Letters on Natural Magic; Addressed to Sir Walter Scott, Bart.

by David Brewster

In the following year, on the 23rd June, 1744, Daniel Stricket, who was then servant to Mr. Lancaster, of Blakehills, (a place near Wilton Hall, and both of which places are only about half a mile from Souterfell,) was walking, about seven o’clock in the evening, a little above the house, when he saw a troop of horsemen riding on Souterfell-side, in pretty close ranks, and at a brisk pace. Recollecting the ridicule that had been cast upon him the preceding year, he continued to observe the figures for some time in silence; but being at last convinced that there could be no deception in the matter, he went to the house, and informed his master that he had something curious to show him. They accordingly went out together; but before Stricket had pointed out the place, Mr. Lancaster’s son had discovered the aërial figures. The family was then summoned to the spot, and the phenomena were seen alike by them all. The equestrian figures seemed to come from the lowest parts of Souterfell, and became visible at a place called Knott. They then advanced in regular troops along the side of the Fell, till they came opposite to Blakehills, when they went over the mountain, after describing a kind of curvilineal path. The pace at which the figures moved was a regular swift walk, and they continued to be seen for upwards of two hours, the approach of darkness alone preventing them from being visible. Many troops were seen in succession; and frequently the last but one in a troop quitted his position, galloped to the front, and took up the same pace with the rest. The changes in the figures were seen equally by all the spectators, and the view of them was not confined to the farm of Blakehills only, but they were seen by every person at every cottage within the distance of a mile, the number of persons who saw them amounting to about twenty-six. The attestation of these facts, signed by Lancaster and Stricket, bears the date of the 21st July, 1785.

These extraordinary sights were received not only with distrust, but with absolute incredulity. They were not even honoured with a place in the records of natural phenomena, and the philosophers of the day were neither in possession of analogous facts, nor were they acquainted with those principles of atmospherical refraction upon which they depend. The strange phenomena, indeed, of the Fata Morgana, or the Castles of the Fairy Morgana, had been long before observed, and had been described by Kircher in the 17th century, but they presented nothing so mysterious as the aërial troopers of Souterfell; and the general characters of the two phenomena were so unlike, that even a philosopher might have been excused for ascribing them to different causes.

This singular exhibition has been frequently seen in the straits of Messina, between Sicily and the coast of Italy, and whenever it takes place, the people, in a state of exultation, as if it were not only a pleasing but a lucky phenomenon, hurry down to the sea, exclaiming Morgana, Morgana! When the rays of the rising sun form an angle of 45° on the sea of Reggio, and when the surface of the water is perfectly unruffled, either by the wind or the current, a spectator placed upon an eminence in the city, and having his back to the sun and his face to the sea, observes upon the surface of the water superb palaces, with their balconies and windows, lofty towers, herds and flocks grazing in wooded valleys and fertile plains; armies of men on horseback and on foot, with multiplied fragments of buildings, such as columns, pilasters, and arches. These objects pass rapidly in succession along the surface of the sea during the brief period of their appearance. The various objects thus enumerated are pictures of palaces and buildings actually existing on shore, and the living objects are of course only seen when they happen to form a part of the general landscape.

If, at the time that these phenomena are visible, the atmosphere is charged with vapour or dense exhalations, the same objects which are depicted upon the sea will be seen also in the air, occupying a space which extends from the surface to the height of twenty-five feet. These images, however, are less distinctly delineated than the former.

If the air is in such a state as to deposit dew, and is capable of forming the rainbow, the objects will be seen only on the surface of the sea; but they all appear fringed with red, yellow, and blue light, as if they were seen through a prism.

In our own country, and in our own times, facts still more extraordinary have been witnessed. From Hastings, on the coast of Sussex, the cliffs on the French coast are fifty miles distant, and they are actually hid by the convexity of the earth; that is, a straight line drawn from Hastings to the French coast would pass through the sea. On Wednesday, the 26th of July, 1798, about five o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Latham, a Fellow of the Royal Society, then residing at Hastings, was surprised to see a crowd of people running to the sea-side. Upon inquiry into the cause of this, he learned that the coast of France could be seen by the naked eye, and he immediately went down to witness so singular a sight. He distinctly saw the cliffs extending for some leagues along the French coast, and they appeared as if they were only a few miles off. They gradually appeared more and more elevated, and seemed to approach nearer to the eye. The sailors with whom Mr. Latham walked along the waters edge were at first unwilling to believe in the reality of the appearance; but they soon became so thoroughly convinced of it, that they pointed out and named to him the different places which they had been accustomed to visit, and which they conceived to be as near as if they were sailing at a small distance into the harbour. These appearances continued for nearly an hour, the cliffs sometimes appearing brighter and nearer, and at other times fainter and more remote. Mr. Latham then went upon the eastern cliff or hill, which is of considerable height, when, as he remarks, a most beautiful scene presented itself to his view. He beheld at once Dungeness, Dover cliffs, and the French coast all along from Calais, Boulogne, &c., to St. Vallery, and, as some of the fishermen affirmed, as far west as Dieppe. With the help of a telescope, the French fishing-boats were plainly seen at anchor, and the different colours of the land upon the heights, together with the buildings, were perfectly discernible. Mr. Latham likewise states that the cape of land called Dungeness, which extends nearly two miles into the sea, and is about sixteen miles in a straight line from Hastings, appeared as if quite close to it, and the vessels and fishing-boats which were sailing between the two places appeared equally near, and were magnified to a high degree. These curious phenomena continued “in the highest splendour” till past eight o’clock, although a black cloud had for some time totally obscured the face of the sun.

A phenomenon no less marvellous was seen by Professor Vince, of Cambridge, and another gentleman, on the 6th of August, 1806, at Ramsgate. The summits v w x y of the four turrets of Dover Castle are usually seen over the hill AB, upon which it stands, lying between Ramsgate and Dover; but on the day above-mentioned, at seven o’clock in the evening, when the air was very still and a little hazy, not only were the tops v w x y of the four towers of Dover Castle seen over the adjacent hill AB, but the whole of the Castle, m n r s, appeared as if it were situated on the side of the hill next Ramsgate, and rising above the hill as much as usual. This phenomenon was so very singular and unexpected, that at first sight Dr. Vince thought it an illusion; but upon continuing his observations, he became satisfied that it was a real image of the Castle. Upon this he gave a telescope to a person present, who, upon attentive examination, saw also a very clear image of the Castle as the Doctor had described it. He continued to observe it for about twenty minutes, during which time the appearance remained precisely the same; but rain coming on, they were prevented from making any further observations. Between the observers and the land from which the hill rises there was about six miles of sea, and from thence to the top of the hill there was about the same distance. Their own height above the surface of the water was about seventy feet.

Fig. 31.

This illusion derived great force from the remarkable circumstance, that the hill itself did not appear through the image, as it might have been expected to do. The image of the castle was very strong and well defined, and though the rays from the hill behind it must undoubtedly have come to the eye, yet the strength of the image of the castle so far obscured the background, that it made no sensible impression on the observers. Their attention was of course principally directed to the image of the castle; but if the hill behind had been at all visible, Dr. Vince conceives that it could not have escaped their observation, as they continued to look at it for a considerable time with a good telescope.