Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1916 — Page 6

QUAINT LEAP-YEAR CUSTOMS

Right of Woman to Woo and Not to Be Wooed Dates Bark to a legend of St. Patrick. Away back in the days of Julius <J*esar, about 45 years before our Savior was born, Sosigenes, a philosopher from Alexandria, after taking counsel with a group of astronomers, decided that every four years "*hould consist of 266 days, and thus there came into the calendar what is commonly known today as leap year. The origin of the old custom for j woman to woo and not to be wooed during leap year is traced back to a legend of St. Patrick. As the old story goes, the good man was walking along the shores of Lough Neagh after having “driven all the frogs from all the hogs and banished all the varmints," when he ■met St. Bridget, who, with tears and lamentations, informed him that trouble was brewing among the women of her district because they were not allowed to propose marriage to men. St. Patrick was stern, but he offered to compromise by allowing the ladies the privilege they desired once every seven years. Then St. Bridget threw her arms around St. Patrick’s neck and begged him to make it one year in four. “Ah, Bridget,” St. Patrick is said to have replied, ••squeeze me that way again and I'll give you leap year, the longest one in the loti” Then the future S.t. Bridget, encouraged to this extent, thought of her own husbandless condition and popped ‘ the” question to St Patrick. But St. Patrick had already taken the vow of celibacy, so he had to patch her wounded heart with a kiss and a silken gown. And ever since that time if a man refuses a leapyear proposal he must pay the penalty of a kiss and a silken gown. This quaint legend, of course, has the earmarks of a myth pure and simple, but it is recorded in several old books, and must have been taken seriously in several countries. Scotland had a leap-year law in 12S8 which was actually enforced. ) Here Is the English translation of the curious edict: “It is a statute and ordained that during the reign of Her Blessed Majesty for every year known as! leap year every maiden lady of both high and low estate, shall have the liberty to bespeak the man she likes, I and should he refuse to take her to he his lawful wife he shall be fined in a sum of pounds, more or less; as his estate may be large or small, unless he can prove that he is already | betrothed to another woman, in ! which case he may go free.” Not many years after this there j was a similar law in France, which i received the king's approval. The! story ig told that numbers of maid-! ens took advantage of it. In Genoa and Florence then was) a law of this sort in effect during! the daj’3 of Christopher Columbus, and one of his hiosr'aphers hints at the time, during leap year, when several ladies proposed to him, but as he was already be*~othed he •.escaped their wiles.” In England during the early 1 Sth ■century the men made merry on the 29th of February, often climbing on barrels of liquor to drink the health of the women they expected •would propose to them. In the rural districts homely men paraded the streets, sighing as they passed the girls: “Woe is me, no lady will propose to me!” In the days of King Henry VIII. Will Somers, the court jester, furnished merriment for the king by Having the maids at the royal palace . propose to him in the presence of the king. Of course, the jester refused, but he presented each with a kiss and a silken gown, according to the custom. Even as late as the lath century leap-year entertainments were held, and women proposed to men in public. Skatfng parties, where the

ECHOES FROM MONTiCELLO Monticello Happenings Always InterI est Our Readers. After reading of so many people 4 to our town who have been cured hy | Doan’s Kidney Pills, the question naturally arises: “Is this medicine equally successful in our neighboring towns?’’ The generous statement of this Monticello resident leaves no room for doubt on this point. i, Mrfe. George Howell, N. Main St., Monticello, Ind., says: “I suffered off and on for two or three years l from attacks of kidney and bladder complaint. Sharp twinges often'dart- .• ed through my kidneys and sides 1 and were followed by a dull, nagi glng ache in the small of my back. * The kidney secretions were unnat- ! ural and I had headaches. I finally | got Doan’s Kidney Pills and they | quickly relieved me, toning up my I system. I have since then enjoyed IjNlOd health." /Price 50c, at all dealers. Don t | limply ask for a kidney get Doan’s Kidney Pills—the same that Howell had. Foster-Milburn pDil., Props., Buffalo, N. Y.—Advt.

