The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1874-08-21

Beecher to @look in often and see
THAT Libby is not lonesome, or does
not want anything" Nor dld ne
make any complaint until ne began
to fear the Independent would be ia
I ken from him, as it was in conse-
| ouence ofhis loose notions Of mar
risge, and when it was he became
violent. Admits he felt a sincere
and honest ragerd for Mrs. Tilton,
whom he first extols almost as 8
saint, but in his subsequent remarks
appears to regard as a woman of
great weakness and capable of guilt
through that weakness. In the lat
ter years of their friendship Mrs. T.
had spoke often of Theodore's lax
ity of morals and religion, and that
his views in regard to the marriage
relation were verging on those OF
free love. In July 1870 she was ia
ken sick, Beecher visited her and
prayed with her. 1t was their last
interview before the trouble broke
out and in regard to that and all 9th
er interviews he says:
Concerning all my other visits, it
is sufficient to say that at no inter
CieC sUhich eUer took place bet,0een
Mrs. Ti1ton and myself did anything
occur aUhich might not hare occurred
eOith perfect propriety 6eta0eea a broth
er and a sister, 6etaceen a father and
child, or bet1Oeen a man of honor and
the acife Of has dearest friend. Nor
did anything ever happen which she
or 1 sought to conceal from her hus-
band.
In December, 1870, Mrs. T. return
ed from the west, and an orphan girl
who had been brought up in Tilton's
family, land who Beecher says con-
fessed to him that T. had come to
her bed side and sought her favor, J
was sent to Beecher to invite him to
visit Mrs. T. at her mothers where
she had gone in consequence of i'll
treatment, Of which he received par
ticulars when he visited her. His
wife subsequently visited her, and
both appear to have advised sepala-
ton. Then came the explosion.
On the 9th December, 1870, Bow
en,on his way home, called at Beech
sand delivered the following note
from Tilton:
HENRY WARD BEECHER-For rea-
sons which you explicitly know, and
which l forbear to state, I demand
that you withdraw from the pulpit,
and quit Brooklyn as residence.
[Signed THEo. TILToN.
Beeeher thought him to be crazy;
Bowen confded some of the reasons
which prompted him to remove Til
ton from the editorial chair Of the In
dependent-narrated various stories
of his improprieties, which both be-
lieved, and Beecher gave his opinion
that Bowen's interests would be pro-
NOTED by removing Tilton, and this
advise was the cause of T.'s peremp-
tory expulsion from Bowen's service
On becoming aware that Beecher's
advice had influenced his discharge
by Bowen, Tilton seems to have re-
garded the act as a response to his
threatening letter, and on the 29th
December, two days later, he extort-
ed from his wife confession of Grim
inal intimacy with Beecher, and pre-
pared an elaborate attack on B. 1t
appears that she had confessed to
the same in July previous.
Beecher had first met Moulton in
1859, and on the evening of the last
Tuesday in December (3Ist) 1870,
he says-we give his own words:
"Francis D Moulton called at my
house and with intense earnestness
4 wish you to go with me to see Mr.
Tilton.' 1 replied that I could not
then as I was just going to my pray
er meeting. With the most positive
manner he said: "You must go
somebody else will take care of the
meeting Invent with him, not know
ing what trouble had agitated him,
but vaguely thinking that 1 might
now learn the solution of the recent
threatening letter, on my way ask
ed him the reason Of this visit, to
which he replied that Mr. T. would
inform me, or words to that effect
On entering his house Moulton lock
ed the door, saying something about
not being interrupted. He request.
ed me to go into the front chamber,
over the parlor. l was under the i'm
preston that T. was going to pour
out upon me his anger for colleagu-
ing with Bowen and for the advice OF
separation given to his wife. / wish
ed Moulton to be with me as a wit
ness, but he insisted that l should &c
by myself Mr.. I. received me cold
| ly but calmly. After a word or two
standing in front of me with a mem.
orandum in his hand, he began an
Grafton. He said 1 sought his down.
fall, had spread injurious rumors a
bout him, was using my place anC
influence to undermine him, had ad
vised MIR Bowen to dismiss him anC
much more that cannot remember
He then declared that l had injured
him in his family relations; had
Joined with his mother-in-l law in pro
ducing discord IN his house; had ad
vised separation; had alienated hi
Wife's affections from him; had lee
her to love me more than any living
being; had corrupted her moral ma
ture, and taught her to be insincere
lyingand hypocritical, and ended BY
charging that l had made wicked
proposals to her. If I haC
been shocked at such a statement,
was absolutely thunderstruck whel
: he closed the interview by requestin,
me to repair at once to his house
where he said Elizabeth was Waitin!
for me, and learn from her lips tn
truth of his stories in so far as thel
concerned her. l believe tina
: Moulton went with me to the door O
Tilton's house. The housekeeper
5 the same woman of whom Mrs. T
had complained, seemed to have beel
instructed by him, for she evidently
expected me and showed me at ono
: 30 Mrs. T's room. Mrs T. lay upol
= her bed, white as marble,with closet
eyes as if in a trance, with her hand
: upon her bosom, palm to palm, as i
in prayer. sat down near hel
f and said, elizabeth, Theodore ha
, been making serious CHARGES aUains