"
"That might be expected," remarked Frank, "since they pass over the
hot sands of the desert."
"Well, can you tell me why the same wind is cooler on the east coast
of America?"
"Because it has been refreshed on crossing the ocean that separates
the two continents?"
"By taking a glass of grog on the way," suggested Willis.
"Yes; and so in Europe the north wind is cold because it carries, or
rather consists of, air from the polar regions; and the same effect is
produced by the south wind in the other hemisphere."
"It is for a like reason," suggested Ernest, "that the south wind in
Europe, and particularly the south-west wind, is humid, and generally
brings rain, because it is charged with vapor from the Atlantic
Ocean."
"How is it, father, that the almanac makers can predict changes in the
weather?"
"The almanac makers can only foresee one thing with absolute
certainty, and that is, that there are always fools to believe what
they say. A few meteorological phenomena may be predicted with
tolerable accuracy; but these are few in number, and range within very
narrow limits."
"Their predictions, nevertheless, sometimes turn out correct."
"Yes, when they predict by chance a hard frost on a particular day in
January, it is just possible the prediction may be verified; out of a
multitude of such prognostications a few may be successful, but the
greater part of them fail.
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