The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1895-08-30
GhfDemofraf-S Star
1900 NOT A LEAP E A
POPE GREGORY SO DECREED IN 1882
AND ENGLISH LAW AFFIRMED
IT IN l15l.

ft' eNh 10 WY VIII Jun dlibliiOl
opportunity until 1904, eight years
later. The maiden of IL can hardly
hesitate by reaso of her youthfulness;
she will be % before she can again
usurp mans privilege and do the
wooing. The %expectant spinstcr must
mass every effort for next years
struggle; eight years more would rem
der her hopelcssly passe. Indeed, the
pospect is sad from the. feminine
point Of view, unless the coming cen
fury uShers in the active reality of
women's alleged rights: in such case
it will be sad, even sadder, for man.
Centuries are so long that men and
women forget that the regulation of
our calendar requires every h%undrcdth
year, although divisiblc by four, not
to be a leap year. 1t IA all settled
years ago, when the final changes in
the calendar were made, and to under
stand that no cnmity against women
was intended an understanding of the
methods of reckoning the year is
necessary.
The primeval system of reckoning
time was based on the moons changes,
as is shown in our word month" BY
the ruling of the moon months were
reckoned with either Twenty-Five or
thirty days. Soon the rotation of the
seasons was made to serve as a stand
ard. 1t soon appeared, however, that
the two systems did not fully agree.
1t was then that it was found neces-
sary to invent some lean Of adjust
ment. One Of the earliest means
devised was that IN use among the
Egyptians. BY their arrangement the
year was made up of the seasons and
included 1865 days, with twelve months
of thirty days each. In order to fill
out the lack arising from this system
of months five supplementary days
were added at the end Of the year.
The Jews reckoned their year as
composed of twelve lunar months of
twenty-nine and thirty days alternate
ly, and the discrepancy which result
ed was relieved by the occasional
introduction OF Il thirteenth month.
The Syrians, Macedonians and kindred
people generally followed the Jewish
method. In pursuing this reckoning
seven years in a cycle Of nineteen
have this %intercalary month, and the
number of days in any year varies
from 1853 to 3S5.
The ancient Greeks made their yeal
to consist Of twelve really lunar
months, but Scion in 59I made Il law
for the Athenians that the months
should comprise twenty-nine and
thirty days, with the addition of ar
intercalary period occasionally. AT,
terward three times in eight years a
month Of thirty days was added, by
which means the average length OF
elch year was made to be 3Gi II days.
Ancient Rome had but ten months i n
the year, but in the time Of its king,
the lunar year vas introduced, mum.
bering 300 days in the twelve months
an occasional intercalary month bcinl
employed to make the necessary add
tions. The Roman system Of comput
ing time, however, was bcset will
many difficulties, and the gross ignor
ice OF the priests caused them tt
commit innumcrable blunders in thei
reckoning, until chronology was hope
Eessly confused. julius Caesar in tn,
year 46 B. c., devised the calenda
which bears his name. In his system
the year had 1865 days, save every
fourth, which had 366, making til,
average about 365 IL. Exactly reck
oned, the year was made up Of 80
days, . hours, As minutes and s.
seconds, or II minutes and 10 second
less than 1856 IA. Caesar gave also tn
current number of lays to the months
and his calendar as a whole was s.
excellent and its errors were so Sigh
that it was generally adopted. Unit
the year 1882 A. ID. no change wa
made in it, but by that time the |
minutes and 10 seconds of error il
each year had grown to ten complet
days. AS a result the time of Easte
was shifted from its true place an,
all the movable feasts Of the church
which are reckoned from it, wer
thrown out of the proper order. II
remedy the resultant a|nnoyances Pop
Gregory XIII ordered that October
1852, should be reckoned as OctobC
10, 1882. To guard against arecurranc
OF the trouble Pope Gregory ais
decreed that every hundredth yea
should not be a leap year, SAVE ever
four hundredth, but that exceptio
beginning only at 1000 A. d. III
excellence of Gregory's device
obvious, since q brief computatlo
shows that the total discrepancy
his calendar would amount to no MOI
than M day in 1000 years.
Italy, Spain and Portugal unhesit;
tlngly followed the Pope's Director
France made the change in the san
year, in December instead of Octobe
as did also the Low Countries. III
Protestants, in the fury of the r
formation, refused to make any su,
change, and persisted in refusing Il
I'll 100, when the Lutlerans of Ge
many and Switzerland adopted d
new system. BY that time the co
Ilnhnnna 80 H.