To understand the natural object from which the title of this little volume is borrowed, let the reader imagine that after traveling for hours across a trackless waste of burning sand amidst the arid deserts of the East, he has, when tormented by thirst, made the discovery that his supply of water has failed. The last muddy drops are eagerly drained, but the sensation of pain is only aggravated by the effort. Meanwhile, the eyes, the mouth, the ears are gradually filled with the fine sand of the desert until it is felt that a cup of cold water from the spring would be cheaply purchased by its weight in gold.
At this moment, when such is the traveler's tortured state of mind and body, he suddenly beholds an object which, to his surprise, has escaped his notice before. In the distance is seen a large lake; its banks are fringed with groves of verdant palm, its bosom studded with islets of refreshing green, while its water seems tenfold more inviting when contrasted with the burning solitudes around. Re-animated by the prospect, he presses forward, eager to quench his thirst. As he advances, a singular spectacle is witnessed, a strange phenomenon arises. The lake recedes as he approaches it. Again and again does he advance, but again and again does the object retire. At length, exhausted with fatigue, tortured by thirst and overpowered by excitement, he sinks in despair on the sand, discovering that all is deception, and that he has been chasing the mirage of the desert.
This remarkable natural appearance is an optical illusion, produced by the reflection of objects on the oblique rays of the sun refracted by the air, which is rarefied by the heat of the burning soil. It is apparently alluded to in the sacred Scriptures (Isa. 35:6-76Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (Isaiah 35:6‑7)): "In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water." The word translated "parched ground" is, in the original, of the same form as serab, the term which the Arabs in the present day employ when speaking of the mirage.
This curious illusion has been frequently witnessed by modern travelers. "In the distance," says one, "we observed the well-known phenomenon of the mirage. At one time it appeared to be a calm, flowing water, reflecting on its unruffled surface the trees growing on its banks, while some object in the background assumed the appearance of a splendid residence, amidst a grove of trees. At another time there appeared a castle, embosomed in a forest of palms, with a lake of clear water stretched between us and them.”
It is, however, when the traveler as represented above, is tortured by thirst that the deceptions of the Mirage prove most appalling. A remarkable instance of this occurred during the passage of the French army across the desert at the time of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. "When morning dawned," says the historian who describes the scene, "the army found itself traversing boundless plains of sand without water or shade, and with a burning sun over their heads. All the wells on the road were either filled up or exhausted. Hardly a few drops of muddy or brackish water were to be found to quench their thirst. In the midst of the general depression, a sudden gleam of hope illuminated the countenances of the soldiers. A lake appeared in the wilderness, with villages and palm trees clearly reflected on its glassy surface. Instantly the parched troops hastened to the enchanted spot, but it receded from their steps; again they pressed on with burning impatience, but it forever fled from their approach; and they had at length the mortification of discovering that they had been deceived by the mirage of the desert.”
Under the general term mirage are also comprehended various atmospherical illusions of a very interesting character. In particular climates, at certain seasons of the year, there are seen in the ocean and the sky representations of cities, groves, mountains, rivers, spacious plains, castles, arches, and rows of superb pilasters. Like some splendid phantasmagoria, they fill the spectator with astonishment and delight, then vanish into air, or assume, with the rapidity of a kaleidoscope, new combinations even more astonishing and beautiful than those which preceded them. Persons who have witnessed these phenomena have declared that they would rather have seen them than the most magnificent spectacles of art. One writer, describing them, states that the sea suddenly assuming the semblance of a polished mirror, was then, immediately, as far as the eye could reach, covered with a series of graceful arches, forming an apparently interminable vista. Some English voyagers in the Arctic regions were so enraptured with these splendid visions as to term the place where they were seen "the enchanted coast." "The general aspect of the coast," says an eye-witness, "was that of an extensive and ancient city, with ruined castles, churches, hills surmounted by turrets, battlements, spires, and pinnacles. Scarcely was one particular object sketched than it assumed a different shape. It was now a castle, then a cathedral or an obelisk. Then, with equal suddenness it would form a bridge with an arch some miles in extent, presenting an appearance of the utmost magnificence but of the most evanescent duration.”
Such, in different aspects, is the mirage of nature. With the last-mentioned species of it this little work has but a passing connection. Were poetical beauty, however, the object of our illustration, we might dwell upon it as under a lively emblem portraying the transitoriness of worldly things. As fades the mirage in the sky, so vanishes terrestrial glory, realizing the words of a poet—
“Where is the world in which a man was born?
Alas! where is the world of eight years past?
'Twas there—I look for it—'tis gone; a globe of glass,
Cracked, shivered, vanished, scarcely gazed upon
Ere a silent change dissolves the glittering mass.”
It is from the mirage of the desert that we propose to illustrate the Mirage of Life. Journeying like a pilgrim across the wilderness of this world, man thirsts for happiness. The Lord, in His Word, proclaims Himself the living Fountain at which alone this thirst can be gratified. Despising, however, His gracious invitation, the majority of mankind pursue false and illusive streams, which, promising as they appear in the distance, prove, when approached, deceptive as the mirage. One man is deceived by the Mirage of Pleasure; another, by the Mirage of Ambition; a third by the Mirage of Wealth. As each bubble bursts, a new one emerges, until death steps in and dissipates the illusion forever.
“In vain the erring world inquires
For some substantial good;
While earth confines their low desires
They live on airy food.
Illusive dreams of happiness
Their eager thoughts employ;
They wake convinced the boasted bliss
Was visionary joy.”
Such is the Mirage of Life—a title which we have selected as calculated, under a striking poetical emblem, to warn all, and especially the young, against the allurements of the world. The illustrations by which we propose to explain it will be a series of portraits of men of eminence, in various walks of life, who sought their happiness in worldly pursuits, without reference to the glory of God. Our aim, accordingly, will be to show—in some instances from their own words, in others from facts more striking than any language—that although these individuals drew the highest prizes in the lottery of life, yet, in forsaking the fountain of living waters, they failed to gain permanent happiness, and found their objects of pursuit, when grasped, only vanity and vexation of spirit.