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 1 
 
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■s/ 
 
 ' ... 
 
 Li 
 

 s/ 
 
 A REVIEW 
 
 n 
 
 or THE 
 
 AWFUL DISCLOSURES 
 
 
 MARIA MONK. 
 
 IN WHICH THE PACTS ARE r.MRI.Y STATED, AND CANDIDLY 
 EXAMINED. 
 
 BY G. VALE, 
 
 No, 84 Rosevelt Street, New-York. 
 1836. 
 
 V%' 
 
«^<»i\C\"\ 
 
 6^//0 
 
 E;<TERF.n, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 183G, 
 by G. Vale, in the Clerk's office of the District of the Southern 
 District of New- York, 
 
 KA.'20 B35 
 
A REVIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DXSCLOSURXSS 
 
 or 
 
 WpfpaTtoo from The book, that Maria Monk related the sub- 
 .Y,n foTthe consents of the book to Mr Tappin in the Alms 
 « .ep. La that Sernati confirms this statement to us. We 
 House, antljnat f ""^ijy..,,; ^^ ^ ,t ^ t^ok Maria from out 
 
 ^'It'X House recevT her tes/imony and took her to 
 n n/,l« Zd reDresented her case to the British authorities 
 Se that ?hese obtained a manuscript copy of her statemerjt, 
 there, that inese ouia ^ suppose to the head of the 
 
 P 1 nfaTDeTartmen ^ti Son, and then wait for instructions : 
 ?rnr tha? amrter wa do not however expect any action, as 
 i^Z will S in thrBritish Government. Mr Hoyt,it appears 
 Tn Ss"'tuf rpJepa^ to publish this account from a seco^ 
 copy which he had preserved and applied to ^f ^^Vj^J^^ 
 
 L'Seir:. ffilen'Sfn ° tnllhi^e be.ie.e to be the 
 
 I 
 
 I I 
 
 I'. 
 
 i 
 
 .JSi'.*'^ ..i'iS* 
 
r-*'^'t' 
 
 Jj^aH^a;" 
 
 I ► 
 
 history of the book published by Howe & Bates, in which how- 
 ever, the nani'^ oi' IJoyt is not luentioiicd. The copy right it 
 npi)cais is securcil by «ne P. Gordon, and as far off as the Dis- 
 trict court uf Massachusetts; and beiii;; tlms secured l^y a person 
 not well known in New York, and in arutther state, wiii!e the 
 publishers where in this city, at first awaked our suspicion that 
 aU was not right: and we seriously doubled, if any such person 
 existed as Maria Monk, or the persons to whom she refers in 
 her book. From the Catholic Bishop of New York we first 
 learned that there were such convents as those named by Maria, 
 and that there was such a Bishop, and that such priests did 
 exist as she names in connexion with the convent ; thus confirm- 
 ing the ground work of Maria's story. Wo then visited the 
 chaplain of the AlrHs House, and from him obtained the fiict 
 that the contents of the book accorded with what she had told 
 him. Be also related, or rather we extracted from him the facts 
 we have j^iven in relation to Mr Hoiyt, Dr. Brownlee and the 
 Rev. Mr. Bourn ; the ohjcct of the latter gentlemen was to se- 
 cure an interest to Maria Monk in the work; while he speaks 
 also respectfully of Mr Hoyt, as deserving a remuneration for 
 the expense and trouble he has been at in making public this 
 affair. With the subject of the property we have nothing to do, 
 nor do we know that our readers have : but we have to do with 
 the contents of the book ; and so has every person in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 This book then, contains the following facts : That there arc 
 three convents in adjacent buildings in Montreal, and a semi- 
 nary very near the convents; these convents are the Congrega- 
 tional,the Black, and the Grey Nunneries ; the first devoted to 
 the education of girls ; the second to the caie of the sick, dis- 
 tributing bread and medicines ; and the last for the benefit of 
 the insane. The inmates are novices and nuns; the former 
 may at any time leave the convent, and are only admitted to a 
 
 {)art of the building ; the nuns of the Black Nunnery never 
 eave the building, but are admitted to all the rooms in the nun- 
 nery, and take oaths when they take the veil, which bind 
 them to obedience to thejpriests ; those of the Congregational 
 nunnery go out, and form the teachers for a considerable dis- 
 trict about the country. 
 
 Of the Black Nunnery we shall chiefly speak, for of that 
 Maria was a Nun, and she informs us that m addition to the 
 charitable object of the institution, that the nuns, about one 
 hundred and eighty, were all prostitutes to the priests, about 
 one hnndred and fifty, including those for a large district, mak- 
 ing the seminary in the neighborhood of the nunnery their 
 
5 
 
 home; that the decency of selection was not even observed, 
 but that promiscuous intercourse was earned into effect by bru- 
 tal force and cunning on the part of the priests and generally 
 by an unwilling consent on the part of the females, who me de- 
 ceived on taking the veil, when they expect to lead a Utc oi 
 chastity, but after taking an oath to obey the priests in ail things 
 are immediately unceremoniously informed by the Lady feupo- 
 rior.that that oath extends to prostituting their persons it re- 
 quired by the priests, who being priests, cannot sm ; and this 
 IS followed up by Maria informing us that on the very evening 
 of her taking the veil, that Father Dufrcne violated her per- 
 son and then two other priests, who treated her brutally j that 
 Father Dufrene again visited her on the same evenmg,anc con- 
 tinued with her till morning. She informs us too, that these 
 thin'^s are done in the most brutalizing manner, corrupting the 
 minS by the most extreme grossness; and when the females are 
 shocked by such conduct, they are informed that they must 
 consider it as the will of God, and that it is intended to niorti- 
 fv the flesh in them. The consequences of this extended sen- 
 suality, including all the priests and all the nuns m the black 
 Nunnery, is that a great many children are born in the year, 
 and Maria seriously informs us that these are at first baptised 
 and then murdered by strangulation, and privately buried or 
 thrown into a deep hole in the cellar, into which quick- me is 
 thrown, and a fluid poured in to take off the smell and destroy 
 th« body, bones and all. The nuns too, are murdered, if they 
 resist the will of the priests, or are known to wish to escape ; 
 andSMaria gives a minute account of one such murder, at 
 which she assisted. She declares too, that there was nearly a 
 uniform disappearance of an old nun with the appearance of a 
 new one, thus implying that the old ones are murdered, leaving 
 ve^y fTw to die a natural death : even one Lady Superior was 
 suddenly missing, and another appointed by t^ie bishop Ut 
 the Bishop, whom she distinctly names, she declares that she 
 lei him in one night by a private door, and passage which led to 
 the Superior's room, and that he lay with the Superior foi that 
 ni<'ht while Maria slept on a sofa in the same room. Fnests 
 fre°auently retire. Maria observes, into the Holy Retreat suppo- 
 sed by the world for prayer and meditation ; but which, Maria 
 declares to be a pretence, and that in those oases they are dis- 
 eased, and that inconsequence of their disease, n^^s^-^^dis- 
 eased also; and that when she left the convent, Father Tombau 
 was in the Holy Retreat. Even the times of confession are 
 said by Maria to be prostituted to voluptuousness ; and that the 
 priests corrupt the minds of young girls and novices at that pe- 
 
 '-.:ii''t^ .r»» 
 
$ 
 
 nod, by proposing quoations, implying the grossest conducl.and 
 by indulging in gross sensuality with nuns who go to confers 
 .ilone into a room with them. 
 
