<1r>

The Iulian year now in use is very irregular, February has but 28 days & the other months 30 & 31 days without any regular order or reason for the irregularity.

The best form of the solar year is to divide it by the 4 cardinal periods of the Equinoxes & Solstices into 4 quarters, so that the quarters of the yeare may begin at the Equinoxes & Solstices as they ought to do, & then to divide every quarter into 3 equal months which will be done by making the six winter months to consist of 30 days each & the six summer months of 31 days each excepting one of them (suppose the last) which in the leap year shall have 31 days in the other thre years only 30 days. / At the end of every hundred years omit the intercalary day in the leap year excepting at the end of every five hundred years. For this rule is exacter then the Gregorian of omitting it at the end of every hundred years excepting at the end of every 400 years. And this recconing by five hundreds & thousands of years is rounder then the other by four, eight & twelve hundreds. And this I take to be the simplest & in all respects the best form of the civil year that can be thought of.

And this is all the reformation of the year which need be made at first

As for the Ecclesiastical year if the fixt Feasts be still placed on the same days of the months of this New Year as in the Iulian year, they will come nearer to the truth then they do at present. For they are now become about 14 days later then they were in the first century in respect of summer & winter whereas in this new year they will be only eight or 9 days sooner. So that the Calendar will be amended almost half in half by this new year without translating the fixt feasts to other days of the months.

But if it may be allowed to translate them to other days of the months so as to bring them nearer to the places where they were in the first Century in respect of Summer and Winter the Calendar may be still amended as follows.

1. Let Lady day (the first day of the Ecclesiastical year) be removed from the 25t of March to the first of Aprill & the Ecclesiastical year will begin at the Equinox & on the first day of the month as it ought to do, whereas in the present Iulian year it begins neither at the Equinox nor on the first day of the month but on the 25t of March & 16 days after the Equinox.

2. Let Michaelmas be removed from the 29 of September to the 1st of October & the two principal days of payment will fall on the Equinoxes & on the first days of the months which begin the spring & autumnal quarters of the year which is very proper & ready for recconing, & also more just for contracts. For the summer half year is eleven days longer then the winter half year in the vulgar Calendar but in this new one the difference will be but 5 days.

3 In like manner To regulate the days of quarterly payments let St Iohn Baptists {day} be removed from the 24th of Iune to the 1st of Iuly & Christmas day from the 25t of December to the 1st of Ianuary or perhaps to the 2d that it may be distinguished from New years day.

Thus will the year become fitter for civil uses & the festivals reduced within a day or two to the places where they were in the first Century in respect of summer & winter: whereas they now err 14 days from those places. And the like correction may be made <1v> {to} all the other unmoveable Festivals, by setting them 7 or 8 days later.

Easter is determined by making it the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the first of April. And the rest of the moveable Feasts are determined by their distance from Easter as in the Vulgar Calendar.

The old Rule for finding Easter by the Prime & Dominical Letter is to be corrected at the end of every hundred or two hundred years by Ecclesiastical authority & so is the Rule for finding the new Moon by the Epact in the margin of the Calendar, & with such correction both Rules may be retained for ever.

[Editorial Note 1] <2v>

Ianuary

 1 9 New years d. 2 10 3 11 Christmas 4 12 St Stephen 5 13 St Iohn 6 14 St Innocents 7 15 8 16 9 17 10 18 Circumcision 11 19 12 20 13 21 Twelft d. 14 22 15 23 16 24 17 25 18 26 19 27 20 28 21 29 22 30 23 31 24 1 Ian 25 2 26 3 27 4 28 5 29 6 30 7

February

 1 8 2 8 3 10 4 11 Convers S. Paul 5 12 6 13 7 14 8 15 9 16 10 17 11 18 12 19 Candlemas 13 20 14 21 15 22 16 23 17 24 18 25 19 26 20 27 21 28 22 29 23 30 24 31 25 1 Feb 26 2 27 3 28 4 29 5 30 6

March

 1 7 2 8 3 9 4 10 S. Matthias 5 11 6 12 7 13 8 14 9 15 10 16 11 17 12 18 13 19 14 20 15 21 16 22 17 23 18 24 19 25 20 26 21 27 22 28 23 1 March 24 2 25 3 26 4 27 5 28 6 29 7 30 8

April

 1 9 2 10 3 11 Lady day 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8 16 9 17 10 18 11 19 12 20 13 21 14 22 15 23 16 24 17 25 18 26 19 27 20 28 21 29 22 30 23 31 24 1 Apr 25 2 26 3 27 4 28 5 29 6 30 7 31 8

May

 1 9 2 10 3 11 S. Mark 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8 16 9 17 Phil. & Iac. 10 18 11 19 12 20 13 21 14 22 15 23 16 24 17 25 18 26 19 27 20 28 21 29 22 30 23 1 May 24 2 25 3 26 4 27 5 28 6 29 7 30 8 31 9

Iune

 1 10 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 6 15 7 16 8 17 9 18 10 19 11 20 12 21 13 22 14 23 15 24 16 25 17 26 18 27 19 28 S Barnabas 20 29 21 30 22 31 23 1 Iune 24 2 25 3 26 4 27 5 28 6 29 7 30 8 31 9
<2r>

Iuly

 1 10 Iune. Iohn Bapt 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 6 15 Pet & Paul 7 16 8 17 9 18 10 19 11 20 12 21 13 22 14 23 15 24 16 25 17 26 18 27 19 28 20 29 21 30 22 1 Iuly 23 2 24 3 25 4 26 5 Dog days beg. 27 6 28 7 29 8 30 9 31 10

August

 1 11 S Iames 2 12 3 13 4 14 5 15 6 16 7 17 8 18 9 19 Lammas 10 20 11 21 12 22 13 23 14 24 15 25 16 26 17 27 18 28 19 29 20 30 21 31 22 1 Aug 23 2 24 3 25 4 26 5 27 6 28 7 29 8 30 9 31 10 S. Bartholo.

