1887-88.] Optical Plienomeiwn seen in Glemn'e. 163 



The phenomenon witnessed by us is, to my mind, that which 

 is known as the " Ulloa circle." It is so named after the 

 Spanish traveller, Francisco Ulloa, who, accompanied by six 

 fellow-travellers, first observed and described it. The follow- 

 ing is his description : — 



Suddenly each of the travellers beheld, in the opposite direction to where 

 the sun was rising, his own image reflected in the air as in a mirror, about 

 70 feet from where he was standing. The image was in the centre of three 

 rainbows of different colours, and surrounded at a certain distance by a 

 fourth bow with only one colour. The inside colour of each bow was 

 carnation or red, the next shade was violet, the third yellow, the fourth 

 straw colour, the last green. All these bows were perpendicular to the 

 horizon ; they moved in the direction of, and followed the image of, the 

 person whom they enveloped, as with a glory. 



The most remarkable point here was, that although the 

 seven spectators were standing in a group, each only saw the 

 phenomenon in regard to his own person. The strangest 

 point about the appearance seen by us, but upon which I can 

 offer no explanation, was, that in one case the movements of 

 our arms alone were visible, while our lower extremities re- 

 mained stationary. This same phenomenon has often been 

 seen in the Alps, and has also been observed by the Arctic 

 navigator Scoresby in the Polar regions. The phenomena, 

 however, observed two years ago by the Hon. Ealph Aber- 

 cromby — one of the foremost meteorologists of the present 

 time — at Adam's Peak, in Ceylon, seem to surpass everything 

 hitherto recorded. The cone forming the summit of this 

 mountain, which is over 7300 feet above sea-level, is a naked 

 mass of granite, terminating in a narrow platform, in the 

 middle of which is a hollow five feet long, having a rude re- 

 semblance to a human footstep. Mohammedan tradition makes 

 this the scene of Adam's penitence after his expulsion from 

 Paradise. He stood 1000 years on one foot, hence the mark ! 

 A condensed description of what Abercromby there saw is as 

 follows : The party (himself and two scientific friends) reached 

 the summit on the night of the 21st February 1886, amid rain, 

 mist, and wind. Early next morning the fore-glow began to 

 brighten the under surface of the stratus-cloud ; patches of 

 white mist filled the hollows, and occasionally masses of mist 

 coming from the valley enveloped them with condensed vapour. 

 At 6.30 A.M. the sun peeped through a chink in the clouds, 



