l to Fruits and Flocks, and promis'd Grain.

[Footnote _a_:

Sol quoque & exoriens, & cum se condit in undas,
_Signa_ dabit: _Solem_ certissima signa sequuntur,
Et quae Mane refert, & quae surgentibus _Astris_,
Ille ubi nascentem _maculis_ variaverit Ortum
Concavus in Nubem, medioque refugerit Orbe;
Suspecti tibi sint _Imbres_. Namque urget ab alto
Arboribusque satisque Notus Pecorique sinister.

Virgil. Georgic. lib. i. v. 438.]

II.

_If cloudy, and it soon decrease._ } Certain fair Weather.

I Conceive the Reason of this to be, that the Vapours being then
specifically lighter than the Air, are still rising upwards, in which
they are assisted by the Heat of the Sun Beams, agreeable to the Notion
of Dr. _Derham_, who observes, that after much cloudy Weather, it is
always fair before it rains, because the watery Vapours are not
condensed till they reach the cold upper Region, agreeable to the
common _English_ saying,

The Evening red, and Morning grey,
Is a Sign of a fair Day.

IT is also an Observation, of _Pliny's_ in his natural History.[_b_]

[Footnote _b_: Nat. Hist. lib. xviii. cap. 35.]

SI ab ortu solis repellentur Nubes, & ad occasum abibunt, _Serenitatem_
denunciabunt,

That is,

IF at Sun rising the Clouds are driven away, and retire as it were to
the _West_, this denotes fair Weather.

THERE is an old Adage to this Purpose, which, because it is very
prettily expressed, deserves our notice, _viz._

A red Evening and a grey Morning,
Sets the Pilgrim a Walking.

In _French_ thus.

Le rogue Soir, & blanc Matin;
Font rejouvir le Pelerin.

The _Italians_ say the same.

Sera rosa, & nigro Matino;
Allegra il Peregrino.

III.

CLOUDS _Small and round, like a }
Dappley-grey, with a_ North-Wind. } Fair Weather for 2 or 3 Days.

THIS is differently expressed by other Authors. My Lord _Bacon_ tells
us, that if Clouds appear white, and drive to the _N. W._ it is a Sign
of several Days fair Weather.

OUR old _English_ Almanacks have a Maxim to this Purpose.

If woolly Fleeces spread the Heavenly Way,
Be sure no Rain disturbs the Summer Day.

AND _Pliny_ to the same Purpose.[_c_]

[Footnote _c_: Ubi supra.]

SI Sol oriens cingetur Orbe, & postea totus defluxerit aequaliter,
_