The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-08-18

Mr.. Tilton and myself, his doctrines as SET forth
in the leaders OF the Independent aroused IA
storm OF indignation among the representative
Congrefgationalists in the West, and as the paper
was written 10 on the subject In reply dis
claimed all responsibility for the views express
ed py Iliton. My brother Edward, then living
in Illinois, was prominent in remonstrances
addressed to Bowen concerning the course OF his
understood that Bowen agreed in conseauenee &c
OF the proceedings arising out of this rernon-
STRANGE, TO remove Tflton or suppress his Pc
GUITAR views, butinstead OF that Theodore seemed
firmer in the saddle than before and his loose
Douons OF marriage and divorce began to be
snauoWed edliOrially. This led TO the starting OF
the Advance at Chicago, to supercede the indie
pendent in the Northwest,and Bowen was made
10 feel that Tilton's infringement was iniuring
his business, and TiltOn may have felt that his
position was being undermined by the opponent
tended to believe tha. WAS ieag1ed ya P1v
lntlmations OF his feeling hard towards.lim
aseIlbed 10 this misconnection. / had taKen
from the West in December 1870. a
young girl, who Mrs. Tilton had taken into
the family, educated aud treated like an own
would visit Mrs 11lton at her mothers. She
said that Mrs. T. had left her home
ana gone to her mothers in conse-
qOenee of i'll treatment OF her husband she then
gave an account of what she had seen of cruelty
and abuse on the part of the husband That
shocked me, and yet more when with dowpcast
look she said that Mr.. T. had visited her cham
wishes. / visited Mrs. L. at her mothers, and
received an account OF her home life and
Oh the disposition OF her husband, and of the
management of a woman he had made house
Eeeper, which seems like nightmare dream.
Inc question was whether she would go
asked permission to bring my wife to see
them, whose Judgment in all dome tic
matters | thought better than mine. and
accordingly second visit was made. The re-
SUI or the in;eryiey was that my wife was
mat no consideration could induce her to re.
main an hour with man who had treated her
S %1th am hundredth part of such insult
did. but hesitated, as / always do,
at giving advice in favor of separation. 1t was
aee az 5ha v Tie , sa4nd give her final ad
TO go she wished final word, but there was COM
pany and children present, and l wrote
view is right and that separation and settle
ment OF support Will be the wiseSt. In his pres
more like to produce hatred than her absence"
Mrs. T. did not tell me that
MY PRESENCE
had anything to do with this trouble nor did she
let me know that on the July previous he had
extorted from her q confession of excessive
affection for me. On the evening of December
q, 1870, Mr.. Bowen on his way home called at
my house and handed me letter from MIR. r.
1t was as nearly as can remember i'm the fol-
lowing terms:
HENRY WARD BEEcHER: For reasons which
YOU explicitly know ana which forbear to state
demand you to withdraw ON the pulpit and
quit brooklyn as residence.
(Signedl THEODORE TILToS
read IL over twice and turned to Bowen and
said, This man is crazy. This is sheer insanity"
and other like words. Dir. Bowen professed 10
be ignorant of its contents, and handed him
conversation about Mr.. +. He gave me me-
some accounts of his reasons why he had re-
moved him from the editorship of the Infepend-
ent to subordinate position of contributor,
viz; that Mr.. t. religious and social views were
running The paper, but he said that as soon as it
broken with Tilton there came pour.
Ing in upon him so many, stories of Mr..
hilton private life and habits that he was over
whelmed, and that he was now considering
whether he could consistently retain him
tributor TO- The eni Indeo,d az ehied con
Winsted, Conn, and some like stories from the
in his own Office. Without doubt he believed
these allegations, and so he did the others.
corroberation. We conversed some Time. MI Mr.
Bowen wishing my opinion. Ii frankly
given. did not see how he could maintain his
former relations with Mr.. I. The substance
Tilton's inord nate vanity. his fatal
facility for laundering, or which he had an in
genious and astentatious independence in his
own opinion, and general practicableness
would keep the Union alta disadvantage with
tions of these immoraIities, would make.his
connection with either paper fatal to its inter-
ests. spoke strongly and emphatically under
THE GREAT PRovOcArIoN
of his threatening me, and the revelation had
just had concerning his domestic affairs. Mr..
Bowen deiided the letter of Tiltons which ne
brought to me, and said earnestly that If trouble
should come Oft, might rely on his friendship
learned afterward of a further quarrel, lending
Bowen's service. This conversation was told
TO TilLon. believe Bowen had
m n ton about Mr.. T. from nav wife to whom
had referred him, although have no doubt that |
t. would have lost his place at any rate. have |
and precipitated his final overthrow. When / |
came to think it all low over felt very unhappy at
t toe ' impenRding disaster. had had
loved him m, much n and at one time
co@e just at the time Of his first unfolding, and
had much to do with his early development. |
had aided him externally TO bring him before |
OF the daY and sftepwars
social intercourse had been intimate.
1t is true that his nature always
When ' he was but boy, he looked up
to me with affectionate admiration. After some |
years he felt himself my equal, and was very |
companionable, and when he had outgrown me |
age, he still was kind and patronizing. |
Weaknesses OF vanity. and had believed
knocks among strong men and by sorrows that |
temper the SOUL he would yet fulfill useful and
was to be cast forth from his eminent position |
and his affairs did not promise that sympathy |
and strength which makes ones house, as mine |
has been, in times of adversely, refuge |
from the storm and tower of defense. |
Besides generous suffering, should have had
a selfish reason for such, il had dreamed that |
was about to become the instrument by which |
Mr. Tilton meant to fight his way ba ok to the |
prosperity which he had forfeited. Ii now APP |
pears that on Dec %, 1870, Mr.. Tilton having |
learned that replied to his threatening letter |
by expressing such opinion of him to set |
Mr., Bowen finally against him, ex-
torted from his wife, then suffering |
from a severe illness, a document eliminating |
me- and prepared an elaborate attack upon me. |
On Tuesday evening, December, 1870, about Z
o'clock, Francis ID. Moulton called at my house, |
and with intense earnestneSs said, al wish you /
TO go with me see Mr.. Triton" replied that |
could not then, as | was just going TO my |
prayer meeting. With most positive manner |
he said, ''You must co. Somebody else will take |
care of the meeting" / went with him, not |
vaguely thinking that / might now i.s,~'.