Letters on Natural Magic; Addressed to Sir Walter Scott, Bart.Brewster, David
History
Letters on Natural Magic; Addressed to Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
Brewster, David
Scientific recreations
of the total elevation; and other vessels exhibited an appearance
totally different from all the preceding, being as it were compressed,
in place of elongated. Their masts seemed to be scarcely one-half of
their proper altitude, in consequence of which one would have supposed
that they were greatly heeled-to one side, or in the position called
careening. Along with all the images of the ships a reflexion of the
ice, sometimes in two strata, also appeared in the air, and these
reflexions suggested the idea of cliffs composed of vertical columns of
alabaster.
On the 15th, 16th, and 17th of the same month, Mr. Scoresby observed
similar phenomena, sometimes extending continuously through half the
circumference of the horizon, and at other times appearing only in
detached spots in various quarters. The inverted images of distant
vessels were often seen in the air, _while the ships themselves were
far beyond the reach of vision_. Some ships were elevated to twice
their proper height, while others were compressed almost to a line.
Hummocks of ice were surprisingly enlarged, and every prominent object
in a proper position was either magnified or distorted.
But of all the phenomena witnessed by Mr. Scoresby, that of the
_Enchanted Coast_, as it may be called, must have been the most
remarkable. This singular effect was seen on the 18th of July, when
the sky was clear, and a tremulous and perfectly transparent vapour
was particularly sensible and profuse: at nine o’clock in the morning,
when the phenomenon was first seen, the thermometer stood at 42°
Fahr.; but in the preceding evening it must have been greatly lower,
as the sea was in many places covered with a considerable pellicle
of new ice,--a circumstance, which, in the very warmest time of the
year, must be considered as quite extraordinary, especially when it
is known that 10° farther to the north no freezing of the sea at
this season had ever before been observed. Having approached on this
occasion so near the unexplored shore of Greenland that the land
appeared distinct and bold, Mr. Scoresby was anxious to obtain a
drawing of it; but on making the attempt he found that the outline
was constantly changing, and he was induced to examine the coast with
a telescope, and to sketch the various appearances which presented
themselves. These are shown, without any regard to their proper order,
in Fig. 34, which we shall describe in Mr. Scoresby’s own words: “The
general telescopic appearance of the coast was that of an extensive
ancient city abounding with the ruins of castles, obelisks, churches,
and monuments, with other large and conspicuous buildings. Some of
the hills seemed to be surmounted by turrets, battlements, spires,
and pinnacles; while others, subjected to one or two reflexions,
exhibited large masses of rock, apparently suspended in the air, at a
considerable elevation above the actual termination of the mountains to
which they referred. The whole exhibition was a grand phantasmagoria.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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