The Shasta courier., 1866-11-10
NUMBER 81.

certain death, for the queen. like her father,
was impacablo in her resentments?
In the reign of the Scotch Solomon, GUY
Fawkes was probably the most illustrious in
dividual for whom the hinges of Traitors
Gate creaked welcome. In the times of
Charles |, the Earl of Strafford was the great
est guest: in that of his son, Sir Algernon
SYDNEY and William Lord Russell were the
most distinguished victims of vile govern.
ment. James II sacrificed Monmouth, his
nephew, and in his precipitate fight down
the river, the last object upon which his
gaze rested was most likely Traitors Gate
way, and as he shudderingly looked, he bade
his boatmen bend more heartily to their oars.
That black gate was the last bit of royal
English timber which-h he arrogantly used to
call his own, which he was never again
destined to see.
In the reigns of the first Georges, the
Scotch rebels marched through the gate
with proud and defiant demeanor,
In a milder rel gn, as regards political Of
fences, Lord George Gordon, the madman
Wilkes, the so called patriot" who quiet.
ly subsided into the meek city chamber
lain; Horne Tooke, who did not come off
second best in his quarrels with Junius-
the battle being drawn one Sir Francis
Burdett, and other inferior political celeb.
rites, had repose from worldly contentious
through the hospitable shelter afforded by
the Traitors Gate
In our day it has been disused; and we
believe the only object it serves now is to
remind the observer of the revengeful
atrocities that were so often perpetrated
when British royalty disdained to respect
justice, and when men existed who deemed
10 1,,fvr u ,rIa for
the qualification of relentless monarchs, or
their abject and villainous advisers and ad-
herents.
REMARKABLE PHENoMENoN-A private letter
written by ST. Louis. soiourning in New
England, gives the subjoined description of
a wonderful phenomenon witnessed by himself
and others from the summit of Mt. Washing
ton on the afternoon of the 2Sth of August:
We were standing about an hour before
sunset on the southeastern portion of the
cone with our faces turned to the east, look
ing down upon the Glen House miles below.
Immediately in front of US rose the lofty
Carter ranges. which were occasionally hid.
den from our view by heavy masses of mist,
which, rolling up the mountain side, envel-
oped us at times, and then caught by q
changing wind, would float afar off down the
valley. 1t was while one of these floating
clouds was sweeping between US and the
Carter mountains, that we perceived at first
the faint tracery of rainbow, which grad
ually developing itself, expanded into full
perfection, with this exception only, that
instead Of being arched it formed perfect
circle. apparently fifty yards in diameter
Suddenly, to our inexpressible amazement,
we beheld our own figures photographed as
it were on the misty back ground which
formed the centre of the rainbow. So dis
tinct and perfect were the representations
that each one of the party readily recognized
their individual figure. Arms, hats and
shawls were freely waved by the party; fin.
gers expanded, and instantly each was re-
sponded to by figures in the clouds. This
phantom like picture lasted about minute,
and then was gone"
The figures Of the party were, as will be
noticed, directly in the misty back ground"
and the setting sun, whose rays were thus
Intercepted. The mountains beyond served
as the coating of the mirror The same ap.
pearances have. we believe, been witnessed
in the Catskill mountains. The famed
"Spectre of the Brocken," the highest sum-
NIT in the Hartz mountains, was a source of
superstitious fear with the German peasan-
try, to whom it furnished the subject of
egend. A gigantic human figure, believed
10 be a direful portent was at times visible.
Science has explained it as the image of the
observers own figure, produced by refrac-
ton and reflection and occurring whenever
certain atmospherical conditions and GER
tan elevation of the. sun coincide.-Scientitic
| Press.