, 1874-08-16
REGENERATION.


| which 1 long hao uttle ueno' :ooAo oos
| no end but death to the accumulation OF tor
| ture. but resolved to stop abort And waste
| no more time in making matters Horso. tel
that Mr. Mo1lton had better stop too, and let tht
whole thing come out. | determined then Il
! make full and true statement which nov
make. and to leave the result with God. Mr
| Tilton had repeatedly urged me, Is stated il MI
| letter. not to betray his wife, and felt bount
| BY every sense OF honor, in case should be
! pressed by inquiries from my church or family
as to tho foundations Of rumozs which
| might reach them, to keep, this promise:
By this promise meant only that would moi
betray tie excessive affection which his wife,
as had been told, had conceived for me, and had
confessed TO him. It certainly did not refer tc
adultery. II there had been such fact IN e1-
! we'll as her, and pledge not to destroy myself
would haya been too absurd to mention in a
| letter.
noULToSs REPLY.
| In rep1y to this note, which MAS calm and re-
| served rather than gloomy, Mr. MouIton wrote
| that same day letter Of three aud = half aheeta
Of copy paper. He began Is follows:
! Ny DEAR FRIEND: You know have never been in
sympathy with the mood ou: OF which you have often
spoken as you have written this morning, II the
truth b spossn let # b. know you
u ms opinion it shows selfish faith in God.
Having proceeded thus far, A1r. MouIton seems
to have perceived that the tone OF this letter
was rather likely to determine me in mr deter
mluation to publish the whole case than other
wise aud as this was opposed to the whole lire
OF his policy. he crossed out with one dash Of
the pencil tho whole Of this, and commenced
anew, writing the following letter:
ousnAx, June 1, 1879.
Mr. DEAR FRrEwp: Your letter makes this first
Sabbath of summer dark and cold like vault You
have inspired u.a with courage or hopc, and II
had listened to you alone my bands would havs drop
ped helpless long ago. You don't begin to be in the
danger to-day that has faced you many times BEFORE
II you now look it square in tie eyes it viii cover and
nk away as.in t Y9u know that h.ys nsvsf been
manly mood out Of which your letter OF this
morning came. This mood IL reservoir
Of m,ldew. You stand If the uhols were
published Tomorrow. In my opinion It shows only
selfish faith In God TO go whining into ueaven. II
you could with truth that 10Y are not courageous
live earth+ Ioa know tnat1 lore You, and becsuse
do shan try, aud try. and try ~ in tue past You
you with making him appear - one graciousy par
doned by you." He said the form In which 1t
published in some Of the papers made it 40 appear,
think it impossible to frame letts. which will
the casa May God bless you; know he will protect
you. FRANK
IN the haste Of writing. 3rr. Moulton appar-
entity failed to perceive what he had written. In
tho first instance, ho wrote on one side Of half
sheet OF paper, aud used the clean side Of that
half-sbeet for the purpose OF the letter which he
sent in tho shape he had given But it will be seen
LuHE 0e utAb9lltetY anu IHlCG III BuCCGbelUu IEAI-
irmcd his main statement that there WAS moth
ing IN the Thoe case on which could not
safely stand He treats my resolution as born
OF such morbid despair as be had often repEoacn-
ed nlo for, and urged me strongly to maintain
my faith in him. Ti}ton yielded to hls persua-
sion and g.aciously allowed himself to be sooth-
ed BY the publication of card e1onerating him
from the authorship Of she hase les to which the
tt1partlte covenant referred. So once more, and
this time against my calmer judgment, patch
ed up hollow peace with him.
"RoUou AND RAGGED EDGE"
That have gricvously erred in judgment with
this perplexed case, no one ii moro conscious
than l IN. / chose the wroGg path and accept
ed disastrous guidance in the beginning, aud
have indeed travelled on trough sud ragged
edge" in my prolonged efforts 20 suppress
So stl' much ach desolation % tt tbroush h ' the Iand
but I caunot admit that I erred in de-
string to keep these matters out OF sight
In thls respect | appeal to you aud to all Chsis-
tiau men to judge whether almost any personal
than to suffer the morals Of an entire communi-
tv, and especially OF the young, to BE- corrupted |
by the filthy details OF scandalous falsehoods, |
daily iterated and ampiided, for the qualification
Of impure curiosity and tho demorzflzation of |
eyery child that is old enough to reAd.
BLAcKMA1L.
Tho full truth of this history requires that ono
more TACT should be told, especially rs A1r. Til
ton has invited it, Money has been obtained |
from me III the course OF these Affairs, in con- |
siderable sumb, but did not st first look upon |
the suggestion tha. should contribute to 3lr. |
Ti1Ion's pccuniary wants as savoriug OF black |
mail. THIS did not occur TO mo until had paid |
perhaps $4,000. Afterward contributed at |
one time S., QUO. After the money had been paid
over, in five $1,000 bills, to ra1so which mort !
gagged the house live IN, I felt very much dis !
satisfied with myself about it. Finally, square
demand and threat VAS made to one OF my |
confidential friends that ii S. QUO more were not
paid, Tllton's charges would be la4d before the
L;s Dodest form, and never paid cont Of it,
but challenged and requested the fullest ex-
posuro.
r1LToS RUINED MAN.
But, after th summer Of 1873. became in
1ardiy satisfied that Tlton was, inherently and
inevitably, ruined man. no longer trusted !
either hiB word or his honor. came to teel
hat his Kindness WAS but q snare, and his pro-
Fessons OF friendship treacherous. He did not
mean well BY me nor by his own household; |
Dut suffered all the mora on this &C.
count. As he had grown up under my
:rce myself from certain deSree OF responsi-
oi1ity for his misdolnss, such III visits + father
or wronG-doing son, and, in times OF great
mental depression, this feeling sometimes
almost to mania
EFFORTS TO RESTRAIN TnToN.
Among the last desperate Efforts to restrain |
lin from overwhelming himself, his fam1ly,
nyBelf, tho Church, sad the whole community
With the fetia flood OF scandal which ]
10 had bY this time accumulated, were those
with the charges Of Mr. West, and the
subsequent proceedings Of tho Examining Com
nittee Of the Church. The prosecution Of 3rr.
liltou felt bound to prevent. in any form I
would strive to prevent the be1ching forth OF
caudal but in that form it was peculiarly dis
asteful. 1t presented no square issuos upon
which my guilt or Innocence could be tried; it Was |
roundabout issue, on which 11r. Tilton could
ave escaped, possibly, bE showing that he be-
lered the stories he told about me, or that lie
,nd not 81 circulated ~ thsm or BY tho mere fail
IRE of tho other side TO prove that he had done
0, or by the decision that he Was monomaniac |
ud not responsible. Any auch halfway de-
ision would leave me in tho attitude OF over
hIow. and yet no party to the case. Moreover,
felt that Mr.. Iilson thought /
'as setting my church against him.
: aud I vas bound he should not
hink that; for if it had not been for me- he |
Tould have been dropped two years before for
on-attendance, and for his distinct notice TO me
hat he was out OF the church. l had got the !
Examining Committee to postpone the usual &C
ion, because he WAS letting his wife still attend
he church, and thought this would gradually
influence him for good. Indeed. he had de-
lded me with hopes that be would give
p his bad women associates aud reform his lie.
felt that We had no right to claim him a. 3