122 SIGNS OF RAIN 



At dusk the squalid toad was seen, 



Hopping and crawling o'er the green. 



The whirling wind the dust obeys, 



And in the rapid eddy plays. 



The frog has changed his yellow vest, 



And in a russet coat is dressed. 30 



Though June, the air is cold and still, 



The mellow blackbird's voice is shrill. 



My dog, so altered in his taste, 



Quits mutton-bones on grass to feast ; 



And see yon rooks! how odd their flight! 



They imitate the gliding kite, 



And seem precipitate to fall, 



As if they felt the piercing ball. 



'Twill surely rain: I see with sorrow 



Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow. 40 



EDWARD JENNER (1749-1823), 

 (a Gloucestershire physician and naturalist). 



EXERCISES 



1. Give any other signs of rain that you have yourself 

 noticed. 



2. Explain any six of the ' signs ' in Dr. Jenner's list. 



3. How does White of Selborne explain the odd tumbling 

 of rooks and ravens in the air ? [See Letter XLIL] 