 The Seminary, we remarked, is the receptacle of the prinsts 
 all around the counay, nnd from that place they visii the nun- 
 rcry for the purposes now mentioned: Marin, too, assures us 
 that a subterranean passage leads from the seminary to the nun- 
 nery.and that another Itvids from liiu Conijregational Nunnery to 
 the Black, and that nuns from the former establishment visit the 
 other for improper purposes. Thus Maria mokes the broad as- 
 sertion that the whole establishment is a brothel for the priests, 
 who indulge in gross sensuality and murder without compunc- 
 tion. ' 
 
 These facts, if true, cannot be too extensively circulated, and 
 if false, the baseness of publishing them should be unmasked; 
 especially as respectable names on both sides are connected with 
 the publication, though no such name is attaclied to the Iwok ; 
 and if the truth be doubtful from the manner of getting U|) the 
 book, then the simplicity of those who have assisted Maria in 
 getting up the book, should be made manifest, and some other 
 persons more competent should tiike up the subject, and produce 
 such proofs of the above facts, if belicvea true, as would be in- 
 controvertible. 
 
 THE GENERAL ASPECT. 
 Gross as the charge is, as made by Maria Monk, there is cer- 
 tainly a consistency in the whole ; and therefore the probability 
 IS, that the whole is either true or false, with exception of indi- 
 vidual cases : if all the priests are given to gross voluptuous- 
 ness, then that spirit would be seen in their corrt'essions of young 
 girls, as explained by Maria : children would be born, and must 
 be disposed of; while the fear of exposure would even suggest 
 the murder of anyone who should attempt to escape ; for one 
 crime leads to another : but that the old nu7is should be killed, 
 or mysteriously disappear as young ones are introduced, ex- 
 ceeds credibility, ai least at first sight ; for if the idea was pre- 
 valent in the nunnery, surely the old nuns would seek to escape, 
 and an exposure would have taken place long ago. In the case 
 of the old nuns, the account exceeds that of any tale of the 
 wor«t ages of the church, or when royal protcstant and reallv 
 interested commissioners had authority thoroughly to investi- 
 gate nunneries ; the utmost extent of their reports was that they 
 discovered so7ne convents where the priests and nuns were whol- 
 ly given up to voluptuousness : it was never pretended that all 
 the nunneries were in this state; or that all the priests were thus 
 
I' 
 
 corrupt; an;! never, as \vr. recollect, thnt the oltl nuns were dc- 
 sl.ovcd,'— this iH certainly i modern discovery. 
 
 "VVc think it witliin th- angje ol possihility that a whole coni- 
 niunity of priests, pos.scssinir sini^lc l)lfssediicss, in coniiiiiinion 
 witii women simiiurly siluatcd;should roirupt the women, hound 
 hy oaths to obey in all things; and we tlunk a youn^ priest so 
 sitUi»l«Hl, tVeqiicntly cuid'cssinir a heautifid yomi<; nun siiiularly 
 sitnate(j'iri u room where none duied to enter; that in most ea- 
 ses the nalnral pussi-.ns would i)irvail over every other leehn- . 
 but that all the nun t siiould enter in i-norance <t this stale ul 
 thin^^s, and expecting the mortification of such passions, and 
 the exercise of personal piety, that these should bo immedialely 
 inmiersed into invuluntury volui)tuonsntssof the grossest kinil, 
 involving childniurder inantieipiUion, and ih:it several <d' these 
 shouh! not make their escape and declare it to the world, is al- 
 most incredible; (specially as most of these yjunjr women are 
 really very pious, iind in sincerity take the veil ; that such per- 
 sons shoidd so act, without ne«iuenl ell'orti; tu cscai.e, greatly 
 increases the incredibility. 
 
 There is indeed one view by which we may suppos'; the con- 
 vent at montreal more corrupt than others ; and that is the fact, 
 that '' • '■ ■">' a vvith the French at a very corrupt period, and 
 the <. 'ng in'o the hands of the British after the lit loi - 
 
 ' the purii'ying inlluence of those searching 
 - •iiich transfer took place before the French 
 d also, the equally purifying eilects of thai 
 is a counter balance it is now und.;r the 
 ;rlul and ellective Protestant Guverrnneni, 
 sumumded by r.w.estants, (new colonist,) and a neighl-'! , 
 the independuntrrotestant United States; thus aflording means 
 of protection to any individual who sl.ould make disclosures. 
 The British Government often oppre s some for policy; but 
 they do afford complete pr )tection to wh^t are called their sub- 
 jects, from injury I)y other subjects, however powerlul : the 
 Morgan murder, an<l the murders in the South, would not have 
 been committed witli imi>ut,ity, under the powerful protection 
 ofthc British Government. The Truth oftlie book however 
 depends upon oth^r circumstances ; thu.s— 1. is xVlaria Monk 
 credible for tacts, where her eviuencc could have no colatcral 
 support'? 2. What evidence does ^:he oficr in her power to 
 obtain besides her own 1 '.). Is there such an accordance beiween 
 the several of parts of the detail, as to establish thepresumjition 
 of truth 1 In the absence oi almost all external evidence we 
 
 mati 
 
 time 
 
 Itcvo 
 
 great 
 
 protectio 
 
 
t 
 
 shall investigate ihc internal, by examining iho above qucs- 
 
 h Maria Mank credible for fad a v/herc her evidence could hdve 
 no colntrral support. 
 
 After Muria had been as a fiuvico in the nunnery for/owr ©r 
 five years, (averai(cd 4i) she left the nunnery without leave, 
 
 and bernme an assistant teacher in a common school. Weshall 
 now quote apart from the book itself. — 
 
 " While eniiraged in this manner, 1 becam.' acquainted with a 
 man who soon proposed marringe ; and your« - and ignorant of 
 the world as 1 was, I heard hLs ofFer.s with tUvoai . On consult- 
 ing with my fiiend, she e.xpresscd a friend!)- interest for me, 
 advised me against taking such a step, and especially as I knew 
 little about tlie man, except that a report was circulated un- 
 favourable to his character. Unfortunately 1 was not witta 
 enough to listen to her advice, and hatjtily married. In a few 
 weeks, I had occassion to repent of the step I liad taken, as the 
 report proved true— aieport which I thoujrht justified, and in- 
 deed required our seperution. After I had been in St. Denis 
 about three months, finding myself thus situated, and not know- 
 ing what else to do, I determined to return to the Convent, and 
 pursue my former intention of becoming a Black nun, could I 
 gain admittance. Knowing the many inquiries that the Supe- 
 rior would make relative to me, during my absence before leav- 
 ing St. Denis, I agreed with the lady with whom I had been 
 associated as a teacher, (when she went to Montreal, which 
 she did very frequently,) to say to the Lady Superi r I had 
 been under her protection during my absence, which would sa- 
 tisfy and stop furtner inqury as I was sensible, should they 
 know 1 had been married, I should not gain admittance." 
 
