To avoid confusion it should be noted that the difference of eleven days in the dates is only apparent, not real, for the Englishmen used the old style calendar, the Germans employed the modern one. In 46 B. C. the Roman Calendar had gained two months on the actual seasons, and a more accurate calculation resulted in the adoption of the so-called “Julian Calendar” (prepared at the request of Julius Caesar), the two missing months being inserted between November and December in that “year of confusion”. By 1582, however, the Julian Calendar had fallen ten days behind the seasons, so another calculation was made, and Pope Gregory XIII abolished the Julian Calendar in all Catholic countries, dropped the dates of ten days from that year, and established the “reformed”, or “Gregorian Calendar”. This was adopted in Catholic Germany, in 1583, in Protestant Germany and Holland, in 1700, but in England not until 1752, by which time the difference had increased to eleven days. Following the ancient Jewish custom the Year, for many centuries, began with the 25th of March, but public sentiment came to favor the 1st of January as the more appropriate date, and it was gradually adopted. In England, however, the legal year continued to begin with March 25th, until 1752, although many people were either using the newer fashion, or indicating both, and a date might be correctly written in four ways, e.g. January 10th, 1734, old style, legal, January 10th, 1734-5, or January 10th, 1735, old style, popular, and January 21st, 1735, new style, the last agreeing with the calendar now in general use. Bishop Nitschmann gives the outline of their religious services on almost every day, and in the translation which follows these are generally omitted; in the same way some paragraphs are left out of the Wesley Journal. Extracts from Dober’s and Ingham’s Journals are inserted when they give facts not otherwise noted. ====== 24 Oct. 1735. Nitschmann’s Diary. Oct. 24th, 1735. I went to the ship, (the ‘Simmonds’, Captain Cornish). My heart rejoiced to be once more with the Brethren. In the evening we held our song service. (We have all given ourselves to the Lord, and pray that the Saviour may comfort our hearts with joy, and that we may attain our object, namely, to call the heathen, to become acquainted with those whom we have not known and who know us not, and to worship the name of the Lord.--Letter of Oct. 28.) ====== 25 Oct. 1735. John Wesley’s Journal. Oct. 14th, 1735, (O. S.) Tuesday.