161 



" The Charter you send me is a very nice one of a not un- 

 common sort. I suppose it was a pious gift such as kings generally 

 gave — something which cost them nothing, but which they received 

 a good deal of money for. By ' intuitu Dei ' I understand ' out 

 of respect to God ;' but Creasy translates the same words in 

 Magna Carta, as 'in the sight of God.' I believe this is wrong, 

 but I know no current English equivalent. The Charters of John 

 are printed by the Record Commission, ed. Hardy ; and in the 

 Preface to them (Rotuli Chartarum) he goes into the whole history 



of the manufacture of such documents I think that 



among the Rotuli Chartarum of John you would probably find 

 some parallel charters of liberation fi-om the payment of tolL" 



St. Stoithin and other Weather Saints. By Rev. L. Jenyns, M.A., 

 F.L.S., F.G.S., &c.. President. Read Dec. 7, 1870. 



When I first took in hand the subject of this paper, my purpose 

 was to treat not merely of the Weather Saints, as they may be 

 called, and the sayings connected with them, but of weather 

 proverbs in general. I soon found, however, from the number and 

 variety of such proverbs, that to attempt this would be to open up 

 a field of research too wide to be gone over at one time. Some 

 indeed may think the field not worth working. They may consider 

 it an amusing occupation for such as have leisure and inclination 

 to look into such lore ; but not a very profitable one as regards the 

 hope of making any addition to our real knowledge. They may 

 question especially whether any benefit can accrue to science from 

 looking into the origin of Weather Proverbs and the circumstances 

 under which some of them have had a wide circulation and met 

 with veiy general acceptance, whether the limited amount of tmth 

 concealed in them will repay the trouble of a close analysis in 

 order to bring the truth out. 



I hope, however, to show presently that in the case of at least 

 one notable weather proverb the saying is not to be hastily set 

 aside as entirely without value or significance. And more than 

 this ; we may assert of proverbs in general that they have an 

 interest beyond a mere half-hour's amusement to such as give them 

 their attention. Popular sayings, whatever they relate to, throw 



