The era of the Olympiads is a system of dates adopted by the ancient Greeks. An Olympiad was the interval of four years between two conThese games were trials of secutive celebrations of the Olympic games. strength and agility tested by running, boxing, leaping, wrestling and so on, held at Olympia, a plain of Elis, every fourth year. They were first employed for chronological purposes when Chorobos won the footrace, the principal match before chariot races were introduced.

year.

A merry old holiday was St. Valentine's Day, the 14th of February, valentine" for the on which, in England and Scotland in former times, each young bachelor and maid received by lot one of the opposite sex as It was a kind of mock betrothal, and was marked by the giving of presents. From Pepys' Diary we see that married as well as single people could be chosen. The usage, no doubt, grew out of the old notion, alluded to by Chaucer and Shakspeare, that on this day birds first choose their mates.

In Holland the following names for the months are in use: JanuaryLauromaand, chilly month; February-Sprokelmaand, vegetation month; March - Lentmaand, spring month; April-Grasmaand, grass month; May-Blowmaand, flower month; June-Zomermaand, summer month; July-Hooymaand, hay month; August-Oostmaand, harvest month; September-Hertsmaand, autumn month; October-Wynmaand, wine month; November-Slagmaand, slaughter month; December-Wintermaand, winter month.

The Roman month was divided into Calends, Nones and Ides. The Calends always fell upon the first of the month; in March, May, July and October, the Nones on the 7th and the Ides on the 15th; and in the remaining months, the Nones on the 5th and the Ides on the 13th. The Roman year began with March, and the months corresponded with ours except that their fifth and sixth months were called Quintilis and Sextilis. Afterwards they were changed to July and August in honor of the emperors Julius and Augustus.

STANDARD TIME.

What is known as the "new standard time" was adopted by agreement by all the principal railroads of the United States, at 12 o'clock, noon, on November 18, 1883. The system divides the continent into five longitudinal belts and fixes a meridian of time for each belt. These meridians are fifteen degrees of longitude, corresponding to one hour of time, apart. Eastern Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia use the 60th meridian; the Canadas, New England, the Middle States, Virginia and the Carolinas use the 75th meridian, which is that of Philadelphia; the States of the Mississippi Valley, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and The westward, including Texas, Kansas, and the larger part of Nebraska and Dakota, use the 90th meridian, which is that of New Orleans. Territories to the western border of Arizona and Montana go by the time of the 105th meridian, which is that of Denver; and the Pacific States employ the 120th meridian. The time divisions are known as intercolonial time, eastern time, central time, mountain time and Pacific time. A traveler passing from one time belt to another will find his watch an hour too fast or too slow, according to the direction in which he is going. All points in any time division using the time of the meridian must set their time-pieces faster or slower than the time indicated by the sun, according as their position is east or west of the line. This

change of system reduced the time standards used by the railroads from fifty-three to five, a great convenience to the railroads and the traveling public. The suggestion leading to the adoption of this new system originated with Professor Abbe of the Signal Bureau at Washington.

WHERE THE SUN JUMPS A DAY.

Chatham Island, lying off the coast of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, is peculiarly situated, as it is one of the habitable points of the globe where the day of the week changes. It is just in the line of demarkation between dates. There, at high 12 Sunday, noon ceases, and instantly Monday meridian begins. Sunday comes into a man's house on the east side and becomes Monday by the time it passes out the western door. A man sits down to his noonday dinner on Sunday and it is Monday noon before he finishes it. There Saturday is Sunday and Sunday is Monday, and Monday becomes suddenly transferred into Tuesday. It is a good place for people who have lost much time, for by taking an early start they can always get a day ahead on Chatham Island. It took philosophers and geographers a long time to settle the puzzle of where Sunday noon ceased and Monday noon began with a man traveling west fifteen degrees an hour, or with the sun. It is to be hoped that the next arctic expedition will settle the other mooted question. Where will one stop who travels northwest continually?"

HARVEST MONTHS OF THE WORLD.

