St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-03-10
Neather.Prephets.

The failure of Virgins is calculated
to undermine popular confidence in
prophets of all sorts, but particularly
weather prophets. To be sure Virgins
has risen to explain; but the explana-
ton is worse than the failure itself, and
increases the popular disappointment.
as it heaps failure upon failure. Thin
as the storm was, the explanation is
thinner. After Virgins had failed, it
was little cruel to interview him, but
Virgins was ready with his reasons.
He said: 1.-The astronomical day begins
at noon on the meridian of London and
our day begins at twelve o'clock at
night. ! overlooked this fact, so that
the side of the earth presented to the
planetary face was the opposite to that
which | gave. | did not notice my mis-
take until this evening, so the storm fell
on the Pacific instead of the Atlantic
1t will strike the unscientifc and UNI
prejudiced reader that it was a very
serious mistake in the calculations Of
man who was astronomer, astrologer
and meteorologist combined to get the
wrong side Of one planet turned towards
the sun when making predictions OF an
earth-shaking storm. Vennor fell into
obscurity for smaller mistakes than
that, and it is safe to say we shall soon
hear no more of Virgins. The Canadi-
an prophet will sink farther out of sight
than the st. Louis one, indeed, and de-
servedly, for man who can't tell
whether he is on his feet or his head
when he is making predictions and gets
the whole world wrong end to is not to
be trusted with the weather.
In the Virgins prophecy, however,
there is wheel within wheel. 1t
now appears that Virgins is about to
spring an almanac upon the public,
and his predictions for February and
the one yet to be fulfilled in March are
only advertisements for the almanac
1t is one OF the strange phases of the
human mind, perhaps we should say
one of the most conspicuous weaknesses,
that it takes to almanacs, although al
MANAGES from time imnemorlal have
been gay deceivers. Not one OF them
could ever be trusted from IadkiePs
down to Josh Billings. The only one
| that ever told the exact truth was that
immortalized by Washington Irving in
| the ssSketch Book" which had ''Aboht-
| tn ,s-time-expect-wet weather, or some
| thing of that sort, stretched clear down
| the page from the first to the last day
of the month. And yet, knowing its
absolute falsity, the human mind Graves
the almanac No house is without it.
It is daily consulted, and, though it may
| guess wrong ninety-nine times in a hum
bred, the hundredth guess is hailed
/ with as iubilant reclamation as the one
| sinner in a hundred. No amount of
failure undermines the popular faith
| in the almanac The old reverence
for the astrologer and the prophet still
4 survives when the predictions are put
upon record in the almanac. When
| Mother Symptoms direful vaticination
was printed it was universally believed,
| and there are many people even to-day
Who believe that it all came true in
| 1881. 1t is not so much the compiler of
the almanac as the almanac itself which
is regarded with the same curiosity and
awe that inspires the African as he ap-
proaches his fetish. No per son in New
England ever knew who was the real
| author of the old Farmers Almanac,
and yet an attack upon its verify or a
doubt of the absolute correctness OF It's
weather statements, even at this late
day, would raise as great storm OF in
I dignaticn in that section as would an
outrage committed against the grass
hopper or Faneuil Hall. We may ex-
pect that Virgins will disappear, but
Virgins almanac, like Vennor' 8,
though Vennor has passed out of sight,
will be widely sought for. There is no
method of getting before the world SO
easy as that Of the almanac. The pub.
Usher who refused to pay Josh Billings
$3.50 for his almanac has kicked himself
eyer since he heard that another pub
/ Usher took it and has paid j. B. $25, O0C
in copyrights.
Fugitive prophecies for weather
prophets have been irretrievablY injured
! BY Virgins. Though he has implored
both the Dominion and the American
Governments not to allow any vessels
to 60 out on the date of his Marcel
storm they will 60 all the same. But
the weather-prophets may yet live il
their aImanacs. Even General Hazer
would be considered as more reliable i
he calculated his areas of low thermom
eter and barometer for year to come
and printed them in an almanac, ant
he certainly would be spared from thu
searching criticisms which have beer
made upon his management of the Sig
| nal Service. - Chicago Tribune.
The old mathematical problem o
how to square circle has been solve'
at last. as furnished by subscriber t.
/ the New York World. Here lis:
CT r G lie
&c RUS
4 RAR ST
B IRE A TIE