The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1885-10-22
LEAP.YEAR.

LEAP.YEAR.
The popularity of Leap-Year is the
peculiar length of the month of Febru-
ary, so the history OF the origin OF Leap
Year is closely connected with history
of February, and this takes us back al
most to the origin of the year itself.
AS year is the time of the earth
revolution round the sun, it should con-
tain 365 days and fraction of a day.
The ancients, having great respect for
the moon, wanted the year to be subdi-
vided into parts corresponding with her
revolution round the earth. The diff
Guilty of thus adjusting the month or
moons revolutions, so as to be together
equal to the earth revolutions round
the sum- gave rise to February itself,
and to many OF the changes which the
month has undergone, before standing
at its present number Of days. Rom
ulus division of the year is the first
European one known, and the one upon
which our own division is based. He
had ten months, whose total length was
304 days. How he patched up the year
with odd days, so as to make it any
thing like correct. we can not say. In
deed, unless we bear in mind the legend
of his being suckled by wolf, it is diff
cult to understand how Romulus could
have gone so far off the mark as sixty
one days-an error which would have
soon landed him in hopeless confusion.
To remedy the mistake, Numa POM
pilius. the second King of Rome, added
two months to the year, namely, Janu-
airy and February. January, named
after the god Janus, who presided over
the beginning of everything, was made
the first month Of the year Februare
is, in Latin, to expiate. In this month
the expiatory sacrifices were performed;
and, as the sins of the year were, very
naturally. atoned for after they had been
committed, February was made the last
of the months. 1t was brought to its
present position of second month by
the Decemvris, 200 years later, and for
reasons best known to themselves.
But though February, as well as JAN
uary, had been added, the year was not
long enough yet. His months Numa
made to correspond with the moons 5
revolutions, thus making the days in
the year 354, or, in regard to the earth S
revolution, eleven days too short. The
casceling of this error led to the first
change in February. Though the
Romans desire was to preserve, as
far as possible, the months OF
the length of the moons revo-
lutions, it was found necessary to
alter one of them. Why February was
chosen in particular for this pur-
pose is question which is
wrapped in mystery. Perhaps. since
February was the deity of the dead. the
necessary laceration was inflicted on
February. because over it the Genius of
Death presided. February was, at all
events, changed, and the mode of alter
alton was rather clumsy one. Its
clumsiness may be imagined when we
state that the alteration in the month
was made every alternate year by the
addition of a whole month, called an
intercalary month, and which was
placed not at the end of February, but
between the oath and 25th days Of Feb
ruary. This addition was found to be
too great, as the year, instead of being
ten days short, was now one day too
long. This latter mistake was also
rectifcd, and by mode Of correction
even more clumsy, if that were pos
sible, than the one just referred to.
After this, every error having been cor
rected, the year was of almost as correct
length as it is now. that is, as correct
as the average, for it was OF different
lengths at different times, but always
came round TO the correct length every
twenty-four years. And if every man
hoI l1,a hto I,,f,r =, =, Jn,,ht thtc a N ora
ment of the year would have been pre-
served till now, and there might be no
such Leap-Year as we have at all. But
the alternating, clumsy and irregular
system would not work. and from its
ruins arose the present one.
The management Of the calendar was
in the hands of the Pontiffs of Rome.
They could alter the lengths of the in
tercalary months as they pleased, and
the possession of this power was found
10 be exceedingly convenient. They
heightened the extra month when they
wished themselves or their friends TO
remain little longer in any magiste-
rial office, and shortened the months if
they wanted TO hasten the annual cleo
tions. They acted the more shamefully
in this. because they betrayed trust
given them by the ignorant common
people, who had no knowledge of the
complicated calendar. and who could
not tell whether those in charge man
aged ii rightly or not. To such an ex-
tent did these Pontiifs carry their mis-
conduct that the calendar became utter
iy confused, so that by julius Cmsar's
time the winter months were in the au-
tumn and the autumn months in the
summer. and so on. Things had come
TO a crisis. something must be done, and
this was how matters were put right:
Between November and December OF
the current year Juiius Cesar intro
duced two months--in addition to the
intercalary month in the middle Of Feb
ruary--and made that year contain in
all four hundred and fort live days.
The historical name of this extraordi-