica cycle, (which YOU have
admitted for the next or preceding cvcle to
differ from the cycle in question, ard come in
so out on days differing from the one be-
fore it, after it :? You might as well argue
that one week could differ from another, COM
ing in on different days and going out on diff
ferent days | presume you will admit this.
We say, then, that the cycles are all exactly
alike as all weeks are alike. | suppose that
you win admit that the Dominica letters are
now right, and that this year, A. d. 1856, is
the two hundred and ffty-sixth year of the
present cycle of four hundred years, and that
the Dominical letters for this year are F, f.
This granted, and you have at once acknowl-
edged that the first day of the Christian Era
the first year of four hundred years cy-
Gle: for four times four hundred are sixteen
hundred, and two hundred and 6ftv-six make
up the sum of the Christian Era, 1856. Then,
as man Of sense and common understanding,
(unless | am a fool,) YOU are bound to admit
that the year preceding the Christian Era,
was the end of the four hundred wears cvcle
which preceded the Christian Era, and that If
any cycle goes out on Sunday. with the Do
mnical letters B, \, (as in fact they all do)
so did the one preceding the Christian Era
You have conceded, in Bliss's Chronology"
page Is. that The first wear OF the Christian
Era commenced with Monday" and, conse-
quentlv, that the Dominica letter was G.
What letters, then, do you say, the Do
minical letters of the preceding year9 Do
I L., n,
minicsl letters, and could be no other Why
not? Because it was Leap Year, having
two Dominica letters. and moreover was the
end # four hundred years cycle. Do you
say, How do yOu prove that | answer,
prove it by two Of my tables, in this way: IF
counting the blanks under 4. that there are
but thirteen dates in every four hundred years
that have b, 4, for Dominica letters, and that
they are all succeeded by G. Then, by exam
lining table No. 4, YOU will find that not one
of these dates except four hundred, could
prccede \. d, l, without deranging the alpha
betical order of the Dominica letters of the
fifties
I must here say, for the satisfaction of the
reader that the Dominica letter # each fif-
tieth year in each cycle changes one letter in
the alphabet, thus the first fiftieth year from
the first wear of the cycle, it is B; the sec
ond. c; the third. d the fourth, E the fifth,
F; the sixth. e the seventh, A; and the
eighth, B, A. Thus it is plain to any one
who has the tables, that none of the aforesaid
thirteen dates, except four hundred, could
precede A D, l, and the year A. D. so have
the letter b for the Dominica letter
Is this satisfactory If not, you must show
that the tables are defective, or concede the
point If YOU concede the point, then does it
not follow that the year preceding the Chris
tian Era the year 1000 A. NJ?
Yours with respect,
JOHN MATTHEWS
Ba<co, H. Nor 1Oh, 1856.
p. S.-The foregoing is but one half of the
original letter l made some mistakes, not
copied into this letter, which Mr.. Bliss cor
rected in his editorial reply. for which | ten
der him my thanks for the publication Of err
ror can be of no advantage to any one. But
unfortunately for Mr. B in correcting my
rors he committed many Of his own, which
will attend TO in my next letter. J. NJ
The recent bad weather was caused
by the flling reign OF rebellion
The rebel Pillow must be stuffed with
white feathers.