Prophets And Fanatics.

PROPHETS AND FANATICS .

Continued from page 107 . PELLAGRA is a cutaneous disease said to be prevalent in Lombardy , in the Landes of Bordeaux , and in several parts of France , the patients affected fancying themselves monks or priests , who are pursued by good or evil influences . In Italy tho delirium takes a religious form . Would it be wrong to assume that the fanatic whom I shall now mention was affected by some such disorder ?

The Second Messiah . —Simon Morin was born near Aumale . He published in 1647 a very foolish and extravagant book in which he attempted to demonstrate that he was Jesus Christ , the Second Messiah . This book proved his ruin ; he was imprisoned and afterwards liberated , but again imprisoned and condemned to be burnt alive , which punishment he suffered in 1663 . His accomplices were whipped , and branded , and sent to the galleys for life .

Fifth Monarchy Men . —Venner , a wine cooper , became a fanatical preacher , and persuaded his followers , who were called Fifth Monarchy Men , that the period of the Millennium was at hand , when Jesus would descend from Heaven and erect the fifth universal monarchy , and that all human government was soon to cease to make room for the coming of Christ and his saints . The Millenarians and other sects increased the growing discontent

against Cromwell . After representing this illustrious brewer and Charles II . as usurpers , Venner headed a mob and proclaimed the kingdom of Jesus , electing Jesus Christ king at London . This insurrection called for interference from the civil power , and the leveller Venner , together with twelve followers , who considered themselves invulnerable , were executed in 1660 , exclaiming that " if they were deceived , the Lord himself was their deceiver . "

A many-titled Prophet . —Quirinus Kuhlman , a famous fanatic of Breslau , was attacked at the age of eighteen by a violent illness , from which ho recovered with difficulty . But with returning health he displayed the wildest manners , and pretended to have held converse with departed spirits and aerial beings . He set himself up for a prophet and assumed more titles than an ordinary potentate . He went to Holland , where he came across

Jacob Boehmen's works , which like oil upon the fire , increased the extravagance of his reveries . Though devoted to spiritual affairs , he had some respect for the world , and like his prototype King Solomon , kept concubines , and extorted money from the credulous by threatening terrible vengeance if the people did not supply his wants . After wandering over England , France , and the East , he was stopped at Moscow and burned ( 1689 ) , on account of some prophecies which were interpreted as seditious .

The Buchanites . —This sect , calling themselves Buchanites , were followers of Margaret Buchan , the wife of a Glasgow workman . It was founded about the year 1779 , the fanatical leader gaining hundreds of adherents by promising to lead them to the new Jerusalem , and also by prophesying the immediate dissolution of the world . She and her followers travelled through portions of Scotland without any especial sustenance , being under the delusion that they would be' fed liko the birds of the air , and clothed like the lilies of the field . She died in 1791 , when her followers dispersed .

It is asserted that the climate of the East exercises a powerful influence over its inhabitants . M . Paul de Molenes says : " I always thought that the heavens beneath which the Arab spreads his tent were the most certain source of reverie which the human soul could imbue itself with . " I wonder whether the members of the sect which I shall next mention were similarly affected by climate .

The Stylites , or Pillar Saints . —Simeon Stylites , of Cilicia , in bis 13 th year left the vocation of shepherd for a monastery . With romantic zeal he became the founder of a new sect of solitaries , and exhibited himself to his followers on the top of a column sixty feet high , on the mountains of Syria . He died 461 A . D ., aged 69 , of which he had passed 47 on the top of his column , exposed to the inclemencies of the air and of the seasons , and often supporting himself for hours and for days on one foot . He had several followers called from the column , Stylites .

