The occupant of the
chair was an exact counterpart of herself. All saw it and trembled,
but none dared to move towards the mysterious presentment of their
sovereign.
"After a moment of dead silence the great Catherine raised her voice
and ordered her guard to advance and fire on the apparition. The
order was obeyed, a mirror beside the throne was shattered, the vision
had disappeared, and the Empress, with no sign of emotion, took the
chair from which her semblance had passed away." It is a striking
barbaric scene!
"Spirits of the living" of this kind are common enough. In the
Highlands "second sight" generally means a view of an event or
accident some time before its occurrence. Thus an old man was sitting
with a little boy on a felled tree beside a steep track in a quarry at
Ballachulish. Suddenly he jerked the boy to one side, and threw
himself down on the further side of the tree. While the boy stared,
the old man slowly rose, saying, "The spirits of the living are strong
to-day!" He had seen a mass of rock dashing along, killing some
quarrymen and tearing down the path.
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