THE FEMALE JESUIT AGAIN.*

Ir will be remembered, that in the Magazine for June last, there appeared an analysis of a remarkably interesting work, which had recently been published, under the name of "the Female Jesuit: or, the Spy in the Family." It was indeed a strange and eventful history. A young lady was received into the house of an Independent minister in London, under the character of a convert from the errors of Popery. She made her escape from a nunnery in the neighbourhood of London; and this account was the more probable, as Elizabeth, the sister-in-law of the clergyman, was waiting for her by appointment, and actually saw her come out from the walls of the ecclesiastical prison-house. She represented herself to be an orphan of an old and honourable family. Her name was Marie Clifford. She had received much of her education in convents upon the continent. Her uncle was an ecclesiastic of high rank in the Romish church. With him and with other persons she carried on a voluminous correspondence. She was in delicate health, and occasionally burst a blood-vessel, to the no small alarm of the hospitable family under whose roof she was a guest. It turned out, however, that she was a consummate impostor. This effusion of blood was procured by artificial means. Her correspondents had no existence in the world of matter. The letters she received from these imaginary persons were composed by herself, though in the handwriting of others. She was an incarnation of falsehood. When the imposture was discovered in June 1850 (having continued for about six months), she was shipped for Ostend, and instructions were given to the steward of the steamer to see her in a railway carriage to Ghent, at which place, she said, she had a friend who would take charge of her.

An account of this imposture was sent to the "Times." It was not inserted; and upon inquiry being made several weeks afterwards, the reason assigned was the extreme improbability of the story. A second copy was accordingly forwarded, attested by witnesses, which, however, shared the same fate as the first. Had the letter found admission into the columns of the "Times," the "Female Jesuit" might not have appeared. There is no reason to regret this circumstance. A sale of nearly four thousand copies in less than a twelvemonth is a proof of public interest, which is rarely the fortune of any work. It at once created a great sensation. Its fate was singular. It was pronounced by many to be a pure romance, an elaborate fiction got up to cater to the public tastes, when the country was heaving to its centre with the Roman Catholic agitation. A celebrated writer of fiction was of opinion, that it had no more reality than those tales which he is perpetually spinning out from his own brain. And it was only by slow degrees that the truth became known. Mr Luke was the worthy clergyman, whose kindness was so much imposed upon. And our favourite Elizabeth is a Miss Thomson, the daughter of a London banker. Truth is stranger than fiction. The "Female Jesuit" is a veritable story.

The past history of an impostor like this could not long remain undiscovered, when her deeds were recorded in a volume of such extraordinary interest, with her portrait in the frontispiece. The first information came from Mrs Jobson, the wife of a Wesleyan minister. She called upon Mrs Luke soon after the publication of the "Female Jesuit. Her tale was this in substance: On a Monday morning, in May 1847, a young lady called upon Mr Jobson, who was then stationed in Manchester. She was an orphan, the daughter of an officer, was under the protection and residing in the house of the Honourable B. Trelawney, of Plas Bower, in the north of Wales. She was acting as a governess to his children, and was at present upon a visit to the family of Major Ormond, at Didsbury. Being too late for the Roman Catholic service the preceding evening, she heard the sound of singing from a large chapel. She entered. Mr Jobson was preaching -the result was, conviction of sin. She came asking for spiritual instruction.

* A Sequel to the Female Jesuit; containing her previous history and recent discovery. By Mrs Luke, author of the "Female Jesuit: or, the Spy in the Family." Second Thousand. Patridge and Oakey, London, 1852. Pp. 207.

Her relations were all Roman Catholics; she was afraid of offending them. She shuddered at the curses of the Romish church. Still, the great question wasWhat must I do to be saved? Mr Jobson acted the part of a faithful minister. She left that week, and Mrs Jobson corresponded with her, in North Wales,-addressing her letters to Miss Lucy Grantham Gardiner, at the Honourable B. Trelawney's, etc. The correspondence was continued for some time; and the letters of Miss Gardiner have all that minuteness of detail which is the characteristic of female writers. Of course she has a lover, a Mr Wynne, to whom she was fondly attached, but whom she cannot now marry, in consequence of the change in her religious views. Poor girl! It was a sore trial of her faith. She made her friends two short visits during this period. In one of these she was told that inquiries had been made of a clergyman at Didsbury respecting Major Ormond, but that he had never heard of him. This was awkward. Soon they received a letter from her, to the effect, that she had ruptured a blood-vessel, and that Dr Jones of Chester was afraid the consequences would be fatal. A letter of christian sympathy was sent to Wrexham post-office, as before. It was returned. Dr Jones, when referred to, knew no such person. The Lucy Gardiner of Mrs Jobson was the Marie Clifford of Mrs Luke. The handwriting was the same; the likeness was the same.

