And, oh, it is nice to be with happy people! It makes the old feel fresh and almost young again, and even the young themselves feel better, holier, and more true to each other. It is holiday-time now in Mrs. Moran's school; but the school-room itself is not on that account deserted. Several are assembled within it-her best and most dearly-loved pupils, as mother always calls them. They are seated in a circle around the blazing fire, and in the centre of all sits Mrs. Moran, very calm. Only that her memory at this instant is not quite so much at rest as it might seem, and she is remembering everything-this very particular day in the whole year. "And you have won the prize, then, after all?" Jack could not answer for an instant. Then came, "Yes, mother. My drawing-design they call it has pleased the partners in the office far the best. They say it is the most correct and artist-like, to use their own words; and therefore--" Were the other words so difficult that he really could not utter them? "And therefore," she now broke in, softly, "you have won twenty pounds. God bless you, my own brave boy!" And then she remembered what she had once told him long ago, that drawing would indeed prove his chief and best talent, if carefully improved. And now another voice was heard-oh, so sweet in its childish simplicity! Almost the very same words, too, that she had made use of long ago "What! Twenty pounds! And you've really won it at last, Jack? And by your drawing, too? Mother, then, was right. Mother's always right." Nell, then, evidently remembered also. “Oh, what a lot of money!" she went on, musing. "It's mother's," began Jack, bending down meanwhile over her, and whispering something softly in her ear-so softly that no one but Nell could overhear the words. "It's yours, to keep always, mother dear. We promised it-that's Nell and I-long, long ago. It is to pay for a lovely cottage somewhere in the country-where you always wish to be-far, far away from noisy, smoky London." "Dear boy! Darlings!" and then their mother could not, it seemed, speak for happiness. "Where you will have no more headaches," whispered Nell again. "You remember," asked Mrs. Moran presently, "what happened just a year ago this very day?" "Was it cold-very cold indeed, like this?" questioned Eva. If the weather itself had been cold, at least the hearts of the listeners had not been in that condition on the day referred to. "I'll draw you a picture, then, children dear,” mother went on, sweetly. "Only that it will be drawn in words, not with either pencil or pen. Then perhaps you will quite understand me. 'Tis only a very simple one-a wee and tired little singing-girl, wrapped in an old shawl, is peeping wistfully out of a cab window——” "Oh, no, mother! Not that old, old story again, please. Never! That dreadful tale! Forget it, please, and make me do the same." And Nell was now kneeling shudderingly upon the schoolroom matting, and had buried her face in mother's lap. "At night, mother," she went on, "it sometimes comes to me in dreams that I have again lost you both you and Jack; that I have turned round quickly to catch hold of your dress-as you know was really the case-and that then you are gonegone I never can think how! And then I can't bear it any longer, and wake up frightened.” And then, you know, darling, you find it's all a dream. Isn't that nice?" Nell shivered again. Not, indeed, that she was now suffering from cold and sorrow. No; it was only at the remembrance of all that season of trouble. "Next time you are lost, however," suggested Jack, caressingly, "remember the name of the place where you live-No. 3, Mistletoe Grove." "Yes, Nell will be wiser next time, certainly," and the mother kissed her darling tenderly. "We are all wise when a trouble of the kind is over." “And old Meg grew wiser too," broke in Nell, now very gravely, "when Uncle Joe scolded her for having kept me with her all that time. She said she had never once heard in all her life what was the right thing to do." And then Nell suddenly ceased speaking. Her trouble seemed all to have come back to her that instant. "Meg Ferry was good enough to you, at any rate," put in Jack. "And now to think that she's gone to Heaven!" whispered Nell as softly. "It was just like Eva there, giving her halfcrown away to the little singing-girl;" and Jack laughed, then glanced at Eva. "It was the funniest thing possible," exclaimed that young lady, giving it to my own cousin!" and she did not speak in the least proudly to-day. "It was not funny in the least," interrupted mother. "The event was simply God-sent, as is every other blessing in life. You little thought, Eva, what you were doing when you placed that money in Nell's hand. Eva only shook her head at first. Then came very suddenly— "And you won't be jealous of me any more, Nell, will you?" she said imploringly. "You won't mind my loving mother,' just one little bit, even although she's not my own real mother? Just because, you know," and Eva's voice quivered a moment, "I haven't any of my own." Yes; Nell and Eva had indeed been rivals for a little while. Each could not bear that the other should take her place. "Silly children! Don't you think I love you both?" said Mrs. Moran comfortingly. "And Wilton, over there," she asked, "what has he to say?" "That-father's-coming," said Wilton very slowly, but still distinctly. "You're just in time, Uncle Joe. Eva has learnt "And Nell's piano, that you gave her, you know, is such a beauty-far, far better than my old thing ever used to be." Only that Mrs. Moran now looked up and checked her. Why would Eva's tongue always run on so fast? And