The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-03-14
TIE SECT CALLED THE nucKEas

VERY few people ever heard of this,
which existed in Prussia less than TWEEN
ty years ago. 1t began in and, about
Konigsberg. The Muckers were sect
who combined le@dnsss with religion
The name, Mueker, is said to be derived
from a local, or sporting term, indica-
ting the rutting season of hares The
conventicles of this sect were frequented
by men and women in state Of nudity !;
and to excite the animal passion, but to
restrain its indulgence, is said to consti-
tute their religious exercise. Many Of
the highest nobility of the province, and
two of the established clergy of Konigs-
berg besides citizens, artihcers, and la
dies, old and young, belonged to this
sect and two young ladies are stated
to have died from the consequence of ex-
cessiYe lubidinous excitement It was
no secret association of profigacy shun-
ming the light. It was a sect, according
to the declarations of Won Tippleskirch,
and of several persons of consideration
in Konigsberg who had been followers
of il themselves existing very excessively
under the leadership Of the established
ministers of Ven kubel Ebel and Diestel,
of Count Won Kamz, of a lady Yon S.
and Of other noble persons, and of sever
al of the citizen class; and it appears
that great part of the nobility Of the
province belonged to it. The Eoti3e Of
the governments was first attracted to It's
existence by complaint to the eonsits-
ory, Of Count Won Fink who had been
Jealous member of the sect, that the
minister Ebel, one of the pastors of the
city, and who was one of its leaders, had
attempted to seduce his wife, under the
pretext of procreating Messias The
consistory appointed two commissioners
to examine, and report to government
upon this business All that can be
gathered from the Allgemeine Kiroh-
enzeitung of 1886, and the historical
writings of that year, is that this horri-
BILE sect was spread so widely that Off
oiaI people were themselves slow In the
investigation of the matter, and that the
COUNTIES, who had disclosed the practices
of the sect was in fear from their fury,
and had to be protected by tho police
that very strict hierarchy existed in
the sect, that it was divided In three
classes, ard that the apprenticeship il
the first classes, must be accomplished
before the. reception into the second
class; and that the strictest trials were er-
quired for being admitted into the third
class, of which the members were called
by name of honour-that the doctrine
and practice of the Muckers were mix
ture of mysticism aud gnosticism, and
fanaticism and lust; and that the heroes
and heroines who had sustained the tri-
ais of their confluence or power over the
flesh, were rewarded with the serapllins
kiSS with which the. most abominable ex-
cesses were connected. The govern
ment wisely suppressed the examina-
tions and proceedings, although copies of
some of the first official reports and dep
ositions had got into circulation among
the curious, and the case was transfer
red from the local courts of the province
to Berlin for further consideration in
1887, but nothing since has been made
known to the public on the subject
The sect itself appears by DIR. Bretseh-
neider's account of it, to have been sc
generally diffused, that he says, |" II
cannot be believed that the public func-
tionaries were in ignorance of its exist
ence, but that they were afraid to do
their duty from the influence of the
many principal people who were involved
in it. In his honest Indignation he
proposes, as the only means Of extirpa-
ting it, that all religious meetings, all
conventicles, missionary societies, reli-
gious tract societies, and in short all
pious doings of the public among them
selves, should be put down by the state.
This remedy is a little too Prussian,
dreadful as the enormity is in civilized
country of such a sect having existed in
this age. 1t is only in the history Of
Otaheite, that its parallel can be found.
Laialg's Notes.