re was some opposition made by the parsons, one of
whom, a Mr. Cashman, was long fishing for the fair hand of Aloysia; but
this little dust raised by the "white necks" was soon hushed, when the
record of the baptism of Miss O'Clery was produced, and when the book of
heraldry was consulted to verify the armorial bearings of the O'Clerys,
which were, as we said, carved on the clasp of her necklace; and, above
all, when, on the left-hand ring finger of the young lady, the same
impression of a ring appeared which several persons testified having
seen on it when an infant.

CHAPTER XXV.

CONCLUSION.

During the _denouement_ of the events recorded in the preceding chapter,
and the discussion of them by the various _religious_ newspapers,--each
of which, like a well-trained spaniel, tried to bark so as to secure the
approbation of those from whom it derived its food,--Father O'Clery
continued in the discharge of his ordinary duties as if nothing strange
had happened. He addressed one letter on the subject to the leading
secular journals of the city, showing, by the most convincing chain of
evidence, the identity of the lady passing so long for a daughter of Mr.
Goldrich with his own younger and long-lost sister, and satisfying all
but fanatics and bigots of his prudence, and the propriety of the steps
taken by him for her recovery.

Mr. Goldrich, in the mean time, returned home, and though he could not
but feel astonished at the developments which took place in his absence
respecting his adopted daughter, he was too shrewd and too keen a man of
business to make himself a tool in the hands of bigoted parsons, or to
deny the validity of the evidence proving her to be no other than
Aloysia O'Clery. This was enough. What now was become of all the
talking, writing, swearing, and preaching of the dominies? To what
purpose was this big talk, loud exclamations, puzzling interrogatories,
and flaming articles of the Babylonian press? For a whole month nothing
was published by the editors but "leaders," "articles," "paragraphs,"
"communications," "reports," "speeches," "lectures," "sermons," "mass
meetings," "resolutions," "protests," and "letters of correspondents,"
regarding this "Popish plot," "this Romanist aggression," "this priestly
insolence," and a thousand other names, threats, and unflattering
epithets against persons and institutions, whose only connection with
the case of Miss O'Clery was, that they belonged to th