 Thus we find Maria a married woman /or a fctv wetks, with- 
 out stating who is her husband, and what were the peculiar 
 circumslanccs of her separation : and she distinctly informs us 
 that she entered the convent under false pretences, previously 
 arranged ; in which she induced her friend to act a part : and 
 thus fixes upon herself the character of a rfdikm/eZ?a/-. Her 
 motive, too, for entering the convent is no higher than " not 
 knowing what else to do" she does not appear to have been even 
 in distress, and being on friendly terms with her iateimployer 
 who even lied to serve her, we s'uppose she might have return- 
 ed from her few week's marriage to her school again. By this 
 means Maria procured admittance into the nunnery, for tne 
 third time, on which occasion she thus speaks:— 
 
 k= 
 
 
 .^i.1- 
 
"The money usually rociuircii Tor the inimifsion of noviccR 
 hadnut. brt'u i.x|»et.lGil tiuiii iiu . 1 hml lu cu a<iii»ilU;d ihf lirsl 
 lime wilhdiil any :iuih rcciuisiiion; hut now I chose lo p-vy it lor 
 my je-itdmisiiiuii. I knew tliat fslio (ihe t?U|ti!rior) \v,is able to 
 dispense vvitlisu(;h ii diinand as well in iLisaa llieloi..K'r case, 
 and she knew thai 1 was not in possession ol'a.jy llung like the 
 sum she requireu 
 
 Bui 1 was bent on paying to tlie Nunnery, and aceustomed to 
 receive the doctrine often repeated lo me before that lime, that 
 when the advaiUa^^eof the cliurcli waHCinisulted, the steps tak- 
 en were juslihable, let them be what they would. I ihorefoif, 
 resolved to obtain money on false pretences, conhdcnl, that if 
 all were known it would '" *• r from displeasing the Superior. 
 I went lo ihe brigade i ■ ': -, and asked him to give me tlie 
 money paya'jle to my mu.aer from her pension, wliich amouiil- 
 U) about thirty dollars, and without questioning uiy authority 
 to receive it in her namt , he gave me it. 
 
 From several of her friends I obtained small sums under the 
 name of loans, so that altogether I had soon raised a number 
 o' OL'.ndH, with whith I hastened to the INuiniery and deposited 
 a part in the hands of the Sup<-rior. She received the money 
 with evident satisfaction, thoHgh she must liave known that I 
 could not have obtained it honestly ; and I was at unce rc-ad- 
 mitted as a novice." 
 
 Now unfortunately Maria Monk, establishes her character by 
 this portion of her *)Ook we have extracted as a thief, extending 
 her depredations to several of her friends, and undertaken deli- 
 berately for no very pressing object : Maria attempts to palliate 
 this conduct h^(mcrthiii\\\\.\X the Superior 7Am.<:/ have known the 
 money dishonestly obtauied, and, thus making her as bad as 
 herself; but this is ciearlythe assertion of an acknowledged thief 
 and liar: the Superior may be as bad as herself, we are not dis- 
 posed to defend her, but tiie proof is certainly wanting. Maria 
 in another paragraph insinuates that this conduct is agreeable 
 to the religious docirines or instructions she had received, and 
 that if ai^ were known it would " be far from displeasing the 
 Superior." This we must remark, really savors of Protestant 
 inlluerce in getting up the book ; it looks very much like a Pro- 
 testant suggestion : we are not partial to Catholicism, but in 
 moral honesty, Catholics appear o.i a level with oth jr,;, varying 
 like other people with circumstances. In pages 8i and 8f), 
 Maria shows that she was instructed in lying by the Superior, 
 and that she voluntarly lied to deceive the friends of liie Novi- 
 tiats, and in page 82 and 83, she shows that the priests instructed 
 
 \ ■,' 
 
 
^^"^ 
 
 10 
 
 her in lying and in Ihe distinction between a religious lie and 
 a wickca lie : and in various parts of the work, she shows that 
 she habitually lied, sometimes in conjunction with a nun called 
 Jane Ray, and sometimes on her own account, for her own 
 benefit. Now put together her mysterious few week's marriage, 
 her deliberate deceptions, her obtaining money from several of 
 her friends as well as her mother's pension by deception, her 
 acknowledged habitual lying in the convent, and the little prin- 
 cipal which induced her to enter that establislmient on the third 
 time, and the conclusions we must coma to, is, that Maiia Monk 
 is a weak unprincipled woman whose single testimony cannot 
 be depended on. We proceed now to the second questions. 
 
 What evidence does Maria offer, within her power ^ or that of 
 her patrons, besides her own ? 
 
 The answer is, none, from one end of the book to the other 
 there is scarcely a single reference that is accessible, confirm- 
 ing any important point in the book ; and yet there was the 
 means of obtaining iome, and if this some had been procured 
 it would undoubtedly have led to other cvid ,nce : if however no 
 attempt has been made to support her testimony by other evi- 
 dence, there are some indirect references, from which we glean 
 a little, and which in the hands of an intelligent and diligent 
 person, would have been the means of ferreting out the truth, 
 if the truth was desired. In p. 2^4, Maria shows that Mr.Con- 
 roy the Catholic priest of this city, called o.x her in the Alms 
 House, but that she declined to see him j she declares he called 
 several times, and that he waited once an hour in a room where 
 sbr sometimes was, but still he never saw her; that finding 
 she declined seeing him, he sent to her several messages by one 
 or more Irish or other women, and among other things these 
 messages contained the following, " That I (Maria) need not 
 think to avoid him, for it would be impossible for me to do so. 
 That I might conceal myself as well as I couid, but I should be 
 found and taken." He informed her too, " that he had receiv- 
 ed full power and authority over me (3Iaria) from the Superior 
 of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal." She says at length, 
 that she agreed to see him in the presence of Mr. T. (Tap :u 
 the chaplain) or Mr. S. " which however was not agreed tt..' 
 She concludes by saying, tJ^at she heard that Mr.Conroy conti- 
 nued to visit the house: 'once,' she remarks, ' I had determ. fl- 
 ed to leave the institution, and go to the Sisiers of Charity ; I ut 
 circumstances occurred which gave me time for further rellic- 
 tion ; and I was saved jrom the destruction to which I should 
 have been exposed,^' The last line was marked in italics just 
 
as we have done. Now here we have an indirect reference ; 
 Mr. Conroy is mentioned, and Mr. Tappin referred to. We 
 have not seen Mr. Conroy, we find it unnecessary, for we get 
 better testimony. Mr. Tappin, the Chaplain, informed us that 
 he believed the book true " except in the case of Mr. Oonroy, 
 that there were a few things said about hun that were not cor- 
 rect; that Maria Monk was surrounded by a set of idle vaga- 
 bond women, who to frighten her i Id her all manner of tales. 
 
