Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1891 — "PREACHER OF NATURE.” [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

"PREACHER OF NATURE.”

AReformca Prussian Soldier Who Believes In Dress Reform and a Simple Religion. Johannes Guttzeit, the so-called “preacher of nature,” who attracts considerable attention in the famous old city of Leipzig, is an ex-Prussian army officer, who has taken up his abode in that hotbed of German socialism. He is a tall, handsome man, and he affects a curious costume which excites amusement and astonishment alike in strangers. His shoes are heavy and low cut; darkgray woolen stockings reach to his knees; his trousers of white wopl cover the upper part of his legs, while a broad, loose gown of the same material falls almost to his feet. This gown is fastened about his body by two long rows of buttons and a waistgirdle of cloth. On his head, from which long hair falls to his broad shoulders, he wears at times a crown of leaves. Guttzeit was born in Koenigsberg, Prussia, in 1853, and was a member of a wealthy family. He early showed a liking for the life a soldier and entered the army in 1871. For a number of years he served as a lieutenant and differed little from his comrades. At the end of that time, however, he determined to quit the service in order to give to the world his religious and sanitary theories. He advocates a return to the simple life in vogue in the days of the apostles and is a strict vegetarian. He is a dress

reformer, an eloquent and impressive talker, a lyric poet of some ability, and his published works on his theories in religion and dress have had a wide circulation.

A SOLDIER TURNED PREACHER.