132 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



till April 1 8, heavy rain, with frost, snow, and sleet. This 

 winter was very severe also on the Continent. 



The winter of 1789-90 was as mild as that of 1788-89 

 had been severe. The record runs thus : * November to 

 1 7th, heavy rains with violent gales of wind. To December 

 1 8, mild dry weather with a few showers. To the end of 

 the year rain and wind. To January 16, 1790, mild foggy 

 weather, with occasional rains. To January 2 1 ' (five days 

 only) ' frost. To January 28, dark, with driving rains. To 

 February 14, mild dry weather. To February 22' (eight 

 days) * hard frost.' To April 5 bright cold weather with a 

 few showers. 



In November, 1790, mild autumnal weather prevailed 

 till the 26th, after which there were five days of hard frost. 

 Thence to the end of the year, rain and snow, with a few 

 days of frost. The whole of January, 1791, was mild with 

 heavy rains; February windy, with much rain and snow. 

 Then to the end of April dry, but ' rather cold and frosty.' 



November, 1791, was very wet and stormy, December 

 frosty. There was some hard frost in January, 1792, but 

 the weather mostly wet and mild. In February also there 

 was some hard frost and a little snow. March was wet and 

 cold. 



The record ends with the year 1792, the last three months 

 of which are thus described : ' October showery and mild. 

 November dry and fine. December mild.' 



Certainly the account of the 23 years between 1768 and 

 1792 does not suggest that there is any material difference 

 between the winter weather now common and the average 

 winter weather a century ago. Still it may be necessary to 

 show, that when men spoke of mild weather in old times, 

 they meant what we should understand by the same expres- 

 sion. A reference to rain or showery weather shows suffici- 

 ently that a temperature above the freezing point existed 

 while such weather prevailed. But it might be that what 

 White speaks of as mild weather, is such as we should con- 

 sider severe. In order to show that this is not the case, it 



