Thus the year 1838, not being divisible by four, contains three hundred and sixty-five days, while 1836 and 1840 are leap years. Yet, to make every fourth year consist of three hundred and sixty-six days would increase it too much, by about three fourths of a day in a century; therefore every hundredth year has only three hundred and sixty-five days. Thus 1800, although divisible by four, was not a leap year, but a common year. But we have allowed a _whole_ day in a hundred years, whereas we ought to have allowed only _three fourths_ of a day. Hence, in four hundred years, we should allow a day too much, and therefore, we let the four hundredth remain a leap year. This rule involves an error of less than a day in four thousand two hundred and thirty-seven years. The Pope, who, you will recollect, at that age assumed authority over all secular princes, issued his decree to the reigning sovereigns of Christendom, commanding the observance of the calendar as reformed by him. The decree met with great opposition among the Protestant States, as they recognised in it a new exercise of ecclesiastical tyranny; and some of them, when they received it, made it expressly understood, that their acquiescence should not be construed as a submission to the Papal authority. In 1752, the Gregorian year, or _New Style_, was established in Great Britain by act of Parliament; and the dates of all deeds, and other legal papers, were to be made according to it. As above a century had then passed since the first introduction of the new style, eleven days were suppressed, the third of September being called the fourteenth. By the same act, the beginning of the year was changed from March twenty-fifth to January first. A few persons born previously to 1752 have come down to our day, and we frequently see inscriptions on tombstones of those whose time of birth is recorded in old style. In order to make this correspond to our present mode of reckoning, we must add eleven days to the date. Thus the same event would be June twelfth of old style, or June twenty-third of new style; and if an event occurred between January first and March twenty-fifth, the date of the year would be advanced one, since February 1st, 1740, O.S. would be February 1st, 1741, N.S. Thus, General Washington was born February 11th, 1731, O.S., or February 22d, 1732, N.S. If we inquire how any present event may be made to correspond in date to the old style, we must subtract twelve days, and put the year back one, if the event lies between January first and March twenty-fifth. Thus, June tenth, N.S. corresponds to May twenty-ninth, O.S.; and March 20th, 1840, to March 8th, 1839. France, being a Roman Catholic country, adopted the new style soon after it was decreed by the Pope; but Protestant countries, as we have seen, were much slower in adopting it; and Russia, and the Greek Church generally, still adhere to the old style. In order, therefore, to