yet on she still went. "Only that the carol is not so pretty-no, not a quarter-as the song you sang in the street, she whispered. "Sing it, Nell-will you? But not with the music-not even near the piano. No; sing it standing up, won't you?" And she caught Nell by the hand and drew her gently forward into the very middle of the assembled circle. "Just, you know, as you used to do in the wide streets of London-only that Edwin was not there to listen." SIBELLA B. EDGCOME. WAS midnight, and two gay young mice They should have stay'd in peace at home; cat; Near to a Cheddar cheese crept they, And ate, and ate, and ate away. But hark! what warning do they hear, A sound of dread but very near? MICE. Both pause before the tempting meal "Oh, dear!" they groan and sigh, We are indeed in sad, sad plight- For Pussy, with fierce-gleam ing eyes, Sprang forward and secured each prize. ASTLEY H. BALDWIN. T BAROMETER. HOW THE WEATHER IS FORETOLD. HE weather-charts published in some of the daily newspapers must be familiar to the eyes of most of our readers; though it is not likely that many young persons have taken the trouble to study them. They are, however, deserving of notice as the outcome of the most worthy attempt that has yet been made to forecast the weather on a scientific basis. No one requires to be told how fickle the weather is, nor how desirable it is to be able to foretell its changes. From the remotest times, the influence of the conditions of the atmosphere on out-of-door operations has necessarily been recognised, and efforts have been made to predict their fluctuations; yet it is a fact that until quite recently no recognised "weather-sign" has been absolutely trustworthy, nor can it be said that we have yet established anything but a meagre outline of an acceptable scheme of weather prediction. Before the invention of the barometer, observers of the weather had to rely for hints as to changes on the habits of certain animals and insects, on the aspect of the sky, the changes of the moon, and the direction of the wind. None of these, however, are guides that can be thoroughly trusted, while some of them are not in the remotest way affected by approaching changes in the weather. Sailors are, of course, very much interested in the weather, and they have a great reputation as prophets of atmospheric changes. Ask one of those weather-beaten mariners at the seaside what sort of weather may be expected, and he will survey the heavens, sniff the air, and tell you, with an apparent consciousness of infallibility, what is in store. Within a limited range, his forecasts will in a majority of cases prove more or less correct; but he must be put aside in the search for a thoroughly useful weather-guide. From time immemorial, the moon has been credited with an influence on the weather, and no amount of reasoning on the part of scientific men has sufficed to lead to the abandonment of this notion. If bad weather should prevail, it is common to hear people say that a change of the moon-that is, a passage from one quarter to another-will be sure to bring better weather. What was said many years ago on this subject remains true to a large extent, notwithstanding the advance that has been made in meteorological science, and the repeated publication of the results of observations showing the contrary :-" No navigator, from the captain or master to the commonest seaman-no agriculturist or gardener, from the largest farmer to the commonest field-labourer, ever doubts for a single moment the influence of new and full moon on fair weather and foul." It may seem a bold thing to overturn an idea of such antiquity, and so deeply set in the popular mind; but we must, on good and sufficient grounds, set the moon aside as a means of forecasting the weather. The invention of the barometer marked a new era in meteorological observation. This instrument is familiar to all of us. It hangs in nearly every lobby or hall, and the height of its column of mercury is scanned each morning by those who propose to go outside for either business or pleasure. It faithfully records every fluctuation in the density of the air, and is regarded, in a general way, as a trustworthy indicator of coming weather changes. The most common form of this instrument is that of an oblong case with a dial on its lower part, on which the words "fair," "rain," "change," &c., are marked. Two hands are pivoted on this dial, one of which is moved by a float on the surface of the mercury, while the other is adjustable by the observer, and is used to indicate how the other hand stood at any given hour. In this way the rise or fall in a certain space of time may be noted. The inscribing of the dial with the words mentioned is a fanciful idea, and not at all based on the results of experience. In the later forms of the instrument (a small engraving of a barometer of this kind is given above) the dial is got rid of, and on plates at either side of the top of the column of mercury the general principles on which rises and falls are to be read are printed. The readings of the barometer, however, supply only part of the information which is necessary to forming an accurate forecast of the weather. The temperature of the air, as indicated by the thermometer, must be considered; and also the quantity of moisture present, as shown by the hygrometer. It is likewise necessary to consider the direction and force of the wind. Thus it will be seen that the observation of the weather with a view to constructing a forecast is a complicated operation, and that there are considerable difficulties in the way of arriving at a correct conclusion. Nor