The father of Marie or Mary G. was a farrier. She always called him a surgeon, which was true, in one sense. Her mother was a weak-minded woman, having a dangerous facility of inclining to any set of religious opinions which might suit her present interest. She laboured hard to give her daughter an education beyond her station in life. Marie did not profit by her advantages as much as she ought to have done. She was a selfish, giddy, and frivolous girl. Her earliest vices were lying and stealing. Her favourite occupation was novel-reading, from which, doubtless, she derived her desire to be thought a person of distinction, and to be upon a familiar footing with members of the aristocracy. Such a morning could scarcely be expected to usher in a bright day; and it was commonly supposed that this dark shadow of the future of her deceptions, combined with her present undutifulness, brought the doting mother to a premature grave. When about twenty or twenty-one years of age, Marie obtained a situation at Crewe Hall, Farndon, Cheshire, as governess to two little girls. This was about the year 1845. Here she commenced the practice of vomiting blood; but the surgeon did not pay much heed to the alarming symptoms, as he discovered that the substance was not blood. She acquired more dexterity afterwards in playing this trick. She remained here for two years, and gave satisfaction. She lost her situation merely in consequence of the death of the parents of the two pupils. It was during her residence in this family, and while still in the neighbourhood of Wrexham, that she commenced her correspondence with Mrs Jobson. Had it not been for the untoward inquiries with respect to Major Ormond, the probabilities are, that she would have succeeded in establishing herself in the house of the Wesleyan minister, as she did subsequently in that of Mr Luke. It may be mentioned, moreover, that Mr Luke was about thirteen years a resident in Chester. This explains the choice she made of him, when she went to London.

Upon the loss of her situation, she paid a visit to an aunt and uncle in Manchester, who were in comfortable circumstances. Opposite their house there lives a Mr Rix, a medical gentleman, distinguished alike for skill and benevolence. The two families were on friendly terms, and Mrs Rix sometimes asked Miss G. to spend an hour or two with her, an invitation which was cordially accepted. Here she became unwell, and Mr Rix attended her. Her uncle's house undergoing some alterations, temporary accommodation was found for her elsewhere. After a fortnight's residence with her new friends, she requested Mrs Rix, as a special favour, to give her a bed at her house for one night, as some relatives had unexpectedly come, and would occupy their spare room. The request was granted; and on the night of the 22d March 1848, she slept there for the first time. She did not leave it for more than two months. She becomes worse, and cannot leave. A letter comes from a gentleman in Manchester, of great wealth, expressing a desire that Miss G. would have every attention paid to her, and pledging himself that all expenses would be paid. Behold her now an inmate in the surgeon's family.

The symptoms of her malady prove perplexing. Another medical gentleman of high standing was called in. Marie was a mystery to him also. His remark, upon leaving the house, would indicate that the mystery was moral as well as physical. "You have got into a hobble, and I wish you out of it." The gentleman who had guaranteed the expenses of Marie, invited Mr and Mrs Rix, two or three times to dinner, on account of their guest. But something or other always occurred to prevent the dinners from being eaten. On one occasion, the host becomes suddenly unwell, and the dinner is postponed, as he is unable to receive his guests that day. On another occasion, Marie herself is seized with a vomiting of blood; her mouth and lips are streaked with blood. A letter of apology is written for their non-appearance; but Marie rallies almost as rapidly as she was attacked, and undertakes to send the note to its destination by her nephew. This was unfortunate. Perhaps it was more. But whatever suspicions might be entertained were soon put to flight. A lady moving in the highest circles of Manchester, calls upon her one day. She is visited by a clergyman of eminence. Presents of game, salmon, and other delicacies, suited to an invalid, are sent her by influential friends. Presents of jewellery make their appearance; and, at last, a Prayer Book and Bible, elegantly bound, with golden clasps, in a morocco case, is left for her, with a complimentary "note from Sir W. W. Wynne."

There is an end of all things, even of deception. A servant, one day, 27th April, finds below the upper mattress of the bedstead, used by Marie, a large number of letters and bills. Among them is found a vial of nameless ingredients. The servant assures her mistress that the guest is an impostor. A letter is found, from a personal friend of Marie, upbraiding her for falsehood and treachery. One sentence was-"Poor deluded Mrs Rix." When her husband came home, she said, "We have a swindler in our house. I am certain that Mary G- has been duping us all the time she has been our inmate." It was even so. The letter from the merchant, as to her expenses, was a forgery. The invitations to dinner at his house were also forgeries. These, and other letters, had been penned at her wish, and under her dictation, by several shopkeepers. The supposed gifts of fish and game were ordered from a neighbouring fishmonger, the presents of various articles of jewellery from Mrs Rix's own jeweller, and the handsome Bible and Prayer Book from a bookseller; and, it need scarcely be added, that none of them were paid for. Her visitors had also been duped. A bottle of bullock's blood is discovered in a small trunk, which explained the frequent vomiting. She is confronted with her uncle and aunt, but seems quite unmoved. Her brother, who is a veterinary surgeon in Southport, is sent for. A man of religious principle, he is distressed at the conduct of his sister, and says, that this is not the first time she had played a like trick. To prevent legal consequences, he becomes answerable to Mr Rix for the amount which was due him. She attempts an escape, but is taken by her brother to Southport. It was in May that she went to Southport. In November of the same year, she is an inmate in a London convent. The remainder of her history, till June 1850, is given in the “Female Jesuit."

