Arizona republican., 1904-02-04

for the solar year it was ascertained, contained 36s F days-nearly. He did not bother about the II minutes and a few seconds ,short of the 365A days, leaving themt to posterity to worry over. And tn at started leap year.
 He also ike the months days at Sl and 30, abou. as now, but ordained that February should have 2S except in leap year, wi en it should have %. Augustus shit ted these matters about a little. for he initiated Julius, and named a mor tn for himself too. and to make 1t as good as Julius had he or dained that both July and August should have 3i days. To square it with the calendar he. fixed the rotation of the Sl-day month somewhat. which ac- counts for bo th December and January having the sa me number.
 But those iame pontiffs. when they put the calen har before the public, fix ed leap year every three instead of ev- cry four years. This gave them one day extra in twelve years-a smart trick fot them. This error continued until s B. C., when Augustus said there wouldn't be any leap year for twelve years more-whic2l made the first leap year A. D. in the year 4.
 But these eleven minutes and few seconds had to be figured in some where. Matters ran along, however, for 15OO years before things were so out of joint that action was proposed. It was discussedI for eighty years and finally in 1882, Pope Gregory XIII. or dained that ten days should be skip ped which made things right once more that being the difference in affairs. He also ordained that things might stay right-that he1 1eafter all fourth years should be leap. years if divisible by four and that all century ending years should be common years unless their first two figures should be divisible by four This made 1900 common year. but 2000 will be a leap year. That all low ed for those eleven minutes and few seconds, and it will be centuries before things need adjustment again, so slight is the variation now and so closely does the liregorian calendar allow for the odd minutes and seconds.
 All the Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian S-yle of calendar almost at once. but the Protestant countries would have nothing to do with it for centuries. Any thing from that anti Christ" was darlnable to them and they lO Oil lllcil in the same old way. Besides the ig- norant peasants thought they were be- ing cheated ott of ten days or eleven days, as the ( ase might be, and they even rioted for them. England did not adopt the GIegorian count till 1752, when it also became current in Amer ica. That is why on dates of that per- iod, calculation must be made for elev- en days-for as 170O passed without a leap year. it made one necessary. George Washington, for instance was born on February II, "old style" but he is remembered on February 22 now. Russia. Servia and all countries which have the Greek church never have adopted it and they are thus eleven days off to this day.
 That is the history and meaning of leap year. What records there are of the practice of letting women propose then. are altogether too flimsy to reck on at all. That is a custom almost too old to talk aboutiit. It is current al- most everywhere, and is merely q pretty sentiment. For it is well known fact that when a woman would propose, she does it in any old year. and if she wants a man and is smart girl, she gets him if she has to make him propose himself, in case she does not want to-for any woman can make any man ask her for herself. if she half tries.