SHADOW IMAGE OF MOUNT ,ETNA. 147 



Hughes in his Travels in Greece, as seen from 

 the summit of Mount u^Etna. " I must not forget 

 to mention," says he, " one extraordinary phe- 

 nomenon, which we observed, and for which I 

 have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution. 

 At the extremity of the vast shadow which JEtna 

 projects across the island, appeared a perfect and 

 distinct image of the mountain itself elevated 

 above the horizon, and diminished as if viewed 

 in a concave mirror. Where or what the reflector 

 could be which exhibited this image, I cannot 

 conceive ; we could not be mistaken in its appear- 

 ance, for all our party observed it, and we had 

 been prepared for it beforehand by our Catanian 

 friends. It remained visible about ten minutes, 

 and disappeared as the shadow decreased. Mr. 

 Jones observed the same phenomenon, as well as 

 some other friends with whom I conversed upon 

 the subject in England." 



It is impossible to study the preceding phe- 

 nomena without being impressed with the con- 

 viction, that nature is full of the marvellous, and 

 that the progress of science and the diffusion of 

 knowledge are alone capable of dispelling the 

 fears which her wonders must necessarily excite 

 even in enlightened minds. When a spectre 

 haunts the couch of the sick, or follows the sus- 

 ceptible vision of the invalid, a consciousness of 

 indisposition divests the apparition of much of 

 its terror, while its invisibility to surrounding 

 friends soon stamps it with the impress of a false 

 perception. The spectres of the conjuror, too, 

 however skilfully they may be raised, quickly 

 lose their supernatural character ; and even the 

 most ignorant beholder regards the modern 

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