Eagre

The tidal wave on the River Floss, "the rushing spring-tide, the awful Eagre, come up like a hungry monster." The eagre, hygre, or bore, is a curious tidal wave found on the Trent (the "Floss") and noticeable on that river as far up as the town of Gainsborough ("St. Ogg's "). Stark in his History and Antiquities of Gainsburgh, p. 522, says of it: "A curious phenomenon is observed in the Trent called the Eagre or Hygre. At spring tide the water rises on the surface of the river to a height of from seven to eight feet and rolls on in a large mass from the mouth of the Trent, considerably above the bridge. On account of the obstructions it meets with before it gets to Gainsburgh, the Eagre is some what diminished in size, but a few miles below the town it has a grand appearance." At the time of the fall
equinox the Eagre is some times unusually high. For a description and picture of the Eagre during a very high equinoctial tide, see W. H. Wheeler, Aeger in the Rivers Trent and Ouse, in Nature, vol. 73, pp. 29-30.

<em>The Mill on the Floss</em>

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