Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-08-27

done great injury to Tilton otherwise.
Now, when you are confronted with it, you ask
permission of the man to again visit his house,
and you get from that woman who has confessed
that you have ruined her a recantation of the
truth for your mere personal safety. That won't
save you.'i At that interview Beecher admitted
with grief and sorrow the fact Of his sexual rela
tons with Mrs. Tilton. He said that Mrs
confession of Mrs. Tilton to her husband
had been expressing great sympathy
toward Mrs. TiltOn, and taking active interest
with her against her husband. Moulton said:
=. Mr. Beecber want that recantatiOn. I have
come for it Well said he, what shall do
without it?'' He replied: . don't know; can't
tell you what will happen with it." He asked:
What will you do if give it to you?' Moulton
answered: Il will keep it as l keep the confess
sion. If you act hOnorably | will protect 1t with
my life as | would protect the other with my
life Mr.. TitOn asked for that confession this
morning, and said will never give it to You:
you shall not have it from my hands until l have
exhausted every effort for peace"
Mr.. Beecher gave him back the paper. When
he went home with the recantaton he found Til
ton there and showed it to him. He expressed
his surprise and qualification that he should have
been able to get it, and he then showed to him
how very foolish it would have been in the morn
ing to have proceeded angrily against Beecher.
He made another appeal for peace, saying that,
Notwithstanding the great difficulties appearing
in the way. if they were properly dealt with they
would be beaten out of the way. He expressed
his willingness and desire for peace
On the 1st of January, in accordance with a
previous understanding, he went to BeeChers
house and went into his study, where he told him
again of his great surprise that Elizabeth should
have made the confession of his criminal com
merce with her to her husband without letting him
know anything about it, making his destruction
at any moment possible and without warning
to him. He expressed his great grief at this
wrong which he had done as a minister and
friend to Theodore, and, at his request MOultOn
took pen and paper and BeeCher dictated to him
the paper known as 8 the apology all of which
was in MOultOn's handwriting except the words,
= [ have trusted this to MoultOn in confidence"
and the signature, which latter were in Mr..
Beecher's.
Mr. Moulton says this was intrusted to him in
confidence, to be shown only to TiltOn. 1t had
reference to no other fact act than the cOnfes
sion of sexual relations between Beecher and
Mrs. TiltOn which he at that interview confessed,
and that he had also at subsequent interviews
unquaifedly confessed that he had been guilty
of adultery with Mrs. Tilton, and always in
spirit of deep grief and sorrow at the enormity
Of the crime he had committed against Mr.. Til
tons family. At such times he would speak
with much feeling of the relation which he had
sustained toward them pastor, spiritual ad-
wiser and trusted friend. His self-condemnation
at the ruin he had wrought under such cIrcum-
stances full and complete, and at times he
so bowed down with grief in consequence of
the foul wrong he had done that he threatened to
put an end to his life.
In that interview Beecher was very earnest in
his expressions of regret at what had been done
against TiltOn in relation to his business con-
neCtiOn with Bowen, and besought MoultOn to do
anything he could to save him from the destruc-
ton which would come upon him if the story of
his (Beecher's) intercourse with Mrs. TiltOn
should be divulged.
In compliance with the directions of Beecher,
Jan. l, 1871, he took the paper which Beecher
had dictated to him to Tilton. detailed to him
Beechers expressions of regret and sorrow, spoke
to him of his agony of mind, and again appealed
to him to have the whole matter kept quiet, if for
no other reason for the sake of the children. To
this TiltOn assented.
Mr. Moulton then gives full history of Tilton's
claim against Bowen, of the independent, for
! Il,
tOria services, and the settlement of that claim
by arbitrators resulting in the payment to Tilton
of $1,000. After the above settlement the paper
known as the = tripartite agreement was signed
by Bowen and Tilton, and subsequently by
Beecher.
