rst to consist of
thirty-three, and the second of thirty-four days. The intercalary month of
twenty-three days fell into the year of course, so that the ancient year of
355 days received an augmentation of ninety days; and the year on that
occasion contained in all 445 days. This was called the last year of
confusion. The first Julian year commenced with the 1st of January of the
46th before the birth of Christ, and the 708th from the foundation of the
city.

In the distribution of the days through the several months, Caesar adopted
a simpler and more commodious arrangement than that which has since
prevailed. He had ordered that the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth and
eleventh months, that is January, March, May, July, September and November,
should have each thirty-one days, and the other months thirty, excepting
February, which in common years should have only twenty-nine, but every
fourth year thirty days. This order was interrupted to gratify the vanity
of Augustus, by giving the month bearing his name as many days as July,
which was named after the first Caesar. A day was accordingly taken from
February and given to August; and in order that three months of thirty-one
days might not come together, September and November were reduced to thirty
days, and thirty-one given to October and December. For so frivolous a
reason was the regulation of Caesar abandoned, and a capricious arrangement
introduced, which it requires some attention to remember.

The additional day which occured every fourth year was given to February,
as being the shortest month, and was inserted in the calendar between the
24th and 25th day. February having then twenty-nine days, the 25th was the
6th of the calends of March, _sexto calendas_; the preceding, which was the
additional or intercalary day, was called _bis-sexto calendas_,--hence the
term _bissextile_, which is still employed to distinguish the year of 366
days. The English denomination of _leap-year_ would have been more
appropriate if that year had differed from common years in _defect_, and
contained only 364 days. In the modern calendar the intercalary day is
still added to February, not, however, between the 24th and 25th, but as
the 29th.

The regulations of Caesar were not at first sufficiently understood; and
the pontiffs, by intercalating every third year instead of every fourth, at
the end of thirty-six years had intercalated twelve times, instead of nine.
This mistake h