 If these are not the exact words, they are the exact sense ; 
 and thus we find that the 07ily fact we have the means of test- 
 ing is a lie ! in which Maria is supposed to have been deceived 
 by a set of idle vagabond women ; and this certainly suggests 
 the possibility of her having bean deceived in other parts, by 
 perhaps a set of idle vagabond men. Mr. Tappin too tells us 
 that Mr. Conroy never was there an hour, but that he called 
 perhaps several times, and as she would not see him he declin- 
 ed callin«': this precisely accords with the bishop s sttitement 
 to us on "the subject, and therefore we conclude this account 
 correct; and Mr. Tappin's testimony extremely honorable to 
 himself, whatever may be his opinions. When Mr.Hoyt went 
 to Canada with Maria, he had a fine opportunity to test some 
 points of importance, and these as we before observed, would 
 necessdrily lead toother discoveries: and if he neglected such 
 an opportunity of strengthening her testimony, it satisfies us 
 that either he dared not make the inquiry, or was incapable of 
 getting up the work, with what assistance he got. In page '^,, 
 Maria relates that «^irZ told her of certain mdeceneies of a 
 priest when at confession, she aftei^vards repeals, p. 29, that 
 several young women told her similar stories and that these 
 agreed with her own experience : yet not one of these girls are 
 named, who are not said or supposed to be nuns ; and these 
 could have been sought out, and this part of her testimony sub- 
 stantiated, and thus have rendered probable other parts, m 
 coHnection with this fact. In p. 28, is the account of the mur- 
 der of a young beautiful squaw, by a priest, who ran away, 
 and whose bloody knife was found near the body ; but the wame 
 of the girl is not given. In p. 113, is an account of a horrid 
 and brutal murder of a young nun, St. Francis, who had been 
 abused by some priests, and had imprudently spoken of escape, 
 and determined not to yield to prostitution This woman was 
 murdered in the presence of Maria and a large body of nuns, 
 the Bishop, Superior, and several priests : her friends had been 
 informed that " she had died a glorious death, and some of her 
 heavenly expressions were repeated :" yet St. Frances was well 
 known to Miss Louise Bosquet, of St. Denis, the school mis- 
 
 ' ii 
 
 mmmmm 
 
^-**^ 
 
 ■'«%S»«#ite' 
 
 fl 
 
 n 
 
 li 
 
 12 
 
 tress with whom Maria had lived : through her, Mr.Hoyt when 
 in Canada, might have found her friends, v/ho had been cheat- 
 ed ; and they might have demanded a legal enquiry, under the 
 protection of the British Government; and in this way the truth 
 must have been confirmed : but Mr. Hoyt or Maria has given us 
 no such information, and if each individual wants to test the 
 truth, he must now go to Canada, and indict certain individuals 
 belonging to the convent upon the testimony of Maria an ac- 
 knowledged har and thief; but Mr. Hoyt could have done 
 this for the whole community, and thus established the truth of 
 his statements, and made his publication respectable: at the 
 same time too and from the same people, Mr. Hoyt could have 
 known the fact of hei few week's marriage, and thus have 
 tested other parts of her story. In page 16:5 Maria relates that 
 the Superior cheated an old priest, a little in liquor, by impos- 
 ing on him an old unsaleable ornament made in the house, and 
 adds, ' WE all approved the ingenious device, and assisted in 
 •deceiving him:' the ornament was charged to his account, and 
 he was obliged to have it. Now this priest is not named.but he 
 was acce.ssible to Mr. Hoyt, and as no man likes to be cheated 
 the facts could have been drawn from him, and then we might 
 believe that a Superior who would cheat, and avail herself of 
 the assistance of the nuns to assist in the cheat, that she mi^-ht 
 instruct young nuns to prostitute their persons: this would not 
 have been positive evidence for other parts, but it would go 
 lur to render other parts probable. Mr. Hoyt too, might have 
 had the child sworn to Father Phelin, parish priostof Montreal 
 and thus have brought the affair into court, and gradually have 
 brought out the truth : or he might have seen the holy father 
 privately, and if a liar in the case of Maria', he might have de- 
 tected it, for liars do not make a very straight storvwhcn closlv 
 examined. ^ 
 
 Now as Mr. Hoyt has done none of these things when he 
 might have done some of them at least. We conclude that 
 Maria has not snpported her testimony by any other, when 
 from her character, such support was essential to the credibil- 
 ity of the work. 
 
 Is there suck an accordance hchoecn the several parts of the 
 detail as to establish the presumption of the truth. 
 
 We noticed in the former part, that Maria had given no re- 
 ference to persons that were available; there is the same neg- 
 lect of dates, for which indeed she partly accounts, when she 
 says that m the nunnery dates were neglected, either by design 
 or accident. If Maria is sincere and her narrative true, this 
 omission of dates is very nnfortunate for her j but if she has 
 
-«*»i*s' -n.im- 
 
 18 
 
 not told the truth, the omission of dates may be designed on 
 her part: but it is hard to conceal the truth, and Maria com- 
 mits herself on the subject of her age, if Mr. Tappin is correct 
 in his supposition. In page 20 she relates that she entered the 
 Catholic school or School of tlie Nunnery, at ten years of age. 
 In page 30, she relates that she left the school after two years, 
 at which time she must have hc^vclve ; and befoie this pe- 
 riod she relates, p. 29, that snc heard at confession v/ords from 
 the mouths of priests, what slic cannot relate, and experienced 
 treatment corresponding; and that other females experienced 
 the same. On leaving the nunnery, Maria informs us that she 
 soon became dissatisfied, especially with her home, the parii- 
 culars of which are mo/ explained, and she concludes, " While 
 out of the nunnery J saw nothing of religion ; if I had I believe 
 1 never should have thought of becoming a nunp This expres- 
 sion struck us on first reading, as not natural to Maria, brought 
 up a Catholic, and who did not a short time since, even after 
 the manuscript W(.s written, acknowledge conversion. We 
 thought at first, and we think so now, that it savors of protes- 
 tant influence, and thus partly deteriorates the work. Being 
 as she says soon dissatisfied, (without designating the exact 
 time,) she entered the Black Nunnery as a novice ; after some 
 prudent delay, and caution on the part of the principals of the 
 Convent. Maria informs us, p. 43, that she left this convent 
 after a residence of about two and a half years; her expres- 
 sion as to time is this :— ' After 1 had been a Novice four or 
 five years, that is, from the time I commenced school at the Con- 
 vent, &c." that is, from the time she was ten years of age, and 
 hence she would be at the, time of thus leaving the Black Nun- 
 nery, fourteen and a half, taking the average of four or five 
 years. Maria left the Nunnery, it appears, without leave or 
 notice: admitting that no opposition would ha\e been made 
 to her departure, had she made her wish known. On thus lea- 
 ving the Convent in disgust at the behaviour of some of the 
 nun°s to her, she went to St. Denis, and resided at first as an as- 
 sistant to a young lady, her friend, who kept a common school, 
 and while thus engaged, she married, as before related, before 
 she was fourteen and three quarters, for at that period she had 
 been marrie(^ and separated from her husband, and returned 
 again to the Oihvent; as she remained at St. Denis only three 
 months altogether : we have before related how long she re- 
 mained married, and what meat s she used to get into the Con- 
 vent, and we now only notice it for the sake of the time. ' Noj 
 knowing what else to do,' she says, she again entered the Nun 
 nery, and soon after took the veil, as if she were a maid, and 
 
