It evidently wanted to go on, and prognosticate drought, and water famine, and sunstroke, and simooms, and such things, but the peg prevented it, and it had to be content with pointing to the mere commonplace "very dry." Meanwhile, the rain came down in a steady torrent, and the lower part of the town was under water, owing to the river having overflowed.
Boots said it was evident that we were going to have a prolonged spell of grand weather _some time_, and read out a poem which was printed over the top of the oracle, about "Long foretold, long last; Short notice, soon past." The fine weather never came that summer.

I expect that machine must have been referring to the following spring.
Then there are those new style of barometers, the long straight ones.

I never can make head or tail of those.

There is one side for 10 a.m.
yesterday, and one side for 10 a.m.

to-day; but you can't always get there as early as ten, you know.