women called for the men and took them to the frozen ponds, were the fashion. The men would give exhibitions of skating, after which proposals of marriage were in order. Sometimes the best skater was proposed to half a dozen times. Leap-year parties were quite the thing, also, and Merrie England seems to have been a gay old place in those 12 months. According to a quaint book, publsbed in London in 1606 under the title of ‘Love. Courtship and Marriage',” the English seem to have taken, the leap-year custom as an unwritten law, for the author says: Albeit, it nowe become a part of the common lawe in-regard to social relations of life, that as often as every leap year© doth return, the 1. dyes have the .sole privilege during the time it continueth of making love, either by wordes or lookes, as to them it seemeth proper; and moreover, no man will be entitled to the benefit of the clergy who doth in anywise treat her proposal with slight or contumely.” How the need of a leap year” was first felt —in an astronomical, not matririonial sense-—is an interesting w-cmpte of long continued calculations. In the very earliest Mimes it was observed that during one period of the year the days gradually increased in length fusing "day” for the period during which the sun remains above the horizon), and that then they gradually decreased in length tor another period to run the same The Egyptians noted the length of this period and called it 365 days. This was done in the following manner: They observed that, as the sun rose earlier or later, it appeared at different points in the horizon. Let us suppose that at a certain day in .March the sun rose just opposite a certain tree in the horizon. Every day after it would rise at a point a little further to the north of the tree, for about 90 days; then its place of rising would for other 90 days gradually come back to the place in the horizon where the tree stood. It would then pass that point, rising daily more and more to the south of the point where the tree stood, then in P 0 days more the sun would reach its most southerly rising point on the horizon. Then it j would begin to retrograde, and in 365 days from the time when the first observation was made the sun would again appear to rise just opposite the tree marked on the horizon, This method no doubt was sufficiently crude, but it gave the approximate length of the year. As more accurate methods began t-- be employed by the Greeks they t oted that 365 days did not really express the correct length of the year. They found that on the 365th day the sun fell a little short of rising at the place it had risen previously, and. that on the 366th day ii rose at a point beyond it. In fact, that on the 365th dtiy the year was not quite done, while on the 366th day it was more than done. They also observed that the point at which the sun appeared to rise on the 366th day was about three times as far distant from the standard point on the horizon as the point at which it had risen on the 365th day; hence they concluded that 365 1 i days was the correct length o! the year. Nature's year then consisted, it was seen, of days and parts of day, w hile our year must consist of whole days, if we call our year 365 days, then it will be six hours short; if we call it 366 days, it will be 18 hours too long. In the former case w e should gain on nature one day in lour years. In the latter we should lose three days in four year*.

In either cas s e it would come to.; pass that by-and-by January would he I the mid-summer month, anil June fall in mid-winter. As this would be annoying and perplexing and would gradually shift everything from its true anniversary, the Romans fell on the expedient of making three short years arid a long one, and so on , that is three years of 365 days and one of 366 days. 1 years x 365 i; days is 1,461 days. 36-:»--36.i-:-36->-'-366 days is 1.161 days. This wag adopted by the Romans in the time of Julius Caesar as the correct reckoning, under the name ot The Julian Calendar.” To dis--I>ose of the off day. the 24th of February was doubled every fourth year, and the day so interposed was called bisextile. By this intercalation the calendar and seasons were 4c4pt somewhat in harmony. We adopt another method, and add a day to February every fourth year, whereas in the intervening years ‘'February lias 28 alone.” In process of time, however, it was discovered that the year had not been correctly measured, and that therefore the Julian calendar was defective. ■ The invention of clocks and watches introduced greater accuracy in the measurement of time than had formerly been possible, and these

