The Republican journal., 1875-04-01
Little Mrs. Tilton.

Brooklyn Letter to the Boston Gazette.
How she should have been the cause o
SO much turmoil is a problem that is al
most impossible to solve without person
al acquaintance with her. She is a slight
significant looking woman, lean and an
gular, with face of some pretensions to
beauty. Her height is almost dwarfish
and upon seeing her for the first time one
could not realize how two such strongly
physical men as Tilton and Beecher coulC
have been attracted by SO slight and unin
teresting an object But great events from
little causes flow. There is nothing in
her face or manner that would point to
her as the writer of the passionate and
sentimental letters that have been read on
the trial. On the contrary, she would soon
er be associated with making preserves or
preserving pickles, and eating both with
true New England zest at tea That she is
a woman Of strong character is evinced by
the persistency with which she has sat the
| trial through, and has listened without a
blush to the bitterly cruel things which
have been said of her. | can not reconcile
Tilton's harangues about her modesty, re-
fnement and delicacy with her almost
brazen boldness in visiting the Court where
she is made the central point of all the mas
tiness upon which the case hinges. Certain
ly her nature is not one that is easily shock
ed and, unless she is brought there for
effect, | can not understand why she is
brought there at all
Her course has been the subject of uni
versal unfavorable comment in almost
every direction. 1t may be true that even
the worm turns when it is trodden upon,
but it would be much more creditable in
this instance if the worm were to turn in
private. If her face be examined critical
ly and carefully, one will become easily
convinced that the lines in it are not at all
weak When she torgets herself there
comes harsh expression that plainly
manifests selt-will. She will not scoll, but
she will plan. She will be effusive, but she
will not tell all she knows. One would
naturally expect woman with so fragile
a physique, especially if she were the ten
der and snowpure being her husband
maintains her to be, to be worn, worried,
crushed by mental trials to which she has
been subjected; but she is not, if she may
be Judged by her looks and her bearing
she is cool firm and self possessed, Once
or twice she has shed tears, but they have
been plainly tears otyexation andnot grief
from TINS / would SurmlSe, IN Ine IAN
guago of one Of the visitors to the trial,
thai ''Whateyer else she may be, she is
nobody's fool"
At all events, she is about the last per-
son in the world who would attract pass
ing gaze. except for the insignificance of
her appearance, which is remarkable,
Perhaps Helen Of Troy was a little woman
with pale, pinched and demme face,
with no anatomy worth speaking of, and
Paris purple-taced, robust and lachry-
NOSE warrior, while Menelaus was, not
unlikely. conceited fellow who never
thought it necessary to show much inter
est in his wife until the fact of Paris carry
ing her off became 50 notorious that re-
spect tor public opinion forced him to
make a noise about it. We know that
Cleopatra was overlean, and had snub-
nose Antony must nave often sat upon
the ragged edge Of despair when he
thought of Oetayi;t. Many of the lean and
homely women Of history have managed
to make considerable trouble with the
hearts of great men. We cannot Judge of
the powers OF a rat-tail file by merely
looking at it,