By the Julian calendar the Dominical Letters for the year 1580 were C B, for 1581 A, and for 1582 (the second year after bissextile) the letter G. Consequently 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 sixteenth nominal day of course was Saturday, and Sunday falling on the seventeenth, the Dominical Letter then changed to C: and from that day all subsequent Dominical Letters take their revolutions.

On this plan the foregoing table was formed; wherein observe, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900, are not particularly expressed, 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 expressed in the table are bissextile, 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 so of the rest.

The letters for the first, second, and third years after every bissextile, are the three single letters placed under the double letters, in the same column with the bissextile they immediately follow. For example, as the Dominical Letters for 1600 were B A, so the Dominical Letter for 1601 was G, for 1602 F, and for 1603 E. So for 1796 the Dominical Letters will be C B; consequently 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, must have the subsequent letters D, C, and B; and then 1804, being bissextile, will come under the letters A G: and from thence every fourth year will be leap-year to 1896 inclusive.

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

EXAMPLES.

If the Dominical Letter for 2484 be required, divide 24 by

4, and nothing will remain; therefore look in the seventeenth century for 1684, and you will find it under B A, 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 may be found in the eighteenth century, being the same 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 second after a bissextile hundred, and consequently the given year must have the same letter as the year 1800; from which the nineteenth century begins, viz. E, the fourth single letter after the bissextile year 1796.

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

And since, after dividing the hundreds in any given year of our Lord by 4, there will remain either 0, 1, 2, or 3, so any question of this kind will be resolved by finding in the table the Sunday Letter or Letters of the corresponding year in such of the four centuries, as is analogous to that of the question proposed.

The columns of days of the

month and week.

PART II.

OF THE CALENDAR.

THE INTRODUCTION.

I. HAVING said what I thought requisite in order to explain the Tables and Rules before and after the Calendar, I shall now proceed to treat, in as little compass as I can, of the Calendar itself. It consists of several columns; concerning the first of which, as it only shews the days of the month in their numerical order, I need say nothing; and of the second, which contains the letters of the alphabet affixed to the several days of every week, I have already said as much in the former part of this chapter as was necessary to shew the use and design of their being placed here.

The columns of

calends, &c.

II. The third column (as printed in the larger Common Prayer Books) has the Calends, Nones, and Ides, which was the method of computation used by the old Romans and primitive Christians, instead of the days of the month, and is still useful to those who read either ecclesiastical or profane history. But this way of computation being now grown into disuse; and this column being also omitted in most small editions of the Common Prayer Book, (though without authority,) there is no need that I should enter into the particulars of it.

The columns of

III. Neither is there occasion that I should say any thing here concerning the four last co- lessons. lumns of the calendar, which contain the Course

of Lessons for morning and evening prayer for ordinary days. throughout the year; since the course of lessons both for ordinary days and Sundays, &c. will come under consideration in a more proper place hereafter.

The column of holy-days.

IV. So that nothing remains to be treated of here, but the Column of Holy-days; and as many of these too as are observed by the Church of England, I shall speak to in the fifth chapter. But then as to the Popish Holy-days retained in our calendar, I shall have no fairer opportunity of treating of them than in this place. And therefore, since some small account of these has been desired by some persons, I shall here insert it, to gratify their curiosity.

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

in our calendar.

THE reasons why the names of these Saints-days The reasons why and Holy-days were resumed into the calendar the popish holyare various. Some of them being retained upon days are retained account of our Courts of Justice, which usually make their returns on these days, or else upon the days before or after them, which are called in the writs, Vigil. Fest. or Crast., as in Vigil. Martin; Fest. Martin; Crast. Martin; and the like. Others are probably kept in the calendar for the sake of such tradesmen, handicraftsmen, and others, as are wont to celebrate the memory of their tutelar Saints; as the Welshmen do of St. David, the Shoemakers of St. Crispin, &c. And again, churches being in several places dedicated to some or other of these Saints, it has been the usual custom in such places to have Wakes or Fairs kept upon

