I SUPPOSE you all have heard of the mirage, which is a delusion of the
eye, and which often deceives the poor traveller across the weary,
pathless desert. Sometimes, when the caravan is about to give up, and
lie down to die of weariness and thirst, they will suddenly feel their
courage revived by the sight, as they suppose, of a lovely oasis, with
lofty palms and silvery fountains.
Not long since I was reading an account of a whole regiment who when
the Egyptians first conquered Nubia were destroyed. The poor creatures
saw this mirage, and ordered their guide to take them thither. He
insisted that it was only the delusive mirage, and, in their anger,
they fell upon and killed him. The regiment then rushed for the
supposed lake. Faint and weary they hurried over the hot sands. Oh! how
those sparkling silvery waters allured them on!
But soon the cooling lake turned into sand! And the whole regiment lay
down on the burning sands, and when found by Arabs, sent to search for
them, they were all dead.
Now, dear little friends, there are some so-called pleasures in life
which allure us like the mirage--but let us not be deceived. Let us
choose the better part, which can never be taken from us. J.