Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-08-15

for her writing materials, which | banded
TO her from her secretary standing near oy,
and she sat up in bed and wrote of'ei
statement.
Mrs. TiItoB-s Written Denial.
In sort of postscript she denied expilc-
| itly that had ever offered any improper
solicitation TO her, that being the only
charge made against me by Mr. Triton.
| Her admission to me that she had staleo
under any circumstances to her husoand
so wicked a falsehood, was the crowhlng
| blow of all. It seemed 10 me as II she
was going to die; that her mind was over
| thrown, and that was in some dreadlui
way mixed up in it, and might be LETT oy
her death with this terrible accusation
hanging over me. | returned like one IN
a dream TO Mr.. Moulton's house where
said very little and soon went home.
Ii has been said that | confessed gllh
and expressed remOrse. This is utterly
false. Is it likely that with Mrs. TiltoDs
! retractiOn in my pocket should have thus
stultified myself?
Mrs. TIItOn Retraets Her RetractiOn.
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 return to her after our interview,
bad informed him of what she had done
and that had her retraction.
MOulton expOstulated with me, and said
that retraction under the circumstances
would not mend matters, but only awaken
fresh discord between husband aud vile
and do great injury to Mrs. Tilton Without
helping me. Mrs. Tilton, lie said, had al
ready recanted in writing the retractiOIr
made to me, ard of course there might be
no end to such contradictions.
MOuItOn Displays q Pistol.
Meanwhile Mr.. Tilton had destroyed his
wife'S first letter acknowledging the con-
| fession, and Mr.. MoultOn claimed that /
] had taken a mean advantage and made
dishOnorable use of TheodOre's request
that l should visit her, in obtaining from
| her written contradiction to = document
not in existence. lie said that all the d,f-
| ficulties could be settled without any such
paper, and that L ought to give it up. He
was under great excitement. He msde no.
verbal threats, but he opened is OvercOat
and with some emphatic remarks showed a
| pistol which afterward he took out and laid
on the bureau near which he stood. /
gave lllt ~ dlAu dlLt4 q lev AlAp-
| ment talk he left.
Within day or two after this Mr.. MOul
! ton made me third visit, and this time
We repaired to my study in the third story
/ of my house. Before speaking Of this in-
] terview, it is right that ] should allude
to the suffering through which | had gone
| during the previous day, the cause Of
| which was
/ The Strange Change In Mrs. Hilton.
Nothing had seemed to me more certain
/ during all my acquaintance with her than
| that she was singGiarly simple, truthful
| and honorable. Deceit seemed absolutely
/ foreign TO her nature. and vet she had stated
/ 10 her husband those strange aud awful
/ falSehOOds. She had not, when daily |
called and prayed with her, given me the
| slighte est hint. will not say Of such accu-
| satiOns. but even that there was any seri-
Gus family difficulty. She had suddenly,
! in December, called me and my wife to
| consultation with a view TO a possible sepa-
ration from her husband, still leaving me
| ignorant that she had put into his hands
| such a weapon against me. was bewil-
/ dered with a double consciousness OF a
sanity woman communicating very need
less treaehery to heT friend aud pastor. Ny
distress was bOundleSs. / did not for
moment feel, however, that she was
| blameworhy. rs would ordinarily
be thought, but supposed that
size had been oyerbOrne by weakness and
shattered in mind until she scarcely knew
what she did, and was no longer response
| bic for her acts. GEy soul Went out 10 her
| in pity. blamed myself Of want Of pru-
dence and foresight, for l thought all this
| had been the result OF her undue affection
| for me. had a profound feeling that |
| would bear any blame and take any pun
| ishment if that poor child could only
| emerge from this cloud and be put back in
| 10 happiness, from which had been, as |
| thought, if not ,he Canse, the occasion Of
Withdrawing her. Ifmy own daughter had
been in a similar case, my grief at her Ca
| lamity could scarcely have been greater.
! Moreover, from the anger and fury of Mr..
| Tilton, l apprehcnded that this charge was
made by him and, supported blythe accusa-
| ton Of his wife, was To be al once publicly
pressed against me, and, if it was, had
nothing but my simple word Of denial to
interPose against it.
His Fears for Religion.
In my then morbid condition of miud, /
| thought that this charge, although entirely
untrue, might result in great disaster, if
not in absolute ruin, to the great inter-
ests which were entirely dependent on me.
| The church which | had built up, the
books which was writing, my own imme-
| diate family, my brothers name-nOW en-
| gagged in the ministry, my sisters'-the
name which had hoped might live after
me and be in some light degree a source
Of strength and encouragement 10 those
who should succeed me, and above all, the
cause to which had devoted all my life
seemed impeTiied. Ii seemed to me that
| my life work was TO end abruptly and in
disaster. Ny earnest desire 10 avoid a
public accusation and the evils which
must necessarily flow from it, and which
now have resulted from it, has been one of
the leading motives that must explain my
action during these four years with refer
ence TO this matter.
MOuItOn Finds Him PIiable.
It was in such a sore and distressing con-
| dition that Mr.. MOultOn found me- His
manner was kind and cOnciliatory. He
| seemed, however, to be convinced that
had been seeking TIltOn'S downfall; that
had leagued with Mr. Bowen against him,
and that had by my advice come near de
stroying his family. l did rot need anJ
argument o. persuasion TO induce Inc to do
and say anything which would remedy the
injury of which then believed | had GER
tainly been the occasion, if not the active
cause. But MOultOn urged that having
wronged Tilton, so that the wrong meant
his means of support suddenly taken away,
his reputation gone, his family destroyed,
and that had done it. He assured me of
his own knowledge that the stori which
had heard Of Mr.. TiltOn's impurities OF
life, aud which had believed and repeat
ed to Bowen, were all false, and that Til
ton had always been faithful to his wife.
was prosecuted into the belief Of what
he said, and felt convinced Of slander in
its meanest form.
BEECHER's CROss-EXAMINATIO
Those Gushing Letters.
The following is a portion of the cross
examination of Mr.. Beecher furnished 10y
the Plymouth Church Investigation Com
| mittee.