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LEFT PERIODICALS 185 PERIODICALS difference of six hours between the solar and lunar reckonings, it was improved by Hipparachus, who invented the Hip- parchic period of four Calippic periods, less by one day, or 111,035 days, or about 304 Julian years. The period of the he- liacal or solar cycle, after which the same day of the month falls upon the same day of the week, consists of 28 Julian years. The solar cycle is supposed to have been invented about the time of the Council of Nice (A. D. 325), but it is ar- ranged so that the first year of the first cycle corresponds to 9 B. C. In calculat- ing the position of any year in solar cy- cle care must be taken to allow for the omission of the intercalary day at the beginning of each century, and its inser- tion in the last year of every fourth cen- tury. The Julian period is a cycle of cy- cles, and consists of 7,980 (=28X19X15) years, after the lapse of which the solar cycle, lunar cycle, and the indiction commence together. The period of its commencement has been arranged so that it will expire at the same time as the other three periods, from which it has been derived. The year 4713 B. c. is taken as the first year of the first period. PERIODICALS, publications which appear at regular intervals, and whose principal object is not the conveyance of news (the main function of newspapers), but the circulation of information of a literary, scientific, artistic, or miscellan- eous character, as also criticisms on books, essays, poems, tales, etc. The first periodical was published in France, be- ing a scientific magazine, the "Scientists' Journal," issued in 1665. The most famous French literary periodical is the "Review of Two Continents," begun in 1829. The earliest English periodical seems to have been the "Weekly Memo- rials for the Ingenious," the first number of which is dated January, 1681-1682, and which lasted but a year. In the 18th century a number of monthly re- views appeared, including the "Monthly Review" (1749-1844) ; the "Critical Re- view" (1756-1817) ; the "British Critic" (1793-1843); the "Anti-Jacobin Re- view and Magazine" (1798-1821). At length in 1802 a new era in criticism was introduced by the "Edinburgh Re- view," the organ of the Whigs, which came out every three months, and soon had a formidable rival in the "Quarterly Review" (1809), the organ of the Tories. In 1824 the "Westminster Review" was started by Bentham as the organ of utili- tarianism and radicalism, and with^ it was afterward incorporated the "Foreign Quarterly Review" (1827-1846) ; and m 1836 the "Dublin Review" was estab- lished as the organ of the Roman Cath- olic party. To meet the demand for critical literature at shorter intervals than three months, there was published in 1865 the "Fortnightly Review," which for about a year was true to its name, but has since appeared monthly. It was followed by the "Contemporary Review" (1866) and the "Nineteenth Century" (1877). Among the more recent period- icals of this class (in which literary criticism occupies but a small space) are the "National Review" (1883), a Con- servative organ; the "New Review," a monthly begun in 1889; and the "Re- view of Reviews," a monthly giving ex- tracts from all the current periodicals, begun in 1890. The "Athenaeum" ( 1828 ) , "Academy" (1869), "Saturday Review," "Spectator," and "Speaker" (all weekly publications) combine the character of the review with more or less of that of the newspaper. Passing over the "Tatler" (1709- 1710), "Spectator" (1711-1712, revived 1714), etc., which may be considered to be sui generis, the first English maga- zine properly speaking may be said to be the "Gentleman's Journal, or Monthly Miscellany," commenced in 1692. It was followed in 1731 by the "Gentleman's Magazine," published by Cave. The suc- cess of Cave's venture brought out a host of imitators. The "London Maga- zine" (1732-1784), the "Scots Magazine" (1739-1817), the "European Magazine" (1782-1826), and the "Monthly Maga- zine" (1796-1829), were among the chief of this class which were originated in the 18th century. In 1817 appeared the first number of "Blackwood's Edinburgh Mag- azine," which soon distanced all its pre- decessors. Closely approaching it in point of merit stood the "New Monthly Magazine," "Fraser's Magazine," "Tait's Edinburgh Magazine," and the "Dublin University Magazine." A new era in this kind of literature was inaugurated by the shilling monthlies, some of them with excellent illustrations, the first be- ing "Macmillan's Magazine" ^859), "Cornhill Magazine" (1860), "Temple Bar" (1860) ; closely followed by a num- ber of others. Another step in the direc- tion of cheapness was shortly afterward made by the publication of monthly mag- azines at sixpence, including the "Ar- gosy," "Good Words," the "Sunday Magazine," etc., followed at a long in- terval by "Longman's Magazine," the "English Illustrated Magazine," "The Strand," etc. Weekly periodicals to suit the taste of all classes, at prices from 2 to 6 cents, have come into fashion since 1832, when the initiative was taken by the <Tenny Magazine" and "Chambers*