Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-08-22

house, and with great anger said that Beecher
bad done a mean act-that he had gone from
that interview of last night to his house and
procured from Elizabeth q recantation and re-
traction of her confession. He said for that act
he would smite him; that there could be no
peace. He said, ''You see that what have told
you of the meanness OF that man Is now evil
dent" Tiltoa said that Beecher, at the inter-
view of last night, had asked his permission to
go and see Elizabeth, and he told him he might,
which statement was confirmed by Beecher
himself, and Beecher left him for that purpose.
i said to Triton, "Now don't get angry; let US
see IL even this cannot be arranged. 1 viii 60
down and get that retraction from him." / was
then going to my business, so that was unable
TO go that morning, butwent that evening, saw
Beecher, and told him that thought he had
been doing
AVERY MEAN AND TRKACHERous ACT;
ueacheTous first towards me, from whom he
wanted help, In that he did not tell me on our
way TO his house last night what he had pro-
cured from Mrs. Tilton, and that he could not
expect my friendship in this matter unless he
acted trutbfully and honorably towards me. /
further said :-"Mr. Beecher, You have had
criminal intercourse with Mrs. Tiltop. You
have done great injury to Tilton otherwise.
Now, when you are confronted with il, you ask
and you get from that woman, who has con-
fessed you have ruined her, a recanta.ion and
retraction of the truth for your mere personal
safety. That won't save you" AT that interview
he admitted, with grief aud sorrow, the fact OF
HIS SEXUAL RELATION WITH MRS. TILros;
expressed some Indignation that she had not
that in consequence of being in Ignorance OF
the fact he had been walking upon a Volcano
referring to what he had done in connection
with Bowen, and with reference to Tilton's
family. He said that he had sympathized with
Bowen and had taken sides with him as against
TiltoD, in consequence OF stories which were in
circulation in regard 10 him, and especially OF
Que specific case, where he had been informed
that Triton had had improper relations with a
woman whom he named, and to whom a letter
from his wife will make part Of this statement,
and had NaNa Nad 70 RaUu nj 10 1lA h..
would write to Bowen and withdraw those
charges. And he gave me the rough draft of a
letter which he wrote and sent to Bowen, which
letter il here produced:
BEsCHRR TO Bowss.
BROOKLYN, Jan. 2, 1871.
day have . esson 10 tainS that the only cases IF
which spoke 30 you In reg ard to Mr. TiltOn were
Se 1nw6s to 6svs ans hing sssd Though %ss
hitle-weiRn on your mind In m .tter 50 i'm Dor
Tnent and Integrity greatly rely, and Who has
the means Of forming an opinion better than any
Billiard, and that the stories true and that
the same is the case with other stories.
de lot wish any reply to this. thought it emily
due to justice tina! should say 80 much.
Truly yonrs. H. W. BEEcHKR.
Beecher told me that Mrs Beecher and him.
self. without knowing of the confession OF Mrs
TiltOn to her husband, had been expressing
great sympathy towards Mrs. Tilton, and tsking
an active interest with her against her husband.
l said,
"MR BERCHYR,I WANT THAT RECLAMATION:
| have come for It," "Weli," said he, "wnat
shall 1 do without it?" L replied, ~ don't
know. 1 can tell you what will happen with
it." He asked, "What will you do IL give ii
to your" / answered, IL will keep 1t as keep
the confession; II you act bonorably will pro-
tect ii with my life, as would protect the other
with my life. Mr. TiltOn asked for that con-
fession this morning, and 1 said 81 will never
give IL to you; you shall not have It from NV
hands until have exhausted every effort for
peace" Mr.. Beecher gave me back the paper
4 in frs
Tilton's handwriting. Here appears Mrs. Fill
tons recantation, dated December 80, 1870
before publishedl Afterwards Tiiton left with
me another letter, dated the same night OF the
recantation, December 80, bearing on the same
topic, to be kept with the papers, which was In
hi wife's ndwriting. II is here produced.
[NoTE-Here appears Mrs. Tilton's retT8ctiOn
OF her recantatiOn, written December 50, 1870,
midnight, heretofore published.
When / went home with the recantation
found Iiiton there and showed il to him. Ii
expressed his surprise and qualification th at
SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE To GET IT,
and then shO we'd to him how very foolish il
would have been in the morning to have pro
ceeded sDgrily against Beecher. I made anJthe
appeal for peace, saying that, notwithstand ,ng
great difficulties appeared in the way, if they
were properly dealt with they could be beaten
out Of the way. HeeSpressed his willingness and
desire for peace. When l saw Beecher / mad
an agreement, Al his request, to 90 and sae him
on Sunday, January l. 1 went to his house IL
accordance with the engagement. He took N
W. a. u
great surprise that Elizabeth should have mad
the confession of his criminal commerce with
her to ker husband without letting him
tBeecher) know anything about 1t, making his
destruction at any moment possible, and with
out warning to him. He expressed his great
grief at this wrong which he had done as a min
ister and friend TO Theodore, and, at his request
took pen and paper, and he dictated to me
the following paper, all or which is in nv hand
writing except the words, 81 have trusted this
to Moulton in confidence" and the signature,
which latter are Mr.. Beechers:
Here appears Beecher's letter OF contritiOn
to Moulton, dated January l, 1871, before pub
lished.1
This vas entrusted to me in confidence TO be
shown only to Triton, which did. Is had ref
eTence to no other fact or act than the
CONFESSION OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
between Beecher and Mrs. Tilton, which he At
that interview confessed and denied not, but
confessed. He also, at other interviews subse
GuentlY held between us in relation to this I'M
fortunate affair, unqualinedly confessed that he
had been guilty of adultery with Mrs. Tilton,
and always in spirit of grief aud sorrow at the
enormity of the crime he had committed against
Tilton's family. At such times he would speak
with much feeling of the relation he b sd sus-
tanned towards them as pastor, spiritual adviser
and trusted friend. His Standardization az
the ruin he had wrought under such circum-
stances Was tull and complete, and at times he
WAS so bowed down with grief In consequence
OF the wrong he had done, that he threatened
to put an end TO his life. He also gave To me the
letter, the first draft Of which, marked "a :" is
above given.
This is TiltoA's Ietter to him asking him to
TerIEn.1
In reference TO which, he said that Bowen
had gwen IT TO him; that he had told Bowen
THAT TILToN MUST BE CRAZY
10 write such letter as that; that he did not
understand it, and that Bowen said to him, IL
will be your friend in this matter"
He then made the statement which Tilt0n had
made to me at my house, OF the charge that
Bowen had made to him, (Tiiton;) said that
Bowen had been very treacherous towards Til
ton az well as towards himself, because he (Bee-
cher) had had q reconciliation with Bowen, of
which he told me the terms, and that Bowen
had never in his (Beecher'.) presence spoken OF
or referred TO any allegation OF crime or wrong
doing on his part with any woman whatever.
He gave me, in general term, the recon-
Citation, and afterwards gave me two memo
randa, which 1 here produce, which show the
terms OF the reconciliation. The frst is in the
handwriting OF Bowen, containing five items,
which Beecher assured me were the terms
which Bowen claimed should be the basis of the
reconciliation, as follows.
BowKN's TERMS.
"First Report and publish sermons and lee
ture- room talks.
Second. A new edition % the Plymouth col.
lection and FIeeland's interest.
Third. Explanations to the church.
Fourth. Write me q letter.
Fifth. ReTsct, in every quarter, what has
been said to INV iniury.v