New-York tribune., 1874-09-07
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.

MIND WHEN SHE MADE HER c0NFEsSION-VARi-
Gus CIRCUMSTANCES ExPLICABLE ON THIS
THEORY.
TO me Edftor Of The Tribune.
SIR: Assuming the innocence of Mr.. Beecher,
no theory regard TO Mrs. Tons confession has yet
been brought forward which meets and solves the In
herent improbabities OF the The truth, what
ever IL may be. should solve all ts difficulties. and
appear reasonable to all intelligent aud fairminded
men,
The true theory OF the icase to me, that MIS-
TtOn under very peculiar alteration OF mind, voiun
tarily made her confession Of guilt, which never
occurred except in her imagination believing 1t at
the time to true This view strongly fortified and
illustrated by remarkable which occurred several
years since in Germany. regret that am unable at
this moment to give Details but the case having
been of considerable notorety. they are no doubt
preserved and accessible In the annals OF remarkable
cases OF mental alteration.
This case was substantially as follows: DIR. A
was the director chief of institution for the treat
ment OF nervous disorders. He was gentleman OF
high atannents and great distinction in his profession
OF character OF fine presence and great
personal magnetism. Among his patients was Madame
lady OF high social position, education, aud refine
ment OF excellent principle and perfect purity OF ie
Madame b derived great benefit from the Doctors
treatment, and became strongly attached to him. one
day Madames diary in which she had recorded the oc-
ally by strangers its contents were so extraordinary
that they could not be suppressed The public mind
was shocked at the record In the w0mans own hand
writing the Doctors criminal solicitation OF her, OF
her consent and finally OF repeated acts OF criminal In
macy. the day, the hour aud the place being stated
with detail The Doctors friends gave him up Tor
a lost man, and he about to be removed from his
official position But in the consciousness OF innocence
he demanded investigation, and he was fortunately
able to prove beyond the shadow Of doubt an abi in
nearly half the recorded instances As TO those IL was
OF course, physically impossible that the record was
true and all the others he succeeded n showing
that their occurrence was in the highest degree mprob
able. The result Of the investigation was that the
Doctors character triumph1ny vndicated. and 1t
was established beyond doubt that the diary was writ
ten under protracted mental deuson OF which no one
had until then suspected its unfortunate victim. Sne
had retained ber general sanity and but for the acc
dental discovery OF her diary this special alteration
would never have been known.
There Is nothing new under the SUM-" Mrs. Tilton's
confession repetition Of this general case and 1t Is
surprising that its identity has not been before re-
marked say IN the first instance, that no pre-
sumption of previous mpury OF heart or life Is to be
taken from the occurrence of such mental delusion
Tne human mind is the most wonderful OF all things
and its disorders defy not only all rules OF logical Sc
duence, but all calculations Of ordinary probability
Would any imagine, for example, before ever the
fact had happened, that tender and l0ying mother
would take life OF her child her first act after loss
reasonl Yet how often has this occurredf Reason
ing from all that known OF insanity, the purer the
womau the refined her sensbiities and the finer
her organization the wilder would be her vagares under
such alteration as this Something AKIN TO TINS ap
parent contradiction OF nature is not unrequenty OBJ
served under the temporary cloudng OF the intellect
which results from the administration
OF chloroform other an@sthotcs. L am confidently
NJ tha thor
ty, TO whom have communicated my views upon this
subject that it is not to suppose insanity in
ordinary FORM but that hystera Is competent To the
production of all these illusions.
We will then suppose Mrs Tllton to have been pure
and good woman ana win suppose her TO be so STILL
Her attachments ardent, her sensbilities refined
her Imagination brilliant and susceptible, but her
mental equipoises Is perfectly obvious from her cor
respondence-was very feeble. The mind which die
ated such letters hers to her husband must have
been already trembling the verge OF insanity but
little was needed to push it over brink Mr. Beecher
powerfully mpresses her mind and heart and topples
over! She a crazed and irresponsible woman, and
yet obscure and singular was the maady that her
friends and herself alike knew it not AS is natural and
probable IN any such case she not cOgnzant either
loss of her OF its restoration t may only
be partially restored now, and, though its special a6er
ration as to Mr. Beccher have passed away it may
still clouded and utterly untrustworthy to any OF
the facts or circumstances o the case DeneVe IL 10
be So.
She wakens out of her deiusion and reason partially
resumes its sway She is confronted aud confounded
with a horrible confession which she knows to be un-
true, and which instantly conceives not to have
been her voluntary act she does not know she has
been crazed-her husband does not know it-how much
loss and suffering had been saved IL either OF them could
have known it, All her woman's dignity and instincts
revolt at what has confessedher dsordered imagi
afiOn fhar MIA hing
have been extorted from her. and she conceves
and asserts threats and violence, which had
existence any than the crime she first confessed
Her retraeion to Mr.. Beecher the natural OF
reason partly restored-ner reconfession the
natural act OF reason again overclouded. There Is
nothing in Mrs. TltOns statement or conduct which Is
not explcabe upon this theory-they are inexphcabe
upon any other. The theory that her confession
extorted from her by violence is contradcted by the
evidence and highly improbable
When Mr. Beecher informed OF Mrs. Tlton's
fesson, first utterance instructive expression
the real fact OF the case" This is all dream,
Theodore But he, too failed to hit upon its solution
he astounded at charge OF guilt OF which he knew
himself to be innocent, supported by evidence which
appeared to be conclusive but which he knew to be
true. He was In and utterly c0nfounded, who
would not be He too must have adopted the theory
that confession which was totally devoid Of truth must
have been extorted by violence Yet that violence had
proceeded from jealousy OF him, and he felt himself not
free from blame that he had given any occasion for it,
The wreck Of this happy household at first loomed
up more largely upon his mind than charge against
himself OF which he knew himself TO be innocent. His
science accused him OF fault the consequences OF
which had wrought great misery In this family, and he
must suffer all things short OF the loss of his char
acter before the world IN order to restore it's peace
far possible, trusting to time to bring Mr.. Tton
to O better mind.
Mr.. Tlton, when his wife's confession came to him,
must have supposed t to be true. There but one
avenue for escape from this belief and that he failed
discover He knew that he had used threats OF
ence the confession altogether voluntary and
why should he not believe i'll He must believe It,,