172 CONCERNING THE WIND. 



Course of the *' The wind is sometimes plain up and down*, which Is 

 wind. commonly most certain, and requires least knowledge, wherein 



a mean shooter, with mean gear, if he can shoot home, may 

 make best shift. A side wind tries an archer and good gear 

 very much. Sometimes it blows aloft, sometimes hard by the 

 ground, sometimes it bloweth by blasts, and sometimes it con- 

 tinues all in one ; sometimes full side wind, sometimes quarter 

 with him and more, and likewise against him, as a man 

 with casting up light grass, or else, if he take good heed, he 

 shall sensibly learn by experience. To see the wind with a 

 man's eye, it is impossible, the nature of it is so fine and 

 subtle; yet this experience had I once myself, and that was in 

 the great snow that fell four years ago (1540). I rode in the 

 — obs6rvedon highway betwixt Topclifie upon Swale and Borowbridge, the 

 the surface of ^^y being somewhat trodden before by wayfaring men : the 

 fields on both sides were plain, and lay almost yard deep with 

 snow: the night before had been a little frosty, so that the 

 snow was hard and crusted above. That morning the sun 

 shone bright and clear, the wind was whistling aloft, and sharp, 

 according to the time of the year : the snow in the highway 

 lay loose, and trodden with horses* feet, so as the wind blew, 

 it took the loose snow with it, and made it so slide upon the 

 snow in the fields, which was hard and crusted by reason of the 

 frost over night, that thereby I might see very well the whole 

 nature of the wind as it blew that day, and I had a great de- 

 light and pleasure to mark it, which makes me now far better 



varying in to remember it. Sometimes the wind would be not past two 



the extent and yards broad, and so it would carry the snow as far as I could 

 several streams see. Another time, the snow would blow over half the field 

 at once ; sometimes the snow would tumble softly, by and by 

 it would fly wonderfully fast. And I also perceived that the 

 wind goes by streams, and not together ; for I could see one 

 stream within a score of me, then the space of two score 

 no snow would stir. But after so much quantity of ground, 

 another stream of snow at the same time should be carried 

 likewise, but not equally ; for the one would stand still when 

 the other flew apace, and so continue, sometimes switter, some- 

 times slower, sometimes broader, sometimes narrower, as far as 

 I could see. Now it flew straight, but sometimes crooked this 



way, 



* From the context it appears that, by plain up and down, the Author 

 means directly to or from the mark. 



