CLIMATE OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 3 



AMICUS. But have you not more rain than 

 you wish, and less sunshine? And have you 

 not, in consequence, too damp an atmosphere, 

 and too wet a soil ? 



PISCATOR. There is a belief to that effect; 

 but I think it is held only by those not per- 

 sonally acquainted with the district. It is true 

 that the quantity of rain that falls here is 

 great; but not so the number of rainy days. 

 The difference is chiefly in the heaviness of the 

 showers : a fall of two inches of rain in the 

 twelve hours is not at all uncommon. In 

 many parts of England, where the yearly 

 amount of rain is vastly less, the number of 

 rainy days is even greater. The pouring rain, 

 the heaviest, is most frequently followed by a 

 clear sky, as if the atmosphere were purged and 

 purified by it Moreover, owing to the pecu- 

 liarity of our soil, the absence of clay, the 

 peculiarity of the surface, one of almost unin- 

 terrupted declivities, the rain rapidly runs 

 off, feeding those innumerable rills, those 

 many rivers and lakes, which constitute so 

 marked and beautiful a feature of the district, 

 leaving the roads dry and clean. And this 

 reminds me of an anecdote of our great poet, 



B 2 



