OBJECTS BELOW THE HORIZON MAGNIFIED. 205 



In our own country, and in our own times, facts still 

 more extraordinary have been witnessed. From Hastings, 

 on the coast of Sussex, the cliffs on the French coast are 

 fifty miles distant, and they are actually hid by the con- 

 vexity of the earth ; that is, a straight line drawn from 

 Hastings to the French coast would pass through the sea. 

 On Wednesday, the 26th July, 1798, about five o'clock in 

 the afternoon, Mr. Latham, a Fellow of the Royal Society, 

 then residing at Hastings, was surprised to see a crowd of 

 people running to the seaside. Upon inquiry into the 

 cause of this, he learned that the coast of France could be 

 seen by the naked eye, and he immediately went down to 

 witness so singular a sight. He distinctly saw the cliffs 

 extending for some leagues along the French coast, and 

 they appeared as if they were only a few miles off. They 

 gradually appeared more and more elevated, and seemed 

 to approach nearer to the eye. The sailors with whom 

 Mr. Latham walked along the water's edge were at first 

 unwilling to believe in the reality of the appearance, but 

 they soon became so thoroughly convinced of it, that they 

 pointed out and named to him the different places which 

 they had been accustomed to visit, and which they con- 

 ceived to be as near as if they were sailing at a small 

 distance into the harbour. These appearances continued 

 for nearly an hour, the cliffs sometimes appearing brighter 

 and nearer, and at other times fainter and more remote. 

 Mr. Latham then went upon the eastern cliff or hill, 

 which is of considerable height, when, as he remarks, a 

 most beautiful scene presented itself to his view. He 

 beheld at once Dungeness, Dover Cliffs, and the French 

 coast all along from Calais, Boulogne, &c., to St. Vallery, 

 and, as some of the fishermen affirmed, as far west as 

 Dieppe. With the help of a telescope, the French 

 fishing-boats were plainly seen at anchor, and the dif- 

 ferent colours of the land upon the heights, together with 



