country, and had reached as far as Cork, where Mr. Scully and the Editor of this Journal happened to meet a M. Aubert, a young French Priest, an assistant in Father Foley's College, who expounded the wonders of Youghal to us in some detail. As we were thinking of travelling towards Youghal, we asked M. Aubert whether there would be any objection to our seeing these things with our own eyes. He replied he thought not, but he would communicate with Father Foley on the subject. A day or two afterwards the following letter was received from M. Aubert, and we publish it to show that we did not visit the Castle uninvited, and that the invitation was express to come on Thursday afternoon to see the wonders from their beginning.

"L. F. C. et M. S. Youghal, (St. Mary's College,)

"January 15, 1843.

"DEAR SIR,-I have the pleasure to inform you that Rev. Mr. Foley will be glad to make your acquaintance, and will have not the least objection to grant you the favour of seeing this holy girl whom we spoke of at Dr. Murphy's, in Cork, and who is in so extraordinary a state. In order to obtain more fully the end you purpose, it would be better to come there next Thursday afternoon. After your arrival to Youghal, you could come directly to our College, and there call on your servant, who will be happy to introduce you to Rev. Mr. Foley.

"I have the honour to be, Dear Sir, truly yours,

"To Frederick Lucas, Esq."

"CR AUBERT, pr. O. M. Im. D. D.

"When we arrived in Youghal, we found that the curiosity of those who were sceptically disposed was directed to the miraculous cording of the arms; and as this part of the show commenced on Thursday night, we naturally wished to see this closely. Mr. Lucas offered to sit up all night, and suggested to M. Aubert that the arms should be first inspected, to see that there were no marks on them at first; that they should be then uncovered, and kept uncovered during the whole miracle; that some trustworthy person or persons should be allowed to remain in the room during the whole of this part of the miracle; that it should be seen the arms were bound without natural means; and that the marks of the cords supervened without any external appliance. This suggestion was made by M. Aubert to Mr. Foley, and by him deliberately refused. Nor, though invited to Youghal for this express purpose, could we "get a peep at the humbug" at all on Thursday night, but were put off till Friday morning, when the preparations (we suppose) were made complete.

"Mr. Foley seems to give, as a reason for our being disappointed in these and other particulars, that his dear and virtuous, but blaspheming relative, "predicted the night beforehand that a certain class of persons would come to visit her on the following morning, and that they would, &c. The five of us who had heard the prediction were much surprised to see it on the next morning verified to the letter." What the awful et cetera may stand for in this passage we are left to guess; but in a letter addressed to the Editor of the Tablet, from Youghal College, and signed "Richard Joseph Hawkes," in which we are honoured with the style and title of "Herod," we are informed that Mr. Lucas's" hour's obser

vation was distinguished for levity." This we imagine to be the fulfilment of Miss Mary Roche's prediction. Now, in answer to the prophetess, to Mr. Foley, and to Mr. Hawkes, we here say at once-if she prophesied that we, or any of us, came to visit her with undue scepticism, with idle curiosity, with levity of mind, with a desire to find her revelations false, with irreverence, or-making allowance for human frailty-with any improper feeling whatever, except perhaps too strong a disposition to believe in her pretences, she prophesied a lie. If any person asserts that in our outward demeanour, during the four hours of our investigation, we, or any of us manifested any symptoms of the dispositions above described, he asserts a deliberate and wicked falsehood. We beg Mr. Hawkes to take particular notice of this, and to bear in mind that, as he has uttered this gross falsehood about a matter within our own personal knowledge, we give no credence whatever to any part of the account he has sent us: we set it all down as a tissue of falsehoods; and moreover, if any investigation took place under our advice, there should certainly be a very narrow inquiry made as to his share in the blasphemy and the fraud. To Mr. Foley we say, that he has done well to leave his virtuous relative's prophecy under the mask of an &c.; and we tell him that he cannot set down for her any prophecy which bears upon the case, or makes sense of his argument, without proving her to be a liar.

