The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-03-21
Weather.Prophets

weather.Prophets
The failure of Virgins is calculated
10 undermine popular confidence in
prophets of all sorts, but particularly
weather prophets. To be sure Virgins
has risen TO explain; but the explana-
ion is worse than the failure itself, and
Increases the popular disappointment,
" it heaps failure upon failure. Thin
Il 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.
lie sad The astronomical day begins
At noon on the meridian Of London and
)ur day begins at twelve o'clock at
ligld. / overlooked this act, 80 that
.hc siIG o. the earth presented 10 the
planetary face was the opposite to that
which gave, did not notice M mis-
axe untr his evening, so the storm i"ll
IN the arilic instead Of the Atlant'c.
Il will strike the unscientllic and I'M
Drciudiccd reader that it Was n very
ser Gus mistake in the calculations o! a
and meteorological combined to get the
wrong side Of one planet turned toward 3
he sun when making predictions o an
.arth.shaking storm. Vcnnor fell INTO
Jbscurity for sma Ter mistakes than
that, and II Is sac 10 say we shall oon
hear no more Of Virgins. The Canadl
IN prophet will sink farther out OF sight
than the -. Louis one, indeed, and de.
scrycdly, Tor a man who can't tel
whether he Is on his feet or his head
when he Is making pred ct'on' and gct'
the whole world wrong end TO is not TO
BE- trusted with the weather
In the Wiglin4' prophecy, however,
there Z, wheel within . wheel II
COW appears that Virgins is about TO
spring an almanac upon the public,
iud his predictions for February . and
the one yet 10 he fulfilled in March are
only advertisements for the almanac
II i one OF tho strange phases Of the
human mind, perhaps We should say
one OF the most conspicuous weaknesses,
that il takes TO Almanac, although al
names from time immcinorial have
been gay decciycrs. Not one Of ih'm
could ever be trusted from /ad.icV 5
down TO Josh Billings. The only one
that ever told the exact truth was that
immortal ed by Washington Irving in
the "Skctch Book" which had about
th s.iime-cXpoct- wet weather. or some
thing OF that sort, stretched clear down
Che page from the first 10 the last day
oil the month. And yet, knowing its
absolute falsily, the human mind Graves
tie ALMANAC. No house is without il.
II is daily consulted, and, though ii may
guess wronr ninety nine times IN a hun
drcd, the hundrcdth guess is ha led
with ~ iubilHnL reclamation as the one
sinner in hundred. No amount OF
failure undcrmincs the popular faith
IN the almanac. The old reverence
for the astrolO2cr and the prophet still
survives whcn the PREDICTIONS are put
upon record in the almanac. When
Mother SYMPTOMS dirciul yatcinat.ou
WAS printed il was universally believed,
aud there are many people even to-day
who believe that il all calc true in
1881. II is not 50 much The compi'cr ri
the almanac rs the almanac itself which
Is regarded with the same eur os.ty and
awe that inspires Tie African rs he ap
prolchc5 his 'ctjsh. No per on in New
England ever knew who was the real
Rllhor ul the old Farmers Almanac,
aud yet an attack upon il verify or u
doubt oi the absolute CORRECTNESS OF its
weather statements, even at tbs late
dnv, would ra 80 ~ greet a sto"m ~ in
dlgnaliun IN that section rs would an
outrage commiltcl AGAINST the grass.
hopper OF Fancuii Hall We may OK
pc I that Wlggn3 will disappear, but
" igg ms almanac, Tie Nennor' s.,
though Ncnnor has pas cl ont ol SIGHT,
will he widely sought for There is no
method ot gGlt,n before the world 20
easy as that OF the almanac. The pub.
Usher who refused 10 PAY Josh Billings
S2 y for his almanac has kicl cl him c.i
ever nee he heard that another pub
Usher took il and has pad j, Is - 900
in copyrights.
Fugitive prophecies for weather
prophets have been irrctriryably injured
by Wig linS. Though he has implorcd
both the Dominion and the American
Governments not TO allow any vessels
TO 90 out on the date Of his March
storm they will 90 all the same. Bnt
the wcathci-pIophcts nay yet live in
tloir almanacs, Even General lll,cn
wou'd be- considered ~ more reliable if
he al.ulacd his are $ of low thGrmom-
eicr and barometer Tor II year to come
aad y intcd them IN IN almanac, and
he certainly would lc spared from the
searching criticisms which have Leon
made upon bis management Of he Sig
nal cryicc.-t htcIQO 2GLUlC