UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 219 



\vith this observation, that the mirage is called 

 by the Arabs of the Desert, the lake of the 

 gazelles. 



I was anxious to learn something further on 

 this curious subject, and not knowing what books 

 to consult, I applied to my uncle. He tells me 

 that a species of mirage is very common at sea ; 

 distant ships seem grotesquely caricatured by it 

 either in length or in height ; and sometimes, over 

 the real vessel, an inverted picture of it appears 

 suspended in the sky, with the masts of each 

 prolonged, so as to unite. A similar effect was 

 observed in the desert by the French, in their 

 Egyptian expedition ; the villages appearing dis- 

 torted, or raised above their natural level, or as if 

 built on an island in the middle of a lake. As 

 they approached, the apparent surface of the 

 water became narrower and narrower, till it dis- 

 appeared ; and the same deceptive appearance 

 began again at the next village. But all tra- 

 vellers through sandy plains, in hot climates, 

 mention this kind of optical deception, and parti- 

 cularly that of its having the appearance of water. 

 Some of them, after having travelled for hours in 

 a burning desert, faint and exhausted, have 

 had their spirits revived by the sight of water, 

 and have eagerly pushed on to refresh them- 

 selves and their poor camels ; you may judge of 

 their disappointment when they perceived that it 

 was all illusion. 



V 2 



