Press enter after choosing selection

Tilton-beecher

Tilton-beecher image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
February
Year
1875
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

[Cor. Spïinüöold Ropublican.] Gen. Pryor, of Tilton's counsol, thinks thero will be as many as eighty witneasos in all on botli sides, and thát tho case will not get to tho jury bef oro April. Rumor says tbat Beecher's lawyers will put the Woodhnll on the staüd, to testify that Tilton seorotly iuspirel the publication in her paper. It is liinted that Gen. Butler will be fouud sitting with Tilton'a Iawyers before the caso is endod, and tliat he will join ox-Judgo Fullerton in bringing Gen. Traoy to account for hia alleged unprofessional conduct townrd Moulton. Mr. Tracy was associated with Mr. Evai-ta as Moulton'a counsel in Woodruiï & Bobiuson's snit with the govemment, and it is cliarged that he made use of infonnation he gained iu fliat capacity to aid iu the cross-exuminatiou of Moultou. Llttle Ealph's Parentaje. [Dr. bjntai'b Letter.] Tilton's testnnony was continuoualy dnunatic. There was a deaÜily hush -wlieu tlie witnes3, -svith a jerky voice, Onfolded the history of the terrible meeting witli Beeelior to decide the quostion of little Ralph'ra legitimaey. A cyn:c' iucredulity, if it cíui bo bo oalled, obaessed erery face as tho details of tliat unpai'alleled interview were related. Beecher looked palaied by ehame and anguiah, a crimson tiush as usual on his features, and ho sat bolt upright, in deviation from liii? ordimu-y leaning, negLsee posture. Mra. Beechor smiled with olènoÉèd toeth. Mrs. Tilton screened her faoe with a fan ; the other ladies bent thoir heads. A general sigh of relief ran around the audience when the deseviption of that fearful debate was finished. ISail Effect ot the Women on the Jury. [Cor. Chicago Tribune.] The absence of the Bocckers and of Mrs. Tilton, was the result, I fancy, of a soleinu council of war held on Sunday, at which Evarts presided. The injurious effect of their presenco upon the jury seems to have struok cverybody but Shearman, who reveis in the sort of theater display which Kurrounda a man on trial for murdor with his weeping wife and children. Mr. Beecher's palpable auxiety, the feverish interest he took in the smallest contentura between counsel, tlio terible indieations of mental distress which hiuig tlieir crinison on hifi cheeks -all these things produced impressions the very reverse of Üiose desired by the crafty little lawyer who is mainly responsible for tlie equivocations of this trial - who never comes to the sitrface except to emphasize a technical point or discrepancy in debate or punctuation. Had our blessed Lord depended upon such an attomey before Pontius Püiite, Shearman would havo concentratod the defense of Christianity in the plea that the Roman authorities had no jurisdiction, or dexterously argued that Caiaphas' tiüo to the High-Priesthood was imperfect. The Woodhull- Some Vpry Deeided Opinión from the lïoss Frcr-IxiTcr. [From tho Lenvenworth (Kan.) Timf .) Mrs. Woodhull arrived in this city yesI terday afternoon, and took rooms at the Planters' House. Early in the evening our reporter sent in his card, and was in a few moments received in the parlor by the most distingui-shed woman in the wnrlfl Knowiner that the Beecher tiesa is the subject uppermost in the public mind, and that Mrs. Woodhvdl knows . more about tlio great scandal, from ginning to end, than anybody else in the world except Henry Ward and Elizabeth, he at once broached tliis soraewhat delicate subject in the hope of drawing out somo new facts : Boportor - How do you think the mal will go, Mrs. Woodhull? Mrs. W. - It will go agninst Beecher. No human power can prevent a verdict against hira. liep. Will the whole truth be brought to light? jyji. W.- No ; not a tithe of it. They aró not trying to bring out tho truth. Tilton is just as much af raid of the truth as Beecher, and is trying to SM with how small a part of tho truth ho can carry nis oase. , , Rep. _That neems trange- why shoilct he not want to bring out everything ? Mrs. W.- Not at all strango. rhoy are all in tho same bont with _ Beecher. The whole crowd have boen living in the same way - in accordance with that they believo - for years post, and the trutli would exposé tlie whole lot. Kop. - Do tliey all bclieve as you do on these matters. Mrs. W. - Certainly Üiey do, but Üiey i liaven't moral courage enougli to say so. Rep. - It would seem, f rom the vory severo examination Moulton wout through, that he must havo boen obliged to teil all ho knew t Mrs. W.