Septemb.

 1 11 2 12 3 13 4 14 5 15 6 16 7 17 8 18 9 19 10 20 11 21 12 22 13 23 14 24 15 25 16 26 17 27 18 28 19 29 20 30 21 31 22 1 Sept 23 2 24 3 25 4 26 5 27 6 28 7 S. Matthew 29 8 30 9 *

Octob.

 1 10 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 6 15 S. Mich. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 29 21 30 22 1 Octob 23 2 24 3 25 4 S. Luke 26 5 27 6 28 7 29 8 30 9

Novemb.

 1 10 Oct 2 11 3 12 4 13 5 14 St Iude 6 15 7 16 8 17 9 18 All Saints 10 19 11 20 12 21 13 22 Pouder Treason 14 23 15 24 16 25 17 26 18 27 19 28 20 29 21 30 22 31 23 1 Novemb. 24 2 25 3 26 4 27 5 28 6 29 7 30 8

Decemb

 1 9 2 10 3 11 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8 16 S. Andrew 9 17 10 18 11 19 12 20 13 21 14 22 15 23 16 24 17 25 18 26 19 27 20 28 21 29 22 30 23 1 Dec 24 2 25 3 26 4 27 5 28 6 29 7 S. Thomas 30 8
[Editorial Note 2] <3v>

Make Ian 1 1701 the 2d day of the first month of the second cycle

Or make Decem 31 1700 the first day of the first month of the second cycle.

Or if the 1st & last cycle have 17 months & the middlemost 15, make Decemb 31 1700 the first day of the great cycle of 49 months.

NB. Anno 1780 Mar 20 st. n. hor. 16 48′ post mediam noctem Luna media fuit plena et hora 10$\frac{3}{4}$ circiter Luna apparens fuit plena. Lit. Domin B. A. Epact 29 Aur. num. 14 Pascha Mar 26 juxta cal Greg. Rectius Luna plena Apr. 19. 5h post med. noct Pasch Apr 23 st. n.

Item anno 1867. Aur num 6. Epact 1. Luna media plena Mar 20. 14h 49′ et iterum Apr 19. 3h. 33′. Litera Dominica F. Pascha Ap. 21. Had the Dominical letter been D the Pascha would have been on the new moon Apr 19.

<4r>

The only feasts in the beginning till the reign of Trajan were the Lords day, Easter & Whitsonday. See Origen l 8 cont. Cels. Christmas began to be celebrated in divers places about the year 190 (Theophilus Cæsariensis in epist. paschal.

The Martyrs began to be commemorated on their passion days about the year 170 & these days at length were celebrated as Feasts. by the institution of Constantine the great Euseb. in vit. Const. l. 4 who also instituted the observation of friday. Euseb. ib. The heathen Feasts turned into the Christian Theodoret l 8 de martyribus & Greg. M. l 9 cap 71 citante Hospin. De Origin. Christ. Fest. p 15.

The Greeks celebrated the Epiphany or baptism of Christ on the same day with his birth, the latines on Ian 6 Hospin ad Ian 6.

Timothy martyred on Ian 24. Pauli Conversio Ian 25. The burning of lights on Candlemas day Feb 2 taken from the sacra of Ceres seeking her daughter Proserpina with lighted torches. Feb 1 The Bacchinal rights turned into Christian carnivals in the 3 first days of the Quinquagesima or week before Lent. Matthias Feb. 24. Festum annunciationis Mariæ Mart. 25. St Mark martyred Apr. 25. The Greeks celebrated to all the Apostles the feast of Peter & Paul Iun 29 the Latines that of Philip & Iames May 1. At length the day is left Phil. & Iames alone. Quadratus May 26. Nativity of Iohn Baptist Iune 24. Peter & Paul on Iune 29 on which day the Heathens celebrated the feast of Hercules & the Muses. Iuly 25 St Iames. Aug. 24 St Bartholomew Sept 21 St Matthew. Sept 25 Cleopas. Sept 25 St Michael & all angels. Octob 18 St Luke. Octob 28 Simon & Iude. Novemb. 28 Adventus Domini. Nov. 30 St Andrew

[Editorial Note 3] <5v>

 Guns – Soleil Roial Count Tourville 104 120 106 L'Ambitieux Chevalier de Villette Vice Admiral of the Navy 104 96 – L'Admirable Monsieur Beaujeu 90 64 90 La Magnifique Mr Cottologon Rere Ad. of the blue 76 76 – Le Sr Philippe Mr Infreville 76 80 84 – Le Conquerant Du Magnon 76 66 84 Le Triomphant Mr Bellemont 74 76 – Le Tonnant Mr De Septime 80 70 – Le Terrible mr Septvilla 80 72 76 – L'Amiable Mr Du Rale 68 50 68 – Le Fier Mr Larsethois 68 70 76 – Le Glorieux Le Ch. de Chateaumorant 60 66 64 Le Serieux Mr Bernier 60 64 Le Trident Mr Monteaud 56 52 – Le Prince Mr Bagneux 60 50 60 – Le Sanspareil Mr Fierille 60 70 60

Arrogant

Invincible

Strong

[Editorial Note 1] Folio 2 is written upside down and runs backwards from f. 2v to f. 2r.

[Editorial Note 2] A series of very rough draft tables and calculations, occupying f. 3r and part of f. 3v, is here omitted from the transcript.

[Editorial Note 3] Folios 4v and 5r are blank.