214 LETTERS ON NATURAL MAGIC. 



side of the real one. About 10 h P.M. a bark at the dis- 

 tance of about 4000 toises from Bellerive, on the lake of 

 Geneva, was seen approaching to Geneva, by the left 

 bank of the lake, and at the same time an image of the 

 sails was observed above the water, which, instead of 

 following the direction of the bark, separated from it, 

 and appeared to approach Geneva by the right bank of 

 the lake, the image moving from east to west, while the 

 bark moved from north to south. When the image first 

 separated from the bark they had both the same mag- 

 nitude, but the image diminished as it receded from it, 

 and was reduced to one-half when the phenomenon 

 disappeared. 



A very unusual example of aerial spectres occurred to 

 Dr. A> P. Buchan while walking on the cliff about a mile 

 to the east of Brighton on the morning of the 28th 

 November, 1804. " While watching the rising of the 

 sun," says he, " I turned my eyes directly towards the 

 sea, just as the solar disc emerged from the surface of the 

 water, and saw the face of the cliff on which I was 

 standing represented precisely opposite to me at some 

 distance on the ocean. Calling the attention of my 

 companion to this appearance, we discerned our own 

 figures standing on the summit of the apparent opposite 

 cliff, as well as the representation of the windmill near at 

 hand. 



" The reflected images were most distinct precisely 

 opposite to where we stood, and the false cliff seemed to 

 fade away, and to draw near to the real one, in proportion 

 as it receded towards the west. This phenomenon lasted 

 about ten minutes, or till the sun had risen nearly his 

 own diameter above the surface of the ocean. The whole 

 then seemed to be elevated into the air, and successively 

 disappeared, giving an impression very similar to that 

 which is produced by the drawing up of a drop scene in 



