Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-08-27
BEECHER'S STATEMENT.

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.
MR.. MoULTON ARMED WITH A PISTOL.
On the next day Mr.. Moulton called
at my house and came up into my bed
room. He Said that Mrs. Tilton, on
her husbands return to her after our
interview, had informed him what she
had done, and that 1 had her retractiOn.
Moulton expostulation with me, said
that the retraction under the circum-
stances would not mend matters, but
only awaken fresh discord between hus-
band and wife and do great injury to
Mrs. Tilton without helping me. Mrs.
Tilton, he said, had already recanted
in writing the retraction made to me,
and of course there might be no end to
such contradictions. Meanwhile, Til
ton had destroyed his wife's first letter,
acknowledging the confession, and Mr.
MoultOn claimed that l had taken a
mean advantage, and made dishonora-
BILE Theodore's request that l should
visit her, in obtaining from her writ
ten contradiction to a document not in
existence. He said that all difficulties
could be settled without any such pa
pers, and that 1 ought to give it up.
He was under great excitement. He
made no verbal threats, but he opened
his overcoat, and with some emphatic
remark showed pistol, which after
ward he took out and laid on the bureau
near which he stood. I gave the paper
to him, and after few moments talk
he left.
HIS MOOD WHEN THE APOLOGY WAS
WRITTEN.
Within day or two after this Mr..
Moulton made me the third visit, and
this time we repaired to my study in
the third story of my house. Before
speaking of this interview, it is right
that should allude to the suffering
through which 1 had gone during the
previous days-the cause of which was
the strange change in Mrs. Tilton.
Nothing had seemed to me more certain
during all my acquaintance with her
than that she was singularly simple,
truthful and honorable. Deceit seemed
absolutely foreign to her nature, and
yet she had stated to her husband those
strange and awful falsehoods, she had
not when daily I called and prayed
with her given me the slightest hint, l
will not say of such accusations, but
even that there was any serious family
difficulty. She had suddenly in De-
cember called me and my wife to
to possible separation
from her husband, still leaving me ig-
norant that she had put into his hands
such weapon against me. 1 was be-
wildered with double consciousness
of sanity woman communicating a
very needless treachery to her friend
and pastor. My distress was bound
less. 1 did not for a moment feel,
however, that she was blameworthy,
as would ordinarily be thought, but
that she had been overborne
by sickness and shattered in mind un-
til she scarcely knew what she did,
and was 40 longer responsible for her
acts. My soul went out to her in pity.
l blamed myself for want of prudence
and foresight, for l thought that all
this had been the result Of her undue
affection for me. 1 had profound
feeling that would bear any blame
and take any punishment if that poor
child could only emerge from this cloud
and be put back into the happiness
from which 1 had been, as 1 thought,
If not the cause, yet the occasion of
withdrawing her. If my own daugh-
ter had been in similar case, my grief
at her calamity could scarcely have
been greater. Moreover, from the an
ger and fury of Mr.. Tilton, l appre-