76 MILLER1TE MOVEMENT. [CHAP. V. 



A caricature, published at Boston, represented Miller, the 

 originator of the movement, ascending to heaven in his robes ; 

 but his chaplain, who was suspected of not being an enthusiast, 

 but having an eye to the dollars freely thrown into &quot;the Lord s 

 Treasury,&quot; was weighed down by the money bags, and the devils 

 were drawing him in an opposite direction. To keep up the 

 excitement, several newspapers and periodicals were published in 

 the interest of this sect, and I was told of several Methodist 

 preachers who gave themselves up in full sincerity to the delu 

 sion. I asked an artisan who sat next me in a railway car in 

 Massachusetts, whether he had heard any talk of the millennium 

 in his district. &quot; Certainly,&quot; he said ; &quot; I remember a tonguey 

 jade coming down to our town, and many women, and even 

 some smart, likely men, were carried away by her preaching. 

 And, when the day was past, Miller explained how they had 

 made a miscalculation, and that the end of the world would 

 come three days later ; and after that it was declared it would 

 happen in the year 1847, which date was the more certain, be 

 cause all the previous computations had failed, and that era alone 

 remained to satisfy the prophecy.&quot; 



In a subsequent part .of our tour, several houses were pointed 

 out to us, between Plymouth (Massachusetts) and Boston, the 

 owners of which had been reduced from ease to poverty by their 

 credulity, having sold their all toward building the Tabernacle, 

 in which they were to pray incessantly for six weeks previous to 

 their ascension. Among other stories which, whether true or 

 not, proved to me how much fraud was imputed to some of the 

 leaders, I was told of a young girl who, having no money, was 

 advised to sell her necklace, which had been presented to her by 

 her betrothed. The jeweler, seeing that she was much affected 

 at parting with her treasure, and discovering the object of the 

 sale, showed her some silver forks and spoons, on which he was 

 about to engrave the initials of the very minister whose dupe she 

 was, and those of the lady he was about to marry on a fixed day 

 after the fated 23d of October. 



The Tabernacle, above alluded to, was planned for the accom 

 modation of between 2000 and 3000 persons, who were to meet, 



