The Portland daily press., 1874-07-27
The Great Scandal.


remorse, fear, despair" of spending the most
of his time in 'the power of great darkness"
Yet, commonplace as the explanation of all the
trouble is said to be, he still speaks of it as
causing uuexampled 'sorrow and excitement"
a "poignancy of suffering" which he hopes no
other man may feel, and of being "filled with
morbid intensity at the very shadow of it,
whatever that may mean. Should any spirit
uastic humbug of the next generation ever
profess to summon the spirit of Mr.. Beecher,
he can hardly make him talk more extraordi-
nary gibberish than this. Why was Mr..
Beecher thus trembling on the edge of ruin,
despair, remorse and all the rest of it? Surely
these words are not in the least degree applica
BILE to the slight faut-if fault it was-which he
now alleges constituted his only offense-[ New
York Times.
The spectacle of an unhappy wife and moth
er fighting for her good name against hus-
band who wishes to destroy it, is one which APP
peas powerfully to the sympathes of every
one. In this case, the sober judgment will be
apt to agree with the aroused sympathes.
The statement is a thoroughly womanly one,
full of impulse aud excited feeling. careless of
effect, and only bent upon repellng the hide
GUS charges which are evidently hateful and re-
voting to her very nature 1t is full Of touch.
ing and unconsciously dramatic details, which
give it at once the stamp of sincerity and the
appearance Of truth. Most readers will be
likely to accept it as true, and in that case, the
whole structure of scandalous insnuation,
WHtCu HAS SLOWLY grown up UeIOro our eyes
during the last few years, will disappear like a
poisonous exhalation.-[Ne New York Tribune.
In common with all right-minded people, we
lament the necessity of printing revelations
which must carry annoyance and distress into
innnmerable households. But to refuse to
print authentic and Gecently prepared testi-
mony in such a case, exciting, as it has already
done, universal public attention, and involving
the most serious public interests, would not
help to solve the difficulties, and would be, in
our Judgment, departure from the proper
business of newspaper. Boston Adver-
tiser.
In the absence of positive proof to the con-
trary, these asseveratons of Mr.. Beecher and
Mrs. Tilton, would be accepted as offsettlng an
accusation of crime made by any man, but
when it is made by man who has the shame
less effrontery to claim that he was insulted by
Mr.. Beecher, through Mrs. Tilton, in his very
presence, In way so gross that he does not
feel at liberty to describe it, and that he did
not resent it, by man who says he found his
wife locked in a bedroom with her pastor, and
he made no fuss about 1.-THE accusation
breaks down from the total absence of ordinary
manhood and self-respect in the man making
i'll Brooklyn Eagle.
The moral spectacle is in this seuse remark
ably impressive. The community, with a SUI
preme sense of Justice, refuses to swing to it's
conviction until every opportunity has been
given the accused to meet and, if possible, &C.
general and in detail. Mr.. Beecher is to be pa
tiently allowed proper interval to demolish
this web of accusation if he can. and not even
his accuser ought TO refuse to unite in the uni
versal hope for his speedy and safe deliver
ance.-[B Boston Post.
Yesterday Mr.. Tilton's side seemed to be a
very strong one, and his points were ingenious
~ made and presented, but Mr.. Beecher's de-
NAL makes it look like the work of very
Jealous and almost desperate man, who seized
serious charges to make the most
The investigation can now 90 forward to con-
clusion amid the general feeling that Mr..
Beecher has put himself 10 the right position,
and one that points to his ultimate yindication.
The maine question is of innocense or guilt,
and as to that, Mr.. Beecher's denial answers
every required purpose now, and invests the
whole matter with the best assurances for the
fature.-[ Boston Journal.
1t is not too much to say that the public con-
fidence in Mr.. Beecher has not yet been de-
stroyed. His full statement is yet to come, and
he has only to furnish a sufficient explanation
Of the strange letters to Mr., Moulton to regain
his old place and more. He is too good a
Judge OF human nature not to know that any
lack OF frankness, any attempt to deceit or
subterfuge, will be infinitely worse than full
confession. AS the case now stands, there can
be but one of two issues: Either Tilton is a
most malicious liar, coward and fenj, or Mr..
Beecher is an Unprecedented scoundrel aud
hypocrite. Until the latter proposition shall be
proved beyond question, the public will believe
the former.-[ Hartford Courant.
The gross and indecent arraignment now pub
icly made by Mr.. Tlton changes the situation
and makes it proper for us to speak. We do so,
without waiting for the replies of Mrs. Tilton
and MIR. Beecher. Having known them both
personally for many years, we will frankly say
that if they should admit the truth of Mr.. Til.
tons statement, we should find it difficult to be
lieve, but that until they do so we find it i'm
possible. Knowing Mr.. Tilton, also, we should
require collateral evidence at every step before
accepting any of his statements. The man and
woman who are accused have behind them the
consistent record of private and public worth
the man who accuses them has no such record
What have these three people been doing DUR
ing the past seven years ? Mrs. Tilten has
been patient, loving, devoted wife and mother,
enduring nameless wrongs in silence. Mr..
Beecher has been active in good works. devot-
ing his leisure hours to writing life of Christ.
MIR. Tilton has been advocating free DIVORCE
and writing the biography of Victoria Wood
hull. The contrast lie a sharp one, and tells the
whole story;-[Woman's Journal.
Il humble myself before him. says Mr.
Beecher, ''as do before my God" 81 will die
before any one but myself shall be incuIpated.' %
'The poor child lying there is guiltless, sinned
against, and bearing the transgression of
another" Now, taking all this in connection
with the other letters and explanations above
and very powerful argument to give to it the
meaning its author now proposes to fix upon it,
New York Sun.
The statement of Mrs Tilton we publish
along with thai of Mr.. Beecher In .'tha t
piteous, strained voice. we hear the accents of
truth But along with her own exculpation it
will wildly suggest more charitable Judgment
of the man whom she has left than has hitherto
seemed possible. Is Theodore Tilton sane?-
New York World.
But men everywhere look aghast at Mr..
Beecher's apology and at his letters. The au-
thenticty of these is not denied TIey are the
damning evidence in the case. If Mr.. Beecher
wrote them he will fall by them The ex-
pressions of wretchedness and despair which
they contain were never prompted by any venial
sin. No mere error of judgment, no trivial
fault that might ALLEVIATE few friends, but
which could be atoned for by true repentance,
ever led to such groveing humiliation, to such
consciousness of utter ruin. 1t is impossible to
read them without entire heart-sickness, with
out feeling enveloped by dense cloud Of dread
Liberal Christian, New York.