ruptions of service, and sent back to Albany,
where he resumed his street-preaching more noisily than ever. He now
began to call himself Matthias, and claimed to be a Jew. Then he went on
a long journey to the Western and Southern States, preaching his
doctrines, getting into jail, and sometimes fairly cursing his way out;
and, returning to New York city, preached up and down the streets in his
crazy, bawling fashion, sometimes on foot and sometimes on an old bony
horse.

His New York city dupes, Elijah Pierson and Benjamin H. Folger and their
families, together with a Mr. Mills and a few more, figured prominently
in the chief chapter of Matthews' career, during two years and a half,
from May, 1832, to the fall of 1834.

Pierson and Folger were the leaders in the folly. These men, merchants
of wealth and successful in business, were of that sensitive and
impressible religious nature which is peculiarly credulous and liable to
enthusiasms and delusions. They had been, with a number of other
persons, eagerly engaged in some extravagant religious performances,
including excessive fasts and asceticisms, and a plan, formed by one of
their lady friends, to convert all New York by a system of female
visitations and preachings--a plan not so very foolish, I may just
remark, if the she apostles are only pretty enough!

Pierson, the craziest of the crew, besides other wretched delusions, had
already fancied himself Elijah the Tishbite; and when his wife fell ill
and died a little while before this time, had first tried to cure her,
and then to raise her from the dead, by anointing with oil and by the
prayer of faith, as mentioned in the Epistle of Saint James.

Curiously enough, a sort of lair or nest, very soft and comfortable, was
thus made ready for our religious humbug, just as he wanted it worst;
for in these days he was but seedy. He heard something of Pierson, I
don't know how; and on the 5th of May, 1832, he called on him. Very
quickly the poor fellow recognized the long-bearded prophetical humbug
as all that he claimed to be--a possessor and teacher of all truth, and
as God himself.

Mills and Folger easily fell into the same pitiable foolery, on
Pierson's introduction. And the lucky humbug was very soon living in
clover in Mills' house, which he chose first; had admitted the happy
fools, Pierson and Folger, as the first two members of his true church;
Pierson, believing that from Elijah the Tishbite he had become J