GUERNSEY WEATHER LORE. 205 



the sun shines, the snn is in the sky : it rains and is fine 

 weather, the moon is with our people). During a drizzle, 

 or " Scotch mist " it is said : I brousse, mille hrins d la jjouce 

 (It drizzles a thousand little drops to the inch) ; and when 

 there is a very thick, dense fog, they say : / breuiie a 

 coypdi au coute^ a phrase which cannot quite be literally 

 translated, but which means that the fog is so thick that 

 it could be cut with a knife. 



If the sun is only partially obscured by thin clouds, 

 the saying goes among the old Guernsey people : V^la le 

 soleil en leune^ ch'cst saigne de vent cCamont^ ordge ou breune 

 (there's the sun like a moon, that's a sign of northerly 

 wind, thundery weather, or fog). When there is an unusual 

 twinkling of the stars it is considered to foretell wind and 

 rain, and it is said : V^Id Vs etelles qui chdquent (the stars 

 are shaking). Young kittens are playful enough, as everyone 

 knows, but when old cats become frisky it is regarded as 

 indicating the approach of foul weather : Cliest paiire 

 saigne quand les viars cats jouent (Its a poor sign when 

 old cats play). 



During summer time gnats are occasionally very trouble- 

 some to those who are at work in the fields, especially in 

 shady places, and this gives rise to the remark ; Les bibets 

 piqvent, j air on cCla pllie domain (the gnats sting, we shall 

 have rain to-morrow). And so in the same way, when soot 

 falls down the chimney into the fire, when fowls pick 

 themselves, when ducks quack about the farm-yard and 

 flap their wings, all these are held to be sure signs of 

 coming rain. 



A jingling rhyme is often sung by country children 

 when snowflakes are falling : 1 que des chiques d bouan 

 marclii^ ma grandtmeve a. Vs os craquis (cheap rags are falling, 

 my grandmother has her bones cracked). The latter part 

 of this verse alludes to the pain old people feel in their 

 bones during this kind of weather. 



Many of the old Guernsey weather proverbs appear 

 to be exactly similar to some in common use in England, 

 and I may just give one or two examples : Ravage sar et 

 gris ma.tin^ cWest la joua.ie dit pelerin : mais gris sar et 

 roudge matin publlie la mdre an cfimin (evening red and 

 morning grey, that is the traveller's joy ; but evening grey 

 and morning red, announces the puddle in the road). Le 

 rent d^ Est nc rani a gens ni a bete, tandis que Trent cCara 

 nourri riiome ct sen elird (the east wind is no good to 

 man or beast, whilst the southerly wind feeds the man 