 ■SIMMHiMMPM 
 
14 
 
 *^.- 
 
 expecting to be devoted to chastity and religious duties, as she 
 herself says. Now in the title page, we find that she was a 
 nun two years, and this would make her not quite seventeen 
 when she left the nunnery with child by Father Pnelin, parish 
 priest of Montreal, as she says. She was admitted into the Alms 
 House, and delivered of a child last Autumn, as we were in- 
 formed by Mr. and Mrs. Tappin, the chaj)lain and his lady;- 
 and Mr. Tappin informs us, that ohe was then, when in the 
 Alms House, or when he was in the habit of seeing her, about 
 twenty-five years old : now allowing that she was six months 
 out of the convent before she was delivered, and that is the ut- 
 most she could be, for she left in horror of child-murder, as 
 she says, (and she could not be sure of being with child more 
 than six months before her delivery,) then her age would be ta- 
 king the average only, and that in favor of her statement, she 
 would then be seventeen years and a half at the time of her de- 
 livery, and now she would be about eighteen ; but Mr. Tappin 
 told us he thought her about twenty-five, and his lady sitting by 
 and hearing the conversation, made no correction ; and there- 
 fore she would now be twenty-five and a half, nn age much more 
 agreeable to the nature of the narrative than that of seventeen 
 and a half: but the two are incompatible. We have no interest 
 in this inquiry, nor do we suffer any influence: we called on 
 the Cath( ic Bishop, and we called on Mr. Tappin, as a strang- 
 er, and we left as we called, leaving in both cases our name, 
 but without expressing cither our faith or views, which indeed 
 were not then definite,as we were only enquiring after the truth. 
 Mr. Tappin may have been mistaken in the age of Maria, yet 
 we asked more iniin once, but not so as to awaken any curiosity: 
 we wanted to get the facts without awakening prejudice; and 
 we believe we did ; had he said eighteen, we should have pub- 
 lished it : and we now give the fact as the means of testing th« 
 truth. 
 
 If Maria is now eighteen^ it supports that part of her testi- 
 mony which refers to the time of her acquaintance with the 
 nunnery, and some of the transactions : if she is twenty-five 
 and a half, it destroys a part of her evidence. Our object is 
 truth, and this the means of testing it. "We have seen in some 
 periodicals lately, that she is estimated by appearance at about 
 20, by some who have just had apeep at her since her good for- 
 tune: the state of her feelings, her dress, an^ circumstances, 
 ■will make some difl'erence in the appearance of her age, and this 
 may account for the different estimates : but the chaplain was 
 herconfiidant, and was much with her. and the facts can be as- 
 
 ,■»*»■ '^ 
 
m 
 
 eertained, and ought to be ; and she herself ought to have mad« 
 this matter clear, it was withia her power. 
 
 Inconaeclion with her age are several facts: she musthara 
 been married at the early age of fourteer. and a half, yet thia 
 unusual early a?e is not noticed: she must have become a nan 
 between the ages of fourteen and fifteen or before she was fif- 
 teen ; yet she does not notice the fact, although she even notices 
 that the youngest girl entered as a nun was but fourteen ; and 
 when mentioning this fact we should expect a reference to her 
 own age, which did not much exceed it. Of that young nunshe 
 says she heard she was much ill-used by the priests, and died 
 in consequence. We can too scarciy conceive of the Lady 
 Superior instructing a young girl of 14, or 15 years of age, in 
 the practice of prostitution on \\p.v first taking the veil,as Maria 
 asserts,in connexion with the fact, of the girl's being pious and 
 sincere, and the institution a religious one ; this conduct exceed* 
 that of the most abandaned procuress or keeper of houses of ill 
 fame that exist in the most corrupt and volupluous cities in the 
 Old World: yet the thing is possible. In IMaria's case, who 
 entered, not knowing what else to do, and after a few weeks 
 marriage, the case might be different, and the e fleets different 
 upon her; but the Superior was deceived, supposed her a vir- 
 gin, and therefore we can sc:ircely credit this initiating in-jtrua- 
 
 tion. , . , . , . , 
 
 In page 62 Maria shows that on the day m which she tooK 
 the veil'p'ather Dufrene took her into a ''private apartment and 
 treated her in a brutal manner" two other priests afterwards 
 did the same that evening, after which Father Dufrene return- 
 ed and compelled her to pass the night with him. In Maria's 
 discriptionof the nunnery she mentions private rooms appro- 
 priated to corruptions, and even at confession when xnprivate^ 
 with the priest, while other nuns were outside each urging the 
 other to go in first, because of the consequences ; still the pros- 
 titution was in private ; and this is the general idea preserved 
 in the book ; yet Maria mentions singular exceptions, which if 
 true are not reconoileable with this general piivacy of the 
 practices referred to. fn page 35 there is a description of the 
 sleeping rooms of the novices: thus — 
 
 'The beds were placed in rows.without curtains or any thing 
 else to obstruct the view ; and in one corner was a small roortt 
 part tioned off, in which was the bed of the night-watch,that is, 
 the old nun that was appointed to oversee us for the night. In 
 each side of the partition were two holes, through which she 
 coull look out upon us whenever she pleased. Her bed was 
 a little raised above the level of the others. There was a lamp 
 
 ill 
 
16 
 
 4 
 
 
 hung in the middle of our chamber showing every thing to her 
 distinctly; and as she has no light in her little room, we never 
 could perceive whether she was awake or asleep." 
 
 Now there is no deliberate description of the nuns bed room, 
 but we learn indirectly that the apartment for the nuns is nearly 
 the same : thus, in page 64, speaking of the nuns she thus pro- 
 ceeds : — 
 
 " On Thursday morninir, the bell rung at halt-pass six to 
 waken us. The old nun who was acting as night-watch im- 
 mediately spoke aloud : 
 
 " Voici le Seigneur qui vient." (Behold the Lord cometh.) 
 The nuns all rcspoaded : 
 
 " Allons— y devant lui." (Let us go and meet him.) 
 
 We then rose immediately, and dressed as expeditiously as 
 possible, stepped into the passage-way at the foot of our beds as 
 soon as we were ready, and taking places each beside her op- 
 posite companion. Thus we were soon drawn up in a double 
 row the whole length of the room, with our hands folded across 
 our breasts, and concealed in the broad cuff's of our sleeves. Not 
 a word was uttered. When the signal as given, we al' pro- 
 ceeded to the community-room, which is spacious and took our 
 places in rows facing the entrance, near which the Superior 
 was seated in avergiere." 
 
 After repeating the various ceremonies of the day, iliaria 
 concludes thus : — 
 
 " Standing near the door, we dipped our fingers in the holy 
 water, crossed and blessed ourselves, and proceeded up to the 
 sleeping room in the usual order; two by two. When we had 
 got into bed, we repeated a prayer beginning with : 
 " Man Dieu, je vous donne mon coeur," 
 " My God, 1 give you my heart ;" 
 and then an old nun, bringing some holy water, sprinkled it 
 on our beds to drive away the devil, while we took some and 
 crossed ourselves again. 
 
 At nine o'clock the bell rung, and all who were awakeTe- 
 peated a prayer, called the offrande ; those who were asleep 
 were considered as excused." 
 
