It may perhaps be of interest to some to know more exactly the proportions of the four classes during those years. Both in these and in the former columns it will be noted that one year of the eleven is a few days short of the full length—the year 1894. This seems to have been the only lapse in regularity.
Here is the fuller statement:—
| A.D. | Bad. | Half-bad. | Half-good. | Good. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | 15 | 74 | 86 | 190 |
| 1887 | 16 | 43 | 116 | 190 |
| 1888 | 18 | 67 | 110 | 171 |
| 1889 | 12 | 95 | 113 | 145 |
| 1890 | 19 | 66 | 110 | 170 |
| 1891 | 21 | 70 | 107 | 167 |
| 1892 | 17 | 60 | 95 | 193 |
| 1893 | 17 | 54 | 87 | 207 |
| 1894 | 19 | 90 | 106 | 136 |
| 1895 | 19 | 69 | 84 | 193 |
| 1896 | 22 | 64 | 115 | 165 |
So if we owe our weather to the Ocean’s influences, it appears that we have more to be thankful for than to complain of.
King Charles II., wise in word though not in deed, is reported to have said that in England a man could work more days in the open air than in any other country. Whether this be so or not, it at least shows that the Merry Monarch was not one in the army of weather-complainers.
CHAPTER XI.
A STORY OF CONFLICT
“Thou Sea, who wast to me a prophet deep,
Through all thy restless waves and wasting shores,
Of silent labour and eternal change.”—Kingsley.
BETWEEN Land and Ocean a ceaseless contest is carried on.