JANUARY.-The greater part of Chili, portions of the Argentine Republic, Australia and New Guinea.

FEBRUARY to MARCH.-The East Indies.

APRIL.-Mexico, Egypt, Persia and Syria.

MAY.-Japan, China, Northern Asia Minor, Tunis, Algiers, Morocco and Texas.

JUNE.-California, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sicily, Greece and some of the southern departments of France.

JULY.-The larger part of France, Austria, Southern Russia and the larger part of the United States of America.

AUGUST.-Germany, England, Belgium, Netherlands, part of Rus sia, Denmark, part of Canada, and the Northeastern States of America. SEPTEMBER.-Scotland, the larger part of Canada, Sweden, Norway and the north midlands of Russia.

OCTOBER.-The northern parts of Russia and the northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula.

SHIP'S TIME.

On shipboard time is kept by means of "Bells," though there is but one bell on the ship, and to strike the clapper properly against the bell requires some skill.

First, two strokes of the clapper at the interval of a second, then an interval of two seconds; then two more strokes with a second's interval apart, then a rest of two seconds, thus:

Bell, one second; B., two seconds; B. s; B. ss, B. s; B. ss; B.

1 Bell is struck at 12:30, and again at 4:30, 6:30, 8:30 P. M.; 12:30, 4:30 and 8:30 A. M.

2 Bells at 1 (struck with an interval of a second between each-B. s, B.), the same again at 5, 7, and 9 P. M.; 1, 5 and 9 A. M.

3 Bells at 1:30 (B. s, B. ss, B.), 5:30, 7:30, and 9:30 P. M.; 1:30, 5:30 and 9:30 A. M.

4 Bells at 2 (B. s, B. ss, B. s, B.), 6 and 10 P. M.; 2, 6, and 10 A. M. 5 Bells at 2:30 (B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B.) and 10:30 P. M.; 2:30, 6:30 and 10:30 A. M.

P. M.

6 Bells at 3 (B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B. s, B.) and 11 P. M.; 7, 3 and 11

7 Bells at 3:30 (B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B.) and 11:30 P. M.; 3:30, 7:30 and 11:30 A. M.

8 Bells (B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B. s, B. ss, B. s, B.) every 4 hours, at noon, at 4 P. M., 8 P. M., midnight, 4 A. M. and 8 A. M.

FRENCH REPUBLICAN CALENDAR.

I. The Months, beginning September 22. Each month 30 days.

From September 16 to September 22 are five days. These were called Sans culottides (4 syl.), and were national holidays; 17 dedicated to Venus, 18 to Genius, 19 to Labor, 20 to Opinion, and 21 to Rewards.

THE CHIEF CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS.

Christian Feasts are (a) Fixed; (b) Movable.

(a) The Fixed Christian Festivals are:

All Saints or All Hallows, November 1.

All Souls in honor of all the faithful dead, whether canonized or not, November 2.

Candlemas Day or the Purification of the Virgin Mary, February 2.
Christmas Day or the Nativity, December 25.

Circumcision, January 1.

Epiphany or Twelfth Day, January 6.

Innocents' Day, December 28.

Lady Day or Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25.

The following are also called Saints' Days, or Red Letter Days:

Andrew

Barnabas...

James the Elder.

John the Baptist (his Nativity)

John the Evangelist.

Luke the Evangelist.

November 30

June 11.

June 24.

Mark the Evangelist..

Matthew the Evangelist.

Thomas (the shortest day).

(b) Movable Christian Feasts:

July 25.

December 27.

October 18.

April 25.

September 21.
February 24.

September 29.

January 25.

June 29.

May 1.

October 28.

December 26.

December 21.

Ascension Day or Holy Thursday, ten days before Whit Sunday.

Ash Wednesday, the first day in Lent.

Easter Sunday.

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Day.

Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter Day.

Pentecost or Whit Sunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter.

Sexagesima Sunday (about) sixty days before Easter, second Sunday before Lent.