In the form in which it was first drawn it
bound the parties to say nothing of any wrong
done or offense committed by Beecher, and fully
exonerated him theretrOm. After Bowen had
signed it, it handed to Tilton to sign, and he
refused He was willing to sign an agreement
never to repeat again the charges of Bowen, say
ing that, If for no other reason, If the matter
should thereafter ever come light, it would APP
pear that there had been something between
Beecher and Mrs Tilton, and it might be used
evidence to the injury of himself and family, as
well as of Beecher, and therefore, il was not for
the interest of either Titon Beecher to sign it
in the form first proposed
From the time of the tripartite covenant moth
ing occurred to disturb the relations between
Bcecher, TiltOn and Bowen or either of them,
until the publication in Woodruff &c CtGfjn's
Weekly of the elaborate story concerning the
Gldi EcadJlOhS DGINGSn DGSCntr, llIJO0 ana MIS-.
Tilton. After that publication appeared it again
came to the knowledge of Beecher that Bowen
was making declarations derOgatory to his char
acter. This was followed by the publication ofthe
! tripartite covenant, which done by Samuel
WIIkeson. Beecher was not a party to its pub
LEGATION, nor knew anything about it.
Another curious complication of the relations
of the parties arose from the publication by Mrs.
Woodruff of the story in her journal. 1t is mat
ter OF public notoriety that Mrs. Isabella Beecher
Hooker, the sister OF Beecher, had espOused the
cause of Mrs. Woodruff on the question of
wOman's suffrage and had been accused still fur
ther of adopting her social tenets. Beecher's re-
lations to Mrs. riltOn had been communicated to
her. This had been made subject of commune
cation from Mrs. Hooker to her brother, and, after
the publication by Mrs. Woodruff, Mrs. Hooker
addressed the famous letter to her brother, in
which she implored him to confde the whole
truth to her.
Then follows the letter from Rev. Thomas K
Beecher to Mrs. Hooker, in which he says that
he respected Mrs. Woodruff but abhorred her
philosophy, and that she was only carrying out
"Henry's philosophy, against which l recorded
my protest twenty years ago, and parted loving
ly and aChingly from him, saying: We cannot
work together He has drifted, and L have
hardened like crystal till I am sharp-cornered
and exacting"
Mr.. Moult0n saw Mr.. Beecher, cOnversed about
these letters at various times and Beecher said
he apprehensive that his sister, in her anx-
iety that he should do his duty in presenting this
truth as she understood it, and in protecting
Mrs. Woodruff fromthe consequences of having
published the truth, from which she was then
suffering, would go into his pulpit and
insist on declaring that the Woodruff publ
cation was substantially true. Moulton suggested
tnat he should see Mrs. Hooker, speak to her
kindly, and exhort her not to take this course
ana That Illton should her, and so far shake
her confidence IN the truth of the story as to in
duce her to doubt whether she would be safe in
making the statement public. In this course
Beecher agreed, and such arguments and induce
menS We're brought to bear upon Mrs. Hooker
as were likely to prevent her from doing that
winch would have certainly brought
on an exposure of the whole business. During
the consultations between Beecher and Moulto1
as TO the means OF meeting Mrs. HOoker'S inten-
lions, no suggestion was ever made on the part
OF BeeCher that his sister was then OF had been
at any other time insane. BeeCher was exceed
ingly anxious that Titon should repudiate the
statement published by WOodhull, and denounc-
ing her for its publication.
Beecher asked MOulton to say to Tilton sub-
stantially: Theodore may for his own Durpose
If he choose, say that ali his misfortune has
come upon him on account of his dismissal from
the Union and the Independent: and on account
of the ofenSe which l committed against him he
may take the position against me and Bowen that
he does. ct the fact is that his advocacy Of
Mrs. Woodruff and her theories has done him
the injury which prevents his rising Now in
order TO get support from and from Plymouth
Church, and in order TO obtain the SYMPATHY Of
the whole community, he must publish a card de-
nying the allegations OF Mrs. Woodruff and nm
less he does 1t he cannot rise He also said tha
same thing TO IIton in Moulton's presence
To this TiltOn answered. in subsistence tn Raacb
er: You know why I sought Mrs WoodhUII's
81 4uaintance. 1t was to save nv family and