The Elbert County tribune., 1906-11-08
WEATHER PROVERBS
MANY, BASED ON OBSERVATION.
ARE RELIABLE.
Not All the Familiar Verses Dealing
(, with Meteorological Subjects Are
Absurdities-some Notable
Exceptions.

Inc dBriculturlSt ana the husband
man. and indeed all those whose con-
ditions of life force them to rely upon
the soil for the means of subsistence,
are 70 dependent upon the changes of
Temperature and the alterations of
foul and fair, wet and dry, that 1t is
not surprising that questions regard
ing the weather should from time i'm
memorial have been made subject
for particular attention. Long, there
fore. before there was any meteorolog-
ical bureau to enlighten the world
with its scientific predictions, people
had begun to study the face of the
sky. the shifting of the wind. and the
changes of the moon. and to embody
the results of their observations in
rough and ready rhymes and proverbs
for the guidance of themselves and
those who should follow in their steps
These opinions, as usual, found ex-
preston in verse. For instance, there
was an old Latin stanza which was
very popular, and of which the follow
ing lines forms one of several English
versions:
'If st. PauTs Day be fair and clear.
II doth betide happy year;
n clustering winds do blow aloft.
Then wars will trouble our realms full
oft;
And IL 1t chanced to snow or rain,
Then will be dear all sorts OF grainr'
Even more important for the wealth
er-wise of the past was the 18th of
July. day which, as the feast of st.
Swithin. is even to-day by no means
shorn of all its former reputation. In
England, at all events, 1t is not un-
usual to hear people of some pretense
to education, frequently in joke. per-
haps, but sometimes partly in earn
est, remark that as st. Swithin's day
Is wet or dry (as the case may be), so
for 40 days thereafter there would be
a continuance OF the same kind of
weather. Thus the old rhyme ran:
"st. swithin's Day. IL thou dost rain
For forty days IL will remain;
St Swithin's Day, IL thou be fair.
For forty days twill rain no more"
The commonly accepted explanation
of this ancient and Widespread super
stition is too curious to be omitted,
though it's value. even as tradition.
has been authoritatively impugned.
ST. Swithin was bishop of Winches-
ter. who. after his death in S62, was
canonized by the pope. 1t Is said that
he had expressed wish to be buried
in the open churchyard, and not, as
was usual in the case of bishops, in
the chancel of the cathedral. Some
time afterwards, however, the monks
of the establishment were seized with
a fit of pious indignation at the
khou nj hot nd mn
should sleep his last sleep in so hum
BILE, and. for saint, SO unseemly a
spot: and needless Of his well remem-
bered desire, they determined to con-
vey the body In great state into the
cathedral and RENTER 1t there. But
just as they were on the point of
their operations a heavy rain burst
forth. which continued without inter
mission for 40 succeeding days. The
monks ever ready to regard any de-
parture from the ordinary course of
nature in a miraculous light, at once
Interpreted the tempest as a special
warning from heaven, and relinquished
their undertaking-wh it is said
st. Swithins day derived its prophetic
character in relation to- the condition
of the weather for the ensuing six
weeks.
! But when our forefathers were con-
tent to limit themselves to less ex-
tensive field of prophetic vision-when,
instead of undertaking to settle the
weather for weeks or months before
hand, they simply attempted to pro-
vide against the changes Immediately
approaching, they were great deal
more successful. Many of the wise
saws upon which they placed such i'm
plicit reliance are not to be laughed
at or thrown aside with scorn. based
though they were. not upon scientific
data or reasoning, but on simple OBJ
servation and experience. Everybody.
/ suppose. is familiar with the curt
little verse which runs:
' "a rainbow in the morning
Is the shepherds warning;
a rainbow at night
Is the shepherds delight"
But not everybody who repeats 1t is
aware that a statement which it con-
tains is capable of scientific verifica
tion. So, too, with such common
adages as
"If red the sun begins his race.
Be sure the rain will fall apace."
And
Evening red and morning gray
Set the traveller on his way;
Evening gray and morning red
Bring down rain upon his head"
Are something more than old wives
fables, for they embody at least
rough approximation to establish
truth. Both of these latter proverbs,
indeed. seem to be fashioned directly
amor, .unrds found In the pnsnal of ST