A PRECIOUS TRIO.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9, 1 March 1900, Page 3

A PRECIOUS TRIO.

In the course of her sinful career the roving unfortunate drifted to the slums of New York. There, in a house of ill-fame, she was taken up by a reprobate preacher named Hoyte, who had been dismissed from the sect to which he belonged for disgraceful swindling in money matters. Maria Monk became Hoyte's paramour. We have seen how her mother testified on oath that Maria was a hopeless and unconscionable liar, and that Dr. Robertson. J.P., of the same city — whose daughter she had falsely represented herself to be — declared on his affidavit that he ' considered her assertions upon oath were not entitled to more credit than her bare assertion, and that [he] did not believe either.' Maria Monk's splendid mendacity was exploited to its fullest extent by the rogue Hoyte and two other male adventurers with whom he associated himself. Maria was an exceptionally gifted everyday liar. But she was shy of soaring to the dizzy heights pointed out to her by the enterprising Hoyte. Hence it took time and much persuasion before her story attained its full perfection in the Aioful

Disclosures of Maria Monk. The precious trio— or one of them — had got possession of a scarce and infamous tract which had been translated from the Spanish or Portuguese in 1781, and entitled The Gates of Hell Opened. The editor of the Boston Pilot had a copy of this vile tract in his possession. Hoyte and his fellowconspirators decided to induce Maria Monk to pose as an ex-nun, to alter the names in the pamphlet, and to republish it as her actual experience. Their was money in the business, and money was wbat Hoyte and Co. were after. Obviously, if Maria Monk's mother could be induced to enter into the conspiracy, a great point would be gained. The enterprising trio therefore set out for Montreal, accompanied by the frail Maria, who, at this time was only 18 years old. Here Maria broke away from Hoyte and returnee* to her old haunts. The affidavit of Mrs. Tarbert (a friend of Maria's mother) states that once, when sent by Mrs. Monk to look after the roving unfortunate, she found her ' in a house of bad fame. 1 And here we pick up another strand of the conspiracy. ' Maria Monk,' says Mrs. Tarbert, ' then told me she would not go to him (alluding, as I understood, to the father of her child) for that he wanted her to swear an oath that would lose her soul forever, but je*tingly said, would make her a lady forever. I then told her (Maria) :" do not lose your soul for money." ' Mrs. Monk's affidavit shows that Maria again returned to Hoyte, but again flitted, abandoning her illegitimate child, then only a few weeks old. Hoyte delivered the child to Mrs. Monk. She, in turn, once more requisitioned the services of Mrs. Tarbert in tracing out the halfwitted unfortunate. Maria was found, but refused to go to her mother's house. Mrs. Tarbert tells us in her depositions ' that Maria Monk had borrowed a bonnet and shawl to assist her to escape from that man Hoyte,' and that she requested deponent to return them to the owner. This was on August, 1 835. Mrs. Monk's affidavit tells what followed and brings us a further stage forward in the story of this scandalous conspiracy of calumny :—: —