THE NEW FOREST SHAKERS.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1925, 5 March 1875, Page 2

THE NEW FOREST SHAKERS.

There has been a singular exhibition of fanatical piety in the New Forest, not far from, the place where Rqberfcv Owen once signalised his zeal by the attempt to establish a socialistic community. About two years ago a small estate was purchased here by;one Mrs Girliu% originally a Suffolk servant girl, who believed i»r- ■] self the subject of special revelations, and had succeeded by her enthusiaisAin attaching td' herself a conside'ral^Lixiy of disciples. The means^ were "supplied by aMiss- ;Wood, and' we r:aief informed that a sum of between, .e&OOQ.ami £5,000 was laid out upon the'property. - Thf . little community, included 20.men,anda much larger number of women' and children. They called themselves '.' Bible Christians," but as dancing was included in their worship, soon, obtained the name of "Jumpers," or "Shakers," though having no relation to the American sect. . They professed a celibate life, were vegetarians in diet, and in costume the women dressed after the bloomer model. Among other,rules was one forbidingthem to sell anything, and as a -natural, consequence^, their pecuniary affairs sqpn became it*l^* volved, the esfeite;wl^i mortgaged, and they could not, or "would'not, pay the iuterest. x After many warnings, they were last week evicted by the sheriff, but declined to go one step further than they were compelled, and bivouacked the first njgbt among their scafctened goods. Tt -was bitterly, coid, but they accepted the trial as from the Lord —sang^songs, and danced. As soon as the.circumstances were known, special correspondents hurried to the spot. According to one account/'* For about 50 yards each side of the road goods and . chattels were piled up against straw ricks, bean ricks, and furze. At 1 o'clock the Shakers assembled for . dinner, < 'which consisted of boiled carrots, potatoes, turnips, onions, and pumpkins, and after the meal was over they continued singing and praying till the ejectment was concluded at 5 o'clock. : One.woman danced for two hours without stopping for a- moment. They all looked half starved, having been living on one daily meal of vegetables for some time past. When ejected; they-all

clustered round ' dear mother Girling,' and when offered shelter, the women and children all refused to part with ' dear _„ motli'el^ The snovr was falling fast till 9 o'clock, vhen the rain iell in torrents. The children were sheltered in labourers' cottages ; "but the men and women passed the whole night in ' the road singing psalms, but haying nothing to eat. A A farmer sent a pail of milk in the morning, and another some bread and cheese. All were wonderfully cheerful, and glad to suffer, as thty said for Christ sake. The next day was spent in the same manner. A correspondent of the Daily News describes an interview with: Mrs Girling herself on the third day ,i— '* An tlderly brother told me a tale, of Iris:conversion by Mrs Girling*s "preaching, of his disposing of his Suffolk farm, of his unswerving belief in Mrs Girling, and of the near advent of the Messiah. ' Scriptual-. phrases thickly interlarded'"" the brother's conversation, and he was.ecstatic in his expressions of resignation and faith. A fair consumptive looking young man, and whom I afterwards found was his son, stood by to confirm all he said. Thus, the old, man would exclaim. •The Lord called me, and I went!' •Ah, that you did,'exclaimed the other; *we are; in Christ's fold";' /whereupon the son, shivering with cold, ?iid touching a broken blind roller with his foot, , said, 'We are so.' An intellectual-look-ing brother,,who. like the rest, wore his hair pretty long.behind his ears, and was plainly and comfortable dressed in a wideawake hat and cloth garments, had no objection to my seeing Mrs Girling, but drove with me to the barn, where with Miss Wood and the rest of the women, she had taken up her abode in a little mudwaUed cottage. A couple of brothers were waiting, and the mudwalled cottage was our hall of audience. Ihere was a fragrant wood fire blazing on the hearth, and comfortable it indeed was-with-the •wind blowing in the. garden trees outside, anct -shrieking" down tiie wide - chimney , place. Mrs GMing is a tall, thin, flashingeyed womanj'of apparently between 50 and 60 years of age, and to her the brothers and sisters alike paid' homage.' One of the men held up the small paraffin lamp which lighted the apartment, and 'mother dear'" whs asked in subdued tones of affectionate treaty: to sit in the chimney comer. With the shadows of the oak log flickering on our faces, we perhap* half-a-dozen in all, listened to her opinions and statements; * What shall we do next ?' Ah, we do not know. We only live a moment at a time, and cannot say what a day may bring forth. We never resisted the sheriff's officers; we have taken no notice of these proceedings of the law from the first I" The relieving officer of. Lymington subseqently arrested Mrs Girling as a lunatic; but after examination before the authorities, it was found that there were no grounds for detaining her, and she was set at liberty. By Saturday the greater part of the furniture and.effects had been removed, and the community had'taked. shell er in a barn at Baddesley.—Correspondent Australasian.,