Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-08-27

nu,ronnv a. she did. but hesitated, as / always
40 al giving advice in favor OF separation; II
a .rss agreed that my wife should give her final
49, nj another visit. The next day, when
sssdy TO 60 she wished a final word, but there
mss company and the children were present, and
va wrote on scrap of paper, . incline to
.b;nt that your view is right. and that separa-
.ion and settlement OF support VIII be wisest.
and that in his present desperate state her pres
ca near him is far more likely to produce
Sn,rad than her absence" Mrs. Tilton did not
ali me that my presence had anything TO do
YET This trouble nor did she let know that
~ the July previous he had extorted from her
o IN g. sion Of excessive affection for me.
on the evening Of Dec "a, 1870, Mr.. Bowen, on
his way home, called at my house and handed
M letter from Mr.. Tiiton Pit was as nearly
T can remember, in the following terms:
4.Hysar WARD BEEcHER:
:. For reasons which YOU explicitly know, and
h;cb I forhear TO state. | demand that You with
Srass from the pulpit and quit Brooklyn as res
idence. ..T,,.
(Signed) THEODORE IILToN'
read il over twice, and turned to Bower and
ssid: - This man is crazy; this Is sheer insan-
a. :, and other like words. Mr.. Bowen pro-
fessed to be ignorant OF its contents, and
handed him the letter 10 read We at once fell
mt, a conversation about Mr.. Tilton. He gave
me some account of the reasons why he had
duced him from the editorship OF the fnde-
ueDdept to the subordinate position of contribu-
Tor viz +: That Mr.. Tiitons religious and social
views were running the paper. But he said that,
as soon as il known that he had so far
broken with Tilton, there came pouring in upon
him So many stories of Mr.. Tiiton's private
life and habits that he was overwhelmed, and
Thai he was now considering whether he could
Consistently retain him on the Brooklyn Uaa0n,
ar a. chief contributor to the independent He
narrated the story Of affair at Winsted, Conn,
some like stories from the Northwest, and the
charges brought against Triton in his own Office.
Without doubt he believed these allegations, and
so did l. The other facts previously stated TO
me seemed full corroboration We conversed
for some time, Mr. Bowen wishing my opinion.
II was frankly given. | did not see how he
could maintain former relations with Mr.. Tilton.
The substance Of the full conversation was that
Tiltons inordinate vanity, his fatal facility for
laundering. for which he had genius, and the
ostentatiOus independence in his own opinions
and general impracticableness would keep the
Union at a disagreement with the political
party for whose service ii was published, and
now added 10 all the revelations of these pro-
miscuous irnmoralities. would make his con
nection with either paper fatal to its interests.
/ spoke strongly and emphatically under the
great provocation of his threatening to
me and the revelation ] had just had
concerning his domestic affairs. Mr.. Bowen
derided the letter of 1flton's- which he
had brought TO me, and said earnestly that If
trouble came of IL / might rely on his friend
ship. | learned afterward, in a further quarrel,
ending in Titon's peremptory expulsion from
Bowens service, this conversation was told to
Mr. Tilton. | believe that Bowen had an inter
view and received some further informa-
ton about Mr.. Tilton from my wife, to
whom had referred him. Although ] have no
tt
his place at any rate, have also no
doubt that my influence was decisive, and
precipitated his final overthrow When /
came to think II all oyer, felt very unhappy at
disaster. | had loved him much, and at one
time he seemed like son to me My influence
had come just at the time Of his first unfolding,
and had much to do with his early development.
had aided him externally to bring him before
the public. We had been together in the great
controversies Of the day, until afterward our
social intercourse had been intimate. 1t is true
thatyhis nature always exaggerated his own ex-
cellGnCes. but as a boy he looked up TO me with
afectionate admiration. After some years he
felt himself my equal and was very companiona-
bic. and when he had outgronn me and reached
the position of the first man Of the age he still
was kind and patronizing. had always smiled
at these weaknesses of vanity, and had believed
that with larger experience, some knocks among
strong men, and by sorrows that temper the soul,
he would yet fulfill useful and brilliant career.
But now all looked dark. He was to be cast forth
from his eminent position, and his affairs did not
promise that sympathy and strength which makes
ones house, mine has been in times of ad-
versity, refuge from the storm and a tower Of
defense
a selfish reason for such, if had recalled that /
was about to become an instrument by which Mr..
Tilton meant to fight his way back to the pros
perity which he had forfeited. 1T now appears
that on the Goth Of December 1870, Mr.. Tilton,
having learned that had replied to his threaten
ing letter by expressing such an opinion as to
face to face with immediate ruin, extorted from
his wife, then suffering from severe illness.
document eliminating me- and prepared an elab-
crate attack upon me. On Tuesday evening,
December, 1870, about o'clock, Francis b.
Moulton called at my house, and with intense
eagerness said: :. i wish you to go with me to
see Mr.. Tilton." ] replied that could not then,
a. was just going to my prayer-meeting. With
the most positive manner he said: You must
go. Somebody else viii take of the meet
ing ] went with him, not knowing what
had aCrtu i'm lint fply inrr
that ! might now learn the solution Of
the recent threatening letter. On the
way ! asked what was the reason OF
Tilton would inform me, words TO that
effect. On entering his house, Mr.. Moulton
locked the door, saying something about not be-
ing interrupted. He requested me 10 90 into the
front chamber, over the parlor. was under the
impression that Mr.. Triton was going to pour ont
upon me his anger for colleaguing with Bowen,
and for the advice of separation given to his wife.
wished Mr.. Moulton to be with US az a witness,
but he insisted that should go by myself Mr..
Tilton received me coldly but calmly. After a
word or two, standing in front of me with mem
orandum in his hand, he began an Grafton. He
declared in an unfriendly spirit that had sought
his downfall; had spread injurious rumors about
him; was using my place and influence to under
mine him: had advised Mr.. Bowen to dismiss
him, and much more that cannot remember. He
then declared that had injured him in his fami-
ly relations; had Joined with his mother-in-aw
in producing discord in his house; had advised
from him; had led her to love more
than any other being: had corrupted her
moral nature, and taught her to be insincere, ~
ing, and hypocritical. and ended by charging that
had made wicked proposals to her Until he
reached this | had listened with some contempt,
under the impression that he was attempting to
bully me; but with the last charge he produced
paper, purporting to be a certified statement of
previous confession made to him by his wife Of
her love for me, and that had made proposals to
her Of an improper nature. He said that this con-
fession had been made to him in July, six months
previous; that his sense of honor and affection
would not permit any such document to remain
In existence; that he had burned the original,
and should now destroy the only copy, and he
then tore the paper into small pieces. III had
been shocked at such statement. was abso-
lutely thunderstruck when he closed the In
terview by requesting me to repair at once to his
house, where he said Elizabeth was waiting for
me, and learn from her lips the truth of his
stories In 30 far they concerned her. This fell
like thunderbolt on me. Could IL be possible
that his wife, whom i regarded as the type Of
moral goodness, should have made such false and
atrocious statemenfsy And yet II she had not
how would he dare to send me to her for con-
hrmation OF his chargesf / went forth like
sleep-walker, while the clouds were flying in the
sky. There had been snow-storm, which was
breaking away. The winds were out and whistling
through leaiess trees, but all this Was peace
compared to the mood within. believe that
Moulton went with me to the door OF Tilton's
house. The housekeeper, the same woman OF
whom Mrs Tilton had complained, seemed to
have been instructed by him, for she evidently
expected and showed me at 10 Mrs TIE