What became of her after this period? What is her history after she embarked for Ostend from London? She arrives in Ghent, and seeks admission at the English convent. A few days afterwards she appears in Brussels, and calls upon an English abbé, well advanced in years, of great kindness of heart. She tells her story. She was an orphan, educated as a Protestant, but was solicitous to embrace the Catholic faith. She had been partly instructed by the Rev. Mr M'Neal, priest of "the chapel of our lady," in St John's Wood. She was advised to spend a short time in a convent, preparatory to her great task; and her physicians, moreover, had recommended a change of climate for her health. Her friends were aware of her intention; and her guardian, the Rev. Mr Duke, had seen her on board. From boisterous weather, the steamer had been driven upon a sand-bank (which was true), and the passengers were transferred to the Rotterdam cattle-boat. In the confusion, her large trunk, containing the greater part of her wearing apparel and cash, had been lost, or left behind; and hence she had to repair to Ghent with one small box. At Ghent and at Brussels she could not be received as a boarder, none being admitted above eighteen years of age. Fortunately she had

a letter of introduction to the abbé, from the Rev. Mr Bamler, one of the Roman Catholic priests in Spanish Place. This letter was a forgery.

It is so common for persons in distress to apply to clergymen of every persuasion, that no doubts were entertained by the charitable and unsuspecting priest. She found a temporary shelter in his house, in which, at that time, there was residing for a few weeks, an English lady, a valued friend. The great trunk, with its valuables, did not soon make its appearance; and Marie made herself quite at home, always professing to seek a situation in a Belgian family, but never seeming much in earnest about it. The English lady, who was her companion, regarded her rather as a shallow little boaster, than as being an adept in the art of deception. The habit which she had with all low-minded and under-bred people, of being in the hall or the stairs, when the postman is expected, that the correspondence of the household may pass through their hands, was noticed a good deal, during her residence at the abbe's; but it was set down as impertinent curiosity. On the 23d July, she was baptized as a Roman Catholic, in the church of St Gudwle, Brussels; being her third conversion to Popery in six years. She was introduced here to a Mr and Mrs Seager, was transferred to their care, and continued under their protection for upwards of fourteen months. Mr Seager had been a clergyman of the Established Church of England. In October 1843, he joined the Romish church; and Mrs Seager followed a year afterwards. With them she removed to Bonn.

In Bonn, she flattered herself that she was safe from all pursuit ; and she once more commenced, upon a large scale, a correspondence with the dear friends of her past years. Mr Seager had published a pamphlet on Romanism, and she informs him that Miss Thomson (our friend Elizabeth), had embraced the Catholic faith, in consequence of the perusal of this admirable treatise. Her cousin, Lady Charlotte (the christian name of Mrs Thomson, mother of Elizabeth and Mrs Luke, was Charlotte), had subsequently become a convert, and so had Mrs Luke's nurse. Miss Thomson and Lady Charlotte had been received into the bosom of the Roman Catholic church by Cardinal Wiseman himself; and, of this imposing ceremony, a full account was read by Marie, in a letter, which was said to come from Miss Thomson. This was very gratifying intelligence to Mr Seager, who, as an honest convert to Romanism, must have been extremely delighted, that his small book had been the means of doing so much good. What might it not yet achieve! But, alas! there was one drawback. Poor Miss Thomson was persecuted, almost to death, by her father, because she had renounced Protestantism. A correspondence with such persons could not but prove extremely interesting to Mr and Mrs Seager. And hence Marie's talents at letter writing were again vigorously exercised.

