For it is. to be observed with refpect to these two Tables or Cycles, that the former or Julian table would ferve for ever; but that the latter will serve only for the prefent century1?: to explain

the reafon of this we must take notice again, that as the Julian folar year has been found to be too long by about three quarters of an hour in four years, or a whole day in about one hundred and thirty-three years, or three days in four hundred years; it hath been contrived to fupprefs three days in every four hundred years which is ordered to be done by making only thofe hundredth years of our Lord, which may be di-vided into even hundreds by 4, to be bifextile or leap years; and all other hundredth years, which cannot be fo divided, (which are alfo leap years in the Julian account) to be deemed common years. In confequence of which the year of our Lord 1800, not being divisible into even hundreds by 4, will be a common year with only one Sunday letter; and as

the like will happen three times in every four hundred years, it will require a table of four hundred years to fhew all the changes of the Dominical Letters that can happen according to the new account 18.

17 See a rule to find the Sunday letter New Stile, both for this century and the next, in the Table for finding Eafter-day till 1899.

18 The Editors have been favoured

E 2

with a copy of fuch a table, drawn
up by W. Rivet, of the Inner Temple,
Efq. which they have printed on the
next page, believing it will be accept-
able to the Reader.

A GENE

Part I.

Chap. I.

A GENERAL TABLE,

Shewing, by infpection, all the DOMINICAL LETTERS that have been fince the correction of the Julian Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII. which took place from the ides of Oct. 1582, or that can occur in any future times.

By the Julian calendar the Dominical Letters for the year 1580 were C B, for 1581 A, and for 1582 (the fecond year after biffextile) the letter G. Confequently as October in that year began on a Monday, the fourth of that month must be Thursday; and the next natural day, which was reckoned the fifteenth (ten days being then dropped) was Friday; the fixteenth nominal day of courfe

was

was Saturday, and Sunday falling on the feventeenth, Part I. the Dominical Letter then changed to C: and from that day all fubfequent Dominical Letters take their revolu

tions.

On this plan the foregoing table was formed; wherein obferve, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not particularly expreffed, they being accounted as common years, that have but one Dominical Letter each; viz. c for 1700, E for 1800, and G for 1900. All the years expreffed in the table are biffextile, or leap years, and have two Dominical Letters placed at the head of their respective columns; as for the years 1600, 1628, 1656, and 1684, the Dominical Letters were B A, and fo of the rest.

The letters for the firft, fecond, and third years after every biffextile, are the three fingle letters placed under the double letters, in the fame column with the biffextile they immediately follow. For example, as the Dominical Letters for 1600 were B A, fo the Dominical Letter for 1601 was G, for 1602 F, and for 1603 E. So for 1796 the Dominical Letters will be CB; confequently 1797, 1798, and 1799 must have A, G, and F: and the letter for 1800 (which is to be accounted a common year) will be E; therefore 1801, 1802, and 1803 muft have the fubfequent letters D, C, and B; and then 1804, being biffextile, will come under the letters A G: and from thence every fourth year will be leap year to 1896 inclufive.

The Dominical Letters of each century expreffed in the table, will be the fame again after a revolution of four hundred years; wherefore, if you divide any given hundredth year by 4, and nothing remains, it is a biffextile hundred; and the whole century from thence will have the fame letters throughout as the feventeenth century, beginning from 1600. If one remains, it will be governed by the eighteenth century; if 2, by the nineteenth : and if three, by the twentieth century, beginning from 1900.

balf the Dominical Letter for 2484 be required; divide 24 by 4, and nothing will remain; therefore look in the feventeenth century for 1684, and you will find it under BA, which must be the Dominical Letters for the year required.

So for the year 8562; let 85 be divided by 4, and the remainder will be 1; wherefore the Dominical Letter

Chap. I. may be found in the eighteenth century, being the fame as for 1762, viz. c.

If it be required to know the Dominical Letter for the year 5400; divide 54 by 4, and the remainder will be 2, denoting it to be the fecond after a biffextile hundred, and confequently the given year must have the fame letter as the year 1800; from which the nineteenth century begins, viz. E, the fourth fingle letter after the biffextile year 1796.

Laftly, if the Dominical Letter for 3503 be required; as 35 divided by 4 leaves 3, it will be the fame with 1903, which will be found to be D by counting from 1896, the biffextile next preceding it; as 1900 will be a common

year.

And fince, after dividing the hundreds in any given year of our Lord by 4, there will remain either 0, 1, 2, or 3: fo any question of this kind will be refolved by finding in the table the Sunday Letter or Letters of the correfponding year in fuch of the four centuries, as is analogous to that of the question proposed.

The co

lumns of

CHAP. I. PART II.

t

Of the CALENDAR.

The INTRODUCTION.

Chap. I. I. HAVING faid what I thought requifite in order to Part II. explain the Tables and Rules before and after the Calendar, I fhall now proceed to treat, in as little compass as I days of the can, of the Calendar itself. It confifts of feveral columns; month and concerning the first of which, as it only fhews the days of the month in their numerical order, I need fay nothing; and of the second, which contains the letters of the alphabet affixed to the feveral days of every week, I have already faid as much in the former part of this chapter, as was neceffary to fhew the use and defign of their being placed here.

week.

The co

II. The third column (as printed in the larger Comlumn of ca- mon Prayer-Books) has the Calends, Nones, and Ides, lends, &c. which was the method of computation ufed by the old Romans and primitive Christians, instead of the days of

the

the month, and is still useful to those who read either ec- Part II. clefiaftical or profane hiftory. But this way of computation being now grown into difufe; and this column being alfo omitted in moft fmall editions of the Common PrayerBook, (though without authority,) there is no need that I fhould enter into the particulars of it.

leffons.

III. Neither is there occafion that I fhould fay any The cothing here concerning the four last columns of the calen-lumns of dar, which contain the Courfe of Leffons for morning and evening prayer for ordinary days throughout the year; fince the courfe of leffons both for ordinary days and Sundays, &c. will come under confideration in a more proper place hereafter.

lumn of

IV. So that nothing remains to be treated of here, but The cothe Column of Holy-days; and as many of thefe too as are holy-days. obferved by the church of England, I fhall speak to in the fifth chapter. But then as to the Popish Holy-days retained in our calendar, I fhall have no fairer opportunity of treating of them than in this place. And therefore, fince fome fmall account of these has been defired by fome perfons, I fhall here infert it, to gratify their curiofity.

Of the Romish Saints-days and Holy-days in general.

dar.

THE reasons why the names of these Saints-days and The reafons holy-days were refumed into the calendar, are va- why the rious. Some of them being retained upon account of opioly-days are our Courts of Justice, which ufually make their returns on retained in thefe days, or elfe upon the days before or after them, our Calen which are called in the writs, Vigil. Feft. or Craft. as in Vigil. Martin; Feft. Martin; Craft. Martin; and the like. Others are probably kept in the calendar for the fake of fuch tradefinen, handicraftfmen, and others, as are wont to celebrate the memory of their tutelar Saints: as the Welchmen do of St. David, the Shoemakers of St. Crifpin, &c. And again, Churches being in feveral places dedicated to fome or other of these Saints, it has been the ufual cuftom in fuch places to have Wakes or Fairs kept upon those days: fo that the people would probably be difpleased, if, either in this, or the former cafe, their favourite Saint's name fhould be left out of the calendar. Befides, the hiftories which were writ before the Reformation do frequently speak of tranfactions happening upon fuch a holy-day, or about fuch a time, without mentioning the month; relating one thing to be done at