Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1881-11-19

Rain Lore.

Rain Lore.
To tho farmer one of the most i'm
portant circumstances is the weather,
as on it depends the success OF his agri-
cultural operations. But science, to
quote Mr.. Buckles words, "not having
yet succeeded in discovering the laws
of rain, men are at present unable to
tell it for any considerable PERIOD"
and hence we still find in use q host of
pieces of weather wisdom for ascertain
ing the rules which regulate it. These,
too, have been gathered from variety
of sources, and although many of them
are highly fanciful, yet they are largely
believed and acted upon. Thus, accord
ing to a well-known notion, "the faster
the rain, the quicker the hold-up," q
piece Of weather lore which dates as fan
back as Shakespesre's day, for in Rich
ard II, (act ii, scene ~ John Of Gaunt
is represented as saying:
"For violent fires soon burn out themselves;
Small showers last long, but sudden storms
are short"
\ the Shepherd OF Bsnbury's Obser-
vations we are told that "sudden rains
never last long; but when the air grows
thick by degrees, and the sun, moon
and stars shine DINNER and DINNER,
then it is like to rain six hours usually
A further adage on the subject reminds
us how
"The sharper the blast,
The sooner tits past"
A good many items of weather lore
have from time immemorial been asso-
ciated with what is generally termed
ga sunshiny shower" Thus, although
it is said never to last long, yet it is an
indication, on the other hand, that it
will rain on the following day about the
same hour. Among the numerous
rhymes, we may quote one current in
some of the midland counties.
"k sunshiny shower
Never lasts half an hour"
There Is similar one, too, prevalent
in the west of England, to this effect
"Sunshiny rain will soon go away"
According to Fitzroy, there is usually
fair weather before settled course OF
rain; and il Scotland we are told, with
respect to wet weather, that
"Lang foul, lang fair"
There is popular fancy that rain on
Friday insures wet Sunday, a super
stition which has been embodied in the
familiar couplet:
ga rainy Friday, rainy Sunday;
A fair Friday, fair Sunday"
Another version of this rhyme is the
following:
"As the Friday 30 the Sunday;
AS the Sunday, 30 the week."
Sundays rain is in many places re-
garded as specially unlucky. In Nor
folk, for instance, it is commonly said,
Grain afore chutch [churchl, ~
Rain all the week,
Little or much"
This notion extends as far as Scotland,
and in Fifeshire the peasantry have a
rhyme, 9H
o,,,, tla n1a,y hafora m aa
1t will rain all the week, more or less"
Out of the further extensive weather
lore associated with rain We nay briefly
note the following, which is scattered
throughout Great Britain. Thus the
agricultural peasantry, when speaking
of the advantages of rain, tells us
that
"Some rain, come rest;
Fine weather isn't always best"
Rain in springtime is considered good
omen, if we may place any reliance on
the subioined adage:
"a wet spring, dry harvest"
The indications of approaching rain
which are usually observable in the sky
are referred to in the followin sensi-
BILE rhyme:
"Wet weather seldom hurts the most unwise,
So plain the signs such prophets are the
skies."
Many of the charms still used by
children to avert rain are curious, and
the one current in Northumberland is
as follows:
Grain, rain, so away,
Come again another day.
When brew, and when bake,
I'll gle you a little cake"
In Scotland, says Mr.. Chambers, in
his Popular Rhymes, youngsters are
often heard in Scottish village apos-
trophizing rain:
"Rain, rain, go to Spain,
And never come back again."
Once more, charm prevalent in Dur
ham to insure fine day consists in lay
ing two straws in the form Of cross,
and repeating these words:
Grain, rain, go away,
DON'T come back till Cbristmas-day;"
fbis rnnde of rrocedure. IL ia said beinc.