THE MIRAGE. 281 



nestling young with the proceeds of their morning 

 labours : all nature is bustle and activity. 



As the heat of the day increases, the land wind, 

 which during the night is steady near the shore, when 

 the weather is serene and settled, subsides to a calm ; 

 the surface of the water in the offing becomes as smooth 

 as glass, and the vessels " loom out," as if they were 

 lifted into the air ; masts and sails that were not before 

 visible, come in sight, without approaching, any nearer 

 in distance ; and some of the air suspended vessels 

 throw their whole inverted reflections upon the water, 

 as if two ships, the counterparts of each other, were 

 suspended keel to keel, or supported on the top of the 

 masts. Sometimes, also, a ship which is in reality 

 wholly hidden by the convexity of the surface of the 

 sea, will appear in the air, in an inverted position; 

 sometimes a second ship will be formed immediately 

 over the first, but always reversed with respect to it ; 

 and these will sometimes be in contact, sometimes at 

 some distance from each other, and sometimes the 

 lower ship that has the keel uppermost will seem as if 

 only a part of her masts and sails were above the 

 horizon. In particular states of the atmosphere, coasts 

 and castles, and even considerable portions of scenery, 

 which are without the range of the sea horizon, will 

 appear inverted in the air ; and, under peculiar circum- 

 stance, those images may be found vertically as well as 

 horizontally. 



All these, though to the unreflecting they appear 



prodigies, are modifications of that very simple cause 



by which the moon shines, or one sees one's face in a 



mirror ; and they are indications that the air where 



2 B 2 