w r ere now used tojielp in finding the exact length of the year. Suppose that we have a chronometer wHlch is absolutely correct, and th l at on a certain day in March we observed that the sun rose at exactly 6 o’clock. If we note the time of its rising 365 days thereafter, we shall find that it rises a little after 6, and that on the 366th day it rises a little before that hour; and, calculating exactly, we shall find the true length of the year to be 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 52 seconds. Our year, then, is too long by 11 minutes, 8 seconds, or about threequarters of an hour in 4 years, or about 1 day in 130 years. How, then, shall we proceed to make a correction for this difference between the real ami the assumed length of the year? First we call the years 1700, 1800, 1900, which ought to be leap years, common years. Thus a century consists of 76 common years ■ / * and 21 leap years. Seventy-six multiplied by 365 added to 24 and multiplied by 366 is equal to 36,524 days. One hundred years multiplied by 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 52 seconds are equal to 36,524 days, 5 hours, 26 minutes, 40 seconds. The error now is reduced to about a quarter of a day in a century, and our years are too short; but if we add a day in every four centuries we shall be approximately correct, tor 400 years will now consist of 303 common years and 97 leap years, or I 16,097 days, whereas they ought to consist of 146,096 days, 21 hours, 16 minutes, 4 Q seconds, an error of ; bout a day in about 4,000 years. The Julian calendar remained in use till 1532, when Pope Gregory abolished it and instituted a new and improved one which we now use, called th© Gregorian calendar. First he dropped ! 0 days, which had been gained from the time when the Julian calendar was adopted by the Romans to the year 1582. Secondly, every year whose number can be divided by four without a remainder was to be leap year, and to contain 3'60 days. Thirdly, the last of every century, although divisible by four, vn s not to be a leap year, unless it were also the last year of a period os four centuries. By this rectification of the calendar the maximum error has been reduc ed to one day in 4 0 centuries. For many years the English adhered to the Julian calendar, or the “Old Style,” as it was called; and it was not until the year 1751 that the British parliament enacted that 11 days should be omitted after the second day of September, 1752, and that the third day should be the 14tli —In other words, that the Greg s -' orian calendar, or “New Style,” should be adopted. If it be asked why the month of February should have at best fewer days than any other month, the reason appears to be that the ancient Roman year began in March, and that February, being then the last of the year, they found that they had appropriated too many days for the -preceding months, and thus the last one Was deprived of its proper share. —Boston Post.

HOW APPENDICITIS CAN BE PREVENTED Rensselaer people should know that a few doses of simple buckthorn bark, glycerine, etc., as mixed in Adler-i-ka, often relieve or prevent appendicitis. This simple mixture removes such surprising foul matter that ONE SPOONFUL relieves almost ANY CASE constipation, sour stomach or gas. A short treatment helps chronic stomach Trouble. Ad-ler-i-ka has easiest arid most thorough action of anything we ever sold A. F. LONG. Druggist. Fish Lines III) Miles Long. The most of the halibut are caught v ith the hook arid line. The fishing. however, has nothing gamy or sporting about it. The lines are dropped down into the sea in such a way that the baited hooks /Test on the bed of the ocean. The lines are or great length. Some of them are Co miles long; when loaded with fish it takes the steam engine on the Vessel the better part of a day to wind them up. They are divideef into sections, each section having a float or buoy that rests on the surface. and is marked by a flag in the daytime and at night by a light. The line lies right on the bed of the sea. Attached to it are hundreds of hooks and each hook is baited. The halibut swallows the bait and is caught on the hook and held there until the line is drawn up. These fish always feed on or close to the bed of the ocean.—Christian Herald. RECIPE FOR GRAY HAIR. To half pint of water add 1 oz. Bay Rum, a small box of Barbo Compound, and 14 oz. of glycerine. Apply to the hair twice a week until it becomes the desired shade. Any druggist can put this up or you can mix it at home at very little cost Full directions for making and use coin* In each box of Barbo Compound. It will gradually darken streaked, faded gra> hair, and removes dandruff. It Is excellent for falling hair and will make harsh hair soft and glossy. It will not color th« scalp, is not sticky or greasy, and does not mb off. Subscribe for The Democrat.

Fuss your way into the / joys of Prince Albert! Go ahead, quick as you lay in a stock / of the national joy smoke! Fire up a / 91 pipe or a makin’s cigarette as though ■wiP^ you never did know what tobacco j For Prince Albert is freed from bite \, can smoke it without a comeback h of any kind because P. A. is real acon-ec/idea'of^whata pipe smoke or a home- On the reverse side of this tidy rolled cigarette should be. Patented j u i y ?.oth, 1907.” which ° has madd three men cirokc n , .1 ■ n ' »,, , .it pipes where one smoked before! Oet this Prince Albert pipe-peace and makm s-peace message, you men who have “retired” from pipe and cigarette-makin’s pleasure; you men who have never known its solace! Because you have a lot of smoke pleasure due B. y iw. An,.r, ,0. you quick as youpack-your-pipe or roll-a-cigaratto with F. bacco it told: in toppy red bags; Sc; and ITlcikS fire ! tidy red tint, 10c; handsome pound and half-pound tin humidort and in hat clever pound crystal-glass humi- - I the tobacco in such fine shape, R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO., Winston-Salem, N. C.

