him the supreme value of moments ; and if this book should prove a time-saving and useful manual to his countrymen, his highest ambition will be gratified. The work is the fruit of many evening hours, laborious, but welcomed as a relief from severer cares.

In a volume einbracing nearly half a million of figures to be veri. fied, errors are unavoidable, but it is hoped that they have been reduced to a minimum. Defects of arrangement will be observed, due mainly to the exigencies of fitting large matter into small space, and the continuity of related subjects is thus broken, though all will be readily found by the index.

The commanding importance of questions of economic science has led to the devotion of much space to financial topics, including coinage, currency, revenue, expenditure, public debts, taxation, etc., which it is thought will prove of more value and interest than nearly obsolete questions of party politics, or tedious lists of minor officials. The editor has no ambition to be ranked among statisticians, and distinctly disclaims responsibility in the tabular information presented for any thing beyond the accuracy of his compilations from other sources. In most cases the authorities are given, and the reader is left to his own judgment. For matters outside of the tables, the editor is wholly responsible. He here expresses his thanks to the officers of the National and State governments who have supplied him with information, and to the members of his family who have cheered and aided him in his labors.

105 C STREET, SOUTH-EAST, WASHINGTON, December 25, 1877.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

ECLIPSES, FESTIVALS, ETC., IN 1878.

MOVABLE FESTIVALS, ETC.
Septuagesima Sunday, February 17.

Sexagesima Sunday, February 24. Quinquagesima Sunday, March 3. Ash Wednesday, March 6. Quadragesima Sunday, March 10. Mid-Lent, March 31. Palm Sunday, April 14. Good Friday, April 19. Easter Sunday, April 21. Low Sunday, April 28. Rogation Sunday, May 26. Ascension Day, May 30. Whit Sunday, June 9. Trinity Sunday, June 16. Corpus Christi, June 20.

Advent Sunday, December 1.

CHRONOLOGICAL CYCLES. Dominical Letter, F. Epact, 26. Lunar Cycle, or Golden Num. ber, 17. Solar Cycle, 11. Roman Indiction, 6. Julian Period, 6591. Dionysian Period, 207. Jewish Lunar Cycle, 14.

H.M.

H. M.

H. M.

ECLIPSES IN 1878. There will be four Eclipses this year, two of the Sun, two of the Moon, and a transit of Mercury over the Sun's disc.

I. An annular Eclipse of the Sun, February 2, invisible in America.

II. A partial Eclipse of the Moon, February 17, in the morning, partly visible at Washington.

BEGINS.
MIDDLE.

END. Washington...... ..4 35 morn. 6 3 morn. 7 35 morn.

III. A total Eclipse of the Sun, July 29, in the afternoon. Visible at Washington, and generally in the United States as a partial eclipse. The total will be visible at Galveston, the middle being at about h. 28 m. P.M. The Eclipse will be nearly total at New Orleans, Austin, Santa Fé, and Denver, Col.

BEGINS.
MIDDLE.

END.
Washington.....

..4 36 eve.

5 30 eve. 6 25 eve.
IV. A partial Eclipse of the Moon, August 12, in the evening:
Size, 7.15 digits. The Moon will rise more or less eclipsed east of
Kansas, west of which no Eclipse will be visible.

BEGINS.
MIDDLE.

END.
Washington. ..... ...5 34 eve. 70 eve.

8 26 eve. V. A transit of Mercury, May 6, visible at Washington,

BEGINS.
MIDDLE.

END.
Washington....... ..10 4 morn. 1 53 eve.

5 40 eve.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

H. M.

MORNING STARS.
VENUS from Feb. 20 to Dec. 5.
MARS after Sept. 18.
JUPITER from Jan. 5 to April 25.
SATURN from March 13 to June 23.

EVENING STARS.
VENUS until Feb, 20, and after Dec. 5,
MARS from Jan. 1 until Sept. 18.
JUPITER until Jan. 5, and after April 25.
SATURN until Mar. 13, and after June 23.

1

2

3 4 5

6

7 8

9

10

11 12 13 14 15 16

Tues. 1863 Lincoln's Emancipation Pro-| 7 19 4 49 5 48

clamation.
Wed. ||1788 Georgia ratified the Constitu- 7 19 4 50 6 47

tion.
Thur.||1777 Battle of Princeton.

1 19 4 51 sets. Fri. 1858 Death of Rachel.

7 19 4 521 6 1 Sat. 1781 Richmond, Va., burned byl 7 19 4 52 7 4

Arnold.
Sun. 1844 First telegraph between Balti-| 77 19 4 53 8 6

more and Washington.
Mon. 1718 General Putnam born.

7 19 4 54 9 4 Tues. ||1815 Defeat of the British at New ng 19 4 5510 3

Orleans.
Wed. 1788 Connecticut ratified the Con. ng 19 4 56 10 59

stitution.
Thur.(1840 Penny Postage established in 7 19 4 57 11 57

England.
Fri. 1757 Alexander Hamilton born. ng 19 4 58 morn.
Sat. 1808 Salmon P. Chase born.

ng 18 4 59 57 Sun. 1825 Slavery abolished in Mexico. n 18 5 0 2 0 Mon. 374 St. Chrysostom born.

181 5 1 3 4 Tues. |1759 British Museum opened. my 18 5 2 4 3 Wed. ||1841 Banks resumed specie paym'ts. 7 17 5 3 5 16 Thur. ||1600 Calderon de la Barca born. ng 17 5 5 6 12 Fri. 1782 Daniel Webster born.

16 5 6 rises. Sat. 1848 Gold discovered in California. 77 16 5 7 6 12 Sun.l|1779 David Garrick died.

no 15 5 81 7 28 Mon. ||1793 Louis XVI. beheaded.

n 15 5 9 8 41 Tues. ||1783 Byron born.

7 14 5 10 9 53 Wed. 1806 William Pitt died.

7 14 5 11 11 4 Thur.||1712 Frederick the Great born.

13 5 12 morn. Fri. 1759 Robert Burns born.

ny 12 5 13
Sat. 1837 Michigan admitted into the 7 12 5 15 1 18

Union.
Sun.J 1756 Mozart born

ng 11 5 16 2 37 Mon. 11859 William H. Prescott died.

10 5 17 3 42 Tues. ||1861 Kansas admitted to the Union. I ny 9 5 18 4 41 Wed. ||1649 King Charles I. beheaded. 7 8 5 19 5 32 Thur.||1849 Abolition of the Corn Laws. 1 8 5 2016 25

17

18 19 20 21 22 23

24

15

25 26

27 28 29 30 31