is this all; for it is necessary not only to know the state of barometer, thermometer, and hygrometer in one's immediate locality, but to know also what the readings are at various places at a distance. It is on information collected from numerous points that the weather-charts are constructed, and this reminds us that were it not for the electric telegraph such information could not be made available. Let us look for a moment at the weatherchart, and see what it indicates and how it indicates. Arrows show the direction of the wind, and their form indicates its force; the state of the sea and of the atmosphere is given in words; the temperature at various points in figures; and there are lines sweeping in curves over the face of the map, or forming complete circles, which link together places at which a similar barometric pressure prevails. These latter are called "isobars,” or lines of equal pressure, and they play a very important part among the weather-signs. From all the information thus set down, the officials at the Meteorological Office draw certain conclusions and predictions, and these are given in print underneath the map. Strictly speaking, weather is determined by the movements of the air. This subtle fluid which envelops the earth is constantly disturbed by a variety of causes which space will not admit of our describing here. Now, it is condensed over great areas, and by its increased weight sends up the mercury in the barometer; again, it becomes rarefied, and produces low barometric readings. Against the agencies which are at work to form it into volumes of varying density, the law by which all fluids endeavour to distribute themselves evenly operates, and the consequence is that there is a constant movement-a flowing from one point to another. What the meteorologists who prepare the weathercharts and elaborate predictions from them have to do, in the first place, is to examine the barometric readings received from the observing stations, which, it will be seen from the map, are situated not only at a number of points within the United Kingdom, but in several of the continental countries extending from Norway to Spain and Portugal. Those stations at which a similar pressure exists are connected on the skeleton map by isobars," and the other information as to temperature, &c., is also laid down. 66 Let us suppose, for the sake of illustration, that the barometric readings have revealed the existence of an area of low pressure over the midland counties of England, indicated on the weather-chart by a circle enclosing that region. As we recede from that centre, the air will be found to become gradually more dense all round, and in that case the circle first drawn will be surrounded at some distance by another marking an increase of pressure, and so on. The centre of the area thus mapped off is called a "cyclone," because the air, in seeking to recover its equilibrium, sweeps round it in circular currents. The counterpart of the "cyclone" is the "anticyclone," which is an area of high pressure, from whose centre the barometrical readings decrease outwards. Having ascertained the nature of his information as to the state of the atmosphere over the region of observation, the compiler of weather forecasts is able to tell us with some degree of accuracy the direction and force of the winds that may be expected in various parts during the next four-and-twenty hours. If he has discovered a well-marked cyclone existing over a particular district, he has no difficulty in marking off the directions of the wind in surrounding places, for round the centre of low pressure the air currents will move in the opposite direction to the hands of a watch, while in the case of an anticyclone the motion follows the same direction as the hands. But it not infrequently happens that the area of the cyclone or of the anticyclone is so extensive that its centre lies far beyond the limits of the region of observation, and then almost straight lines appear on the weather-chart. The principle of interpreting their significance is, however, the same. A weak point in the matter is the fact that the duration of a cyclone or anticyclone cannot be calculated, and unexpected dispersions of the light or heavy air are apt to bring discredit on the predictions based on the barometric readings. Thus far we have dealt with the means by which the direction and force of the wind are predicted, and the curious young reader will no doubt be anxious to know how the coming of rain or snow is ascertained. Well, this is simply a matter of observing the direction of the wind and the temperature of the air. A rapid rise or a rapid fall of the barometer is a sure sign that a strong wind is about to blow, and it is equally certain that if the wind should come up from the west or north-west it will be charged with moisture from the Atlantic, and a fall of rain may be expected. Of the moist condition of the air before rain actually begins to come down the hygrometer gives indications. Should the gale be from the north-east-and we have strong winds frequently from that quarter in winter-the air will be cold, and, under certain conditions, snow will fall. If it be added that the quantity and formation of cloud visible have also to be taken into consideration by the forecaster of the weather, all the prominent phenomena with which he has to deal will have been enumerated, and the difficulties of his task will have been made apparent. Great progress has been made in meteorology in recent years, but it will be readily seen that any kind of real certainty in forecasts is a thing hardly to be dreamed of. |
