Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-01-22
AN ENGLISH ALMANAC.
SOME PLEASANT GOSSIP ABOUT THEIR Curl.
oUs CONTENTS AND HISTORY.
From the Manchester Guardian,

From the Manchester Guardian.
At recent meeting of the Literary
Club Mr.. Abel Haywood, Jr., read
paper on English Almanacs during
the Second Stuart and Revolutionary
Periods" During this time the issue
of these ephemerides was statutarily
monopolized by the Stationers' Com
pany and by the University of Cam
bridge. When the almanacs of Vim
cent Wing sold $4,000 the Stationers'
Company esteemed it but a year of
Indifferent sale" According to Wings
horoscope he ought to have committed
suicide, but he did not do so. Cad
bury gets out of this awkward non
fulfillment of prophecy by suggesting
that Wing kill himself by over-study.
Wing, Booker and Gadbury were the
most famous astrologers of the period,
and cultivated astronomy only to
make sure the uncertainties bequeath.
ed to them by the old masters of the
astrological art. Their apparently
undoubting faith is very striking if
they fail the fault is theirs and not the
stars, but their halting words and am
biguity left abundant room for those of
different class who preyed on the
credulity of the people. Mr.. Haywood
referred to the CONSERVATION caused by
the eclipse of 1852, when scarce any
one would work or stir out of the
house. Even John Evelyn was not
exempt from the weakness which
looked to the skies for signs aud por
tents of social troubles and national
disaster. In 1856 Gadbury prophesied
the birth of a Prince of Wales, ana on
June 10, 1858, there came that scion
of royalty who was afterwards the Old
Pretender. There was a strong, though
unfounded, belief that this child was
not the son of james III. but had been
smuggled into the Queens bed-cham-
ber in a warming pan. While Cad
bury was Growing over the astrological
skill which had enabled him to fore
tell the advent of the royal stranger,
the coming over of William of Orange
put an end to the importance of the
infant Prince, and led John Partridge,
rival almanac maker, to print n
rough satire on John Gadbury. The
pretty quarrel between the two astrolo-
gers was kept up with great spirit,
"miscle1nt," "libeller," wretch" ," wi
per-" "saucy rebel, "monstrous liar"
and even stronger adjectives being
used. Gadbury's almanac for 100
for the first time contains a note on the
difference. between the English leap
year, then governed by the Julian
system, and that of foreign countries
where the Gregorian calender was in
use. In 1886 William Andrews says
that notice was given him by his SUI
pervisors to forbear astrological pre-
diction. Who his supervisors were is
not clear, but they relented. The
statement shows, however, that there
was some dislike to the "prophecies"
in some quarters. Richard Saunders
states that the doleful plague following
two comets killed 6S ,596people, besides
number of Quakers never brought
into the bill. An honest goldsmith
named Snow compounded with his
creditors in 1852, and in 1860 invited
them to come in aud be paid the re-
mainder of their money. This is con-
sidered TO be worthy TO be placed in
the table of remarkable events, as it
might possibly still be. An "Episco-
pal Almanac" appeared in 1914. The
"Yea and Nay Almanac and "Poor
Robins Almanac" both published by
the Company of Stationers, poked fun
at the prophetical calendars owned by
the same wealthy corporation. The
"Yea and Nay" was intended as q
scof at the Quakers. In the chronol-
oey occurs this reference TO the steno-
praphy u. s. went three miles to
take in shorthand the speech of a
brother at a silent meeting" This is
one of the most brilliant flashes in the
book. If there be but little wit there
is a great deal of filth and indecency
in this and in "Poor Robin" "The
Weaver's Almanac" gives information
ON many subjects, but nothing on
weaving. The almanacs of this period
show n gradual decay of the suPersti-
tions to be found in the early calen-
dars, and they also show knowledge
of certain natural phenomena which IS
passing away. Who would ever think
the sundial was ever used to tell time
by in the nightf The table showing
how to do it is in many Of the Stuart
almanacs. Who cares now for the
rising of the Pleiades or the southing
of the moon? These things were ia
miliar even to the clown two centuries
ago. AS Emerson has said, "The
civilized man has got fine Geneva
watch. but has lost the skip TO tell the
hour by the SUM-" This Is distinct
loss, for there is as much joy in look
=. "a e. al. ~ak aIeant aF EirItIe in