Awful Disclosures | Page 5

or some other party. There
must have been a motive in either case; and that may be either to obtain notoriety or
money, to injure the reputation of the priests accused, or ultimately to remove the
unfavorable impressions thrown upon them by their former accusers, by first making
charges of atrocious crimes, and then disproving them. On the other hand, the story may
perhaps be true; and if so, the world ought to know it. In the meantime, here is an
unprotected, and evidently unfortunate young woman, of an interesting appearance, who
asks to be allowed to make her complaint, voluntarily consenting to submit to punishment
if she does not speak the truth. _She must be allowed a hearing._"
It is but justice to say that the investigation was undertaken with strong suspicions of
imposture somewhere, and with a fixed resolution to expose it if discovered. As the
investigation proceeded, opinions at first fluctuated, sometimes from day to day; but it
became evident, ere long, that if the story had been fabricated, it was not the work of the
narrator, as she had not the capacity to invent one so complex and consistent with itself
and with many historical facts entirely beyond the limited scope of her knowledge. It was
also soon perceived that she could never have been taught it by others, as no part of it
was systematically arranged in her mind, and she communicated it in the incidental
manner common to uneducated persons, who recount past scenes in successive
conversations.
As she declared from the first that she had been trained to habits of deception in the
Convent, and accustomed to witness deceit and criminality, no confidence could be
claimed for her mere unsupported declarations; and therefore a course of thorough
cross-questioning was pursued, every effort being made to lead her to contradict herself,
but without success. She told the same things over and over again in a natural and

consistent manner, when brought back to the same point after intervals of weeks or
months. In several instances it was thought that contradictions had been traced, but when
called on to reconcile her statements, she cleared up all doubt by easy and satisfactory
explanations. The course pursued by the priests of Canada and their advocates, was such
as greatly to confirm the opinion that she spoke the truth, and that they were exceedingly
afraid of it. The following were some of the contradictory grounds which they at different
times assumed in their bitter attacks upon her, her friends, and her books:
That she had never been in the nunnery.
That she had been expelled from it.
That she had fabricated everything that she published.
That several pages from her book, published in the New York "Sun," were copied
verbatim et literatim from a work published in Portugal above a hundred years before,
entitled "The Gates of Hell Opened."
That there never was a subterranean passage from the seminary to the nunnery.
That there was such a passage in that direction, but that it led to the River St. Lawrence.
That the drawings and descriptions of the nunnery, and especially of the veiled
department, were wholly unlike the reality, but applied to the Magdalen Asylum of
Montreal.
That several objects described by her were in the nunnery, but not in those parts of it
where she had placed them. (This was said by a person who admitted that he had been
lost amidst the numerous and extensive apartments when he made his observations.)
That the book was fabricated by certain persons in New York who were named, they
being gentlemen of the highest character.
That the book was her own production, but written under the instigation of the devil.
That the author was a layman, and ought to be hung on the first lamp- post.
That the nunnery was a sacred place, and ought not to be profaned by the admission of
enemies of the church.
After a committee had been appointed to examine the nunnery and report, and their
demand for admission had been published a year or more, the editor of _L'Ami du
Peuple_, a Montreal newspaper, devoted to the priests' cause, offered to admit persons
informally, and did admit several Americans, who had been strong partisans against the
"Disclosures." Their letters on the subject, though very indefinite, contained several
important, though undesigned admissions, strongly corroborating the book.
One of the most common charges against the book was, that it had been written merely
for the purpose of obtaining money. Of the falseness of this there is decisive evidence. It
was intended to secure to the poor and persecuted young female, any profits which might
arise from the publication; but most of the labor and time devoted to the work were
gratuitously bestowed. Besides this they devoted