What is a flood or overflowing of a stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow; a sudden inundation. Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers When the freshet is at highest. Longfellow called?

freshet — A flood or overflowing of a stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow; a sudden inundation. Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers When the freshet is at highest. Longfellow. (Webster's 1913.)

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