Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-08-15


{ plain she was conscious and listen
{ ing. ! repeated some OF his ststemen
that l had brought discOrd to his family
e had alienated her from him; had sough
} to break up his family, and usurped hi
! influence; and then, as well as l could
5 / added that he said ] made imprope
suggestions to her, and that che had ad
! mitted this fact to him last July.
, said: Elizabeth have you made sucl
r statements to him2i She made no an
, swer. / repeated the question. Tear
ran down her checks and she very slight
~
BOWED HER HEAD IN ACQUIEsCEECE
/ ] said: "YOu cannot mfau that 70,
have stated all he has ehaTged.D SD,
opened her eyes and began in q SLOW
and feeble way to explain how sick sh,
had been, how weaTied out with impor
tunity; that he had confessed his owl
alien loves, and said that he could not
bear TO think that she was better thar
he; that she might win him to refcrma.
tion if she would confess that sac haC
loved me more than him; that they
would repent and go on with future con.
cord. can't give her language, but
only the tenor of her representations. ]
received them impa.ientIy. spoke to
her in the strongest language OF her
course. ] said to her: "HaVe I ever
made any improper advances to you?'
She said: "NO." Then I asked, "Why
did you say so to your busband?" She
seemed deeply distressed. "My friend
[by that designation she always called
mel, am sorry, but could not help
it; what can / dO?n told her she could
state in writing what she had now told
me. She beckODed for her writing ma
terisls, which 1 handed her from her
secretary standing near, and she
/ sat up in her bed and then
| wrote "a brief counter-statement
/ In a sort of postscript she denied expli-
city that ] had ever offered any i'm.
/ proper solicitation TO fer, that being the
only charge made against me by Mr..
/ TilrOn, or sustained by the statement
about q confession which be had read to
me. ] dreamed of no worse charge at
that time. That was horrible enough.
The mere thought that he could make
ii, and could have ext0rted any evidence
on which to base it, was enough to take
away my senses. Neither my conscious
ness OF its utter falsity, nor
MRS. TILToN's RETRACTIoN,
of her part in it, could remove the shock
from my heart. Indeed, her admission
to me that she had stated, under any
circumstances, to her husband so wicked
a falsehOod, was the croWning blow OF
all. It seemed to me that if she was
going to die, that if her mind was over
thrown, and that 1 was in some dread
ful way mixed up in it, 1 might be left
by her death with this terrible accusa-
ton hanging over me. l returned like
one in a dream to Mr.. MoultOn's house,
where l said very little, and so Do went
home-it has been said in confessed
guilt and expressed remOrse; this is ut
terly false. Is it likely that with Mrs.
TiltOu's TetractiOn in my pocket should
have tuus stultIfied myself? On the
next day, at evening, Mr.. MOulton
called at my house, and came up into
my bedroom. He said that Mrs. TiltOn,
on her husbands coming to her after
our interview, had informed him
what she had done, and that
l had her TetrsctiOn. MOulton
exp0smlated with me and said the re-
traction under the circumstances would
not mend matters, but only awaken
fresh discoTu between husband and wife
and do great injury to NIrs. Tilton with
out helping me. Mrs. Tiiton, he said,
bad already recanted in writing the re-
traction made % me, and of course there
might be no end TO such controversies.
Meanwhile Mr.. TiltOn had destroyed
his wife's first letter acknowledging the
confession, and Mr.. Mnulton claimed
that had taken a mean advantage and
made dishonorsble use of TheOdore's |
request that l should visit her, in OBJ
tanning from her q written cnntradic
ton to a document not in existence.
He said that al the difficulties could be
settled without any such papers; that 1
ought to give it up he was under great
excitement. He made no verbal threats,
but he opened his oveTcoat and with
some emphatic remarks,
SHOWED A PISTOL,
which afterWard he took out and laid on
the bureau, near which he stood. gave
the paper TO him, and, after a few mo-
ments talk, he left. Within a day or
two after this, Mr.. MoultOn made me
the third visit, and this tipne we repaired
to nay study Ia the third story of my
house. BsfJIe speaking of this inter |
view, 1T Is right that l should allude to |
the suffering through which l had gone
Guriug the previous day, the cause of |
which was The strange change in Mrs. |
Tilton.
Mr. Bsecher here goes into long de- |
tail OF his f elincs of surprise and as |
at Mrs. TiltOn's course, in |
which he says: "If my own daughter |
had been in a similar case my grief at |
her calamity could scarcely have been /
greater" ] thought that this charge |
entirely untrue, might result
in great disaster, if not in absolute
ruin OF the great interest which saint
ly woman communicating a very need
less treacheTy to her friend and pastor.
My distress was bOundless. l did not for
a moment feel, however, that she was to
biameworthy, as would ordinarily be
thought, but supposed that she had
been overboTne by weakness and shat
tered in mind until she scarcely knew
what she did, and was no longer re-
spOusible for her acts. My soul went
out to her in pity. blamed myself for
want of prudence and foresight, for /
thought all this had been the result of
her undue affection for me. l had
profund feeling that l would bear any
blame and take any punishment if that
poor child could only emerge from this
cloud and be put back into happiness,
work entirely dependent on noe. The
churcn which had built up, the book
which l was writing, my own Immediate
family, my brothers. name, now en-
gagged in the ministry; my sisters, the
name which l had hoped might live af-
ter me, and be in some slight degree a
source of strength and encouragement
to those who should succeed me, and
above all, the cause for which l had de-
voted all my life, seemed impeTilled. 1t
seemed to me that my life-work was to
end abruptly, and in disaster. My earn
est desire TO avoid a public accusation
aud the evils which must necessarily
tiow from it, and which now have re-
suited from 1t, has been one of the lead
ing motives that must explain my ac-
lion during these four years with refer
snce to this matter. Il was in such
sore and distressing condition that Mr..
MOulton found me. His manner was
kind and conciliatoTy. He seemed,
however, to be convinced that had
been seeking
TILToN'S DowSFALL;
hat had leagued with Mr.. Bowen
against bim, and that had by my ad-
vice come near destroying his family. /
yave Moulton leave to state to Theodore
ny feelings. He proposed that should
write letter. declined, but said that
le could report our interview. He then
prepared to make a memorandum of
.he talk, and sat down at my table, aud
.ook Gown, as l supposed, a condensed
-eport OF my talk, for l went on still
pouring out my wounded feelings for
hat great desOlatiOu in TiltOn's family.
II was not dictation of sentence after
santanca. he a mere amanuensis and |