- All! Whylio has told ; ing, from beginning to end, but whftt has been just ground out of liim by üio attomoys, a word at a timo. He hasn't ■ beeu thore to teil tho whole truth, but to : soo how niuch he could keep from telling. Rep. - So you include Moulton among j those that boliove in your thoories I Mrs. W. - Frank Moulton ! Of couxse ! I do. The whole lot of thom üidorso my l theory in every particular, and nothing keops them from sayüig so publiely but j tlieir hypocrisy and moral cowardice. I Just as Mr. Beocher said when he was on his knoos at my feet, and in tears ; when I advised hún to come out like a man, and make au open confession of tlie whole thing, said he, ' ' I kuow I ought x do it, but I Oiin't - I'm a moral coward ! " [f he had made such a coufession at that ame the wholo thing would have been over and forgotten long ago, and ! jody would think botter of him to-day. Tilton on the Witne Stand. AN EXTRAORDINAHY NARBATTVE Oï SCANDAL. [Cor. Ctacinnati Commercial.] Tho testimony was as extraordinary as any ever givon in any conrt. Tilton spoke in measured, moderate, distinct, and carefully selected language, with a : clcar, deep, bass voice. His manners, j wuys and expressious were at times very Tiltonian. He was asked to state wliat occurrod at liis íirst troublous iutenúew with Beeclier, on December 30, 1870, but Mr. Evarts objected to his tolling what might be deiived from confidentiul oommunication with his wife, and an argument betwoen the counsel ensued. When it was over, Tilton began liis long narrative, whioh was eiceedingly minute in all its details, and wliieh, admitting the brief argumenta and interruptions of counsel, lasted nearly four hours continiiously. At the interview ho told Beecher Bowen's stonea about his (Beecher's) nuraerous adulteries íor twenty-five years, which witness had previously nientionod to Mrs. Tilton, on which she made ooufession to liim of her ovra guilt iii a writteu paper addressed to Beecher, whieh is now destroyed. Ho eaid that Mra. Tiltou had come ! home unexpectedly from the cotuitry to teil witiiess the secret between Beecher and herself. That her f oelings had gro ra from friendahip to love, and from lave to sfxtual intimacy, which livnt (xseurred j on October 10, Í868, was repoatod the following Saturday, and was Bubsequently repcatod at Boeoher's residence, at Tilton's residenco, and other placea, from tho fall of 1868 to the spring of 1870. Sho had resiated Beecher's alvance, but had at last given in, and though often solicited in a violent way had not often yielded. Beecher told Mrs. Tilton that his om wife was not a " satiafaetory wif e " to him. Witness told Beechor that Mrs. Tilton's heart wan btoken, and at the close of his narrativo to Beecher, Beecher said, "lam iu a dream. Thia ia Dunte Inferno. It is all a wind whirl." Witneas then permittod Beecher to naake a last visit to Mrs. Tilton, sayiug, "I have lieretofore j spared your liíe, but if you reproach her I will sniito yournarao." Beecher staggcred out, saying, " Thia will kill me." It appeared during tlda narrative that, though Tilton liad summoned Beecher to answer for adultery, and though { Beecher came to meet the charge, the stories of Bowen were the first subject of their interview, and Bowon's threats to drive Beecher froni Brooklyn. Tney exchanged views about Bowen's programme, and then took up tlxe other matter in hand. Witness then recounted the interviow with Beecher at Moulton's house, Jan. 31, 1871, when ïiiton did not want to speak to a man who had ruined liis wife, and v;hen Beecher ofr fered to coniniit suicido, being on the brink of heil. But BoecLer asked no mercy for lnmself , thougli his brief sexual intimacy with Mrs. Tilton had been for love, not lust. The interview ended with a violent outfturst of grief by Beecher. Witnees then naxrated the torview bet ween üunseli, üeecner auu Moulton, at the latter's house, ubout his separation from the Independent, and the public explanation to be given of it, by telling Boweu's stories about Beecher, but Beecher did not want tho storioa published, though he declared them falso, while admitting there was sorne truth in one of thern, though he liad used no violence upon tlie woman refei-red to, or any other. He then told about another interview betwoen Mr. Beecher and hiruself at Moulton's house when Beecher took the head of witness in his hands and kissed him on the f orohead. He told about vet another interview with the same parties at the same place, when Mr. Beecher asked witness if he had told twelve persons of his (Beecher's) criminal relations with Mrs. Tilton. Witness had told some persons, and possibly twelve persons knew it. Beecher then asked witness if he had ever said that he (Beecher) preached to forty of his mietresses. Witness was not sure but he told Beecher that Mrs. Morse was a dangeroua woman. He next told about the 7th of