Sunrise- Shadows of Adam's Peak in Ceylon. 31 



author, in company with Mr. G. Christie and Professor Bower, 

 of the University of Glasgow, to make the ascent with great 



Fig. 1.— Diagram of the Topography of Adam's Peak. 



comfort and with a few necessary instruments. Our party 

 reached the summit on the night of the 21st February, 1886, 

 amid rain, mist, and wind. Towards morning the latter 

 subsided, but at 5.30 a.m. the sky was covered with a con- 

 fused mass of nearly every variety of cloud. Below and 

 around us cumulus and mist ; at a higher level, pure stratus ; 

 above that, wild cirro-stratus and fleecy cirro-cumulus. 



jSoon the foreglow began to brighten the under surface of 

 the stratus-cloud with orange ; lightning flickered to the right 

 of the rising sun over a dense mass of cloud ; opposite, a 

 light pink-purple illumined an irregular layer of condensed 

 vapour ; while above a pale moon with a large ill-defined corona 

 round her, struggled to break through a softish mass of fleecy 

 cloud. Below lay the island of Ceylon, the hills and valleys 

 presenting the appearance of a raised relief-map ; patches "of 

 white mist filled the hollows ; true cloud drove at intervals 

 across the country, and sometimes masses of mist coming up 

 from the valley enveloped us with condensed vapour, 



At 6 a.m. the thermometer marked 52° F. ; we had been 

 told that the phenomenon of the shadow depended on the 

 temperature at the summit falling to 30° or 40° F. ; and 

 when, shortly after, the sun rose behind a cloud we had 

 almost lost all hope of seeing anything ; but suddenly at 

 6.30 a.m. the sun peeped through a chink in the clouds, and 



