Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1881-01-04

east sought to ba remedied by the in
'ertion, every seond year of an extra
month consisting alternately of p and
% days. This arrangement made the
average length of the year 1861 days
too long by nearly a day.-This error
again was remeded by inserting 3
months of % days each in the period of
eight years, insteai of the months OF
the average length of 229 days in those
eight years. This reduced the year to
1861 days. But as the extra months
were not attended I'd with any great reg
ularity, confusion afain resulted.
1t was the busineis of the Pontitf to
regulate the year, and order the insertion
of more or fewer days according as the
civil year was found to differ from the
true year as determined astronomicaily.
A large discretion was allowed these
worthless, and modern times not having
the monopoly of political trickery and
corruption, the politicians found the
Pontiffs not hard t, be persuaded to
make the year longei so as to continue
their magistracy, or shorter so as to
hasten an election. n such a middle
was the calendar by he time of Julius
Cesar. that the seasons seemed to have
changed places. "Tfe times were out
of Joint" the winter months were car
ried back to autumn, and the autumnal
into summer. The tanners were great
observers of the sky and stars, and by
them they were complied to regulate
their agricultural operations. They
were better astronomers than our mod
ern rustic, who, to keep some record OF
his daughters birth, entered upon the
fiy-leaf of an old Gazetteer, that looked
like bible, the dateless record, "Ellza
Jane 10 years old next grass"
Although Caesar was usurper anO
an emperor, he was great refOrmer
His one abuse of seizingupon all power
wiped out all the abuses by which petty
demagogues sought to pMpetuate theil
petty power. He abolished altogether
the moon year and the Extra months
he regulated the year entirely by tnt
sun, fixing the average sngth at 800
days: that is, our present arrangement
of three common years and one leaf
year. In order to bring he seasons tt
correspond with the months and day
as they did in the time of Numa, he wa
compelled to increase tie plumber o
days in this last ''year of onfusion" tt
ASS. The first Julian Yea, commenced
on the first of January in he 10th yea
before the birth of Christ. The mum
Der of days in the month vas, except
| ing February, which had 20 days, 3
and 80 days alternately, so arranged tina
the 1st, 3rd, 5th, &C., or ODD numbere!
months, had 81, or an odd number Q
days, and the I'd, 4th, 9Th. &C., or evel
numbered months, had 80, " an evel
number of days. Had this simple ar
rangement been preserved, it is true
we should have been deprived Of tia
delightful arithmetic rhyme,
Thirty days hath September
April, June, and Novembsr,
but it is questionable whethe, even thi
compensates for the loss of thu simple
ity of the Julian method.
The sycOphants of the living dog wer
not satisfied that he should have les
honor than the dead lion. so the Dot
day was taken from February and give
to August, to make it equal to July, tina
the month named after the GRITTY poll
tician might not be less than that name
after the foremost man of all tn
world" To prevent three months c
81 days each coming together, Septen
Der and November were reduced to 3
days each, and October and D.cembe
elevated to 81 days. From such a friv
olous reason arose the necessity If lean
ing upon doggerel to help US renembe
the present arrangement. Ndwith
standing the nicely of Caesars arrange
ment, whatever his astronomers Nigh
have known about it. time proved ths
| tho r1oc too IOnr ond tho
equinox at the time of the COu1cil {
Nice, A. D. 1926, was three days earliel
In 1882 1T had backed up ten days T
remedy this error, Pope Gregory Kill
ordered ten days to be dropped from tn
calendar, so as to bring back the 2lSt {
March to the equinox.
AS the error amounted to three day
in four hundred years, he ordered ths
three leap years should be dropped i
four centuries, so that all the centenar
ing those that can be divided by 40
Thus 1900 was leap year, but 100, lS0
1900 are not. 1000 will be leap yea
and so on. Every year, the number
which can be divided by 4, is leap yea
excepting the even hundred year
which cannot be divided by 400; bl
1000, 5000, 10000. &C., are common year
In this way the error will not amour
to more than one day in one hundre
thousand years. This Gregorian ye,
has been adopted by all Christian ns
tons excepting Russia. England di
not adopt the change until 1882, whetl
er from theological hatred or John Blu
conservatism we will not discuss: an
whether the unwillingness of the Gree
Church to even seem to acknowleda
any authority of the Pope, by adoptin
the Gregorian calendar, is the cause
it's clinging to the old style, we wi
also leave undetermined. When Il
change was made in England it NJ
with violent opposition from the masse
who thought they had been deprived
so many days Of their lives, impelie
doubtless by the same logic that IL
the good old lady in North Carolina
congratulate herself that she no long'
lived in that unhealthy State, when b
a change of the boundary line she four
herself an inhabitant Of Virginia.
Ia London members of Parliamel
were mobbed by the excited citizens d.
manding back the eleven days of whic
they had been defrauded, for, by tt
time the change was made, the errt
had amounted to another day. A
dates that have not been altered to su
the amended year are marked o. S. (ol
style). Thus, Gen. Washington W.
born on 18th February, o. S., which
22d February, new style.
A CURIOUS FIND.-While digging
well, some days ago, at Red Hills" til
farm of Mr.. A. Russow, the digger can
| rnnn q well eff u cd hricl wall q about