 Thus then it appears they slept in a body, a watch over them, 
 and a light in the room ; for the watch or guardian old nun, and 
 the exercises, supposes a light in the nuns rooms as well as in 
 the novices ; the parties in bed too were to observe silence. Now 
 Maria in page 145 after noticing the discovery of a secret passage 
 leauing from the Seminary, remarks, that she now saw how it 
 
ly^^^ 
 
 i7 
 
 n'as that priests appeared among them without her before know- 
 ing how they got in, and that tliey could " come up to the door 
 of the Superior's room at any hour, then up the staire into our 
 sleeping room or where they chose.^And often they were in 
 our beds before us." Wo must here remembar that the nuni 
 slept in a public ronm, with a li^ht and a watch ; that they re- 
 peated prayers,and those who were awake, renewed their pray- 
 ers one hour after they were in bed, and with the exception of 
 these prayers were to keep silence : now, if this grossness were 
 practised, which we can scarcely conceive commen, even in 
 brothels— if we can conceive of this public prostitution, in con- 
 junction too with the ceremonies of the sleeping room; then 
 we can see no necessity for any private or secret debauches ; 
 and yet the tenor of the book supposes, and expressly says, pri- 
 vate apartments were the scenes of gross corruptions. Maria 
 gives a fact in relation tu this shameful publicity of prostitution, 
 incompatible with the secret vice, and common prudence. She 
 descriDes, p. 149, a young girl having taken the veil, and the 
 name of St. Martin, sleeping on the first night nearly opposite 
 to her, that she shrieked out in ihu night, and that she disco- 
 vered the voice of Father Cluiblier, and several nuns assured 
 tier that that priest was there : the Superior commanded audi- 
 bly the young woman to obey. JNow that any experienced priest 
 shoulJ invade in a public room, *he bed of a supposed maid, a 
 pious girl, and not previously corrupted, except by the suppos- 
 ed recent instructions of the Superior, is improbable ; for there 
 was no possibility in public of his using successfully either per- 
 suasion or force ; and that Father Gtuiblier, i'" he had really 
 the experience ascribed to him, must have known. Lord By- 
 ron gets Don Juan into a situation something like that of Fa- 
 ther Ql. ; but Don J'un's lady, was one of the Turkish harem, 
 under restraint, with no religious feelings or recent vows of 
 chastity ; no previous bad spirits ; and yet with all this differ 
 cnce, Byron Qoes not make his hero succeed. Maria gives one 
 other case o£ publicity, and on this occasion she selects noble 
 game— the Bishop Latique and the Lady Superior. Maria 
 shows that while she was one night attending on the Lady Su- 
 
 fierior, and sleeping in her room on a sofa, a bell was rung, 
 eading from the street to the Superior's room : Maria was sent 
 along the well known secret passage to answer the bell, whea 
 she heard the signal hissing, used by all the priests at any lat« 
 hour; and tnis she answered by the usual ' Hum, hum,' and 
 then let in Bishop Latique, who finding she was a received, 
 that is a nun, directed her to conduct him to the Superior's a« 
 partment, which she did 5 he then " went to bed/ (with the su- 
 
 ■ 
 
 r«' 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 18 
 
 perior, we are left to suppose) ' drew the cu-tama behind him, 
 and 1 lay down on the sofa until morning, when the Superior 
 called me at an early hour, about day-light, and directed me to 
 show him (the Bishop,) the door." Now this Bishop story .be- 
 sides the grosshess of sleeping with the Lady Superior, while 
 Maria was in the room, involves other peculiarities which must 
 be remembered. That any but a received, or a nun, should be 
 acquainted with the secret passage leading to the outer door, is 
 not to be supposed, and hence the Bishop asked a foolish ques- 
 tion ; but these apparently foolish things, serve to detect the 
 truth; the other inferences we shall leave for the present. 
 
 In page 73 and following pages iV/aria gives a minute descrip- 
 tion of the intcreiior of the building, and ascribes several room* 
 to particular purposes ; among the rest, one for the nuns to give 
 birth to children in ; another for priests deseased from sen- 
 suality ; and a third for nuns aiFected by the diseased priests, 
 one for the baptism of infants before they are st.angled, and a 
 deep hole in the celler into which murdered bodies are thrown 
 on which quick lime and afterwards oil of vitriol is thrown: the 
 majority of the rooms however are forordmary purposes. Maria 
 sets her credibility on this description of tlie apartments,and this 
 is u very weak point, for the discriptioa of the room be correct, 
 excppt the purposes to which some of them are appropriated 
 and yet the tale of infamy wrong . Maria's best evidence is her 
 being with child, if it can be clearly shown that she became 
 with child while a nun ; and that as a Black JNun fshe never left 
 the nunnery, while priests alone where the only men permitted 
 to visit her and other nuns: this is good evidence and what 
 she could have estabhshcd to demonstration, if true: she could 
 have shown on what day she left the Nunnery, and that she was 
 with child at that time- and if the conductors of the Nunnery 
 could not show that she was turned out of the establishment 
 for iretling with child, by a breach of some order, the inference 
 would be that the father of the child was a priest j and Father 
 Phelin might be he as well as any other. If xWaria could not 
 recover dates while in the Nunnery, it is absurd to say she 
 could not remember the day she left it, and who she first saw, 
 and all the steps since till the birth of her child ; yes, you read 
 from the page 220 to the end about her leaving the Nunnery 
 and coming to New York up to the present time with out a sin' 
 gle reference. This l^ict we think condemns the book as false, 
 or the authors as men incapable of conceiving, collecting and 
 presenting i\\e proper evidence for such important facts ; Maria, 
 the publishers, and those who assisted her have only said she 
 was with child while a nun, and that none but priests had access 
 totheNunnery; she had it in her power *-> prove it: shehasnot 
 
^.•^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 19 
 
 done 80. and thus rendered the story dependant on a thievish 
 Ivini <'irl without leferences which would estabhsh her credi- 
 bility °even if a liar, and which references she might have 
 
 ^Tpa<^e 93 Maria says that three or four days after she entered 
 the INunnery, blie was sent for coal (charcoal) and she thus 
 describesherperilojsjouiney involving numyawlul particulars. 
 
 This charcoal >:xpedilion, is we think one of the most extraya- 
 eanl statements in the book.for Aiaria does not say sbe lost her 
 way she does nol 3ay that the dreadful hole which she discovered 
 was uncovered by accident, she does not say that it was unusual 
 to have charcoal in so inconvenient a place ; all is lelatcd as a 
 common statement of facts, and these are her words :— 
 
 " Three or four days after my reception, the Superior sent 
 me into the cellar for coal ; after she had given rne directions, 
 I proceeded down a staircase, with a lamp in my hand. 1 soon 
 found myself upon the bare earth, in a spacious place, so dark, 
 that I could not at once distinguish its form, o- size, but I obser- 
 ed that it had very solid stone walls, and was arched c.vci- 
 head, at no gieat elevation. Following my direction I proceeded 
 onwards from the foot of the stai, s, where appeared to be one 
 end of the cellar. After walkinj^ about fifteen paces, I passed 
 three small doors, on the right fastened with large iron bolts 
 on the outside, pushed into posts of stc:ne work, and each Imying 
 a small opening a'-ove covered with a fine g'ating, secured by a 
 smaller bolt. On my left, were three similar doors, resembling 
 these, and placed oppofite them. 
 
 Beyond these, the space became broader ; the doors evidently 
 closed small compartments, projecting from the outer wall ot 
 the cellar. I soon stepped upon a wooden floor, on which were 
 heaps of wool, coarse linen, and other articles, apparently de- 
 posited there for occasional use. I soon crossed the floor, and 
 found the bare t^arth as^ain under my feet. 
 
