SPINSTERS WILL ALL WAGE WAR.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVI, Issue XI, 14 March 1896, Page 291

SPINSTERS WILL ALL WAGE WAR.

1896 THE LAST OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN OF THIS

GENERATION WHO WOULD WOO.

CURIOSITIES OF THE CALENDAR.

Thus far in the world’s history marriage has been one of the inevitable concomitants of human existence. Considered from a purely secular standpoint it bids fair to continue its career for cycles to come. Whatever may be the idiosyncrasies of a few women and more men, who did or didn’t, the great majority accept the law of marriage as necessary.

Eighteen hundred and ninety-six is the rallying time of the century for spinsters. Immemorial use accords to woman in leap year the right to ursurp man’s privilege and woo her a blushing mate. For the year one motto would be, ‘ Woman proposes, man disposes.’ Hitherto in the annals of our century the leap year records show no extraordinary results from the spinsters’ efforts. Eighteen hundred and ninety-six will, however, more than compensate for past failures. Spinsters will array themselves for a supreme endeavour. In the ordinary leap year the woman hardly moves into the work with all her powers concentrated. There is the lurking suspicion of another leap year to come if this be unsuccessful, and the secret expectation that in the intervening time some man may woo her. In view of these things she prosecutes her undertaking without the desperation born of lack of hope in the future. In other words, she is unmanned.

We have changed all that for the leap year 1896 —or, rather, the calendar makers changed it for us centuries ago. The year 1896 is not to be an ordinary leap year. In it spinsters must lead a forlorn hope. They must mass their forces for one great final assault upon the citadel of masculine indifference to their winsomeness. Blandishments, strategy—aye, force, even—must be employed if need be for the gaining of success, the gaining of a man. The reason of the vast importance of the year to spinsters is found in the fact that it has no successor until 1904. When the bells ring in the year 1897 their clamours will toll the inability of woman to propose for seven years. In other words, the year 1900 will not be a leap year. There will be seven years without any grant of special privilege to the fair sex.

THEIR LAST CHANCE. Bachelors who love their liberty must beware, for never before in their history were the signs of capture so alarming. The new woman has plans for the new year, looking toward a man—a new man or an ‘old man.' Not only will the new women themselves present a dauntless phalanx of Amazonian wooers, but the emboldening effect of their example on their less assertive sisters will be such that any bachelor had best beware the shyest maid, or he may lose his hand, if not his heart. Seven years without opportunity means for the ordinary spinster no other opportunity. She will be in the retired list when another leap year comes. If it is to be done at all it must be done quickly—the getting of a husband. An artist has conceived of the symbolic spinster, lariat in hand, watching for the moment when the fearing man may be caught by its clinging loop. The picture is the precise representation of the fact.

The spinster will employ force to the utmost. The unveiling strands of the lariat will be hurled by no wavering hand, and there will be no escape for him over whose shoulders the resistless noose falls. The spinsters will look in the glass and see there in the shadow pictures conjured up by sorrowful anticipation, the pictures of spinsters seven years hence, when the battery of charms will be routed by the arms of Father Time. Spinsters will not fail in 1896 if their utmost strength can avoid defeat. If. after all, they do fail, they will anathematise the calendar makers.

It is a curious prank those same calender makers have played, on the women directly, and on the men indirectly. The introduction of an additional day into the calendar once in four years is necessary to prevent the average year from being too short. At the the same time it makes the average year a little too long. This additional length is so slight that it accumulates very slowly. Nevertheless, it does accumulate, and by the end of a century it amounts to nearly a day. For that reason once in a hundred years the additional day which marks a year as leap year is omitted, and the average length of the years is reduced The English law determined in 1751 on reforms in the calendar, and from those we draw and use. The original determination of the calendar was made by the Pope, and afterward it was adopted by all the countries except Russia and the East. From January 12th, 1752, the civil year was made to begin on that date, and not on March Ist, as many had it. In the same year eleven days were dropped from the calendar, from the third to the thirteenth, inclusive, so that what would have been the fourteenth became the third. With this change effected the remainder of the calendar followed its usual course. By thischange the dav which would have been December 25th became January sth It was from this that the latter derived its name of Old Christmas Day. The further regulation of the calendar occurred in omitting the year ISOO from the number of leap years. Therefore in 1801 Old Christmas Day fell on January 6th. and from that time until this that is the day of the month called by that name.

In Rider's ‘ British Merlin ’ for iSoi we find it stated that 1900 is not to be a leap year, while 1901 is to be the fifth year after bissextile, or leap year, and the first year of the twentieth century. For this century the first leap year was 1804, which is described as snch in the almanacs which were then current.

One old almanac for 1800. Moore's, names the year as the fourth after bissextile, or leap year, and then states that in spite of it being the fourth year from leap year 1796, the month of February had only twenty-eight days. Following this fashion 1802'is called the sixth vear after bissextile, and 1803 the seventh. Curious as all this appears to us it is. precisely what we will soon do. Throughout seven years there will be no February 29th after 1896. All of the births and other events which occurred on that unfortunate dav of the month will have no opportunity to celebrate their anniversary. That eccentric date, February 29th, will then have an opportunity for renown brought on by its absence.

CALENDAR OF THE FUTURE.

The calendar adjustment by which these matters were arranged reaches forward to a distance that is startling to one whose term of life is the seventy years of man. It declared that the years 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200. or any other hundredth year in time to come shall consist of 365 days and no more. But the fact also remains that this adjustment of the calendar was not quite accurate. The one day omitted once in the century made the average year a very little too short. To remedy this defect the adjusters made the following exception to the rule making the hundredth years of 165 days, except every fourth hundredth year beginning with the year 2000. These years will be leap years, that is the years 2000, 2400, 2800, 3200, will have a’ February 29th. But their days are not of great concern to us.