of Edinburgh, Session 1868 - 69 . 
473 
storm gradually spread south-eastward over the whole Firth and 
surrounding country. 
Looking eastward towards the mouth of the Firth, while the 
weather continued very fine, I was surprised to observe that the 
northern edge of the cone of North Berwick Law, twenty-four miles 
distant, at about one-third of its slope from the summit, suddenly 
ceased, and had given place to a sheer perpendicular precipice, 
overhanging its base. At the same time the spit of land of 
East Lothian, which is usually seen to extend more than a mile 
from the Law towards the Fife coast, had disappeared ; the ocean 
had taken its place, and the overhanging precipice of the hill 
seemed to dip into the water. I carefully examined these appear- 
ances with a Boss’s telescope of very sharp definition, and could 
easily ascertain that there was no mist anywhere ; and the apparent 
precipice and apparentsea presented no character different from those 
of the true sky-line of the hill above, or the true sea north- 
ward from where Gfullane Point terminates the land as seen from 
my station. 
I then also noticed that what appeared to be the south point of 
Inchkeith as seen from Barnbougle, eight miles distant, had thrown 
out southward a^line of three detached rocks, with sea separating 
them from one another, and likewise with sea apparently passing 
under them, as if they were suspended in the air a few yards above 
the water; and that in like manner the water seemed, as it were, to 
have passed to some distance under the point of the island itself, 
raising a long low line of dark land a little into the air. It was 
impossible to put an end to this illusion with the telescope ; on the 
contrary, it w I * * * * * 7 as rendered more distinct and apparently real. 