The Flagellants . — -About the middle of the 14 th century there appeared in Germany a sect called the Flagellants , or Whippers , * consisting chiefly of persons of the lower classes , who maintained that there was no remission of sins without flagellation . As they marched through the streets singing , they covered the head as far as the eyes , their looks being fixed on the ground . " They were robed in sombre garments , with red crosses on the breast , back , and cap , and bore triple scourges tied in three or four knots , in which points

of iron were fixed . On the first occasion of their public appearance at Spires thoy made a circle in a broad place before tbe principal monastery , and in the middle of it they despoiled themselves of their habiliments ; they then went round the circular space one after another , and in the form of a crucifix prostrated themselves , and commenced the practice of self-flagellation with scourges . It is said that some of the members were known to have expiated on their own backs the sins of others . A notorious leader named Conrad Schmidt was burnt in 1414 .

The Begards . —Speaking of the fanatical sect of Begards who flourished in the 15 th century , Jean Nider , in his " De Visionibus , " first printed at Strasbourg in 1517 , says : " There crept into Suabia , amongst a great many persons of both sexes , seculars and clergy , a heresy and an hypocrisy so enormous that I dare not disclose all the particulars of it , lest I should offend chaste ears . The persons ( tainted with it ) believe it is lawful to lie , break their engagements , to put innocent people to deatheven their own parents .

, They fast only when they have to eat with others . They use meat , milk , and eggs in Lent . They work in private on solemn festivals , and pass the other days in idleness . They hold in utter contempt the ceremonies of the Church , as works of men of animal instincts , aud not of spiritual minds . They place all virtue and perfection in a certain profound meditation , although they are

themselves very carnal , and live amongst themselves in a brutal manner , as I am well informed , and they boast of attaining such a high degree of perfection , that no criminality can be attributed to them . Hence is it that they make no account of the Pope ' s authority , and that of the other prelates of the church . And what is most lamentable is , they seduce stealthily into their disordinate courses persons ot quality—virgins and widows .

French Fanatic . —John William de Ruremonde , a French fanatic , believed himself to be inspired ( 1580 ) and commissioned by heaven to restore the Anabaptists of Munster , and for a while he collected adherents by encouraging them to pillage tbe rich , and by permitting polygamy . He was

Prophets And Fanatics.

at last seized , and condemned to be burnt by a slow fire . He suffered with astonishing fortitude , and two of his wives , imitating his example , shared his fate . The Adamites . —John Torrentius , a painter of Amsterdam , was born at Haarlem in 1589 . He was unfortunately so lascivious in his ideas , that he employed himself in delineating naked and obscene figures in the most

licentious and disgusting attitudes . Torrentius became founder of a sect oi Adamites § , and on account of his heretical opinions was seized by the magistrates , and tortured , his offensive pieces being burned by the hangman . He was released by request of the English ambassador , and went to London , where he resided for a few years . His profligacy being discountenanced by the English , he retired to Amsterdam , where he died in obscurity and contempt in 1640 .

The Labadists . —John Labadie , a famous Jesuit enthusiast , born in 1610 , was the son of a governor of Bourges , who was also gentleman in ordinary of the bedchamber to the French king . He made a very early advent into the Jesuit's college at Bordeaux , but was expelled for irregularities and hypocrisy . At Amiens , his doctrines soon collected a number of followers , and he became popular as a preacher , but his intrigues with the nuns brought disgrace upon him , and he retired to Toulouse . Here his

sophistry induced the nuns while in a state of nudity to listen to his spiritual teachings , but this imitation of Adam and Eve morality reaching the ears of the archbishop , Labadie was dismissed . The smirched character of the hypocritical Jesuit did not prevent his admission into the Protestant Church , where he seems to have been received with open arms , being quickly made pastor at Montauban , where he officiated for eight years . He afterwards went from place to place gaining many adherents .

Though austere in manner , and grossly sensual , yet he possessed such an insinuating address that ho easily made converts even of the most virtuous , amongst his warmest admirers being three ladies , named respectively Schurman , Bourignon , and Elizabeth , Princess Palatine , witb many others . The first mentioned , Anna Maria Schurman was an accomplished German lady born at Cologne in 1607 , who whilst a resident in France was visited by

the ducal Cardinal Richlieu , by royalty , and by many others of the highest rank , for she not only excelled as an artist , but was conversant with the learned languages , including Greek , Hebrew , Syriac , and Arabic , and also the modern tongues . She lived with Labadie at Altona , in Holstein , and when he died in 1764 , she soothed his last moments . Amongst her many works was " Eukleria , " being a defence of her attachment for the mystical enthusiast .