"We have very little doubt that Miss Mary Roche knew of our arrival and the entire personnel of our party. Mr. Foley knew it; and that is enough to make us certain that his spiritual superiors, the females of the Asylum, knew it also. We feel perfectly confident that many persons (perhaps most) in the establishment are fellow conspirators with the cunning Magdalen and Mary Roche. If one of these heard from Father Foley that such a formidable person, in a small Irish town, as the Editor of a London Newspaper was come down to Youghal, and wished to have the wrists bared and the entire miracle of the cording closely examined, the terrible information would at once go to the girl herself, and hence her prophecy that she would be troubled on the morrow. But mark the inconsistency of the poor wretch. Later in the day the blood would not flow from the stigmas because we were incredulous. So says Father Foley. He says also that she knew our incredulity (or at least our &c.) from the beginning. Yet the very first thing we saw when we entered her room was a miracle got up, as Father Foley himself told us, by this miserable relative of his for the especial accommodation of our incredulous curiosity. It will be seen in the narrative given elsewhere, that sometime after the date of M. Aubert's invitation to Youghal, the girl had had it revealed to her that the miracle of the cording would not take place again. This revelation was so far made good in practice, that it furnished an excuse for our being prevented from seeing the commencement of the miracle, but no further. For the accommodating she saint interceded with Almighty God to allow the miracle to be repeated another "last time" (as they have it at the theatres)-for us known infidels and sceptics; and repeated it was-for us and for us only-but exactly in such a manner as to forbid all inquiry, to satisfy no reasonable doubt, and to convince no human being who was not determined to believe with or without evidence. So that it seems our incredulity was no obstacle to the performance of a miracle-nay, was the very cause of a miracle being performed, Almighty God worked a miracle for our especial gratification, but took care at the same time to work it in such a manner that

no intellect above that of a goose could be convinced by it. But when. ever the miracle would or might have been decisive of the matter in band, then forsooth Almighty God was displeased with our incredulity, and would let us see the show no further. Out upon these idiotic impieties! Depend upon it, Father Foley, the Castle-Theatre has another scene shifter than Almighty God.

"Mr. Foley imprecates upon himself all kind of ridicule if his pet lambs do not baa in the right, dialect. If there is any deception in the case, he is "one of the greatest dupes that ever stood on ground;" he is "the fool of fools;" "credulous beyond conception;""the ridicule of the world." How far these terms have been wisely used by Father Foley, under the circumstances of this case, it is not for us to say; but most certainly the condition, upon the fulfilment of which he declares them applicable, has been fulfilled to the very letter. There have been "cheat," "deception," "roguery," and "villainy," of so gross and palpable a kindthere has been, on Father Foley's part, so wilful and determined (though unconscious) a playing into the hands of the miscreants by whom his simplicity has been abused, that it would afflict us with no very great grief if, according to his word, every stone in the Castle, and every stone in the College to boot, were levelled to the ground, and every vestige of these detestable enormities swept from the face of the earth for ever.

"Let us conclude this notice with a warning taken from a great Saint whom Mr. Foley must hold in great reverence-a warning applicable even if these visions be supposed true, which we do not suppose thema warning which we doubt not admits of an application not only to the seers of visions, but also to those who have the guardianship and direction of the seers. "When visions are true," says St. Bernardine of Sienna, "they prove no man holy; for otherwise Balaam would have been holy, "and his ass too, which saw the angel."

"Since writing the above, several unfortunate particulars have reached us relating to this unfortunate business, and arising out of the promiscuous and unrestrained publicity given to it before anything like a decent or regular investigation had been made. We may perhaps briefly recur to these next week. In the mean time, and for the edification of all concerned, we beg to lay before our readers the wise provisions of the Council of Trent touching the admission of new miracles-provisions which have been utterly neglected in the present case.

"Statuit Sancta Synodus nulla admittenda esse nova miracula, nisi ' recognoscente et approbante Episcopo.'

"The Holy Synod hath decreed that no new miracles are to be admitted except with the recognition and approbation of the Bishop.

"In this case there has been no such recognition and approbation, the Bishop being too infirm to leave home during the present winter season; but crowds of all kinds and creeds, and from all quarters, have flocked in ́ to see the wonders, to worship if they chance to believe them, and to get handed over to eternal perdition if they chance to doubt-and all this without any the smallest particle of Episcopal approbation."

THE DIABOLICAL IMPOSTURE AT YOUGHAL.

"[The following paper is a narrative of a visit made by the Rev. Mr. Russell, the Dominican, of Cork; the Rev. Mr. Scully, of Phibsborough, Dublin, and myself (Mr. Lucas), to the Magdalen Asylum at Youghal, which is under the direction of Father Foley, founder of the Missionary College. It was said that there were three girls in that establishment, all more or less participators in the miraculous manifestations of our Lord's passion. One of these was said to be a virtuous girl, who followed all the stages of the passion from Thursday night to Friday night; and one of the most curious parts of the miracle consisted in the supernatural joining of the arms together, with the miraculous impression of the cord upon them when the arms were providentially unloosed. This was a part of the miracle which we wished particularly to inspect, but we were not allowed to do so]."

“ Waterford, Saturday night, Jan. 21, 1843.

