The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-08-15

ricd, possibly staggered, over 10
the weather Office. with his sanity
robes gather over his arm, and
breathlessly ordered Little rain. II
is easy to imagine surprise of the
weather man at hearing as mild
beverage as water ordered by one with
st. Swithin's reputation, but whether
this is a proper conjecture or MT, it
is certain that bis surprise disap-
peared when it was made clear that
he water WIS not for s.. S8i,hin,
but 10 be deliverod 10 tho earth. At
any rate, the shower came, just be
fore midnight, and those who had
thought that p fair s.. Swthin's Day
meant fair weather. were doomed to
disappointment. GA the next day
there was just trace Of rain, ard
then for five whole days, whether
from foIgetfulness, congeuial com
paUy or the over exert!on of
his midnight excursion, there was
no more rain. aud cloudless skies
seemed TO betoken = strange thargy
on the CART Of one who had, in the
year 97l \. D., called down the raj
from heaven so effectively.
Possibly the ] bes Of these same
companions may have had the effect
of awakening some Of the saints old
time energy, for, with but several
exceptions, the days since then have
had rain distributed through them
quite profusely, and every few days
severe thunder storm has been
more or less unwelcome visitor. Dur
ing the whole period the ratio of
cloudy days has been but one TO five,
and on two of these few clear days
distant lightning has given evidence
of storms IN the vicinity
Beginning with July - the rain.
fall became considerably greater than
the normal, while during the portion
of the month before St. Swithin ex-
e.ted his authority the rainfall had
been considerably less than normal.
The records Of last year show that
during a corresponding period after
st. S@ithin's Day had passed cloud
less and without sign of rain, the
days on which it rained were very
much less in number than those on
which it did not rain, and the rain
fall for the period was less than the
normal instead of greater.
About half century ago, some
worldly minded persons, jealous of
st. Swithn's reputation as CONTROL.
ing factor in the weather, undertook
to prove that the whole legend was
myth. Careful observations made at
the weather bureau located in Green
wich, England, were examined for q
period of twenty years, and the de-
tractors from toe virtues Of s..
Swlthin proved 10 their entire salts
faction that a greater number of rainy
days followed dry ST. Swithln's Day
than when it rained on that day
Needless to say. no one but the in
vestigators were conyinced, and they
made the examination of the weather
merely to give themselves the salts
faction of having fancied scientific
pIOOl Ol ldcl VI Mhtcu tuOlh Ohu
skepticism had already convinced
them. Needless to say that promi-
nence given the good saint by such
base actions only served to heighten
his popularity and to make him more
than ever the only successful rival of
the ground hog as weather prophet,
much to the disgust of the men who
run weather bureaus and who say that
rain, clouds, storms, etc, are deter
mined by natural causes and not by
supernatural ones.
Whether the remaining two weeks
before the expiration Of the forty-day
period will bring forth rain or shine
will not matter much to those who
put their trust in the ancient rhyme.