26 Mr. Charles L. Barnes on 



diverge, so as to be in the direction of the earth's radii. 

 He notes that all ponderable things tend naturally towards 

 the centre. 



Here, also, we find an interesting fable, that the wren, 

 sitting on a branch on the ist of March, complained to 

 February about the mildness of the weather. She at 

 length became abusive on the subject, whereupon he went 

 to his brother, March, and obtained permission to influence 

 the weather for two days. This he did with such effect 

 that the bird, battered with hailstones and half frozen, 

 lamented that the gentle February was past. It is well 

 known to meteorologists that there are nearly always three 

 cold days between the nth and 14th of April, and that in 

 the Old Style these dates would fall at the beginning of the 

 month ; but I am not aware that a converse state of things 

 has been noted in March. The old Scotch rhyme which 

 follows relates to the " borrowed" days of April : — 



March said to A peril], 



I see three hoggs upon a hill, 



And if you'll lend me dayes three, 



I'll find a way to make them dee. 



The first o' them was wind and wet ; 



The second o' them was snaw and sleet ; 



The third o' them was sic a freeze, 



It froze the birds' nests to the trees. 



When the three days were past and gane, 



The three silly hoggs came hirplin hame. 



The word " hogg " here is a farmers' term for a young 

 lamb between the time of its being weaned and having its 

 first fleece cut. 



In Roger Bacon, the last author with whom I shall 

 deal, one feels instinctively, after even casually turning 

 over a few pages, that the style is vastly superior to and 

 more scientific than anything that has gone before. There 

 is a solidity and keenness of penetration about it which is 

 sadly wanting in his predecessors, who were content to 

 hand down what they had learnt without so much as a 

 show of criticism. 



