Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-04-15
The Sun and the Weather.


from the earliest period various proverbs
embodying superstitious fancles should
have been associated with it, not to men-
tion the manifold prognostics that have
been drawn from the phenomena OF ma
ture. Thus, not only has each country
its own popular lore for forecasting the
weather-wisdom peculiar to themselves
Among the most curious are those relat-
ing to the sun. From time immemorial
indications Of the coming weather have
been foretold from its various aspects
Thus Virgil, in his first GeOrgic (i3s)
alludes to these:
above the rest. the sun, who never lies,
| Foretels the change OF weather in the skies;
For If he rise unwilling 10 his race
| Clouds on his brow, and spots upon his face
| OR If through msts he shoots his sullen beams,
Frugal of light. in loose and sfraggling streams
| Suspect drizZling day, and southern Iair.
| Fatal 10 fruits and focks and promised gram.
Amongst most nations the sun red
ness on rising or setting has been regard
ed as ominous, and furnished materials
for various proverbs. One old English
adage informs usthat.
'If red the sun, begins his race,
! Be sure that rain Will TALL apace'-
a notion referred to by Christ in st. Mat
/
evening, We say, it will be fair weather,
for the sky is red and in the morning,
1t will De foul weather to-day, for the sky
bered, too, how graphically Shakspere
| speaks of this popular rule in his "'Nenus
and Adonis" /:
| Like a red morn, that ever yet betokened
Wreck To the seamen tempest 10 the HELD,
Gusts aud foul naws to herjsmen aud to herds"
And the familiar rhyme tells lis how
| Sky red in the morning
| Is sailors warning
In Milan we are told, referring to Con-
tinental observations, that ''if the morn
| be red, rain is at hand and, again, ''If
the SKY be red when the morning star Is
shining. there will he ram during the
week" As is well known. hewever, a red
sunset is Just rs propitious as the former
is unlucky, "a red sky at night being a
shepherds delight" and. according to
saying formerly very current i'll Eng
land,
The evening red morning gray,
Is a sign of n fan day.
Indeed there are numerous proverbs
on this subject, adj to the same purpose,
a Scotch one being as follows
'.The evening red and the morning gIay
i the sign of bright and CHEEKY dhN
The evening gray and the morning red,
Put on YOUR hat, OF Noull wei yonG head.
There is prevalent notion that if n
change of weather occurs about the time
when the sun is crossing the meridian. 1t
will he for twelve hours at least. The
proverbs relating to the sunset are even,
perhaps, more numerous than those as
sociated with sunrise, every aspect beng
supposed to denote the coming weather.
Thus Shakspere, in Richard III. u.4).
referring to 4 popular belief, tells how
"The sun sets weeping in the lowy west,
Witnessing storms 10 come. woe and unrest
And when, too. it sets like ball of fire,
it is said to have water Ill its eye.
Again, a pale sunset is a bad sign, II we
may believe the rhyme:
"If the sun goes pale 10 bed.
Twill ram tomorrow 1t Is said.
A hazy sunset, too, is equally unsatisfac-
tory. for we are told that "when the air
is hazy, so that the solar light fades grad
ually, and looks white, rain will most GER
tainly follow" When, however, at the
time of sunset there is n clear sky, it Is
said to indicate calm weather:
when The sun ses briah, and clear,
An easterly wind you need not fear
But if, on the other hand, the sky is Gov
cred with ieecy clouds, it is an indica-
ton of wind
when the sun sets in a bank,
westerly wind We shall mol lack.
A golden sunset is generally regarded as
one of the most favorable tokens of fine
Ill -. iab oEc-
pere, in his Richard Ill, says:
The weary sun hath made golden set,
And, BY the bright track of his fiery car,
Gives signal of goody day io-moIrow-
But when the sun nj setting casts lund
red light on the sky as far rs the zenith,
it is said to be an infalliblc sign of storms
and gales Of wind. Once more, the
streaks of light occasionally seen when
the sun shines through broken clouds
are, according to an old superstitious fan
cy, believed to be pipes reaching into the
sea, the water, it is supposed, being
drawn up through them into the clouds,
ready at any moment to be discharged
upon the earth in the shape of rain.
With this may be compared a similar idea
given by Virgil (Georgic ]. 3S0l, set bi
bit ingens arcus." This superstition,
however, Is curious, containing, as 1t
does, some vestiges Of truth. Although,
as has been pointed out, the streaks OF
sunshine are no actual pipes, yet they
are, at any rate, visible signs of the
sun action, which, by eyaporating the
waters, provides n store Of vapor to he
converted into rain. A species of rain
bow, without either pillar or arch, hav-
ing only base is known by sailors as the
"sun-dog," and is considered indicative
Of windy. squally weather. In some
parts of England the light, ieecy clouds
that encircle the sun i'll windy weather
are called .'foxy sun-clouds," being sup-
posed to presage changeable and treach-
erous weather, notion embodied III the
following couplet
"Mickerel sky, markere sky,
NeNtr long wei. and mover long dry.-