MATTHIAS

AND

HIS IMPOSTURES.

CHAPTER I.

Preliminary Remarks-Early Life of Matthews-Comes to New York, and acquires a Trade-Returns to the Country, and commences Merchant-Marries in New-York-Becomes a Bankrupt-Returns to his old Employment in New-YorkAgain retires to the Country-Removes to Albany-Religious Excitement-Becomes an ultra Temperance AdvocateGrows fanatical-Disturbs Public Worship-Flies from Albany in the Night with three of his Children-Excitement and Alarm-Strange Conduct-Arrest-Street-preaching in Albany-Changes his Name-Mission to the West and SouthAdvent in New-York.

"I HAVE always observed, that when people be come better than the Bible, they are very apt to be wrong." Such, recently, was the remark of one of the ablest and wisest of American divines, in refer ence to the ultraism of the day, in matters of philanthropy and religion, more especially in regard to the professions and practices of those who have been designated as "new-measure men," in the production and conduct of religious revivals. It was an observation full of wisdom. Nothing can be more dan

B

gerous in spiritual matters than tampering with the sacred Scriptures, either by adding to, or taking from, the simple letter of the written word, or wresting its plain and obvious meaning. That holy book proclaims, in the language of Robert Hall, "a doctrine, full, pure, perfect, to which nothing can be added without debasing its spirit, nothing taken away without impairing its proportions-committed to our trust to be retained and preserved just as we have received it." There is no passage in the sacred volume uttered with more tremendous emphasis than its solemn conclusion:-66 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book. of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book." This is a fearful denunciation. God has always punished, with the infliction of signal and lamentable delusion, all who have dared to claim for themselves immediate inspiration from Heaven;-they and their followers, like Theudas, who boasted himself to be somebody, have wandered into the wilderness of error;—it is well if they have not suffered the penalties of guilt.

And yet, notwithstanding the miserable end and overthrow of most former impostors and their schemes, with the exception of that stupendous delusion which yet stands a miracle in the Moslem power, the world is as full of them at this day of

it was.

Doasted intelligence, even among Christians, as ever Nor are they now, more than of old, confined to the professors of Christianity. Strange as it may appear, enthusiasm, fanaticism, and imposture have ever been as rife among those religionists whose crude belief was itself an imposition, as among those whose faith stands upon the word of the Eternal, and the truth of which has been sealed by the blood of His Son. Thus is imposture itself imposed upon, and the priests of falsehood, circumvented by those who are in reality no greater deceivers than themselves, are often cheated of their disciples, who, in their new delusion, are no more deluded than they were before. The Hindoo is cheated by the fakirs; the cool and philosophic Mussulman is deceived by the dervis; and even the unsophisticated pagans of the North American forests are carried away by the puerile incantations of their own medicine-men.

A history of religious impostures would form a library of itself. The human mind, in all ages and countries, and under all forms of government and religion, seems to have been wonderfully susceptible of delusion and imposition upon that subject, which, of all others, is the most important both for time and eternity. The court of Egypt was deluded by the impostors who undertook to contend with Moses; and the chosen people themselves, notwithstanding the direct disclosures which the Most High had made of himself in all their wonderful history, were prone to turn aside from the worship of the true God, to follow the lying spirits of the prophets of

Baal and other deceivers, from the days of Moses till the destruction of Jerusalem." The prophets prophesy falsely; the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so," was the testimony of Jeremiah. So likewise under the Christian dispensation, from the defection of Simon Magus to the wild delirium of Edward Irving, there have been a succession of Antichrists, until their name is legion-pretenders to Divine missions, the power of working miracles, the gift of tongues-perverting the Scriptures, "leading astray silly women," and men too,-destroying the peace of families, throwing communities into confusion, and firebrands into the Church, clouding the understandings and blinding the moral perceptions of men, and subverting the faith of those, even, whose mountains stood strong, and who had been counted among the chosen people of God.

Doubtless there have been instances in which the impostors have themselves been partially deranged -in which intense application, or much learning, may have made them mad-possessing, however, enough of method in their madness, like Edward Irving, to involve others in the same hallucinations with themselves. In other cases, as with the Puritans, and the persecutions for witchcraft in the early days of New-England, the actors have been impelled by strong but mistaken views of duty-verily believing that they were doing God service. But in a vast majority of instances, as with the recreant convert of Philip, the instruments of imposture have been full of all subtlety and mischief-children of

the fallen Son of the Morning. "In the last days," says the Apostle Peter, "there shall come scuffers, walking after their own lusts,"—" chiefly them which walk after the flesh, in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government; presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities; sporting themselves in their own deceivings, having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; for when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error; while they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption." And again the Apostle Jude admonishes us "to remember that they were foretold as mockers, who should be in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, nat having the spirit."

It is wonderful to observe with what precision these prophecies have been fulfilled by the clouds of impostors who have appeared-" spoken great swollen words of vanity," and fallen-since the inspired sentences were uttered. And it may be re

garded as one of the evidences of the truth of inspiration, that had the long array of apostates and deceivers actually stood before the sacred penmen at the time of their writing, their characters all naked before them, the likenesses, from the first Christian apostate to the sensual Mormons, could not have been drawn with greater fidelity. Whether among the number, and though last not least may be