Chapter 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 æqualiter, _Serenitatem_ dabit.

That is,

IF the rising Sun be incompassed with an Iris, or Circle of white Clouds, and they equally fly away, this is a Sign of fair Weather.

THERE is another _English_ Proverb worth remembering.

In the Decay of the Moon,
A cloudy Morning bodes a fair Afternoon.