years."

"You have only spoken of the Christian calendar," remarked Ernest.
"There have been several other systems in use. Those curious people
that call themselves the children of the sun and moon, possess a mode
of reckoning that carries them back to a period anterior to the
creation of the world. Then, the Greeks computed by Olympiads, or
periods of four years. The Romans reckoned by lustri of five years,
the first of which corresponds with the 117th year of the foundation
of Rome."

"And when does our calendar begin?"

"It dates only from the birth of Christ, but may be carried back to
the creation, which event, to the best of our knowledge, occurred four
thousand and four years before the birth of our Savior. This period,
added to the date of the present, or any future year, gives us, as
nearly as we can ascertain, the interval that has elapsed since our
first parents found themselves in the garden of Eden."

"Our calendar," remarked Jack, "appears simple enough; it is to be
regretted that there have been, and are, so many other modes of
reckoning extant. What with the Greek Olympiads, the Roman lustres,
the Mahometan hegira, and Chinese moonshine, there is nothing but
perplexity and confusion."

"It is possible, however," said Becker, "to accommodate all these
systems with each other. Leaving the Chinese out of the question, we
have only to bear in mind, that the Christian era begins on the first
year of the 194th Olympiad, 753 years after the building of Rome, and