100 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. [Aug. 



human race. It teaches and 

 adopts a great number of super- 

 stitious tenets, and among; others, 

 thinks that it merits the favour of 

 God by inflicting tortures on men 

 and animals. The principal leader 

 of the sect is one Kloos, a tailor, 

 who has been continually going 

 about near Leipsic, preaching his 

 dangerous doctrines. He held 

 numerous meetings in the open 

 air ; he then preached in the 

 villages, and inspired his fanati- 

 cism into a great multitude of 

 persons. This sect would not 

 perhaps have excited so much 

 public attention had it not been 

 for its most fiery partisans, the 

 miller, Fischer, of BeyersdorflF, 

 and his wife, who committed, 

 from their fanaticism, a murder 

 imder horrible circumstances. 

 The leader, Kloos, had been 

 instilling his principles into them 

 for several days. They were 

 before persons of excellent cha- 

 racter ; but after remaining for 

 some days on their knees in the 

 open air, without taking any 

 nourishment but a few roots, they 

 believed themselves called upon 

 to make sacrifices. They declared 

 that they received a commission 

 to bury some children alive ; but 

 happily they were unable to ex- 

 ecute this frightful project. A 

 servant, called Flor, arrived at 

 their mill, at the instant when the 

 fury of Fischer and his wife was 

 in a state of the most perfect 

 exaltation. They looked upon 

 him as a victim whose sacrifice 

 would be agreeable to God. 

 They assassinated him in a horri- 

 ble manner, cutting off his hands 

 and feet, and then beginning 

 immediatelj' to sing and pray. 

 •A young miller for whom they 



had reserved the same fate 

 escaped from their hands by 

 flight. He described what passed 

 — the miller and his wife were 

 arrested — they boasted of the 

 deed they had committed, and 

 declared to the judge appointed 

 to draw up their indictment, that 

 God had given them a commission 

 to exterminate all those who 

 would not profess their doctrines, 

 because they were children of the 

 Devil. It will be observed that 

 these principles bear a near re- 

 semblance to those which the 

 famous Foeschl professed the 

 last year in Austria. It is like- 

 wise known that other fanatics of 

 the same sect projected fresh 

 assassinations. As soon as the 

 report of this event was carried 

 to Dresden, the Government took 

 measures adapted to the circum- 

 stances. Troops were despatched 

 to take military possession of all 

 the villages where the fanatics 

 were established. Informations 

 were taken against these who 

 excited Kloos, for it is said he re- 

 ceived his instructions from per- 

 sons who belonged to a better 

 class of society. As soon as 

 Kloos heard they were in search 

 of him, he took to flight, but he 

 was seized in the city of Meissen, 

 and has been for some days in 

 prison. 



The Cotton-spinners Address 

 to the Public. — " We, the Mule 

 Cotton Spinners of Manchester, 

 consider it a duty incumbent 

 upon us to address the public at 

 the present juncture, to contra- 

 dict the many false statements 

 and misrepresentations that have 

 appeared in the public papers. 



" We are stated in all the 

 papers to have turned out for an 



advance 



