BUCHANITES, Milan-its, a sect of en thusiasts who sprung up at Irvine, in the west of Scotland, about 1783. Rev. Hugh White, the minister of a congregation of the Relief Church in that town, having been invited to preach in the neighborhood of Glasgow, Elizabeth Bu chan, the wife of a painter, was captivated with his eloquence, and writing to him, announced that he was the first who had spoken to her heart and requested permission to pay him a visit at Irvine, that the work of her conversion might be perfected. On her arrival she was joyfully received by the members of the con gregation, engaged without intermission in re ligious exercises, went from house to house, conducted family worship, answered questions, resolved doubts, explained the Scriptures, and testified that the end of the world was at hand and that it was the duty of every Christian to abandon the concerns of time and prepare for the reception of Christ. White was complained
of to the presbytery, by which he was deposed from his ministry. Thus a distinct party was formed, the meetings of which were commonly held at night, and on these occasions the new prophetess indulged in her reveries, styling her self the Woman of the Twelfth of Revelations, and White her first-born. Such gross outrage on the common sense of the inhabitants occa sioned a popular tumult, to save her from the fury of which the magistrate sent her under escort to some distance; after which, with her clerical friend and about 40 deluded followers, she wandered up and down the country, singing and avowing that they were travelers for the New Jerusalem and the expectants of the im mediate coming of Christ. They had a com mon fund, and did not consider it necessary to work, as they believed God would not suffer them to want. See BUCHAN, ELSPETH.