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A63800
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Modest observations on the present extraordinary frost ... by T.T.
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Tryon, Thomas, 1634-1703.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing T3186; ESTC R4753
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5,619
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10
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Modest Observations ON The Present Extraordinary FROST CONTAINING I. A Brief Description thereof and its Natural Celestial Causes inquired into II. An Account of the most Eminent Frosts that have happen'd for many Hundred years past and what followed thereupon III. Philosophical Presages of what may be feared now to ensue viz. Scarcity of Corn and Victuals General Sicknesses and Pestilences in the next or within some very few Succeeding years with Cautionary Preventions IV. The Cries of the Poor and an easy Way Proposed how there may be Twenty Thousand Pounds a Week at least raised for their Relief about LONDON and all Wanting People Plentifully Provided for During this and the like hard Seasons yet no Man be a Penny the worse in his Estate By T. T. Entred According to Order London Printed by George Larkin at the lower End of Broadstreet next to London-Wall 1684. OBSERVATIONS ON THE FROST c. THe present Wonderful Frost which is the General Theme of Discourse and under the sad Effâ—cts whereof so mâ—ny Thousands of Poor Creâ—tures Shiver and Pine and Lâ—nguish began about the midst of December 1683. at first by mean and ordinary Degrees but towards Christmas bâ—came vâ—ry Sharp The first Week of Ianuary the River of Thames was so Fâ—ozen that People began to Walk over On Monday Ianuary the 7th on the Change of the Moon in Aquâ—ry there were Expectations and some Likelyhood of a Thaw but pâ—esently after it Frâ—ze more violenâ—ly and on the 10th and 11th in the morning a Coâ—ch Plyed between the Tâ—â—ple and the Old Barge house yet towards Night the 11th the Moon having been in Opposition to Iupiter it Thaw'd a little and the 12 and 13th was fine Gentle Weather yet not much Thawing the Wind conâ—inuing still at North-East On the 13th it Froze gain briskly till the 17th when a great Snow fell the 18th high most sharp and peircing Winds and on the 23d the Air was more severely Peircing than ever and more Snow fell And being the first day of the Term Coaches Ply'd at the Templâ—-Staires and carâ—iâ—d the Lawyers to Westminster on the Icâ— and thence forâ—ards the same Continued and whole Streets of Shedds every where â—uilt on the Tâ—ames Tâ—ousands Passing Buying Selling Drinking and Revelling I wish I could not say on the Lords Dâ—y too and most soâ—ts of Trâ—des-Shops on the Ice and amongst the rest a Printing-house there Eâ—â—cted Bulls Baiâ—ed and Thoâ—sands of Spectatoâ—s all which still continues at the Writing hereof being Ianuary the 29th 168â— 4. Nay bâ—low the Bridge hundreds daily pass The River Hâ—mber as I am 〈◊〉 informed where 't is several Miles broad is Frozâ—n over and Vâ—st Flakes of Ice are seen Floâ—ting in the Downes of Diverse Miles in Length and proportionable Breadth As for Coelestial Causes of this unusual Coldness though undoubtedly they were not wanting For God generally Governs Inferiors by Superiors yet I find not that any of our Common Pretenders had the least Apprehension or gave any Hints thereof Not that I wholly Explode Astrology I believe there is something in it and that it may not be unfit for a Wise and Modest Man to Study but our Annual Prognosticators are generally Men of little Learning and less Philosophy and what is worse many times very irregular in their Lives The God of Purity who Communicates his Secrets to those that fear him Illuminates not Debaucheâ—s Sordid Flatterers and Timeservers whose whole end is to make a Noise and Cheat People of their money with the knowledge of Supernal Mysteries Nor can it be expected That those who neither know things past by History nor take Notice of things Present by any steady Judicious Observation should yet foresee things to come Whether from any of the Late Tripple Conjunctions of the two Superior Planets Saturn and Iupiter or from some of the late unusually frequent Comets particulary the last in August 1682. which in 20 days with a Rapid motion making its appearance in Leo hurried through all the Signs Virgo and Libra and disappear'd in Scorpio A Sagacious Artist might not have given some Items of this Strange Weather I will not Determine But if Comets be only according to Aristotles Notion which I question hot and dry Exhalations drawn up from the Earth it would not be difficult to Judge that Severe Colds should ensue here below For Extreams in Nature if they are not Causes are at least Fore-Runners of their Contraries Nor have there wanted Grand Configurations of the Superior Bodies During the time of this violent Frost As a Trine of the Sun and Iupiter an Opposition of Saturn and Mars But leaving the Disquisition of these to the Curious having not Room to Inlarge here upon them I hasten to satisfy the Common Reader with an Historical Review of former Occurrences of this kind which may check that Vulgar Cry of Ignorance That Never O Never was known the Like Livy in his fifth Book tells us of a Winter so hard That the River Tyber was frozen over a matter very strange in such a Climate as Italy In the year 1234 the Adriatick Sea was so frozen that the Venetians went over the Ice thereof with Carts Zonaras assures us that in the Reign of that Emperour Constantine who for a Nasty Reason in his Christning was call'd Copronymus about the year 750. the Pontick Sea was so Congealed That people for many miles travelled it on foot And Horses and Carts â—oaden passed over the Fretum or Narrow part of it But withal he adds that the Summer following was so excessive hot and dry that great Rivers and most Fountains were wholly dryed up and People and Cattel perisht for want of water In the year 821. the â—greatest Rivers of Europe as the Rhine the Danubius the Elb and the Sein were so incrusted with Ice that for the space of above 30 days Carriages freely passed along on them as on the Land But to look nearer home In the year of our Lord 1365. and 49th year of K. Edward the 3d A Frost lasted from the midst of September to the Month of April but though so tedious the Cold was nothing so intense or violent as now In the 15th year of the Reign of K. Henry the Eighth after great Rains and Winds there followed so sore a Frost that many dyed for cold and some lost Fingers some Toes and many their Nails I follow the very words of Sir R. Baker fol. 297. The same Author tells us That in the seventh year of Q. Elizabeth on the 21. of December began a Frost so extream that on New-Years-Day-Even people passed over the Thames on foot some plaid at Foot Ball some shot at Pricks as if it had been firm ground yet this great Frost the third of Ianuary at night began to Thaw and by the fifth day there was no Ice to be seen but great Inundations followed In the year 1609. which 't is not impossible but some Living might remember being but 74 years ago