Perhaps the best method of ascertaining the fact of its being warm or
cold is to go out into the air; but if you are unable to do this, and a
person coming in from out of doors is seen to rub his hands, you may
presume that the atmosphere is chilly.
An infallible method of ascertaining whether it is wet is to watch the
puddles in the streets, and if you see them agitated you may conclude
that rain is descending.
If there has been a frost at night you may look for ice in the morning,
and, in winter, if you have no thermometer, you may get some valuable
information from the state of your pitcher.
The rattling of tiles overhead indicates wind; and a descent of soot
down your chimney foretells rainy weather.
The approach of winter may generally be prognosticated by a general
display of Chesterfield Wrappers, at the doors of cheap tailors' shops;
but when 25,000 straw bonnets are seen in linendrapers' windows, spring
may be confidently looked forward to.
When the water-carts are particularly active you may expect rain; and if
a flash of lightning is visible, prepare for thunder.
When you see the advertisement of a flower-show, it would be prudent to
provide yourself on the day named with an umbrella.
If your water has not come into your cistern, you may conclude there has
been frost, unless you happen to be in arrear with your rates, when the
phenomenon may be otherwise accounted for.