worship, whence they derived their names; thus opening a boundless field for practising upon the credulity and superstition of mankind, which even to this day, with all our advances towards perfection in science, and manifest advantages in point of intellectual acquirement, is not yet wholly eradicated.

In the highlands of Scotland the prognostic or presage of weather is formed on a superstitious, but innocent conceit, that the year will be governed, as to its general fluctuation, by the state of the twelve days beginning from the 31st of December; thus if the 31st of December should be fair, so will the ensuing January; if the 1st of January should be fair, so will the succeeding February; if the 2d of January, &c. so will March be found, and so on throughout the year. Many persons still implicitly believe in these auguries; but it is to be hoped that the weather in general in the highlands will be found rather more favourable throughout the different months, than can well be expected from an observation made on the days they have selected in the very depth of the winter season.

The etymology of the word almanac has been perhaps, the subject of more dispute than that of any term admitted into our language. With the single exception of VERSTEGAN, all our lexicographers derive the first syllable al from the article definite of the Arabic, which signifies the; but the roots of the remaining syllables are variously

accounted for, some taking it from the Greek pavaxosa lunary circle; others from the Hebrew manach, to count; Johnson derives it from the Greek, μŋy, a month: but why the first syllable should be in one language, which these authorities agree in, and the two last in any other language, it is not easy to comprehend. Whether, therefore, the Saxons originally took their term from the Arabic, either wholly or in part, VERSTEGAN seems the most to be relied on: They," he says, alluding to our antient Saxon ancestors, "used to engrave upon certaine squared sticks, about a foot in length, or shorter or longer as they pleased, the courses of the moones of the whole peere, whereby they could alwaies certainely tell when the new moones, full moones, and changes should happen, as also their festivall daies; and such a carved stick they called an al-mon-aght; that is to say, al-monheed, to wit, the regard or observation of all the moones; and hence is derived the name of almanac. An instrument of this kind, of a very antient date, is to be seen in St. John's college at Cambridge, and there are still in the midland counties several remains of them. The accompanying fac-simile and description of one that was used in Staffordshire has been copied, as a curious specimen, from Dr. PLOTT's Natural History of that county, "It is called the clogg, from its form and matter, being usually made of a piece of wood, squared into four plane sides, and with a ring on the upper end of it, to hang it on a nail somewhere in the house.

"There is some diversity in the form of them, some being more perfect than others. The figure represents the common or family clogg, where each angle of the square stick, with one half of each of the flat sides belonging to it, is expressed, and this is the most clear and intelligible form it can well appear in, upon a flat.

"On each of the four sides are three months, the number of the days being represented by the notches; that which begins every month having a patulous stroke turned up from it; every seventh notch, being also of a larger size, stands for Sunday, which seems to shew that the cycle of the sun, or dominical letters, are here committed to memory: the Sundays and other days here being fixed.

"Over against many of the notches, whether great or small, there are placed on the left hand several marks or symbols, denoting the golden number, or cycle of the moon: which number, if under 5, is represented by so many points; but if it be 5, then a line is drawn from the notch, or day to which it belongs, with a hook returned back against the course of the line; which seems to be designed to represent V. the Roman letter for 5.

"If the golden number be above 5, and under 10, then it is marked out by the former hooked line for 5; and with the addition of as many points as make up the number designed; as if it be 8, there are three points added to the hooked line, &c.

"When the golden number is 10, there is a cross on the notch to represent X; and if it be above, and under 15, it is expressed by points as before; and if above 15, by the cross stroke, points, and a hooked line for V: when it is 19, the line issuing from the notch for the day has two patulous crosses, or strokes, as is plain from the figure.

"And these numbers are not set so wildly and confusedly against the days of the month, as at first sight may appear, but in a method and order, whether you consider them as they immediately precede and follow one another, or the distance interceding each figure, or the value, or denomination; for every following number is made by adding 8 to the preceding; and every preceding one, by adding 11 to the following one; still casting away 19, the whole cycle, when the addition shall exceed it. Thus to 3, which stands against January 1, add 8, it makes 11, which stands against the third day of the month to which add 8 again, and it makes 19; whence 8 itself comes to be the following figure, and 16 the next: on the contrary, if to 16 you add 11, it makes 27, whence deducting 19, there remains 8, the number above it; and so on, &c.

;

"And for the distances of the numbers of the same denomination, it is to be noted, that they stand asunder either 30 or 29 days, interchange ably. Thus after 3, which stands over-against the 1st of January, at 30 days distance you will

find 3 again at the 30th of the same month; and from thence, at 29 days distance, you will have 3 again set to the 1st of March; and at the last of March, at 30 days distance, 3 again, &c.—Note, 3 stands against the 1st of January, because 3 was the golden number when the fathers of the Nicene councils settled the time for the observation of Easter.

"On the right hand, and issuing from the notches, are several inscriptions and figures, hieroglyphically representing the festival days by some actions, offices, or endowments of the saints: or else the work or sport in fashion at the time of the year.

"Thus from the notch of January 13, being St.

Hilary's day, issues a cross, the badge of a bishop. From the 1st of March, a harp for St. David. Against June 29, St. Peter's day, you have his keys and against St. Crispin's day, a pair of shoes. Against January 25th, St. Paul's day, there is an axe: and against June 24th, a sword for St. John Baptist. On August 10th, a gridiron for St. Lawrence. So a wheel for St. Katherine, a star for Epiphany, a true lover's knot for St. Valentine's day, &c. and against Christmas-day is the old wasshailling, or carousing horn, that the Danes used to make merry withal at that time."

The DANES, SWEDES, and NORWEGIANS, used these almanacs, though under various denominations, such as Reinstocks, Runstocks, Runstaffs, Primstaries, Scipionees, Runici,