Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-09-02
The New York Nation on Beecher.

received from the "apology contained
in the Tflton letter to Dr. Bacon was,
that Mr. Beecher had possibly fallen
into some indiscretion in his relations
with Mrs. Tilton, which, in his NOR
bid religious sentime ntality, he had
fearfulIy magnifed and described to
himself in unmeasured terms. The
phrase, che would have been a better
man in my circumstances than | have
BEEN" was hardly applicable on any
other hypothesis. But we felt, as
every one felt, on the publication Of
his letters by Tilton, that in them lay
the gravaman Of the whole charge;
that the explanation of them would no
doubt be an exceedingly difficult task,
but that it ought, if it was attempted
at all to be attempted at once and that
there was positive blindness in sup
posing that it could be safely laid over
for even day. We have accordingly
read over Mr.. Beecher's defense, not
only without prejudice in his favor, but
with a good deal of not unwarrantable
disposition to judge him severely;
and we are bonnd to say that we think
he does furnish an explanation of this
conduct which people outside Plymouth
Church can comprehend, and that it
does wholly relieve him of the gra-
yer imputations so persistently thrown
on him.
The true story of the affair We take
to be substantially this: Tilton's ILL
treatment of his wife, combined with
her own religiosity and Mr.. Beecher's
strong sympathy, led her gradually to
contrast an affection tor the latter,
which after while presented itself to
her own conscience as unlawful; and
as she was frequently quarrelling with
Tilton and then making up, she used
confession of this over fondness for
Mr.. Beecher as the means of cement
ing one of her numerous reconcilia-
tons with her husband, and at the
same time Of giving little spice to the
pietistic gush with which she appears
to have teen in the habit Of deluging
him, and Of which he was doubtless,
as he was a hayward gentleman, get
ting little tired This confession ap-
pears to have found Tilton in a bad
way. He was losing his professional
position, losing his credit with his
friends, and his not very strong head
was completely bemuddled by the null
titude Of new and strange doctrines
which had risen on his path after his
anti.slavery occupation was gone. In
these great straits, being desperate and
apparently shameless, the idea of turn
ing his wites relations with Beecher
to worldly account seems to have taken
possession of him, and for four years
be treated it as a vein to be worked
the more assiduously the more his
fortunes were failing To enable him
to do this effectively, go-between
was OF course necessary, and this was
found in the person Of Mr.. Francis
Moulton, an old classmate of Tilton's
of about the same amount Of mental
and moral culture, but shrewd,
smart business man of the Butler
sehool-fond of intrigue-loying, like
Butler, to do plain things in crooked,
undetermined ways-mixed up more or
less in doubtful transactions not all
scrupulous, making no prctense to be
Christian, eand no more of gentle
man than great Ben himself-a sort
Of person, in short. whom men of honor
and refinement Of feeling avoid and
fear. Finding Tilton in trouble, and
being fond of him, this person appears
to have undertaken to extricate him
by the means which had suggested it.
self to Tiltons own mind-viz., by ex-
plotting, or, to use the slang of Butler
lite circles, "striking" Beecher. In
Beecher, it must be confessed, they
found an easy prey. His story Of
Moulton's operations on him bears the
unmistakable impress of truth, and it
has never been our lot to read anything
more pitiful The two confederates
appear to have kept the unfortunate
man on the rack for four long years,
narrowed by the most horrible terrors
and anxieties, Tilton standing in the
back ground as an mi ured and threaten
ing husban! and Moulton running to
and fro as "rediator' and pacifcator
extracting confessions and letters of
contrition from Beecher by the hand.
full, making him believe that his COM
munications were all strictly "coaf len-
tial, and then showing them or re-
peating their contents or giving copies
to half the town, pretending to him
that this or that cause of fear bad pass
ed away or was ''burried in oblivion"
and then setting it ahoat among the
friends and confederates of the pair as
a rumor, in such shape and with such
an air of authenticity as to plunge
Beecher into fresh alarm and bring
| him once more to his knees