Trinity Sunday, the Sunday following Whit Sunday.

THE CALENDARS OF HISTORY.

The Jewish Calendar dates all the years downwards from the creation, which it reckons at 3760 years and 2 months before the Christian The civil year begins with the month Tisri, the ecclesiastical with the month Nisan.

era.

The Mohammedan Calendar begins with the first day of the first month of the year in which the Hegira, or flight of Mohammed, took place, i. e. 622 A. D., and was instituted in 639 or 640.

The year of this calendar is shorter than ours by 10 days, 21 hours and 143 seconds.

The Julian Calendar, that adjusted by Julius Cæsar, made the year to consist of 365 days 6 hours, the fourth year containing 366 days; this was superseded by that of the Gregorian Calendar (New Style), so called from its having been authorized by Pope Gregory XIII. That pontiff, to harmonize the civil with the solar year, the former being in arrear, charged the Council of Trent with the correction of the Julian Calendar, and in 1582 issued a new calendar, omitting ten days, October 5 becoming October 15. All the nations of Europe, excepting Turkey, Greece and Russia, have adopted it. The New Style came into force in Great Britain in 1751; September 3 becoming September 14 in 1752.

In 1793 the National Convention of the first French republic decreed that the common era should be abolished in all civil affairs, and that a new era should commence from the foundation of the republic, Septem

ber 22, 1792. The year was to be divided into twelve months of thirty days each, with five complementary days at the end, which were to be celebrated as festivals, and were dedicated to Virtue, Genius, Labor, Opinion, Rewards. Every fourth or "Olympic" year was to have a sixth complementary day to be called Revolution Day," and every period of four years was to be called a Franciade. The first, second and third centurial years-viz. 100, 200, 300 were to be common years, the fourth centurial year 400 was to be a leap year, and this was to continue till the fortieth centurial year 4000, which was to be a common year. The months were to be divided into three parts of ten days each, called decades. The names of the months and the days of the Gregorgian Calendar to which they corresponded are given in another section.

THE MONTHS AND THEIR NAMES.

January, the first month of the year, was among the Romans held sacred to Janus, from whom it derived its name, and was added to the calendar along with February by Numa in 713 B.C. It was not till the eighteenth century that January was universally adopted by European nations as the first month of the year, although the Romans considered it as such as far back as 251 B.C.

February is the name given to the second month, in which were celebrated the Februa, or feasts to the manes of deceased persons.

March, the first month of the Roman year, and the third according to our present calendar, consists of 31 days. It was considered as the first month of the year in England until the change of style in 1752, and the legal year was reckoned from the 25th of March. Its last three days (old style) were once popularly supposed to have been borrowed by March from April, and are proverbially stormy.

To the fourth month of our year the Romans gave the name of Aprilis, derived from aperire, "to open," probably because it is the sea son when the buds begin to open. By the Anglo-Saxons it was called Eastermonth.

The name of the fifth month, May, is said to be derived from Maia, the mother of Mercury, to whom the Romans on the first day offered sacrifices. It was the third month of the Roman year.

June, the sixth month of the year in our calendar, but the fourth among the Romans, consisted originally of 26 days, to which four were added by Romulus, one taken away by Numa, and the month again lengthened to 30 days by Julius Cæsar.

The seventh month of the year in our calendar, and fifth in the Roman calendar, was originally called Quintilis ("the fifth"). At first it contained 36 days, was reduced to 31, then to 30, but was restored to 31 days by Julius Cæsar, in honor of whom it was named July.

August, the eighth month of the year, was so named by the Emperor Augustus (B. C. 63-A.D. 14), who commanded that his name should be given to the month. August was the sixth month of the Roman year and was previously called Sextilis.

September (Lat. septem, seven) was the seventh month of the Roman calendar, but is the ninth according to our reckoning. The AngloSaxons called it gerst-monath, "barley-month."

October (Lat. octo, eight) was the eighth month of the so-called "year of Romulus," but became the tenth when (according to tradition)