Some of the Labadist opinions were very remarkable . For instance , they contended that God could , and did deceive men ; that baptism ought to be deferred until mature age ; that the good and the wicked entered equally into the old alliance , provided they descended from Abraham , but that the new admitted only spiritual men ; that the observation of the Sabbath was a matter of indifference ; and that Christ would come and reign 1 , 000 years on earth . ( To be continued . ) The " Book of Rarities , " by Bro . Edward Roberts , P . M .

The Carlton Hotel.

THE CARLTON HOTEL .

THE attractions of London have recently been augmented by the opening of this—the finest of the many palatial establishments lately erected to cater for public requirements in the great metropolis , and one that is certainly destined to play no insignificant part in the future , among the leaders of fashion in our midst .

The Hotel occupies one of the finest sites in the metropolis , standing on the ground formerly occupied by Her Majesty ' s Theatre , at the corners of Pall Mall and the Haymarket , and is , without question , thc most modern and up-to-date in its arrangements , its equipment , and its decoration , of any Hotel in Europe . The Directors have spared no expense in securing all the most recent improvements which experience and ingenuity could suggest , for

contributing to the comfort and convenience of their guests . The establishment is under the management of Mr . C . Ritz , from the famous Hotel and Restaurant Ritz , in Paris ; and Mr . L . Echenard , of the Hotel du Louvre and de la Paix , Marseilles , and " Clubland " ; the important duties of the " chef de cuisine'' being entrusted to the well-known M . EscofHer .

Tbe facade of the exterior follows the linos of Her Majesty's Theatre , in accordance with the elevation prepared by the late Mr . C . J . Phipps . The architectural arrangements of the interior havo been carried out by Messrs . Florence and Isaacs , and the building has been erected , under their supervision , by Mr . Henry Lovatt , of Wolverhampton . The whole of the sanitation , heating , ventilation , electric lighting , decoration , and furnishing , were entrusted to Messrs . Waring , the well-known decorators , of the West

End . The aim of the decorators has been to produce a pure and refined effect , avoiding anything like richness and elaboration of ornament ; and relying upon purity of style and subdued tones of colour for the artistic result . The establishment consists of three departments , distinct but under the same management , —the hotel proper , a high-class restaurant , and a popular grill room . The entrance to the hotel proper is in the Haymarket ; that to the Restaurant being in Pall Mall .

On entering from Pall Mall , the visitor passes through a vestibule with cloak rooms , into the stately Palm Court . This noble apartment is in the Louis XVI . style , and may be described as a quadrangle covered in with glass . At the end , opposite to * the entrance , is a terrace reached by marble steps , on the same level as , and leading to , the " salle a manger . " The scheme of decoration in the Palm Court is at once luxurious and refined .

The walls are a rich cream colour , broken up with coloured marble pilasters with gilded capitals , supporting a cornice judiciously ornamented with gold . The terrace is fenced with a gilt railing of special design . The furnishing of this beautiful lounge consists of appropriate fauteuils , bergeres , settees , & c , with a profusion of oriental rugs ; and palm trees , as its name indicates , play an important part in the decoration .

The Restaurant , approached from the terrace , is a charming room in the Adams style , with pink marble columns . At one end of the room the effect of a moonlit sky is obtained by the employment of electric light behind glass windows . Tho wall facing the entrance is artistically treated with atreillage covered with climbing foliage , and mirrors which reflect the luxurious effects of the room . Tho colour scheme of the Restaurant is cream-white and old

§ A sect that imitated Adam's nakedness before tho fall , arose 130 A . D . They assembled quite nude in thoir places of worship , assorting that if Adam had not sinned , there would have been no marriages .