Evening star., 1909-07-15
SYuCkS! NO COOL1H IN SIGHT
BLAMED IF HEAT AND HUMID
ITY AREN'T RUNNING A RACE.
Old st. Swithin Steps Into the Lime
light Today and Promises Forty
Days Of Showers.

The weather bureau today announced
that there is no relief in sight from the
present warm wave.
According TO old St Swithin-and TO-DAY
is ST. Swithih's day-there will be daily
showers for the next forty days.
The legend of ST Swithin Is that If II
rains today, the succeeding forty days
will be more or less wet /. rained lit
tie bit about 1880 O'Clock this afternoon
OF course. it was but scattering of rain
but it was rain just the same. Old ST
Swithin and the ground hog are in the
same class of weather forecasters, but
venerable citizens who have taken OBJ
servations for many years on st. Swith-
ins day and on ground hog day declare
that the saint has won out more often
in his prediction than has the ground
hog.
Oh, Just About the Same.
Conditions will remain the same as
they are today" Prof Garriott said this
afternoon There will be warm and
partly cloudy weather, unless the uneX-
pected happens. II is warm all over the
eastern section of the country and there
is 10 prospect Of any decided change.
Heat and humidity were running a
neck-and-neck race at noon TO-DAY. Inc
thermometers registered 81 degrees. The
hygrometers, which record the humidity,
also registered 81 at the same hour. 1hat
is what Is called some high. and IN cont
bination with the extreme warmth brings
about the oppressiveness which makes
humanity wilt and wither. AT noon yes
terday the temperature was seven degrees
lower than il was at noon today soon
after noon the mercury in the weather
bureau thermometers went up TO sS. but
following the shower it went down again
to Sc.
There was but one case of prostra ion
yesterday. John Scoot. colored. thirty
years of age. was overcome by the Eea.
while working near Wyoming avenre and
18th street. He was taken to the Cas-
ualty Hospital.
All About This Saint.
But as to ST. Swithin's day and the
shower The custom of forecasting the
weather on this day dates back nearly
ten centuries. ST. Swithin was chaplain
to Egbert, King of England, and was
tutor to Egbert's son, Ethelwulf. He was
afterward Bishop of Winchester, and died
in S62. According to his wishes he was
buried outside the Cathedral Of Win
chester, where the rain from the caves
of the edifice could drop on his grave.
When st. Swithin was canonized, about
century after his death. the monks
considered his grave too simple for so
great a man and prepared to remove his
body to a handsome crypt inside the
cathedral. The day set for the removal
of the remains was July Is, but on that
day heavy rain prevented any attempt
being made to move the body. The rains
continued intermittingly for period of
forty days, and the monks took this as
sign of the displeasure of heaven and
allowed the body to remain where the
saint had desired before his death.
Records for Twenty-F Four Hours.
The following were the readings Of
the thermometer and barometer at the
weather bureau for the twenty-fou.
hours beginning at pm. yesterday:
Thermometer-July IA pm, Sc; s
pm, so: Il midnight "A. July 15-4
a m, H. 8 am, 75; II noon. 81: > pm,
30. Maximum, 80, at pm. July 10;
minimum. SO, at am. July 10.
Barometer-July 14-4 pm. 29.Jo ::
S pm, a9.92; Il midnight, 29.95. July
Ii am, 29.96: am, 5000; noon.
299S; > pm, 29.94.
Maximum temperature past twenty
four hours 40. wear