Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-07-24
FIRST EDITION.
MRS. Tilton's Statement,

'ne puphc IN winch she denies explicitly thu
criminal charges made by her husband agains
Mr. Beecher and herself. She asserts that tb,
determination to ruin Mr.. Beecher has beer
the aim of his life, and that his caum
MES have frequently left his mouth
Her own innocence and that of MIR
Beecher she solemnly affirms. She
states that one of the letters which Mr.
| lllton cites was obtained from her by Emporium.
ity when she was sick unto death, and that the
one which she wrote to Mr.. Moulton, in which
she stated that she had never desired separa.
ton from her husband, was written by Mr.. Til
ton and copied by her III her weakness. The
| only confession which she ever made to her hls-
band was like Catharine Gaunt's, in which love
Tor her friend and pastor WAS admitted but in
which there WAS no sin of criminal act OF
thought. In the latter half of the letter she
describes the circumstances under which she
conferred with The Investigating Committee.
MIR. 11ton's efforts to make her his ally in his
warfare with MIR. Beecher and the final senara
tion.
Mr.. Tilton, meanwhile, has been subjected
TO rigid cross-examnation, in the course of
which his relations to public lectures were called
IN question, and confession of his religious
isith was made. Only three Witnesses it is
claimed, are to be examined MIR. Beecher, Mrs.
Iilton, and Mr.. Moulton.
STATEMENT OF MRS. TnToN.
To pick up anew the sorrows of the last ten
years, the stDgs and pains had daily schooled
myself to bury and forgive, makes this impera-
tive duty, az called forth by the malicious state
ment OF my husband the saddest act of my life.
BESIDES my thought of following the Master
contradcts this act OF my pen and a sense of the
peryerslon of my life faith almost compels
nue. now to stand aside till God himself delivers
Yet see IN this wanton act an urgent call and
privilege from which shrink not
To reply in detail to the TWENTY-FIVE articles of
L shall a.
u called upon to testify to each and all of them
l shall not hesitate to do 70. Suffice it for my
purpose now that reply to one more of the
most glaring charges. Touching the feigned sor-
row OF my husbands compulsory revelations.
solemnly avow that long before the Woodhnll
publication knew him, by insinuation and di-
rect statement, to have repeated to my very near
relative and friend the substance Of these accu-
sations which shock the moral sense of the en-
tire community this day Many times, when
hearing that certain persons had spoken i'll of
him, he has sent me to clide them for so doing,
and then and there learned he had been before
me with his caumnies against myself, so that
WAS speechless.
The reiteration in his statement that he had
persistently striyen to hide these so-caled facts
ls utterly false, as his hatred TO Mr.. Beecher
has existed these many years. and determina-
ton to ruin Mr.. Deecher has been the one aim
OF his life. Again the pertidy with which the
holiest love wife ever offered has been iecl-
lessly discovered in this publication reaches well
nigh to sacrllege, and added to this the endeay-
or, like the early scandal of Mrs Woodruff, to
make my own words condemn me, has no paral-
lei.
Most conspicuously my letter quoting the
reading of Griffith Gaunt. Had MIR. 1ilton read
the pure character of Catherine he would have
seen that lifted myself beside il as near as any
human may affect an IDEAL but it was her char
acter, aud not incidents of fiction surrounding it
to which | referred. Hers was no sin of crim-
lnal act or thought. like confession with hers
had made to Mr.. Tilton, in telling of my love
to my friend and pastor one year before, and l
now add that, notwithstanding all misrepresen-
tations and anguish of soul, l owe to my ac-
qualntance and friendship with Mr.. Beecher as
TO no other human fundamentally that encour-
agement in my mental life and that growth
ward the divine nature which enable me to walk
daily in lively hope of the life beyond.
The shameless charges in articles 7, g. and 0,
are fearfuly false Ill each and every particular.
The letter referred to in Mr.. Tilton's tenth par
agraph was obtained from me by importantly
and by representations that it was necessary for
him to use in his then pending difficulties with
MIR Bowen. | was sick then nigh unto death.
| signed whatever he required without knowing
or understanding its import The paper l have
never seen, and do not know what statements it
contained.
lii charge IS letter of mine addressed to Mr..
Francis M0ultoA quoted to prove that l never
desired eparation or was advised by MIR. or Mrs.
Beecher to lsave my husband. Iieply the let
ter WAS of MIR. TIton's own concoctlng, which he
induced me to copy and signas my own-an nc /,
which, in my weakness and mistaken thought to
help him. have done too often during these un-
happy years. The implication that the harmony
of the home was unbroken until Mr. Bsecher
entered it as frequent guest or friend i'd la
mentable satire upon the household where he
himself years before. laid the corner stone of
free love and desecrated It's affairs up to the time
of my departure, 30 that the atmosphere WAS
not only Goddess but impure for my chill
=. .eF
would fain lift my daughters and all womanhood
from the insidious and diabolical teachings of
these latter days. His frequent efforts to prove
me insane, weak-minded, insignificant, of mean
presence, all rank in the category of heartless-
ness selfishneBs and falsehood, having its eli
max in its present endeayor to convince the
world that am or ever have been unable to
distinguish between an innocent and guilty
love.
In summing up tho whole matter, affirm my
self before God, to be innocent of the crimes
laid upon me that l never have been guilty
of adultery with Henry Ward Beecher in
thought or deed, nor has Mr. Beecher ever offer
ed TO me an indecorous or improper proposal.
10 the further charge that was led away from
my home by Mr.. Beecher's friends and by the
advice of a lawyer whom Mr.. Beecher had sent
to me, and who, in advance of my appearing be-
lore committee arranged with me the questions
and answers which are to constitute my testi-
mony in Mr.. Beecbers behalf, l answer that this
is again untrue, having never seen the lawyer
until introduced to him few moments before
the arrival of the committee by my step
father, Judge Morse and in
further reply submit the following statement
Of my action before the committee and scpara-
ton from my husband. The publication of Mr..
Tiltons letter in answer to Dr. Bacon, had not
known nor suspected, when, on Wednesday even
ing, he brought home tho Golden Age handing
it to me. Looking down its columns l saw, well
nigh with binding eyes, that he had put into ex-
ecution the almost daily threat of his life-that
he lived to crush out Mr.. Beecher, that the God
of battles was in him, He had always been Mr.
Beecher's superior, and all that lay i'll his path
wife children. or reputation, if need be, should
fall before this purpose.
| did not read 1t !; / saw enough without rea-
ding. My spirits rose within me as never before.
Theodore, said ''tell me what mean these
quotations from Mr. Beecher. Two years ago
you came to me at midnight saying, Elizabeth
all letters and papers concerning my difficulties
with Mr. Beecher and Mr.. Bowen are burned
and destroyed now don't you betray me for
have nothing to defend myself with. "Did you
w. eaid l. We'll, then, let me tell you they all
live not one is destroyed" That was said to
intimidate me. 1t had quite the contrary effect
have never been so fearless nor seen 30 clear
ly before with whom was dealing. Coming to
me little later he said; II want you to read III;
you will find 1t vindlcation of yourself. You
have not stood before the community for five
years as you now do" Reused still further by the
wickedness hid behind so false a mask, l re-
piled ''Theodore understand me- this is the last
time you call me publicly to walk through this
filth. My character needs no vindcation at this
late hour, from you. There was a time, had