The north wind, cold and stormy,
The east wind, fruit on trees."

People in Scotland also prognosticated the weather of the coming
season, according to whether Candlemas was clear or foul. Every one
can repeat the old rhyme, and some put faith in it:

"If Candlemas is fair and clear,
Ther'll be twa winters in the year."

When this day passed without a shower of rain or a fall of snow,
people imagined there would be severe weather before spring was past;
and they expected heavy snow storms before the following Christmas. A
showery and tempestuous Candlemas, on the other hand, raised the
people's spirits, for by such omens they were to expect a favourable
summer and an abundant harvest.

Though they may be well known to most readers, we subjoin a few
poetical proverbs on the weather:

"The evening red, and the morning grey,
Are certain signs of a fair day."

"If red the sun begins his race,
Expect that rain will fall apace."

"In the waning of the moon,
A cloudy morn--fair afternoon."

"If woolly fleeces spread the heavenly way,
No rain, be sure, disturbs the summer's day."

"When clouds appear like rocks and towers,
The earth's refreshed by frequent showers."

From rainbows, shepherds and sailors predicted the state of the
weather.

"A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning;
A rainbow at night is the sailor's delight."

When peacocks cry, be sure rain will early fall; and when the night
owl screeches from the ruined tower, look for a storm; so also, if the
cat is seen washing its face with its fore paws, expect a gale. When
ocean birds flock on shore, a tempest is brewing on the sea.

Seamen and fishermen's wives can secure a favourable gale for their
husbands by going to a chapel after mass, and blowing the dust on the
door in the direction the vessels have gone.

When a person is dying, no one in the house, of whatever age, should
be permitted to sleep. When one expires, the clock should be
immediately stopped, and the dial plate covered with a towel, and
mirrors and pictures should be concealed, or their faces turned to the
wall. All the cats belonging to the house ought to be caught and
confined till after the funeral. That a necessity prevails for putting
the feline animals out of the way, will be understood by the existing
generation, when they understand that if a cat cross a corpse, and
afterwards pass over a living p