The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1874-08-27

| lHUSI C&IuoSG anu voluntary request OI
| Beecher. Prior to Sunday, March 20, 1874, a
| publication was made of a statement by re-
| porter of the Brooklyn Union, supporting to
re the result of an interview with Thomas c.
Shealman, Clerk of Plymouth Church, to the
| effect q quote from memory that Tilton was
! insane, and that he stated that Mrs. Tilton
had mediumist fits (whatever that disease
| may beg, in which she had stated matters
affecting the character of Beecher, and to the
| statement OF neither of them for that reason,
was any credit to be given. Beecher was very
much annoyed at this publication, and adj
dressed the following letter to me:
| SUNDAY NIGHT. March 8, 1874
" My DEAR FRANK: Is there TO be no end of
| trouble? Is wave to follow wave in endless
| succession? | was cut to the heart when G.
showed me that shameful paragraph from the
/ Union. It's cruelty is beyond description. I
/ felt like lying down and saying, L am tired,
/ tired, tired of living or of trying to resist the
devil of mischief would rather have had
| a javelin launched against me a hundred
| times than those who have suffered so much
The shameful indehcacy of bringing the most
sacred relations into such publicity fills me
with horror. But there are some slight allie
viations. The paragraph came when the
| public mind was engaged with the Council and
| with Theodore's letters. I hope it will pass
| without further notice. If it is not taken up
| by other papers, it will sink out of sight and
be forgotten whereas, if it be assailed, it
may give it a cOnspicuity that it never would
have had But I shall write Shearman a letter
and give him my full feelings about it.
must again be, as I have heretofore been, in
| debted to you for judicious counsel in this
new fragrant element. My inmost soul longs
| for peace, and, if that cannot be. for death.
That will bring peace. My fervent hope is
| that this depth OF gail may sink through out
| right, and not prove mortal poison. Yours
| ever H. w. BEECHER.
Il have written strongly to Shearman. and
| hope that he will send letter to t. unsolicit-
| ed | am sick, head, heart and body, but
must move on. feel this morning like let
| ting things go by the rum
| The letter of retraction proposed by Tilton
not being forthcoming, I felt it my duty in
| this contest to take such measures as should
result in an apology from Shearman to Tilton
L accordingly carried to him copy of the
paper having the article and laid it upon his
desk in his office, and said to him that if the
statements Id this article were not actually
| made by him he ought to retract them AL
Though 1t lay on his desk, he said to me that
he had not seen the article, and did not mean
| to see it. | told him that he must see it, and
If 1t was not true he must say so. He said
he did not want to read it, and would not read
It.: then left him. Afterwards /
Hilton and told him what I had done, and
said, 1--WE will go up together" which we did,
and met Mr. Shearman. Mr. Tilton called his
attention to the statement in the Brooklyn
On10n as having come from him (Shearman)
concerning himself and his wife, that one was
crazy and the other subject to mediumistic
tits. Said he Mr.. Shearman, this is I'M
true, and If you are not correctly repo ted,
your simple duty is to say so and if you have
made such a statement, demand that you
retract and apologize. fyou do not shall
hold you responsible in any way can for such
an injurious statement" This confession
brought about an explanation from Shearman
which Hilton refused to accept, and Shearman
two days afterward sent him another letter of
explanation, in which he says, " I amnow sat
listed that what [ did say was erroneous"
On Friday evening, the 3Oth of December,
being the night OF the Plymouth Church
prayer meeting TtOn came to me and said
IN substance that by his wife's request he had
determined to see Beecher in order to show
to Beecher the confession of his wife of in
tercourse between them, which he (Tilton)
had never up to that time mentioned to him
(Beecher), and the fact of the confession, o.
which his wife had told him that she had
never told Beecher; that though her con-
fession had been made in July previous in
writing he (Tilton) had afterward destroyed it
but that his wife, fearing that if Bowens &C
cusatlons against Beecher were made public
the whole matter would be known, and her
own conduct with Beecher become exposed.
had renewed her confession in her own hand
writing, which he handed to me to read,
which was the first knowledge I had of it's
existence. Tilton did not tell me how his
wife came to make the confession in July.
nor did L at that time, or ever after,
ask Indeed, may state here, once for
all, that refralned from asking confessions
of acts Of all parties further than they chose
to make them voluntarily for the purpose for
which was acting.
Tilton wanted me to go down and ask
Beecher to come Up and see him at my house,
which l did. said to Beecher: Mr.. Tilton
wants you to come and see him at nv bouse
immediately" He asked what for. replied
that " he wants to make some statement to
you i'll reference to your relations with his
family" He then called to some one in the
back room to go down and say he should not
be at the prayer meeting, and we went out to-
gether. 1t was storming at the time when
he remarked: "There is an appropriateness
in this storm" and asked me- "What can T
do? What can | do ?" said 8 Mr.. Beecher
| am not Christian, but if you wish will
| show you how we'll a heather can serve you"
We then went to my house, and [
showed him into the chamber over the
parlor, where Mr.. Tilton was, and left them to-
gether. In about an hour Mr.. Beecher came
down and asked me if I had seen the confess
sion of Elizabeth. [ said I had. Said he,
Lib Will MIL Iu0, ouI dShSu ulo 10 Walk out
with him. did So and we walked to Mr..
Tilton's house together, and he went in. On
the way he said: "This is terrible catastro-
phe. 1t comes upon me as if struck by light
ming" He went into Tilton's house and re-
turned home. Within an hour he returned to
my house, and we left my house again to-
gether, and walked with him to his house.
Titon remained at my house while Beecher
was absent at Tllton's house, and when he re-
Turned there WAS no Conversation ho+waa,,
them. When we arrived at Beecher's house he
wanted me to stand by him in this emergency,
and procure reconciliation if possible. /
told him | wonld, because the interests of
women, children and families were involved
if for no other reason.
That ended the interview that night. Dur
ing this evening nothing was said BY Beecher
as to the truth or falsity of Mrs Tflton's con-
fession nor did he inform me that he had
obtained from her any recantation of the con-
fesson, which [ afterward learned he had
done. returned to my house and had some