The daily gazette., 1875-02-03
The Beecher- TiitOn Scandat
Mr.. TiltOn's Evidence.
THE VERBAL RECITAL OF Gull

Mr. tullertOn-Wna nat utu you say 10
Mr.. Beecher upon that occasion? A.
After read TO him the paper he lifted
his hand rs If he were about to speak,
and | said, "No, Sir; hear me through,
and speak ther," and then detailed
to him the story Which Mrs. Tilton had
told me in the middle of the preceding
Summer.
MIR. Fullerton-Give us the CONVEX
sation. A. / told Mr.. Beecher that in
the early part of July, previous to that
interview, Mrs. Tilton had come home
Unexpectedly from the country, and
had said to me that the object of her
return was to communicate to me a
secret, which had long been resting on
her mind like a burden, which she
wished to throw off; that she had had,
on several previous occasions, came
almost to the point of making such IA
statement to me, and once in particular
while ON Il sick bed, but that she mad
never until then, having been restored
to, health, been brought quite to the
point of courage to make the disclo-
sure; that before she would announce
| to me what the secret was, she exacted
from me n pledge that | would do no
hacm to the person concerning whom
| the secret was to be told, and further
more, that would not communicate to
| that person the fact that she had made
| such revelation to me, because, as
she said, she wished to inform him of
that revelation herself, that had
given to her this pledge, my word of
honor, that would neither disclose her
secret, whatever it might be, nor would
| injure the person concerning whom
the secret was TO he told; that she then
said to me that il was secret between
herself and the Rev. Henry Ward
1 Beecher, her pastor; that ,as was well
aware, there had been, during long
course of years, a friendship .etwcen
herself and her pastor; that this friend
ship, contrary to my expectation or
belief. had been in later years more
than friendship, it had been love; that
it had been more than love, it had been
sexual intimacy; that this sexual in
timacy had begun shortly after the
death of her sou Paul; that she had
been in a tender frame of mind, con
sequent upon that bereavement; that
she had received much cons olation
during that shadow ON our house,
from her pastor; that she had made a
visit to his house while she was still
lsuffering from that sorrow, and that
there, on the 10th of October, 1868 she
had surrendered her body TO him in
sexual embrace; that she had repeated
such an act on the following Saturday
evening ut her own residence, ia Liv
ington street; that she had consequent
upon those two occasions, repeated
such acts at various times, at his re
sidence and at hers, and at other places
such acts of sexual intercourse-con
tinuing from the Fall of 1868 to tn,
Spring of 1870; that in July, 1870, sh,
had made to me Il confession in detail
. of those acts; that she had given to IN,
also, during that recital many of th'
reasonings by her pastor, communica
ted to her to change what was her or
: iginal scruples against such Il sexua
intimacy.
Mr.. Evarts-Mr. Tilton, do | under
stand that this is what you said to Mr.
Beechcr A. Precisely, Sir; that sh
had in the early stage of their friend
ship been greatly distressed at rumor
concerning Mr.. Beecher's moral into
:, gritty; that she wished TO show to hin
| LHCIC W as u MOliiuh WIN WIS btl
perior to the silly batteries with whicl
= many ladies in his congregation hat
courted his society; that she wished t.
demonstrate the honor and the dignit
of her sex; that she had doncso in he
70 own thought until finally she had bee
D. persuaded by him, that as their low
10 was proper and not wrong, therefor
il followed that any expression o
IL that love, whether by the shake of tn
hand, or the kiss of the lips, or eve
: bodily intercourse, since it all was I'll
expression Of that which in itself WI
not wrong therefore that boldly inte
- course was not wrong; that she liza
said to me that Mr. Bcecher had DR.
fessed to her IA greater love than |
had ever shown to any woman IN h
life; that she and both knew that fl
years his home had not been hapl
one; that his wife had not been sati
factory one to him; that she wished
that he wished to find in her, ,Elizabe
the consolation, the help to his min
ND and the folac0 of life which had be-
denied to him by the unfortunate ma
riage at home. that he had made the
arguments tOher during the early yea
of their frienship, and she had stea
fastly resisted; that he had many tim
fondled her TO the degree that it
quired on her part almost bodily
e, sistence to be rid of him; that alter /
final surrender during the period
her sorrow; in October, 1868, he il
then many times solicited her VIII
NJ she had refused; that the occasions
'' her yielding her body to him had l
been numerous, but that his sollci
tions mad been frequent and urge
ana sometimes almost violent that {
made this confession to me becal
ca the sense of dcccitfulness in her mi
M ms was pain to her conscience; that s
en-, en-, had gone away from home in
lost Spring parting from me-under
lion litn cloud, as / knew, and that had W
Tor for ting TO her in her absence a letter, s
t Of ing that unless she told me the tru