“The reflected images were most distinct precisely opposite to where we stood, and the false cliff seemed to fade away, and to draw near to the real one, in proportion as it receded towards the west. This phenomenon lasted about ten minutes, or till the sun had risen nearly his own diameter above the surface of the ocean. The whole then seemed to be elevated into the air, and successively disappeared, giving an impression very similar to that which is produced by the drawing up of a drop-scene in a theatre. The horizon was cloudy, or perhaps it might with more propriety be said that the surface of the sea was covered with a dense fog of many yards in height, and which gradually receded before the rays of the sun.” An illusion of a different kind, though not less interesting, is described by the Rev. Mr. Hughes in his Travels in Greece, as seen from the summit of Mount Ætna. “I must not forget to mention,” says he, “one extraordinary phenomenon, which we observed, and for which I have searched in vain for a satisfactory solution. At the extremity of the vast shadow which Ætna projects across the island, appeared a perfect and distinct image of the mountain itself elevated above the horizon, and diminished as if viewed in a concave mirror. Where or what the reflector could be which exhibited this image, I cannot conceive; we could not be mistaken in its appearance, for all our party observed it, and we had been prepared for it beforehand by our Catanian friends. It remained visible about _ten_ minutes, and disappeared as the shadow decreased. Mr. Jones observed the same phenomenon, as well as some other friends with whom I conversed upon the subject in England.”