Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1874-08-20

that / had been o. cause of overwhelm-
| ing disaster to him, and that his COM
plete restoration to public Standing and
household happiness was a reparation
I justly required of me and the only one
which i could make, but with q
peculiar genius for blunders he
fell almost at every step into
new complications and difficulties,
and in every such instance it was his
policy to bring coercion to bear upon
my honor, my conscience, and nay affee-
tions for the purpose of procuring his
extrication at my expense. Theodore
Tilton knew me well; he has said again
and again to his friends that if they
wished to gain any influence over
me they must work upon the sym
pathetic side OF my nature to
this he has addressed himself
steadily forfour years, using as a lever,
without scruple, my attachment to. my
friends, tony family, to his own house
hold, and even my old affection for him
self. Not blind to his faults but resolved
look on him as faYorably as possible
and ignorant of his deeper malice, /
labored earnestly, even desperately. for
his salvation. For four years l have
been trying to feed the Unsuitable
egotisnl, to make the man as
great as he conceived himself to
be; to restore to prosperity and pubic
confidence one who, in the midst of my
efforts in his behalf, patronized dis
reputable people and doctrines, refused
when besought him to separate him
self from them, and ascribed to my
agency the necessary ruin which he was
persistentlY. bringing upon himself, and
which | was doing nay utmost to
avert. 1t was hard to do anything
for such a man; / might as well
have tried to fill sieve with water Ia.
the latter stages of the history he actu-
ally melted and created difficulties, ap-
parentlp for no other purpose than to
drive me to fresh exertions [ refused,
to endorse his wild views and associates.
The best 1 could do was to speak well of
him; mention those good qualities and
abilities which l still believe him to pos
sess in his higher Tuoods, and keeping
silence concerning the evil things which
was assured and believed had been
greatly exaggerated by public report. !
could not think him so bad as my friends
did; | trusted to the genius of good
which l thought still lived in him.
On the appearance of the first open
attack from Tilton / Immediately called
for a thorough examination by a COM
mittee. of my church. l ann not response
BILE for: the delays, publicity or details of
the investigation all the harm have so
long dreaded has come to pass. The
time has arrived when 1 can freely. speak
ia yindieatfen Of myself. During four
years singularlY burdened with. labor /
find myself in a position where / know
( nay ignocence. -vsitbaut. being. able. ito
.proxe.it :: He.ssys' i'Eilto8 was. FIRST known
to him as reporter of bis sermons and
he gives his history up to the time Til
ton became his assistant editor of the
Independent, in which relation. he
(Beecher) became greatly attached to
him. sN<I-r.
During vacations, while my family
were at my farm, 1 became,
/ in years, so familiar with the
families of my friends and other chill
dren l met III and out daily, as ia ny
own house. Mr.. Tiiton often alluded to
this and urged me TO do the
same at his house, speaking ex-
trayagantly of his wife's esteem for
me. On returning from England
]. paved the way for him. to become the
sole editor of the independent. The
violent assault on me. by Tilton in 1866
on account of my Cleveland letter broke
off my. connection with the Independent
Ny social relations with Tilten. continu-
ed until 1S6s-69, but on political mat
ters there was coolneSs. During all
this time of visits to Tilton's house there
never was the slightest hint from him
or any member of his family OF any dis
satisfaction with my familiar relations
to his household. I gave copies of my
books to Mrs. Tilton, sent flowers
from my farm to dozen families which
she occasionally shared, and only once
gave her a present-a brooch of little
value, as one of the souvenirs of my
European trip. Beecher refers TO the
affection shown him by the children of
Tilton. Mrs. Tilton seemed an affec-
tionate mother and devoted wife, looking
up to her husband. So far from sup
posing that my presence and infiu-
ence were alternating Mrs. Tilton
from her family relations | thought, on
the contrary, that they were giving her
strength and encouraging her to hold
fast upon man evidently sliding into
dangerous associations and liable to be
swerved by unexampled selfconceit. L re-
garded Mr.. Tilton as in very critical
period or his life and used to think it
fortunate that he had good home in
fluences about him.
During the late years of our friend
ship Mrs. Tilton spoke very mournfully
to me about the tendency of her husband
to great laxity of doctrine on religion
and morals. She gave me to understand
that he denied the divinity of Christ, the
inspiration of the Scriptures, and most
articles of orthodox faith while his
views as to the sanctity of the marriage
relation we're undergoing constant
change in the direction of free love.
In the latter part of July, 1870, Mrs:
Tilton was sick, and at her request |
visited her. She seemed much depress-
ed, but gave me no hint of any trouble
having reference to me. / cheered her
as best 1 could, and prayed with her just
before leaving. This was our last inter
view before trouble broke out In the
family. describe 1t because it was the
last, and its character has bearing upon
a later part of my story. Concerning
all my other visits it is sufficient to say
that at no interview which ever took
place between Mrs. Tilton and myself
did anything occur which might not
have occurred with perfect propriety be-
tween a brother and sister, between
father and child, or between man of
honor and the wife of his dearest friend.
Nor did anything ever happen which she