214 



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Fata Morgana at Gibraltar 



Art. IL — Fata 



s 



in the American Navy. 



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May 7th, 1835, 3 P. M., at sea, 20 miles E. from Gibraltar. 



TO THE EDITOR. 



Sir — ^I have just been witnessing an extraordinary phenomenon, 

 so similar to the celebrated Fata Morgana, that I cannot help think- 

 ing that it must arise from the same cause, and is perhaps the same 

 thing, though I always before understood that such apparitions were 

 seen only in the straits of Messina, Yesterday, about 2 P. M. the 

 officer of tlie deck sent for me to look at some spectacle sliips, which 

 he said he had been for some time observing over the straits of Gib- 

 raltar: I went up immediately, but was too late, being able to see 

 nothing unusual, except that a brig just on the edge of a heavy fog 

 that covered the straits, had her upper sails elevated by the refrac- 

 tion so as to give her an extraordinary height. The officers told me 

 that a few minutes before, another vessel had appeared in the sky, in- 

 verted immediately over this one ; and one of them described ano- 

 ther phenomenon which he had observed during the forenoon, as 

 follows — a vessel was in the straits, whose royal sails could only be 

 seen above the thicker part of the fog : immediately above these, 

 and in contact with them, was an inverted vessel, and directly above 

 this was another one, upright; the two keels touching each other; 

 so that he had two spectral vessels, one upright and one inverted, 

 while directly under the latter was the original vessel, only partially 

 seen. The day was pleasant and clear; the breeze was light in the 

 bay of Gibraltar from the east, but in the straits it seemed to be 

 more from the Avestward : the fo£ formed a stratum about two bun- 

 dred feet thick, resting on the water, and with its upper edge hon- 

 zonlal and well defined. I have frequently noticed such fogs stretch- 

 ing from the foot of Apes' hill to the westward, but never before 

 heard of such extraordinary refractions accompanying them. 



We were then lying in Gibraltar Bay : this morning we weighed 

 anchor, and at meridian were fifteen miles east from the southern 

 end of the Rock, which, you know, goes by the name of Europa 

 Point. Going on deck at this time, 1 was delighted to find the phe- 

 nomenon once more exhibiting itself, and from this time until nearly 

 2 P. M., when it ceased, had ample time for observation. Its first 

 appearance was to the eastward of us. A fog like that of yes- 