"When we were at Youghal, on Thursday last, we found that a solemn inquiry, in which some of the clergymen and other persons were to bear a part, had been arranged, and it was understood that these individuals were to sit up all Thursday night, to examine minutely the tying of the arms, and the time and circumstances under which the marks of the cords were produced. This examination, however, was postponed, for a reason at first unexplained; and it was agreed that we should go to the Asylum at eight o'clock on Friday Morning (20th of January) to see whatever might then be going on. As soon as we were admitted into the room we found Mary Roche, dressed, in bed, seemingly in great pain, with her arms pressed tightly together within both the large loose sleeves of her frock. Several persons were assembled round the bed, and Mr. Foley being fully convinced that she could hear nothing that was not addressed personally to her by her director (himself,) gave us all the necessary explanations aloud in her presence, without reserve. He first of all told us that his reason for refusing the inquiry during the night was, that Mary had had a special revelation, that the marks of the cords would never appear again,-that henceforward her arms would be tied for one hour on Thursday night; but that the end of that miracle having been answered by its establishing the truth of her visions, &c., it would be discontinued: thus making it appear that the truth was established before any ecclesiastical authority had examined the case. She said, however, that she had prayed to God that, as several persons, clergymen and others, were coming to visit her on this occasion, the favour might be renewed this once, and that her prayer had been granted: the arms would be tied for about an hour on that Friday morning, and the miraculous marks would be visible when the arms were loosened. Accordingly, after about a quarter of an hour's delay, she drew her arms out, and, with an air of exhaustion, threw them on the bed-cover. They were examined, and though no string could be detected in or about the dress, which was not very closely inspected, there certainly were marks as of a thin cord round both arms. When the room was cleared, to allow the women to get up for Mass, Mr. Foley, Mr. Russell, and myself remained behind, and Mr. Russell begged Mr. Foley to put certain questions to the girl, in order to test the spirit by which she was actuated. To this Mr. Foley objected,

saying that he thought it wrong to try her so, and that she had herself taken an objection to it, saying, in answer to some questions on another occasion, "You ask me this to try me." Two questions, however, Mr. Foley did put, at Mr. Russell's request, and these were answered; but a third he positively refused to put, for the reason just mentioned.

"After this we all went down stairs, and were not long after summon ed up again, to hear Mass in an adjoining room. In this room screens we re arranged across one part, and behind the screens were placed the three girls and other female members of the establishment, the three having apparently a compartment to themselves. During Mass groans were painfully audible, and after Mass the miraculous Magdalen was observed by Mr. Scully to look out behind the screens with a very suspicious curiosity. After Mass we again went down stairs to allow the women to pass into their rooms, and were told that nothing further would be visible worth stopping for until about twelve o'clock, when the stigmata would bleed. At our request, however, we were allowed to go up stairs with little delay. Mr. Scully was the first to enter the room, which he did unperceived, and on entering he found the Addolorata laughing, and talking to the female attendant. This ceased on his entrance. When I entered, a minute or two after the others, I found them seated round the bed, and Mary in bed with her eyes open, and in a natural state. Mr. Russell put the question whether she was now in great pain, and immediately she began to moan as with much anguish; her arms were suddenly fixed to her sides with (apparently) supernatural rigidity; her eyes were all but closed, the eyelids quivering incessantly; and the sympathetic torments were again renewed. As she went on with her different motions for the next two hours, Mr. Foley acted as chorus to the scene, explaining aloud the meaning of her several performances, sometimes giving one explanation and sometimes another to what was being said and done. "Suddenly Mary appeared to be suffering from a sort of natural pain, or oppression about her body. She felt under her little shawl with both hands, fumbled with beads and a crucifix, which were afterwards brought out and seen by Mr. Russell, and at last tossed herself about and seemed to struggle to loosen her dress. A female attendant hastened to her relief said that her dress was too tight, and began to take out pins, fumble about her body and under her clothes. When all had been adjusted, Mary whispered to Mr. Foley, and he told us that SHE desired us to see the marks upon her chest (or rather stomach, for they happened to be below her breast and in the middle of her body). Accordingly she herself began to open her frock or gown, and Mr. Foley desired us to mark the modesty with which she went to work. The end of it was that, with some assistance, she bared the part of her person above described, and exposed herself to the gaze of a mixed crowd, men and women, clergy and laity, Catholics and (I believe) a Protestant. We had been given to understand that there would be three stigmas visible on the impression of a heart, supernaturally made on the skin. I looked and could see no such impression; but there were three stigmas that might have been easily produced by the Addolorata or her attendant. She was then closed up, and at a later period her left shoulder and arm pit were displayed to public gaze, for the purpose of drawing attention to a small dark mark rather smaller than a pin's head, the meaning of which was not expounded. She continued lying in much seeming pain, occasionally putting her hands to her forehead, as if from the greatness of her agony.