THE ARCTIC SEAS, 137 
myself had the pleasure of witnessing this beautiful 
phenomenon, precisely as described above, and in 
the same circumstances: it was in the month of 
August, 1828, on the coast of Newfoundland, and j 
was viewed from the shrouds of a vessel projected 
on the surface of a dense but shallow fog. Some- 
times there are several coloured circles surrounding 
each other, with a common centre. 
The cause of these appearances seems to be the 
unequal refraction of the rays of light by passing 
through media of varying density. To a similar ori- 
gin may be ascribed those distortions and repetitions 
of objects near the horizon, called looming, which are 
occasionally witnessed even in this country, but in 
the northern seas are very frequent and amusingly 
fantastic. The ice around the horizon, either almost 
flat or varied only by slight irregularities of surface, 
will appear raised into a lofty wall, and the irregu- 
larities elevated into numberless spires or towers or 
pinnacles. Ships will have their hulls magnified into 
castles; or the hull will be diminished to a narrow 
line, and the masts and sails drawn up to a ridiculous 
length; or some of the sails will be unduly elevated, 
while others are as unnaturally flattened. But more 
singular than this is the frequent repetition of the 
object in the sky just above it. Thus above the 
spired and turreted wall of ice will be seen on the sky 
another wall exactly corresponding to it, but upside- 
down; spire meeting spire, and tower tower. Above 
a ship will be an inverted figure of the same ship, 
as palpable and apparently as real as the true one. 
This I once saw, in two vessels in the Gulf of St. 
M2 
