166 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
XVI. — Mirage on the Queensferry Road. By Alexander G. Ramage. 
(MS. received July 8, 1918. Read July 8, 1918.) 
Most of us who have thought at all of mirage have thought of it as a 
phenomenon belonging essentially to distant parts of the world, such as 
the great Sahara Desert. Few of us would not be surprised to find it 
almost a daily spectacle on a familiar road so near our city. 
You may imagine my surprise when, in the early days of April of this 
year, while walking westward along the Queensferry Road, and when 
opposite the quarry at the north end of Corstorphine Hill near the point 
at which the Corstorphine Hill road joins the Queensferry Road, I saw on 
the surface of the road, at a distance of about one and a half the spacing 
of the telegraph poles (they are about 50 paces apart), what appeared to be 
pools of clear water reflecting the green grass and foliage very clearly, and 
further down the road other pools. As I watched, a white horse with a 
rider went along, and as it passed beyond the “ pools ” of the mirage water 
(the road being perfectly dry) it was reflected, with the effect that the 
horse appeared to be about twice its height, as if on stilts. 
The day was one of bright sunshine. As one walked toward the pools 
they vanished. The air over the road was “ dancing,'’ and the cross-bars of 
the telegraph poles and the white non-conductors to which the wires are 
attached appeared to be in a state of shimmering agitation. I retraced my 
steps, and came toward the phenomenon again. As it came in view, near 
the ground about one or two inches above, appeared dark flames merging 
into the “ dancing” air. The phrase “living water” might be used to de- 
scribe an appearance of the phenomenon. As the eye rose above this dark 
line (on other occasions a silvery band) the nearer pools appeared. Fearing 
I might be considered the victim of hallucination if I recounted what I 
had seen, I held my peace, but revisited the place regularly, and one day 
a young carter, who stopped to water his horse, and observed my genu- 
flexions (moving the eye up and down improves one’s observation of 
the phenomenon), asked me if I was looking at the water on the road. 
“ It isn’t there,” he observed. I explained to him he had seen mirage, 
and I felt relieved. I reported what I had seen to Dr Knott of this 
Society, then proceeded to get witnesses, with the following results : — 
May 31, 1918. Weather brilliant. 12.45 p.m. Sun hot, little cloud, 
