Arizona silver belt., 1895-11-30
THE YEAR 1900.
According to the Gregorian Cal endar Will Not Be Leap Year.
Next Year Will lie the Only Chance in Eight Years for the Girls to Scoop in a Husband--Some His
 toriC Data.

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 the especial privileges accorded to them during the leap year of 1896, inasmuch as they will lack another opportunity until 1904, eight years later The maiden of 17 can hardly hesi- tate by reason of her youthfulness; she will be % before she can again usurp mans privileges and do the woo ing. The eNpectant spinstcr must mass every effort for next years struggle; eight years more would render her hopelessly paSse, says the New York Herald, Indeed, the prospect is sad from the feminine point of view, unless the coming century 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 regula- ton of our calendar requires every hundredth year-although divisible by four-not to be a leap year. 1t was also settled years ago, when the final changes in the calendar were made.
 The primeval system of reckoning time was based on the moons changes, as is shown in our word month" By
 
 rcckoned with either go or 80 days. Soon the rotation of the season was made to serve as a standard. It soon appeared, however; that the two sys- tems did not fully agree. It was then that it was found necessary to invent some means of adjustment One of the earliest means devised was that in use among the Egyptians. By their ar engagement the year was made up of the seasons, and included G65 days each. In order to fill out the lack arising from this system of months five supplement- ary days were added at the end of the year.
 The Jews reckoned their year as com posed of l2 lunar months of 20 and 80 days alternately, and the discrepancy which resulted was relieved by the oc- casional introduction of 18th month. The Syrians Macedonians and kindred peoples generally followed the Jewish method. In pursuing this reckoning years in a cycle of nineteen have this intercalary month, and the number of days in any year varies from G5S to 3S5.
 The ancient Creeks made their year to consist of 12 really lunar months, but Solou in 495 made law for the Atheniaus that the months should comprise go and 80 days, with the ad- dition of an iutercalaIy period oc- casionally. Afterward times in s years month of 30 days was added by which means the average length of each year was made to be 3G4 it days. Ancient Rome had but 10 months in the year, but iu the time of it's kings the lunar year was introduced, number ing S55 days in the l2 months, an oc- casional intercalary month being employed to make the necessary addi- tious. The Roman system of comput- ing time, however, was bcset with many difficulties, and the gross ig- norance of the priests caused them to commit innumerable bluudcrs in their reckoning, until chronology was hope lessly confused Julius Cnsar, in the year 46 E. C., devised the calendar which bears his name. In his system the year had 8G5 days, save every 4th, which had 3G6, making the aver age about 3G54 4 Exactly reckoued the year was made up of 265 days, 5 hours iS minutes and 30 seconds, or II minutes and 10 seconds less than 365A. CDsar gave also the current number of days to the months, and his calendar as a whole was so excellent and it's errors were so slight that it was generally adopted. Until the year i5S2 A. D. no change was made in it, but by that time the II minutes and 10 seconds of error in each year had grown to 10 complete days,
 As a result, the time of Easter was shifted from its true place, end all the movable fcasts of the church, which are reckoned from it, were thrown out of the proper order. To remedy the resultant annoyances Pope Gregory XIII. ordered that October 5. l5s2, should be recJoned as October b, 15s2. To guard against a recurrence of the trouble Pope Gregory also dccreed that every hundredth year should not be a leap year, save every four hundredth, but that exception beginning only at POGO A. D. The excellence of Gregorys computation shows that the total dis crepancy by his calendar would amount to no more than one day in 5000 years.
 Italy, Spain and Portugal unhesi- tatingly followed the popc's direction. France made the change in the same year, in December instead of October, as did also the low countries. The Protestants, in the fury of the Refor- nation, refused to make any such change, and persisted in refusing until l7OO, when the Lutherans of Germany and Switzerland adopted the new system. By that time the continuance of the old error made it necessary to make change of eleven days, instead of ten. Scotland adopted the system in 1900. England refused to yield until 1751. When the bill was first in- troduced it failed, but prejudice was not able to totally destroy common sense, wherefore George IT., in l751. made the calendar of Great Britain and Ireland to agree with the Greg orian Russia, Greece, Roumania, and the like races yet retain the old method, as a result of which, when one sends a letter from one of these countries to some region where the calendar has been corrected it must be doubly dated, as for example, n this fashion, there being twelve ditys' difference now-January 1-i3, or Jane 2O-Suly 9.
 Not one of the least remarkable fea- lures of the century year is tha$ it leaves those unhappy mortals to whom something happened on February 20 without their anniversary for eight years.
 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
 The early Saxons seldom wore hats and still more seldom caps, Their sole head covering was the long fiaxen hair which they cultivated with sedulous care