A letter is forwarded from Bonn to Mrs Charles Cunliffe of Llaynon, the wife of the vicar of Wrexham, but who is as much an imaginary personage as the uncle Clifford of former days. But though there is no Mrs Charles Cunliffe of Llaynon, there is a Mrs Cunliffe of Llwynissa, and into her hands the postman of Wrexham delivers the foreign letter. It is opened. It has reference to parties of whom she knows nothing. It is full of Popery. Her relations are all staunch Protestants. It cannot be for her. The letter is returned to the post-office. A few weeks afterwards, another communication from the same quarter makes its appearance. It is also returned. How long this might have continued without detection, it is hard to say, had it not been for the publication of the "Female Jesuit." This volume had found its way into the "Wrexham Ladies' Book Club," and, upon its perusal, Mr and Mrs Cunliffe found so many coincidences, that they were nearly satisfied, their unknown correspondent was the lady whose adventures were therein described. A communication was opened up with

Mr and Mrs Luke; a specimen of Marie's handwriting was also sent, which made the matter certain. But the two letters had been returned to the post-office before the book was read. Marie was now playing her game at a great disadvantage. Secluded in Bonn, she knew not that the publication of the "Female Jesuit" had given her a notoriety in almost every household in the kingdom.

One morning, Mr and Mrs Cunliffe are about to set off to witness the Great Exhibition. A packet is put into their hands from Bonn, addressed to Miss Thomson, care of Mrs Cunliffe. The envelope contained two letters, both addressed to

Elizabeth. They were both opened. One was from Marie. The other was from Mr Seager, in reference to a little work which Elizabeth intended to publish, and which she wished to dedicate to Mr Seager, as a token of gratitude for the spiritual good she had received from his pamphlet. It was written in a kind, Christian spirit, and was dated Baumschule, Bonn am Rhein, Prussia, May 23, 1851. The party come to London, and meeting with Mr and Mrs Luke, they are introduced to a young lady-Miss Thomson, the Elizabeth whose correspondence Mrs Cunliffe had so unceremoniously intercepted. Explanations are made. "It was very evident from these letters that Marie had imposed upon Mr and Mrs Seager as completely as upon Mr and Mrs Luke. She was now apparently a Roman Catholic, and representing Elizabeth as a convert also; carrying on a fictitious correspondence in Elizabeth's name, and intercepting returned letters. She had imagined that in a part so distant as North Wales, and using the christian names only of her former friends, her character would never be identified, and that the letters would be returned. She was evidently unaware of the publication of the book which had so singularly led to her detection, and was taking lessons in French and German, at the expense of her present friends, and affecting ill health according to her practice in former days." What was now to be done to unmask the hypocrite? It was evidently their duty to inform Mr Seager of the unprincipled character of the person whom he was protecting. A letter to him would probably pass through Marie's hands, who would take good care he would never see it. Was there no one going to Bonn, to whom this delicate commission could be intrusted? June and July passed away. In August the conference of the Evangelical Alliance was held in London. There is present a Protestant minister from Bonn. They learn from him that Mr Seager was still at Baumschule, that he had a young lady under his care, who was active in proselytising, and who had converted to Popery a young lady of his congregation. This information induced Mr Luke to repair to Bonn in person. Elizabeth went with him, and also Mr and Mrs Thomson, who were desirous of attending an approaching conference of the German churches at Elberfeld. Our travellers arrive at Bonn on September 10th, late at night. A note is addressed early next morning, in the handwriting of Mr Plitt, the Protestant minister above referred to, requesting an interview at their hotel with Mr Seager. It is fixed at half-past two. Fearful of encountering Marie, Mr Luke and Elizabeth did not repair beyond the garden. As the hour drew on, they repaired to the sitting-room, to wait Mr Seager's expected visit, and took out their documentary evidence in readiness for his arrival. At last the door opened, and, without the announcement of his name, a gentleman entered. He bowed, and Mr Luke bowed. Mr Seager was the first to speak, and looking hard at the two strangers, he said, “I have not the pleasure of remembering you.'

"No," said Mr Luke, "I am a stranger to you, but I wish to see you on very important business;" and he begged Mr Seager to be seated.

Mr Seager turned a most inquiring look on both, and Mr Luke took out of his bag Mr Seager's letter to Elizabeth, of May 23, and placed it in his hands, saying, "In order to introduce the subject, I present you with your note. You remember this?"

Mr Seager looked at it, opened it; and, with a look of mingled surprise and curiosity, answered "Yes."

Looking from him to Elizabeth, Mr Luke said, "I now introduce to you the Miss Thomson, to whom this note is addressed."

Mr Seager put the note down, and looking hard at her, said, “No; the lady to whom I addressed this letter, is dead."

"And I," continued Mr L., "am the Mr Duke referred to in Marie's letter. My real name is Luke."

*

*

Mr Seager turned his eyes from one to the other, and said with an expression which paper cannot convey, "No! you are represented as dead too.' He paused, and well he might. * * Mr Luke, by our Marie's account, the most blameless of heretics, and for the repose of whose soul many a prayer had been offered up in Bonn, was living and present before him. Elizabeth, who, as she had died a martyr (her death hastened by the persecu