February, when he bore a letter from Beecher to Mrs. Tilton, and another from Moulton to Mrs. Tilton, the former being written with the knowledge of witness. Tho moral spectacle which in itself this recitatiou of Tilton presented was ' simply appalling, and prodiiced the i strangest fascination, mingled with expressions of horror all over the cottrt. A husband was testifying in full, with circumstance, with fluency, and with al! most oratoriciil manner, to statements i which he sworo liis wife, in i moment of supremo remorse, modo to bim. Thoso statements wero of a kind involving Mí houor, her honor, and thoir children's honor. Not far off in the court sat the wiíe herself ; not far from her sat the olergyman with whoin she is sworn by her husband to have accused herself of criminal intercourse. A shade of comedy relieved it now and then whon Tilton told of the marital relations between Mr. and Mrs. Boecher. Both partios seemed inexpressibly amused, and -vhen telling how he saved Beeoher, Beecher seemed to be " feeling liin muscle." But independent of the merits of the controversy, the social pluuse of it v,añ horril)le, siniply horrible. Lawyers say the law making thin fonn of action possible, will not survive this case. Moulton an ISxtraordinary Jlan. [Frorn the Oliicago Times.] ín hunting for salient and admirable pointe in this trial, the case of Moulton should not, cannot, be overlooked. His i case may have had precedents in the matter of duration, sltillful inqtdeition, j aüd Searching anulysis; but if so, tlny are few in mimber, and still fewer iu instanoea in which the rosult is so j monious iu respect of the facta olicitcd, the completo absenco of contradiction, aud the patiënt, unrufned derneanor of the witneas. The caso of Mrs. Tilton's heroiam is probably only a result f ounded upon a few, aud these not the highest, qualities of the huiuau character. That of Moultoii ia grandor, in thot it rests mniiily üpou an iiitellectual ba?ds - a vast j memoriziug power; a critical and instant ! appreciation of the beiirings of every question; the prompt discovery of cach pitfall dug for hini by opposing counsel. Diiring a period of eleven diya ho hiuj ' susUiuod without a hositation, a ' diction, or aa equivocation, an I tion without n parallel for sivenoss and searching analysis. During j all this time, he has never lost his per, his presenoe of inind, or became involved iu obscurity. In estimaüllg llis position, it sliould bc uüderstood that there is iwt 0Í16 ïluui iü ten thousand who, desixois only of telling the truth, and possessed of an ■ haustive knowledge of all the facta j tin ent to the point at issue, could sustain such an examination as that just undergone by Moulton without being swamped j and lost a thousand timen under the j delusiva lead of such opposing counsel. This fact serves to demónstrate that , Moulton is no comnion man. Tlir-oiliM'i' aiKi ïïliiabeth. [Tilton 's Cfoss-exaniinatiön.] Mrs. Tilton left on the llth of July, j 1874, I should tliink abont 6 o'clock m the morning, possibly a little later. She woko me up and bade me good-by, and ] said she was going to Mr. Ovington's. I went down there, and took breakfast ; with the family. So far as I have heard she has been there and at other places, j bnt I don't kuow that that was her ! dence. I have heard of her being in Connecticut and in New Jersey. I don't j imderstand that her residence is at Mr. ] Ovington's. I understand it is at my ! house. [Sensiition.] I have never hoard of her residing at auy other place but Mr. OviiiKton'B. When I said I was about 39, I meant wliat I said. I was l born Oct. 2, 1835. At the time of rny j marriage I was connected with the New York Obzcrvcr, and my wife resided at No. 48 Livingston street with her mother, who was then a widow, and had no other employment than as a member of that household. I was niarried when 20. Mrs. Tilton was one or two years older. I became aoquainted with her whon she ■was 1U years oí age. w e weru wuimm ■ with each other, but I was more familiar ' with lier brother, who was my ■ mate. My attentions to hor began when I was 18, so I was well acquainted with i hor when I married. Up to üie time she leit me our intercotu-ae was as close and intímate as possible in hnman affairs. i I think my wife had more than a common ! brain. I was about to say tliat she had more than an ordinary edvication. She was educated at Paoker Instituto. ; Bcgardiiig literaturo, etc., she was J ways fond of books ; wan the constant : patrón, and fond of poetry and miwic. Her opportunitios dnring married Ufe j were many. People of cultivation visited ■ the house. She was of a kindly nature, and charitable disposition. My career was thftt of a journalist and public ; er. My wiie partieipatod