204 LETTERS ON NATURAL MAGIC. 



unlike, that even a philosopher might have been excused 

 for ascribing them to different causes. 



This singular exhibition has been frequently seen in 

 the Straits of Messina between Sicily and the coast oi 

 Italy, and whenever it takes place, the people, in a state 

 of exultation, as if it were not only a pleasing but a lucky 

 phenomenon, hurry down to the sea, exclaiming Morgana, 

 Morgana. When the rays of the rising sun form an angle 

 of 45 on the sea of Eeggio, and when the surface of the 

 water is perfectly unruffled either by the wind or the 

 current, a spectator placed upon an eminence in the city, 

 and having his back to the sun and his face to the sea, 

 observes upon the surface of the water superb palaces 

 with their balconies and windows, lofty towers, herds and 

 flocks grazing in wooded valleys and fertile plains, armies 

 of men on horseback and on foot, with multiplied frag- 

 ments of buildings, such as columns, pilasters, and arches. 

 These objects pass rapidly in succession along the surface 

 of the sea during the brief period of their appearance. 

 The various objects thus enumerated are pictures of 

 palaces and buildings actually existing on shore, and the 

 living objects are of course only seen when they happen 

 to form a part of the general landscape. 



If at the time that these phenomena are visible the 

 atmosphere is charged with vapour or dense exhalations, 

 the same objects which are depicted upon the sea will be 

 seen also in the air occupying a space which extends from 

 the surface to the height of twenty-five feet. These 

 images, however, are less distinctly delineated than the 

 former. 



If the air is in such a state as to deposit clew, and is 

 capable of forming the rainbow, the objects will be seen 

 only on the surface of the sea, but they all appear fringed 

 with red, yellow, and blue light as if they were seen 

 through a prism. 