those days; so that the people would probably be displeased, if, either in this, or the former case, their favourite Saint's name should be left out of the calendar. Besides, the histories which were writ before the Reformation do frequently speak of transactions happening upon such a holy-day, or about such a time, without mentioning the month; relating one thing to be done at Lammas-tide, and another about Martinmas, &c., so that were these names quite left out of the calendar, we might be at a loss to know when several of these transactions happened. But for this and the foregoing reasons our second reformers under queen Elizabeth (though all those days had been omitted in both books of king Edward VI. excepting St. George's Day, Lammas Day, St. Laurence, and St. Clement, which were in his second book) thought convenient to restore the names of them to the calendar, though not with any regard of being kept holy But not kept by the Church. For this they thought prudent holy. to forbid, as well upon the account of the great inconveniency brought into the Church in the times of Popery, by the observation of such a number of holy-days, to the great prejudice of labouring and trading men; as by reason that many of those Saints they then commemorated were oftentimes men of none of the best characters. Besides, the history of these Saints, and the accounts they gave of the other holy-days, were frequently found to be feigned and fabulous. For which reason, I suppose, the generality of my readers would excuse my giving them or myself any further trouble upon this head: but being sensible that there are some people who are particularly desirous of this sort of information, I shall for their sakes subjoin a short account of every one of these holy-days as they lie in their order; but must first bespeak my reader not to think that I endeavour to impose all these stories upon him as truths; but to remember that I have already given him warning that a great part of the account will be feigned and fabulous. And therefore I presume he will excuse my burdening him with testimonies; since though I could bring testimonies for every thing I shall say, yet I cannot promise that they will be convincing. But, however, I promise to invent nothing of my own, nor to set down any thing but what some or other of the blind Romanists superstitiously believe,

SECT. I. Of the Romish Saints-days and Holy-days in January.

January 8.

or and martyr.

Luoian (to whose memory the eighth day of this month was dedicated) is said by some to have Lucian, confessbeen a disciple of St. Peter, and to have been sent by him with St. Dennys into France, where, for preaching the Gospel, he suffered martyrdom. Though others relate that he was a learned presbyter of Antioch, well versed in the Hebrew tongue, taking a great deal of pains in comparing and amending the copies of the Bible. Being long exercised in the sacred discipline, he was brought to the city of the Nicomedians, when the emperor Galerius Maximianus was there; and having recited an apology for the Christian religion which he had composed, before the governor of the city, he was cast into prison; and having endured incredible tortures, was put to death.20

fessor.

§. 2. Hilary, bishop of Poictiers in France, 13. Hilary, (commemorated on the thirteenth of this month,) bishop and conwas a great champion of the catholic doctrine against the Arians; for which he was persecuted by their party, and banished into Phrygia about the year 356, where, after much pains taken in the controversy, and many troubles underwent, he died about the year 367.

18. Prisca, Ro

§. 3. Prisca, a Roman lady, commemorated on the eighteenth, was early converted to Chris- man virgin and tianity; but refusing to abjure her religion, and martyr.

to offer sacrifices when she was commanded, was horribly tortured, and afterwards beheaded under the emperor Claudius,

A.D. 47.

§. 4. Fabian was bishop of Rome about four- 20. Fabian, teen years, viz. from A. D. 239 to 253, and suf- bishop and marfered martyrdom under the emperor Decius.

tyr.

21. Agnes,

and martyr.

§. 5. Agnes, a young Roman lady of a noble family, suffered martyrdom in the tenth general Roman virgin persecution under the emperor Diocletian, A. D. 306. She was by the wicked cruelty of the judge condemned to be debauched in a public stew before her execution; but was miraculously preserved by lightning and thunder from heaven. She underwent her persecution with wonderful readiness, and though the executioner hacked and hewed her body most unmercifully with the sword, yet she bore it with

Euseb. Histor. Eccl. 1. ix. c. 6, p. 351, C.