Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1874-08-20

sexual commerce, to which, in the
process of development in Tilton's
mind, the charge grew ut last.
A woman's charge against man, Of
a certain offence to which she alone
can bear witness will destroy almost
any mans character. Here was the
woman's charge, in the hands of her
husband, backed by the circumstantial
evidence of friendly intimacy, and of
an enthusiastic and idolizing admira-
ton on the part of the wife. The sit
uation was enough to appall any man.
Is it strange that this, added to the
shock of such an accusation by wo
man he thought so pure and truthful, |
appalled, Mr.. Beecher, and almost un- |
settled his reason? Even that which |
seems to be true in this affair, namely, !
Mrs. Tilton's enthusiastic admiration |
for Mr. Beecher, with her husband to
give it the form of an accusation, as
an alienation of her affection, needs
nothing more to start it upon the
wings of common report as criminal
intimacy Thus, that which was true
and was innocent, was made a terror
to Beecher by the use which might be
made Oft by such husband, and was
made means of extorting fears and
expressions to be perverted by the two
conspirators into evidence to support
charge which they kept in the back
ground.
That Tilto1 was contriying from the
beginning of his downfall, to trade on
his power to raise scandal against
Beecher in connection with his wife, is
plain. If Beecher were guilty it would
not change this fact nor its baseness.
| His whole course was Matchmaking OF
Beecher, by constraining him to help
him socially and pecuniarily. But that
bIackmail was not put to the 'front.'
! Beecher's manhood would have re-
sented that It was veiled, while rep
sesentations were put forward to play
on Beecher's sympathies and remorse; ;
remorse not for any wrong doing, but
because he was persuaded that his rev.
alation to Bowen put the finishing
stroke to Tilton's engagement, and
thus drove him to distress, despair and
madness, all Of which were made more
poignant by Moulton's assurance that
Tilton was innocent of the reported
immortality remorsc not for any guilt
mess toward Mrs TiltOn, but because
the Unbalanced mind of her husband
had fancied, or at least charged,
that her affections had gone out to
Beecher, to the destruction of his do
mestic happiness.
Through all this the mischief max
ing go-between used his duplicity and
cunning to persuade Beecher that he
was the author of Tilton's woes, and
owed him reparation. As the author
of this marital misery, he was made
also responsible for Tilton's mad
freaks, and for the baseness which
made him play the pimp to his wife's
defamation. ThereupOn Beecher was
called upon by Moulton to contribute
to Tilton's necessities by payment o1
money. He did not recognize it as
blackmail He states that he paid at
different times to the amount of So,
600, and at another time So 1000, anC
that soon after this Moulton present
ed a demand for $4,000 more, will
Tilton's threat that if not paid h.
would publish his accusation. At thi
. menace he reYolted and detied Tilton
; All this is very strange story.
seems strange that an innocent maj
= could be so entangled in the netWorl
=, of a conspiracy as to be compelled t.
struggle against exposure as The Wer
the criminal, and should write thing
: that seemed confession, apology ant
depreciation of exposure. The apollo
: gy, however, is disowned, and, as
= was treacherously used, it is most like
. ly it was treacherously made up. Th
+ letter to Mrs. Tilton was treacherOus
: ly procured and copied to be used, an
: it is sufficiently explained. Mr. Beecl
= er's expressions of dependency, an
T., of looking for sudden death, are ais
y satisfactorily explained, and they hav
different color when joined to til
= text. But the four principal person
ages Of this strange drama are remark
# able persons.
= 1t is needless to say that Beecher
10 generous, contiding, incautious in h
I habits; that the paramount quality
: his nature is the emotional, and that
~ is much given to what is irreyerentl
" called gush. He is just the nature
A be played upon by such designin
~ and INSCRIPTIONS knave az Tilton
% course proves him to be, aided [
~ so smooth a mutual friend as MoultoI
=, All SMILES fail to express the hypO,
i ricy of these two. Mrs. Tilton is al
of other strange creature-intensely +
~ ligious, an enthusiast in everythin
- simple as a child, trusting, given
- idealizing and idolizing those 81
- loved, whether her husband or h
~, pastor, counting herself as nothing
- the presence of her husbands s gigal
y tic egotism, willing to humble herse
I in the dust to recover his erring Low
- -, after all his brutality. When pro
:. trated by sickness, and her brutal hu
- band thought only of this as meal
=, to carry forward his design, she Wro
:" at his dictation an accusation fatal
y her idolized pastors character. Ye
=. - as soon as he stood before her fac
aF she retracted it.
- How stands the case, now that Mou
- ton has told what he thinks best, al
= Beecher has given his explanation
- all? What must be the judgment of
:" candid world? The case seems to
"A to stand thus TiltOn has in all b
=" pursuit of Beecher's ruin referred
. Moulton as possessed of the proofs
y Beecher's guilt Moulton's condu
" has conntenanced this. Beecher's stat
a. ment duplicates Moulton with TiltC
=. in conspiracy to blackmail him.
-, Moulton is now accused. He can I
~ longer plead his honor as n confidel
as tial friend. If he had a shred of til
- honor left-if he had not forfeited
w by letting go to the public what cou
he be used to injure Beecher, while no
d. his pretense of keeping back com
or in when only keeping back will he
e. the injury, yet Beecher implicatir
Ile him in conspiracy, and accusing hi
!, of fraoo,oryy no a oODGIo0t ,po,,ll Z,