 A little further on, I found the cellar again contracted m 
 size, by a row of closets, or smaller compartments projecting 
 on each side. These were closed by doors of a dificrent de- 
 scription from the first, having a simple fastening, and no open- 
 ing through them. 
 
 Just beyond, on the left side, I passed a staircase leadiiiii up, 
 and then three doors, much resembling those first discribed, 
 standing opposite three mor" on the other side of the cellar. 
 Having passed tnese, i found the cellar again enlarged as be- 
 fore, and here the earth appeared as if mixed with some whitish 
 substance which attracted my attention. 
 
 ■ 
 
<H'^ 
 
 7 
 
 ! 
 
 fn'^^ ! ^L^Tl®'^' f r!'"'' '^^ whheness increase, until the sur- 
 face looked almos hke snow, and in a short time I observed 
 before me, a hole dug so deep into the earth that I could perceive 
 
 f»piv ""•.r.^''°f;P''' to observe it.-It was circular, perhipS 
 twelve or hfieen feet across ; in the middle of the cellar and m 
 
 K:iit^o^it:-r.tKai.^"^'^'^^ ^^^^-^ -^"'--^^^ ^- 
 
 The whit-! substance which I had observed, was spread all 
 over the surface around U; and lay in such quantity on all sides 
 that |t seemed ns d a great deal of it must have been thrown 
 mo the hole It immediately occurred to me that the white 
 substance was hn.e and that this must be the place where the 
 m ants where buried, after bein^; murdered, as the Superior had 
 inlorined me. I knew that the l.n,e is often used by Roman 
 Catholics in burying-places; and in this w.iy 1 accounted for 
 its being scattered about the spot in such quantiti. s 
 
 Ihis was a shockmir thought to me; but 1 can hardly tell 
 how It affected me. as I had already been prepared to eipec 
 dreadful things i« the Convent, unci had ui,<lergone trials wS 
 prevented me Irom feeling as I should formerly have die in 
 simdar circumstances. ^ 
 
 I passed the spot, therefore, with distressin'^ thoughts it is 
 true, aboitt the Uttle corp.es.' which miglu fa's in S «ocrit 
 
 bury ing-place but with recollections also of the .leciarations which 
 1 had heard about the favour done their souls by sending them 
 straight to heaven, and the necessary virtue accompanying all 
 the :»ctions of the priests. r / & 
 
 Whether I noticed them or not, at the time, there is a window 
 or two on each, nearly against the hole, in at which are some- 
 times thrown artic es brought to the.n from without, for the use 
 ot the Convent. Through the window on my right, which opens 
 into the yard, towards the cross street, lime is received trom 
 carts ; and I then saw a large heap of it near the place 
 
 Passing the hole, I came to a spot where was another proiec- 
 Uon on each side, with three cells like those 1 first described 
 Beyond them, m another broad part of the cellar, were heaps 
 of vegetables, and other things : on the left, I found the charcoal 
 1 was in se;.rch of This was placed in a heap against the wall 
 as I might then have observed, near a small liioh window like 
 the rest, at which it is thrown in. Beyond this^pot, at a Lhort 
 distance, the cellar terminated- 
 
 The top cjuite to thr.t point, is arched overhead, though at 
 different heights, for the earth on the bottom is uneven and in 
 some places, several feet higher than in others. ' 
 
 Not hking to be alone in so spacious and gloomy apart of the 
 
,,jMs«p 
 
 T 
 
 It IS 
 
 Content, especially after the discovery, I hftitened to return." 
 
 Now this extract is to us satisfactory ; Charcoal for daily 
 use never could be put in so inconvenient a place : the terrible 
 hole in the floor never would be left uncovered. This hole, 
 properly examined, serves to determine the whole questim : 
 the Catholic priests ouglit to submit this cellar to examination, 
 and Maria, Mr. Hoyt, and others who have piomottd this hor- 
 rible Disclosure, ought to be obligid to promenade this cellar, 
 and Maria out;ht to point out thf spot where this hole is, or was, 
 for if it be filled up, the spot will yet remain, and the filling up 
 must be distinguished from the other parts which h-we not been 
 disturbed : if this hole has not been disturbed, the contents at 
 the bottom slio .Id then be chemically and mechanically exam- 
 ined, and the remains of murdered humanity must be detected ; 
 for we find by an entry in a book, Maria says she discovered 
 with Jane Ray, that every month affords a new supply to the 
 amount of three or four children, besides the majority of old 
 nuns, and murdered young one.i, who may not submit to brutal 
 force or voluntary prostitution : but if the bod'es, bones and all, 
 be decomposed, then the result, or compound substance will re- 
 main, and tell a tale as true; for there is no deception in che- 
 mistry ; and if the bottom be dug out or altereu, a mechanical 
 or close investigation will discover such alterations, and afford 
 at least strong grounds for suspicion •, besides, the use to which 
 this hole is applied, must be explained. This hole, then, af- 
 fords the means of testing the truth of Maria Monk's and her 
 assistant's Htory. Should it be found true, the guilty should be 
 brought to justice and suffer the indignation of the public; and 
 should it be proved false, Maria and her guilty partners shrndd 
 be made to feel the pains and penalties due to calumniators of 
 the blackest die. As to the passage to the Seminary, and that 
 to the Congregational Nunnery, these might be sought after 
 too; but they would prove nothing material ; for these might 
 exist like the general order of the apartments, and be harmless: 
 the use to which they are alledged to be put, being only crimi- 
 nal. 
 
 The death of St. Frances, in the presence of the Bishop and 
 the Superior, five priests and many nuns, including Maria, who 
 took a part in it, as related in pages 114, 15, 16, 17, &c., is in- 
 credible; for why should it be so public; people disposed to 
 murder, seldom call witnesses, when the murder could b» ( qual- 
 ly well effected without it, and the old nuns, we are leu < un- 
 derstand, are quietly murdered ; whereas, Maria says, this St. 
 Frances was gagged^ thrown on a bed, covered by another, and 
 that tlien the priests and nuns jumped on the bed with much 
 
€r^ 
 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 
 ■atisfaction, till the victim was destroyed : the priest Bonin it 
 distinguished in this transaciioti as most ferocious, nnd Father 
 Richards is representt-d as wishing to save her. 
 
 Equally public are the children murdered, who are said to be 
 strangled by the old nuns, attrr being baptised. Mai ia says 
 she witnessed the (!cath of the twins of St. Catharine, but one 
 month after the death of St. Frances : and her pre.sonce appears 
 accidentjl, as if no cwre w.is taken either to conceal or fami- 
 liarize the nuns lo these scenes. One of the nunneries, we re- 
 mark too, took in foundlings; surely some of the children said 
 to be born in the Convent, might have found a safe assylum 
 there, wuhout recourse to unifoim murder. 
 