( LOSING OUT SALE. As I am going to quit farming ] will offer at public sale at my residence, 1 3-4 miles north and y 2 mile west of Gifford, 7 miles south of Wheat field, 1 mile east of Laura, commencing at 10 a. m., on MONDAY, MARCH 20, 191 C. 7 Head of Horses—Consisting of I sorrel mare, aged 9 years, wt. lis 0, in foal ; 1 bay mitre, 12 years old, wt. 1150; l brown mare, 12 years old, wt. 1 350; l bay driving horse. 8 years old, wt. 1050; 1 pony, Mi years old, wt. 9 00; 2 colts, one a horse coming yearling, one a mare coming 2-year-old. !) Head of Cattle—Consisting of 1 milch cows, 2 coming 5 years old, one with celf by side, the other fresh this spring, others 3 years old, also bred to be fresh in spring; 2 coming yearling bulls; 1 coming yearling heifer. I Fat Hog, wt. 273. 400 bushels of seed oats, germination guaranteed; 200 bushels of corn in crib; some Early Yellow Dent seed corn; 2 5 bushels of potatoes; 5 tons wild hay and 1 % tons tame hay in barn; stack of oats straw. 10 Dozen Barred Bock Hens; 7 Barred Rock Cocks. Implements, AVagons, lOte.—Consisting of 1 Milwaukee binder; 1 Milwaukee mower; 1 Milwaukee hay lake; i Gale planter, fertilizer attachment and 80 rods of wire; 3 cultivators, two riding, one walking; 2 sulky plows, one a J. I. Case; 2 walking plows, 1 4-inch; l steel frame harrow; 1 new double fan; 1 new end-gate seeder: 1 Studebaker wagon, 314-inch tire; 1 spring wagon; 1 top huggv, in good condition; 1 single shovel plow; 1 hay rack; 1 grindstone; 2 largo iron kettles; 2 sets double work harness.; 1 set double driving harness; l set single harness. Household Goods—Consisting of 1 range; 1 heating stove; tables, chairs; sewing machine; washing machine; beds and bedding; 40 yards carpet, some never used; dishes; cupboard; lamps; kitchen utensils, and numerous other; articles. No by-bidding, everything goes at your price. » \ Terms—A credit of 10 months will he given without interest if paid when due; if not paid at maturity 8 per cent will be charged from date. $5 and under cash in hand. 7 per cent off for cash where entitled to credit. No property to he removed until terms of sale are complied with. DAVE KNTGHT. J. F. l’ettet, Auctioneer; IT. YV. Marble, Clerk. Hot lunch on ground. BIG PUBLIC SALE. .. ’ I The undersigned, on account of: having no pasture for the coming j year, will offer for sale at public auc- j lion at his residence, 9*4 miles di-; rectly north of Rensselaer, on what' is known as the old Sherman farm,! 1 mile west and 4 miles south of Kniman, 6 miles east and mi.le

