The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-07-15


extended period his life has been an open
book which all men might read. In vlsltlnss
or journcyings at home and abroad, In the
lecture room, on the political PLATFORM IN
the editorial chair, in the authors study, IN
the pulpit and in the conference meetings, he
has led an existence of tireless activity and
conspicuous industry. He mas mad as little
opportunity for privacy as for leisure. He
has lived constantly under the scrutiny of
the pubic eve. How admirably he has borne
himself in all these years, the faith, the hon.
age the affection of his parshioners, aye
touchingly attest. Adulation has not spoiled
him, praise has not abated his christian hui
miity, nor stimulated his self conceit. He is
the same simple hearted, kindly natured,
generous and sympathetic lover OF his fellow
men that he was twenty-seven years ago,
when he took charge of the little parish in
Brooklyn, which, under his inspired pastorate,
has become such a power in the land. HIS
ministrations have borne abundant fruit in
the liberal contributions with which his people
have aided every enterprise of philanthropy
in behalf of which appeal has been made to
them. They have given freedom to many a
slave in the dark days before the country was
free-have sent Bibles and Shapes rifles
to the struggling heroes on the Kansas bor-
der-have supplied ammunition to the gal
liant soldiers who conquered rebellion, and
comforts to the hospitals in which the wound
ed sought refuge and healing. The cause of
right never pleaded to them in vain. There
may have been an occasional flaw in their
othodoxy-I do not profess to be- an expert
| in such matters-but of their catholicism in
witnesses.
And yet in this great congregation of true
hearted men and women, there has sat for
| years in one of the most conspicuous pews a
veritable Judas. His name is Henry G..
Bowen. In early life he was dry-goods
merchant in which calling he amassed wealth
but ultimately lost it. or at least so much of
it as to compel him to stop payment. He is
suspected of having resorted to sundry de-
vices much more ingenious than honorable
to accomplish profitable settlements with his
creditors. But with that branch of his Ca
reer do not propose to interfere. He shall
have the benefit of the statute of limitations.
After he had closed up his mercantile affairs,
he became the proprietor of tie Independent,
a religious weekly. Under his adroit man
agement, by skillful advertising, an extensive
system of premiums, and lavish exercise of
the arts of puffery, the paper acquired an
immense circulation.
At this juncture, Mr.. Beecher, who had
been an occasional contributor assumed the
editorial sceptre, and under his literary su-
fully and became great source of profit to
its proprietor, Wealth flowed in upon him
with marvellous rapidity. Whether prosper
ity made him arrogant, or whether arrogance
was so ineradically planted in his constitu-
ton that he could not avoid display of it is
not entirely clear. But for some reason or
other, Mr.. Beecher abruptly terminated his
connection with the paper. This naturally
occasioned wide spread establishment, as the
post was lucrative one, and for man of
Mr.. Beecher's versatility not intolerably
onerous. Fortunately for Bowen, he found
in Theodore Tilfon an able and acceptable
substitute. Mr.. Tilton was then on the sun
ny side of thirty, a nervous. graceful and
ready writer, identified with all the great re-
forms of his generation, alert to champion
whatever he deemed the right, in spite of
obloquy or miseonception, endowed with
rare personal magnetism, and giving the
strongest promise of brilliant and prosper
Gus future. So well did he fulfil the new
role assigned to him that the now firmly es-
tablished hebdomadal increased in circula-
ton, patronage and influence, under his
auspices.
Nevertheless, the abdcation of Mr.. Beech
cr seems to have inspired Bowen with impla-
cable resentment, and he commenced a Sc
ries of insinuations and inuendoes in de-
rogation of his moral character The i'm
measurable distance in point of reputation
between the accuser and the accused, caused
these malignant whispers to pass as the mere
Pigment of a vindictive and disordered brain.
But after time, Bowen ventured to repeat
his ISLANDERS to Mr.. Tilton, and to couch
them in such specific and minute terms that
the latter instantly and Indignantly declared
he would communicate the averments and
the name of their author to Mr.. Beecher
himself Bowen grew livid with rage at this
intimation, and threatened to cancel Tilton's
contracts with the Independent and the
Brooklyn Union 1.-THE former yielding salary
Of GSA00 La
with conditional share in the net receipts)
If the secret was betrayed. Tilton bravely
defed the threats of his chief, and going i'm
mediately to Mr.. Beecher. revealed to him
the whole story of Bowen's hypocrisy and
villainy. And sure enough, Bowen at once
revoked his engagements with Mr.. Tilton,
and even repudiated the obligation he had
entered into to pay the salaries up to a speci-
fled date, in the event of cancellation. This
just debt was only extorted from him by the
certainty that if he did not pay it he would
be dragged into court and the terrible story
Of his baseness laid bare.
Now in order to comprehend the mean
ness, the treachery and the utter depravity of
this man Bowen, one has but to remember
that all the time he was was making the at
mosphere he pollsted, pestilential with his vile
fabrications, he was snuffiing psalm tunes in
one of the costiest pews in Plymouth church,
and listening with dismal affectation of devo-
ton to the prayers and preaching of the gifted
minister of that excellent society. Even
within six weeks he has had the effrontery TO
face the scorn of the throng who worship
there, by appearing in his accustomed place.
1t is no small proof of the patient forbear-
ance and Christian self-control of the con-
gregation, that they endure his presence, for
if they were not constrained by Gospel
teachings and sense of decorum they would
seize upon him and drive him out of the tenn
pie he disgraces, whenever he appears in it.
Within short time, sense of the pitia-
BILE position he occupies seems to have pene-
trated the cuticle of this noisome defamer.
He has made frantic effort to palliate bis
offences by limiting that he holds evidences of
the truth of his allegations, which he is re-
Grained from promulgating by the terms of
the tripartite agreement 10 which his name
is appended, and which was recently given to
the public. 1t was on hearing of this fresh out
rage that Mr. Beecher for the first time broke
Izr.. .N.I