The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1908-03-25
Leap Year,
! n1sToRY or zee ODD pAY.
Not Every Year DiviSiblo by -Four
10 Leap Year.

L
ophy of leap year or how there
comes to be an extra day-the 29th
of February - every leap year.
Some even supposed that leap gear
was instituted by the Goddess Ve-
nus only to confer upon ladies the
privilege OF popping the ques-
tiop," or that February has 80 days
that 1t might have a chance at the
Luok of odd numbers.
Our OWL year is founded upon
the period of the revolution of the
earth about the sun. If the natu-
raj year had exactly 865 or 366 days
days there would be no tFouble
The civil year would aooord with
IL and represent precisely tho same
period of time. Bnt the natural
year cannot he divided into an ex-
aot number of days. The natural
year consists of 266 days, s hours,
48 minutes. 40 ITO ssoonds.
Julius Caesar in AZ b. O., made
tho fret reasonable and substantial
reform. He saw that the natural
year was about 3654 deys long. If
the OWL year be 865 days. it is q
quarter of a day short of the solar
year; four OWL Years would,
therefore. lose just one day. He,
therefore. ordered that every fourth
OWL year should have 366 days.
This originated in leap year and
the 29th of February
This formed a very satisfactory
solution for great many centuries
If the solar year were exactly 3654
days there never would have arisen
any occasion to reform the Julien
oalendar But that the fact is that
every Julien year got in advance
of the solar year 10 minutes; in
century this amounted to nearly
day.
The difference was getting to be
important when Pope Gregory
XIII oame into power. In 1877
Pope Gregory XIII approved and
ordered that ten days be dropped
from the calendar in order to bring
tho vernnI equinox for all time on
the 21st OF Maroh. To prevent t.
discrepancy in the future between
the solar year and the civil year IL
was found that If only these oen
tennial years of which the mum ber,
after suppreUsing the two oiphera,
is divisible by four. be regarded as
leap year, the purpose is aooomp-
lished. That is, centennial yeare,
suoi, as 100, 1900 and 1900, while
by four, are, nevertheless,
uot leap years, but 1000, 240O, are
What is the origin of the gallant
and delicate privilege which lie ex-
tended on leap year to the fairest
half of oreationP Myth and his.
tory both have something to cay
on the matter. Myth refers it to
no less a personsge than st. Pat
rick, who was proposed to on leap
year by Saint Bridget. But Saint
Patrick had taken vow of oelli-
bacy; go he had to patoh up the
as best he could with q
kiss and silk gown.
And ever sinoe then, CONCLUDES
tho legend, which, it 10 needless to
say, is not found in Butler's Lives
of the SaintS," or in any other
work of hagiologioal authority, if
a man refuses leap year proposal
he must pay the penalty with
silk gown and kiss.
So much for legend. And now
for history. In the year 1888 the
following law is said to have been
passed in Scotland:
1T is 0tatut and ordaint that du.
ring the reign Of hir maist blersit
Megeste. for ilk yeare knowne as
lepe yeare, ilk mayden ladye OF
bothe high and lowe estait shall
hae the iborte to beDpeke ye man
she likes, albeit he refuses to talk
hlr to be his lawful wye. he shall
be muloted in ye sum are pundis
or less, as his estait may be. except
an avis gif he can make it appeare
that he is betraithit sne other wo.
man he then shall be free" A few
years later similar law was passed
in France and received the approval
of the king. It is also said that
before Columbus sailed on his fa-
nous voyage a similar privilege
was granted to the maidens of Ge.
noa and Florence
RoaBini, the musical oomDoaePy