north of Fair Oaks, commencing at 10 a. m., on TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 191 G. It Head of Cattle—Consisting of 24 milch cows, mostly Durhams, all good ones, some now fresh, some with calves by side, some fresh by •lay of sale, others fresh later; 19 head yearlings, 8 heifers, 10 steers, all extra good ones; 1 Durham bull, pure bred, 3 years old. n Head of Horses—Consisting of 1 bay mare, 10 years old; 1 black horse, 10 years old: 1 3-year-old gelding; T 2-year-old gelding; 1 yearling colt. 10 Head of Hogs—Consisting of 5 sliotes weighing about 100 pounds each; 1 brood sow and 4 pigs. Implements, Mowers, Etc.—Consisting of 1 Deering mower, 6-foot cut; 1 sulky plow, 16-inch; 1 iron frame 2-section harrow; 1 Corn King manure spreader, a good one; 25 bushels of apples, and numerous other articles. Terms —A credit of 10 months will be given without interest if paid when due. if not paid at maturity 8 per cent from date. $lO and under cash in hand. 6 per cent off for cash where entitled to credit. No property to be removed until terms of sale are complied with. ROY JOHNSTON. Fred Phillips, Auctioneer: C. (1. Spitler, Clerk. Hot. lunch on ground. PUBLIC SALE. As I have sold part, of my pasture land I will sell at. public auction at my farm, 914 miles north, 1% miles west of Rensselaer, 4 miles east, y 2 mile north of Fair Oaks, 2A4 miles south of Yirgie, commencing at 10 o'clock a. m., on MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1916. 2 Head of Horses—2 good well Jiroke coming 4-year-old mares. 21 Head of Cattle—Consisting of j 5 good young milch cows, some giv- ! ing milk, others fresh soon; 2 yearj ling heifers, both with calf; 10 steer ! calves; 3 heifer calves; 1 coming j 2 -year-old Holstein bull. ! 1 I Head Good Thrifty .Shotes, I weighing 1 10 pounds each. 450 bushels good corn; 300 buslij els good oats. Terms—A credit of 9 months will be given on sumo over $lO with .6 per cent from date if paid when due, if not paid when due 8 per Cent from date; 2 per cent off for cash where entitled to credit. slQ_ and under cash in hand. No properey to be removed until settled for. R. H. EILTS. . W. A. McCurtain, Auctioneer; C. G. Spitler, Clerk. Hot lunch on ground. Skyscraper Laid Flat, A great steamship is a skyscraper laid flat. The skyscraper is an American institution. Like a big steamship, it is built largely of steel. America produces the girders at, the lowest cost; American labor, skilled beyond any other in the worl,d, puts up these steel girders, joins them together with mathematical precision; produces triumphs of construction, durability and more recently even of striking beauty at aj reasonable cost. A skyscraper is

“URIC ACID NEVER CAUSED RHEUMATISM” gjnßß I WANT to prove i t to your ?atisfa.e----tio!» If you have Rheumatism or PyZc Neuritis, acute or chronic-no inkt o-r k i gsk l "’hat your condition —write to-day |/ SfSirS&l for my FREE BOOK on “RHEUMAB 1 TISM-Its Cause and Cure.” Thoufc, Jm* B call it “The most wonderful mjL book ever written.” Don't send a M stamp—it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE. JESSE A. CASE Dept. 943 Brockton, Mass. only a great steamship’ built vertically. if American materials, American labor and American engineering genius can put up vertical skyscrapers, there is no reason why it should not build skyscrapers laid flat. Given the necessary legislation, America need not worry for the lack of steamships under her own flag to carry her products to the ends of the earth and to bring the products of the ends of the earth to our doors.—New York Mail. Councilman Kelly of Liverpool, England, recently expressed the opinion that it was silly for the municipality’s twenty-two market inspectors to wear tall silk hats while nosing about over pig and sheep carcasses, sides of veal and the like. Councilman Kelly quickly learned that to Englishmen things done until they become custom are never silly, the city council having passed the hat hill without a single tremor, war costs or none. S2O Clothcraft suits, $16.75; $25 Fashion clothes, $21.75; sl2 all wool blue serge suit. $9.75, when you’re Hamillized. He Could Hardly - Wear His Clothes Alvls Sowers, Ade, Inch, endured terrible pains in his back and through bis kidneys for eight years before he finally used Foley Kidney!. Fills. Ho says: “1 would bloat up at times so that ( could hardly wear my clothes. were scant and .very red. Foley Kidney Fills were recommended to me, and the first box removed the pain and after* taking only three boxes the bloating was all gone and lias never bothered me since.” •Just about everybody who has used Foley Kidney Pills is anxious to recommend them. From every state in the Union come letters praising Foley Kidney Pills, because they'so tone up and strengthen the kidneys that by their vigorous, healthy action ail the ill results of sore, weak, ailing kidneys and irregular bladder ac-ii-n are: lost in a return or health and Vigor. 4 Swollen, aching joints and rheumatic pains quickly yield to their healing, curative qualities. r Sold everywhere. A BIG VALUE The Jasper County Democrat and The Cincinnati Weekly Enquirer Both One Year for ONLY $1.85 Mail all orders to THE DEMOCRAT Rensselaer, [lnd.