C 357 3 
XIV. Account of a singular Instance of atmospherical Refraction . 
In a Letter from William Latham, Esq. F. R. S. and A. S. to 
the Rev. Henry Whitfeld, B. D. F. R. S. and A. S. 
Read May 10, 1798. 
DEAR SIR, Hastings, August i, 1797. 
On Wednesday last, July 26, about five o'clock in the after- 
noon, whilst I was sitting in my dining-room at this place, 
which is situated upon the Parade, close to the sea shore, nearly 
fronting the south, my attention was excited by a great number 
of people running down to the sea side. Upon inquiring the 
reason, I was informed that the coast of France was plainly to 
be distinguished \yith the naked eye. I immediately went 
down to the shore, and was surprised to find that, even without 
the assistance of a telescope, I could very plainly see the cliffs 
on the opposite coast ; which, at the nearest part, are between 
forty and fifty miles distant, and are not to be discerned, from* 
that low situation, by the aid of the best glasses. They ap- 
peared to be only a few miles off, and seemed to extend for 
some leagues along the coast. I pursued my walk along the 
shore to the eastward, close to the water's edge, conversing 
with the sailors and fishermen upon the subject. They, at first, 
could not be persuaded of the reality of the appearance ; but 
they soon became so thoroughly convinced, by the cliffs gra- 
dually appearing more elevated, and approaching nearer, as it 
