The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-09-19

six wears. The entries relates to religious
ceremonies, to the fates of children born on
given days, and to the regulation of business
enterprises in accordance with planetary
influences. ado nothing at all this day
is one of the warnings, "If thou seest
ANYTHING at all this day it will be fortune
is another entry. 'Look not at rat this
day." "Wash not with water this day,
and ''Go not out before daylight this day
are some of the additional cautions This
almanac was found in an old tomb, and is
supposed to have been buried with its
Egyptian owner when he was converted
into a mummy for future explorers to dig
ND and dissect in the interest of science and
literature.
Next after this in point of age among
the existing specimens Of ancient almanacs
are some composed in the fourth century.
They are Roman Church calendars, giving
the dates of feasts, the names of the saints,
and other religious information. The
Baltic nations, who were not yersed In pa
pyrus-making, had calendars engraved on
axe-helves, walking-sticks, and other arti-
cles of personal use. The days were nOtched
with a broad mark for Sunday, and the
saints days were symbolized in various de-
vices, such as a harp for st. David's,
gridiron for st. Lawrence's, lovers knot
| for St. Valentines, and so on. The Saxon
almanacs are numerous, and contain his
torical as well as ecclesiastical entries. 1t
is possible to trace in these curious records
all the changes of popular belief and taste.
They were prepared to meet the current
demand, and so constitute systematic
story of what took place in successive
periods, and how knowledge increased with
the revolving years. We owe to them
most that we know of the people for whom
they were made and by whom they were
endorsed
The almanacs of the Middle Ages were
chiefly devoted to astrology, alchemy, and
like subjects 1t was in their stars and not
in themselves that the people then conid-
ed. All events AMI conditions were as
cribed to Celestial interference. The sky
was the supposed abode of both friendly
and malignant powers, in whose hands the
inhabitants of the earth were playthings.
Superstition had perfect sway; and yet
some of the fancies were exceedingly like
the best of modern wisdom. The science
of astronomy was still far off, but the as
trologers made some very pretty and plaus-
ible guesses, nevertheless, with regard to
the nature and relations of the various
heavenly bodies. With the naked eye and
a glowing imagination they saw much of
beauty and impressiveness that our teles-
copes do not disclose in any more effective
manner. They assumed great deal in
proportion to the amount of their actual
knowledge, of course, and hence were false
teachers in large part; but at the same time,
it will not do to deny, they constructed
fables that had wonderful merit in their
way.
1t is not at all certain that we see as
much in the heavens today, with all our
improved facilities, as the ancients saw
under their restricted circumstances. They
were sadly adrift as to the scheme of ere
alton, and the earth was to them the pre-
dominating feature of the universe, flat
and stationary, and yet they evolved .
poetry of the stars which is still animating
and splendid We know now that the
earth is a comparatively insignificant affair
that it turns over day by day, and that il
might drop out Of the system of worlds
and not leave any vacuum worth mention
ing: the tireless ransackers of sidereal space
have proved to us that our poor little planet
is visible only to the moon, Mars, Mercury
and Venus of all the myriad bodies in the
! I - AIa,, ,,,a,alxr nc on md
vet we do not derive from the movements
} of the starry host any greater lessons Of
majesty and glory than were taught in
those old days of childish creeping, of un
ravelled mysteries, of abounding and ludi
crous superstition.
The earliest printed almanac of which
there is any record appeared at Vienna il
the year 1460. Fourteen years later Regio
montanus, a German mathematician, resi-
dent in Hungary, began famous series Of
almanacs extending from 1475 to 1906
! These contained only the eclipses an(
places of the planets. The first almanac
printed in England was translated from the
, French and brought out in 1897, five year.
after the discovery of America. 1t il
worth noting that the exploit of Columbus
was not yet accorded recognition in tn,
historical data of the almanac-makers, mol
| had it ever figured in any of their plenti
| full predictions The first yearly almanac
) appeared carly in the sixteenth century
:. They had astronomical calculations of ;
5 reliable sort, but the astrologers continued
, to supply the tables of planetary influence
and the prophecies of coming events. TIL,
King of France in 1897 forbade predic
, tions concerning individuals or the affair
/ of the Government; and after that tn,
, astrologers, through the favor of James l.
| found their best field of operation in Eng
land.
Almanac-making in England became
monopoly, and so continued until 1775
Meanwhile, however, the satirists had at
4 tackled the astrologers and done much t,
f bring them in disrepute Those who ar
familiar with the writings of Dean Swif
/ will easily recall his 'Gsaac Bickerstaff
5 letters, in which he ''roasted" Partridg,
the almauac-maker with a series of coun
E predictions, showing the folly and scan
, dal of the fellows pretensions Anon:
7 Swift's prophecies was one to the effec
that Partridge would die on a given day
e and he was advised 'to consider of it ant
/ settle his affairs in time and when the
day came letter was written by Swift
. purporting to give an account of Partridge''
death and representing him as having il
: his last hours bitterly repented his con
l nection with the almanac business, where
by he had imposed upon the public ant
} done much mischief by promoting "th'
idle itch Of peeping into futurities." TIL,
: effect upon Partridge's trade was very in
} furious, and astrology received blow from
which it never recovered.
In the early period Of the settlement Of
America all the almanacs were obtained