in my labors, actiug as amanuonsis for me. She knew i all my thougkte, and in earlier years I ; knew all lier thoughts. Her doinestic iiffoirs absorbed her time and attention. ; She was a very liberal, good-liearted, aud j lovely woman. We were both members of PlvmouÜi Olmrch, she joiniug iu 1851 ! and I in 1853. We were married in 1855. ' In the earlier years we entertained the I samo general religious convictions. We wet8 both tsachers in the Sabbath-sehool. She was counected with the Bethel school in Plymouth Clrarch. Had a motiier's class in the same. This extended over a period of. sevoral years. She was thero for a series of yeara, but I cannot say how rnany years ; I should not like to give any dates, but it waa a long period. The teaching wa3 given Siuiday, but aho gave more time by way of preparation. üccaaionally some of her class woiüd cali and aee her. She waa very notably of au affectionate and sympathetic nature, ll-garding her opinions conceming feminine chaatity, I thinlt slio loves everything good, and hates everythhig bad. I believe to-day she is a good woman. [ have never blnmed lier, but her boj rayer. I have said she was a great ihainpion of the purity of her sex. All . iaf is inclnded in dignity and piirity. I'roljable Cost of the Trial. [From tho Brooklyn Argu?.] "What wül tDe trial of the famous pastor of Plymouth Cluu-ch cost Kings sounty ? AU sorts of speenlatious have been entered into on this subject, hardly any one of which have approximatod the truth. Sonie modest aritlunetic men have pnt the sum total at $50,000 ; others, of a bolder stamp, at $500,000. With tho view of enlightening them, and the rest of tho public, the Argu-i has made an estímate of the oost of the trial to the county with the following result : Serving noticeB on 1,650 juror, and expensen, say ■ 1i000 Scrviug noticos on 53 jurors ftned for non-attondanco 2 Juroni in court who answorod to Uio cali of thoir nanicK, 683 2,171 IYmtina jury notiees 15 Fecs of two anöociate Justicoa vho drew tne jurora fVrart-room clcanors 2! Oxjurt-rooni cleaner, atlditional 1" One week'a Balar; of Commiseioner of Jurors andlÜBClcrkB 135 $ 3,402 Salar.v "f .Iiidge Noilson, por week 200 1-ay of 12 .iurors, per week 120 Salary of court Ktenofïniiihcr, per week 100 Salary of court officiiÜH and clerko, por week. W) Bolary of detailed pólice undcr Sergt. Kogers por' week 37 Kent of courtroome, per wock 250 $ 1,285 If this trial lust twclve weeks toe Balnrieswóll aiu'mnt to 1M- Add expenxes as abovc ," Total coBt 18,822 , WIIAT IT 008TS THE NEWSPAPERS. In the coiirt-room, claily, are fifty roporters and correspondente reporting and describing the prooeedíngs. A careful estímate of the salarios paid to them gives the f ollowing resulte . Five Hrooklyn papers, prr week $ 1,000 Fif teen New York papera, per week 3,000 Correspondente and telegraphing ,000 Typo-sett.iv, '■m' f'J" '1ur w'"':k t''000 Eïtra paper and ink, per week 3,000 Total t 19,000 Ooit of a twolve weck' trial $228,000 WIIAT IT MAY OOST TIMÓN AND BEECIIEB, Lawyera' feea aml ezpensea $ co,ooo ■VII AT TI COSTS SPECTATORS AND W1TNERSES. Aa ia wcll known by tliis time, a numbfflt of the solid men of Brooklyn and New York attend to witness the proceedings, whose weekly loss may be estimated at 30,000. Total cost in twolve weeks, $360,000. Gnllty or lnnoocnt?- A Dramatic Picture. [From the Chicago Tribune.] It may well be doubtod whether the I coirt annals of any country havo iuoed a scène which in impressiveneiw, solemnity, and absorbing personal ' terest, cau eqvuil tliat whicb occurred ; svhcn Theodoro Tilton entered tlie tsdtness-box and confrontad Honry Wáard ' Be-rcher and Eli&tbeth Tilton to testify for tho fivst time under oath btifore the judicial tribunal to the truth of that terrible statement which lias traveled i over the wholo Christian world on the wings of nimor and in the columns of the press. Look at the group ! On the j oue hand, Mr. Boecher, ostenaibly a ; vaut of God coimnissioiied to save the souls of mou, tho foremost preacher of j hi timo, amved at Ümt age when the i possiona cool and mengivetheirthoughts to tho gi-eat chango wliich is bo near j theni, standing at tho bar of , jastico, chajrged with the seduction j of a woman whoso marriage ooremony he had celebrated, whoso , cldldren he had baptizod, and who í had looked up to him for spiritual consolation and guidanoe ; Mrs. Tilton, the allegod victim of his seductive art and eloquent persuasión, whoni he led to ruin ; Mrs. Beecher, stern and aüent, as she has been ever since the blnck cloud of this scandal first darkened her boiiaehold ; : Mi-. Beecher's sons, who have gr wii old enough to know the nature of the i charges against their father in their full bearing and to feel