Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-03-16
THE GROUND HOG.
interesting Letter from the Great Weather
Prophet.
HOLINESS HOLE, SLEErY HoILow.(
4

March IL. 1851.
My DEAR OLD ISTELLIGENCER l rise
to the surface after six weeks nap to re-
new my subscription, and to renew to you
assurances Of my most distinguished con-
sideration for the faithful, able and intel
ligent manner in which you have stood by
me, from the day Of your birth in 1896, to
the present hour. and defended my sys-
tenn Of meteorology against the flippant
sneers Of would-be scientists and the
stupid incredulity of the ignorant masses.
1t is with pardOnable pride that at this
time l call special attention to the literal
fulfillment Of the prophecy made by the
inspired poet, from whose writings you
so frequently quote, and an extract from
which was published by you on last Can
dlemas day, February 2 /:
''Yf ys woode-chucke see hys shaido in ye
syx weeks Of ,wynterle wcthyr shall hey hey
As the whole world knows, did see my
shadow i'll the sun on Candlcmas day
and a bitter cold day it was-as half the
world knows and shiveriugly confesses.
They have suffered six weeks OF un-
precedentedly severe winter weather.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
the polo to the Gulf Of Mexico, they
have had an overdose Of it. Billiards.
from Manitoba, and cold waves
from the Rocky mountains; snow drifts
as high as second story windows and frosts
rs deep as wells hurricanes as cod rs
charity, and hail rs hard as sinners hearts.
have marked the month OF February and
half of March, and attest the truth Of my
philosophy, and are 4 sufficient justiiica-
tion for the implicit faith you have had
i'll it for the past s. years of your sinful
life. In all that time among the faithless,
you've been faithful found. Thousands
| of false weather prophets have risen and
flourished and faded, but you believed
them not. Tho latest crop OF these I'M
posters include the names of :Old Proba-
bilities, ''who has the news OF approaching
storms sent ahead by telegraph, and even
then misses about as often rs he hits the
true condition Of the weather; Prof. Man
sill, the astrolOgist, who bases his guesses
upon the aphelion and perihelion, and
conjunction, and opposition OF the plants ;
Vennor, the Canadian blue-nose, who,
watching the flight of beasts as the old
Romans did of birds. and stealing Il little
of my thunder, managed this year to
| prOgnOsticate = cold winter! To these
more pretentious charlatans may be added
the so-called weather prophet of Baer' s
almanac the goose-boue idiot, and the
beaver dam lunatic. Some of these iei-
lows may do we'll enough for summer
weather. prophets, but when it comes to
| fOrccastin. the state OF the weather from
Candlenas to st. Patrick's day, Il am
myself alone.'
Yours truly,
GROUSD- Hoe.
| P. S.-Mrs. Ground Sow and all the lit
tie Ground Pigs send their best love and
| the latter request mo to ask whether it
would encroach too much OH your valuable
space to republsh a verse or two OF the
brilliant poem with which you favored the
world on the 22d "f February, 1880. They
d,sire to set the words to music, and
have unfortunate ly mislaid my copy OF
the INTELLIGENCER containing them.
| G. II.
I'VE take pleasure in favoring the little
Ground Pigs by reproducing the following
verses from the poem i'll question.
INT.]
Lo! the mercury descending near to zero
| Near to zero!
Tells of trosts that chill the bIus.tird's cheer
| Cheerful strain:
While the Colorado beetle, dead is Nero
| Dead as Nero!
Lies a haplcss corsc upon the frozen plain
Frozen PLAIN
And the hopper-srass, with legs so long an'i
| Long and slender!
| Has learned, alas! too late, he came too scon-
| Came too soon!
And the butterfly with wings of sauzy sDlcn-
| dor
| GauZy splen,lOr.
Is gricving tor his ulster-his cocoon
| HIS cocoon!
1x
But the ground hog early sought EIs winter
| quarters
| Winter quarters!
| For he knew the Arctic waves would reach
| our shores
| Reach our shores {!
So he dOZcs in his hole with sons ana t.augil-
| Sons and daughters!
Nor cares u fig how wild the tempest rOars-
| Tempest rOar5!
For when the clustering Iuc5 OF March arc
| March are over!
| And nature shall accomplish all the Spring
| AL the spring
| He Will leave his hole and revcl in the clover
| In the clover!
"Whilc blossoms bloom and birds or bushes
| sing"-
| Bushes sing:'