MATHEWS, OR THE GOD OF METAMORPHOSIS.
ARGUS had a hundred eyes, Briareus a hundred hands ; he that had most faces in all antiquity was Janus, and he had only two. The moderns have a being whose faces are not to be numbered on the fingers—his name is MATHEWS. The temple of this deity— for god, spirit, or dw-non he is—stands in the Adelphi, and there he is duly worshipped by thousands of devotees, who writhe with lang,liter under his altar, as the Hindoo fanatics do with pain under the wheels of the car of Juggernaut. The temple of Janus closed when all mankind were at peace ; the temple of MaruEws closes, and the facial muscles of his votaries relax, the drunken delight in their eyes evaporates, the bacchanalian jollity of their laughter subsides, and all is still. The world °' is at peace—the sides of men are no more troubled—the merry are at rest. It is only just now that the gates of the god MATHEWS are shut, and we may observe a visible change in the countenances of mankind. ARGUS had a hundred eyes, Briareus a hundred hands ; he that had most faces in all antiquity was Janus, and he had only two. The moderns have a being whose faces are not to be numbered on the fingers—his name is MATHEWS. The temple of this deity— for god, spirit, or dw-non he is—stands in the Adelphi, and there he is duly worshipped by thousands of devotees, who writhe with lang,liter under his altar, as the Hindoo fanatics do with pain under the wheels of the car of Juggernaut. The temple of Janus closed when all mankind were at peace ; the temple of MaruEws closes, and the facial muscles of his votaries relax, the drunken delight in their eyes evaporates, the bacchanalian jollity of their laughter subsides, and all is still. The world °' is at peace—the sides of men are no more troubled—the merry are at rest. It is only just now that the gates of the god MATHEWS are shut, and we may observe a visible change in the countenances of mankind.
The rites performed by this extraordinary sect of Mathewites- or grinners, or gigglers, as they are sometimes called—are curious,. and worth describing. Crowds of votaries flock through various narrow passages, and up and down divers flights of narrow stairs, until they arrive at a familiar who, shrouded in a concealed apart- ment, is only visible through a small aperture in the wall. With this mysterious person, symbols of different kinds are exchanged, according to the disposition, the means, or the rank of the votary; these symbols or countersigns, which are supposed to be sacrifices to the deity, are deposited with a lay priest or attendant on the threshold of the interior of the temple itself. On emerging into which, may be observed a scene of the most singular description, —a considerable amphitheatre of faces are ranged in close circles all round the front of the altar, behind which the god himself holds his station: the instant lie presents one of his hundred Faces to his worshippers, their features begin to exhibit a variety of con- tortions, their bosoms to heave, and their sides to shake, strange, unearthly noises all the time proceeding from the cavities of each thorax, and ascending to the roof in a kind of involuntary song. When these pliwn omena subside, t he god exhibits another of his faces, and instantly the same writhings of the frame are displayed on the - part of the assembled fanatics, and the same wild sounds rise to. heaven. The altar, which partly shrouds the figure of the deity, is a tall, narrow monument, covered with blue cloth ; two lamps perpetually burn upon it, and in some of its secret recesses it is probable the god preserves a portion of his necromantic charms. He may be observed from time to time sinking and dipping his godlike form behind the sacrificial flames, and drawing from the entrails of the monument robes of different qualities, ambrosial curls, and other articles of his divine costume, according to the in- carnation it is his pleasure to assume. The effect of these muta- tions of face and form is extraordinary. The intoxication of the fanatic suddenly rises to its highest pitch : eyes roll, tongues loll, lungs rattle, feet stamp, sides shake, the circles seem to join, to re- volve, to reel, to wave—all is confusion and uproar. The god, meanwhile, changes his faces with the rapidity of the lightning, and each change increases the madness of his worshippers. At the end of a certain period the deity vanishes, and the crowd takes breath : the pause is necessary for the conservation of their phy- sical strength, and to prevent the fatal effects of uncontrollable en- thusiasm.
It is only during certain moons that the god MATHEWS descends upon the Adelphi: it is not known in what part of the universe he abides in the interval—it is supposed that he roams about this or other planets in various disguises, and keeps a vigilant eye upon the ways of men and other planetarians. It is possible ankh* may-spend the interval in repairing someof- his rnmierous ism* or he may vanish in pity of his followers,—for certain it is, that if the worship continued during the entire year, "he would be the death of them."
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