the keenness of tho disgraco which threatens their home ; nnil. frinainsr thifl memorable gi-oup, their friends and tiie meiabera of that powerful organizatioii on Brooklyn i Hoighta whose probable exifltence hangs upon the verdict, and who, therefore, ; bring to Mr. Beecher ft moral support nearly irresistible aud overwhelming in i its power and infltienoe. On tho other hand, a young man of bright intellect and brilliant proniise, whose Ufo began full of hope, but upon whose head tbe curse of Mephistopheles has fallen, for every ilower that he has touched has withered, and he sita in the desolation of a clouded home. Thia young man stauds alone in tho witnesa-box, with few and foeble friends about him save the man who held his secreta so long and vaiuly sought to shickl him frorn the storm, and tells the story of his wTongs, pouring it iuto the ears of the woman who has deserted him, and the man whom he charges with having wrecked lijs Ufe, like a stream of molten lava, with his eyea fastened upon those two who dai-e not or will not meet his gaze. Has justice ever looked down ipon euch a Boene before, and will justice triumph at last in this contest which we may well believe is watchod with eager interest even by tho powers of Good and Evil ? The spectator ot this struggio, wnose , issues niust be so momentous to oue or j the other party, cun now oiily assunie ; that either Mr. 'Tilton i telling the trutli ( or a falsehood. There is uo midde coursa ; no decisión whicli can be arrived at by coniprornise ; 110 grounds for the poasibility of a hulluciiiation. The terriWe narrativo, given slowly and j liberately, and with the nicest stantiality in detail, of the hitei-view j tween Beecher and Tilton ; of tho reading of the confession of Mrs. Tilton living tho details of the raanner iii which her pastor accomplished her ruin ; of the interview at Moulton's house ; the offer of Beecher to go out of public life ; hifi violent outburst of poignant grief ; his rfntuniMil fluit lm was on the odsre of heil- all tilia black picture ifl either awfiilly trao or awfully false. It passes the bounds of human comprehonsion to belioYO thftt it is part trae and part false, or that Theodore Tilton is laboriug under some dreadful mietake. If it w trut), tlien nevcr was man more wronged Üian Tilton ; never was man more cruelly outroged, and never was there sucli a wolf in slioep's clothing ; such a sleek, consummate liypocrite and aiTiuit kuiive as this silver-haired prfeSÜy prowlor in the folds where lie lias charge. If it is fafaè, then ifl Mr. Btx;cher most cruelly, horribly wrongod, and infamously, wiokedly slandored ; then in all suifering wonumhood there has never been a victim bo foully injured, so basely and cowardly smitten down as Elizaboth Tilton ; then never has man before so nearly allied himself to tho foul fiend ns hos Tilton. The wanton, insiiüous Mophistophelee himsfilf , sneering at virtue and mnking wreek of innocence, might stond abashed, and acknowledge liimself surpa-ssed in vileness and baseness. Upon wliat pofssible theory can this teatimonv be explained excopt oither that it is ti-ue or false ? It passos beiiel tbat all this complieated network of statements is a dreadf ui hallucinuticm wliich bas sprung up iii Mr. ïüton's i brain- a chimera of bis imagination, a dreadfnl dreani which haa imposed itself upon him as a reality and impela bim to ; niake tbese charges agaiiist an innocent man and puro woman? When Mr. Tilton says under oath : "Itold biin, when he carne, tbat I. wantod to know if be could teil me witb reference to the little boy Balpb, and be ! said tbat tho date ñsed by Mrs. Tilton was the correct one. Mr. Beecber asked mo the dato. I told him tliat Elizabctli had told me that the date at which their criminal intimacy had begun was the lOth of October, 1868 ; and he said be had no i remeinbrance of it, but he thought she was right." When Mr. Tilton makes an assertion like this of an occurrence which occivrred in the presence of a witneas, is it a hallucination ? Is it the visión of a disordered miad ? If so, mil some oue explaon tlae I theory so as to account for tbis I ful i' abrió of statement which lie boa constructed and into wliich other statements fit so accurately? Tliat testimony is either every word true or every word false. Mr. Boecher is either entirely guilty or entirely innocent. No otter' hypothesis is poasible. The toils which havo been gatheriug abotit him heretofore are tightening evéry day. Tlio plot deepens and grows more interesting. What denouement will como from tiiis complioated story of misery and suÉfering'i Will hia oto testimony expliiin all and dispel the horrid cloud that lowers nronnd him ?

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus