14 



BROWN : 



whether before or after the reformation of the calendar. As 

 will be fully set forth, and in a more suitable place, farther on. 



The Pra,ver Book rule is cumbersome. The memory cannot 

 easily cany so many data. And there is a better rule, which 

 requires knowledge of the date only. 



In Sir Richard Phillips' " Million of Facts " there is in the 

 Chronolo^^ Chapter a curt " Rule for finding the Dominical 

 Letter." 



It says, giving no reason or explanation whatever : — 



1. Divide the centuries by four. 



2. Take twice the remainder from 6. 



3. To this remainder add the odd years and a quarter of 

 the same, neglecting fractions. 



4. Divide the sum by seven. 



5. Subtract the remainder from seven and this last remain- 

 der will be the number of the required Dominical Letter. 



For example, 1904. 



Nineteen contains 4 four times and three over. And six 

 less twice three is nought. 



Four and a quarter of four is five, which contains seven 

 no times and five over. The five subtracted from seven leaves 

 two, which is the ordinal of the letter of 1904. B, therefore. 

 But 1904 is a leap 3'ear, and the ordinal found is for the por- 

 tion subsequent to Febraary 29th. 



For the previous portion of the year C is the letter. 



The letter backs in the Julian Calendar five in ever\- four 

 years, and five hundred in eveiy four hundred years. Now 

 five hundred contains a number of cycles of seven and three 

 over. And were it not for this " three over " we should come 

 round to the place of beginning. The diiTerence is, however, 

 provided for by the suppression in the Gregorian Calendar of 

 three leap years in 400 years. A fact which may be taken for 

 granted. We thus do not go as far back by three places as we 

 should otherwise do in that space of time, and in fact do come 