 In p. '219, &c. AJaria relates her escape, (without date, or 
 whom she first saw as before related) she shows the difficulty 
 she had !o escape, and implies that nuns cannot get out if they 
 would ; yet she shows in ano'her ptirt before referred to, that 
 priests come in at all hours in the night ; ring the bell leading 
 to the Superior's room; thai they make a hissing noise, and 
 that the nuns let them in after replying by ' Hum, hum,' in or- 
 der that they might not be deceived. She shows, too, that she 
 actually let in the Bjshop through this secret passage to the su- 
 perior's room, and let him out again by the direction of the Su- 
 perior. She had also access to all the i\ oms by her condition 
 as a nun, and sometimes slept in the Superior's room, as on the 
 very night she says the Bisiiop slept there: What difficulty 
 was there then in letting herself out 1 None, according to her 
 ovvn showing; and she and any other nun could go out at any 
 time with very little contrivance ; just as easy as she could let 
 in the Bishop and show him out. 
 
 If Maria was very young and not 2r) or 2C, as the Chaplin 
 supposes, then there is an immense difficulty is her having a 
 companion in Jane Ray, about 30 years of age : and in all her 
 actions with that female, which supposes a person of maturer 
 age, instead of a girl of fifteen or sixteen at most: her employ- 
 ments of reading to the novices &c. but ill comports with that 
 early age, for many of the novices must then be her superiors 
 in age,k!!0'-:cd -,and behaviour,as she does not represent herself 
 as be'.ng; extraoi nary in ability. 
 
 Maria relates that all the priests including a large dl trict of 
 country, are debauchees, and partake of the crime of murder, 
 by being actually engaged in it, or sanctioning ii, and that all 
 the nuns are profltitutes to the priests : and that thosmpf ; iie Con- 
 gregational Nunnery, or some of them visit the Black .unnery 
 through t^-. subterranean passage for improper purposes: now 
 the Nuns of the Congregational Nunnery Maria informs us are 
 the teachers all about the country, and surely some of these 
 
23 
 
 would have repent'^'l ami *'ave disclosed the secrets of the esta- 
 blishment; but no disclosures have been made by them. The 
 prests to(. ent' r oil their studies young ; and some rome from 
 abroad; and some are fonvcrtcd from other religions; some 
 may no doubt be very vvirkcd men, but that all shr)uld become 
 debauchees and murderers is inciedible: <il what time are 
 young and innocent students initiatod ; when arc (he foreigners 
 introduced into ih. sn abomioable corruptions 1 When arc the 
 converts made u tjuninted with ihes,;' new ovidcnces of the truth 
 of this religion. Father Richards is well itnown in this city as 
 a former Mohodist preacher, and as amanofgroaf humanity: 
 he it waswh, n-. isb' d to save St. Fnuicis, uiid this fact has be»n 
 pointed out to us by some lespcciiible Methodist as [iroof of 
 Maria's story: but if Father Richards was sincere in his con- 
 version, and retains his liumanity, and honesty, could ha sanc- 
 tion child murd r: cculd he sanction the murder xho. St. Francis 
 by his consent, and aficr silence, even though he did apparent- 
 ly wish to save her; oris this assumption of his wish to s-. 
 her put in to suit his former known (haracter: and thus in .;- 
 ftlity sets him ;;i,-ainst himself. A Methodist preacher and hu- 
 mane manb.^comes a Camidian Catholic priest, and then prac- 
 tice* adultery, and partakes in the murder of infants, refractory 
 nuns, and old nuns, to make way for new ones, but yet retains 
 his humanity, and wishes to save St. Francis: the thmg is ab- 
 surd: in the course of years there must have been some priests, 
 who would have been conscience smitten, and have divulged 
 the secrets : yet no priest, converted or not, has ever exposed the 
 supposed inhom.mitv iuid corruptions. 
 
 Throughout IMaria's book there is a marked Protestant tone 
 and inttu'cnce-, concealed indeed ns much as possible: we >iave 
 no objection to Protestantism; indeed we prefer it to Catholicism 
 in every form, but we must be impartial, and we mu^it admit that 
 there is throughout the book strong marks of Protestant in- 
 fluence and prejudiice, which sugs^est the idea that those who 
 assisted iVlaria were among that class who would wish the con- 
 tents of her book true. Marks of this kind will be found on the 
 title page, in the Scripture quotation; in p'M_'e !>9, wheie she says 
 " being'unaccustomeu to Protrxlant societ;/, she heard wo appeal 
 to the Bible," siee also puges 20, 21, 25 and 26, and 31. In page 
 101 she says she did'nlknow what I. H. S. means; this perhaps 
 was the case, but that she should evpre.«s it in the presi: ' tense 
 and not say that she had since learned it, from Mr. Ho, t, Dr. 
 . Brownlee or others assisting her in her book, shows a Protestant 
 wish to prove Catholic ignorance ; and an attempt to conceal the 
 author of the suggestion : in 209 is the same spirit, she is made 
 to say speaking of the liquid poured into the hole in theceller, 
 
^4 
 
 she " thinks the liquor was called vitriol or some such name ;" 
 ■he adds it will penetrate flesh and even bones ; now this soriie 
 such name, can only be explained by a contracted wish to make 
 outCutholic ignorance; as if any woman had never heard of 
 oil of vitriol, by itscominon name,and know its costic properties 
 The marks throughout the book of Protestant influence are too 
 numerous to note, for this the book itself must be seen. 
 
 We now notice a-ain that the book accumulates all that has 
 ever been said against tlie worst nunneries in the worst ages • 
 and makes even additioiis to them. We do not however think 
 it a reprint ; this accumulation of crimes in" one nunnery and 
 that she should witness them ail in two years, at a verv voune 
 aga, is a miracle. / / 5 
 
 We noticed also, that the book had no ostensible author or 
 responsible persons connected with it, but the publishers who 
 must make money, and could therefore afford the risk; Maria 
 IS irresponsible, from her character and situation , Mr Hoyt 
 has not put his name to it ; Dr. Brownlecand Mr. Bourne have 
 not publicly acknowledged what assistance they rendered • Gor- 
 don, to whom the copy-right is secured, was paid as an agent 
 we learij from Maria's present friends; and he is to receive a 
 small sura from each edition. Maria, too, was to receive $80 
 on every new edition of 1000, guarantend by the Harper's. We 
 have this from an attorney who saw the documont, and who 
 concludes unfavorably of Maria, from her rude manners in pri- 
 son, when she visited Hoyt there, and her familiarity with him 
 *' Hoyt, what has that fellow Conger against you ; you know J 
 have plenty of money; you shall not stay here an hour," were 
 among her femiliarities. Maria in distres; , in the Alms House 
 and with child, has turned these untoward circnmstances to ad- 
 mirable account, with the assistance of Mr. Hoyt who is not 
 now in repute, even by Maria's frie.ids. The Catholics should 
 prove, if possible, whtrc Maria was, if not in the Convent or 
 at once admit her residence ; the former may be difficult- but 
 Maria should have sworn the child to Father Phelin, and made 
 other individual charges, which must have brought on an ex- 
 amination ; and she should have given her history out of the 
 Convent, as the means of tracing her to and from the Convent 
 and fixing the fact of her being with child while in the Black 
 Nunniiry. She has net done so ; we have therefore no confi- 
 dence m her Narrative, in herself, Mr. Hoyt, Gordon, Dwi^^ht 
 the alledged editor, Mr.Bourne, or Dr. Brownlee, names unfor- 
 tunately connected with strong prejudices against Catholics 
 and with most intolerant spirits, ' 
 
 Just out M.Pt. 'Faaaticisvi,' or Narrative of habella, by G. V.