OBJECTS BELOW THE HOEIZON MAGNIFIED. ] 35 



blue light, as if they were seen" through a 

 prism. 



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 convexity of the 

 earth ; that is, a straight line drawn from Hastings 

 to the French coast would pass through the sea. 

 On Wednesday, the 26th of 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 sea-side. 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 conceived 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, 



