By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 59 



delusion has become so engrained in the hearts of many, that notwith- 

 standing the total absence of all argument or reason in favour of it, 

 numbers of people of all ranks and classes still cling to it ; it may- 

 be worth while to mention that with a view to allay such popular 

 delusions, though without of course for a moment themselves sharing 

 in them, some of the savants of France and others of Germany in- 

 stituted a long series of careful investigations, the former continued 

 during twenty }~ears at the Paris Observatory, the latter during 

 twenty-five years at Vienna. Both of these diligently carrried on 

 the most rigorous examination of changes of weather in connection 

 with the lunar phases ; but the declared result of their accurately- 

 kept tables showed that there was no connection between them, and 

 in short, when theory was set aside, and the matter accurately tested, 

 by many thousand facts, during a considerable period of time, it was 

 definitely pronounced that " no correspondence whatever existed be- 

 tween the changes of the moon and those of the weather, such as 

 were popularly supposed/'' The stock argument (if argument it can 

 be called,) of those who uphold the moon's influence on the weather, 

 is, that the moon does undoubtedly attract the waters of the sea ; 

 but because she causes the tides, which is demonstrable, therefore 

 that she must needs influence the weather, which is by no means a 

 parallel case, and for which there is no show of reason, I cannot 

 conceive to be a fair inference. Perhaps it may be generally felt, 

 (as a leading gentleman in this county once said to me in speaking 

 of this subject,) " I don't pretend to argue the point, or give any 

 reasons for it ; I simply say I must continue to hold it, because, if you 

 take away the moon as my guide to a change of weather, I have nothing 

 else left to fall back upon : " or, as another eager advocate for the 

 lunar influence (though himself by no means a lunatic) remarked to 

 me, (C I don't say that the weather alters exactly on the day of the 

 moon's changes, but you will find it does so within three days before 

 or after the change of moon : " a proposition with which I most 

 cordially agreed, seeing that the moon changes once in seven days, 

 and the " three days before and three days after" completely occupied 

 the whole week ; so after this fashion it would be strange indeed if 

 the weather did not change within that prolonged period. 



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