Chapter 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.