The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-05-20
BEECHER TRIAL.

lOA lHC uVlShsN' Alc tulu GentltMe
you have been for five months in the ser
vice OF Theodore Tilton under mandate
OF power which you were bound to obey
My client has since the beginning OF III,
suit dealt in scripture principles, whel
they struck him on one cheek he turne,
to them the other. In the beginning the
might have been struck with the genera
air OF untruthiulness which permeater
the case, and the counsel thought that
they had then been called to declare thei
verdict their could have been but it'll
doubt what that verdict would have been
On the one hand they had Tillon AM
Moullon, Jayne, the iniOrmcr, Woodhul
and Claain, Joe Richards, starting NJ
darkly to strike his sister in the back
aud Ben Butler, the strategist, These arr
the parties who are sponsors Of this nc
CusatiOn, These are the champions o
christian purity and morality. The orig
inators, publishers and advisers in thi,
matter. We had in favor OF this defend
ant the wife, the children and the grand
children who found shelter beneath his
roof, and the three thousand worshipcrs
Of Plymouth church. Even the trusting
hearts OF young children loved his name
and would be living 10 bless his memory
when you and win be no more. We
have with us the almost unanimous sup.
port OF his professional brethren and the
sympathy Of enlightened ChristendOm.
These trusted and loved the defendant,
while thcyabhorrcd and loathed the names
Of Theodore Tilton and Frank MOulton.
In our whole system Of Jurisprudence
the plea Of innocence was safe and our
laws in that respect were not failure.
One Of the obstacles to the accuser was
the defendants answer of his Innocence
aud the oath Of an honest man. Another
obstacle they met with presented itself in
the unblcmishpd character and unsullied
purity Of both him and the wife. Yet
another obstacle was the fact that TiltOn
and MoultOn ior four years by their words
and acts ialsifed such accusation, both
in writing and otherwise; another Obsta.
Gle was the fact that Tilton COhabited and
slept with the lady accused and remained
for four years in family relations with the
alleged adutress; another obstacle IN fact
that both MoultOn and TiltOn admitted
that they were here with the oath on their
lips having open hostility against the
defendant; another obstacle in fact that
they lied to conceal il as they say and the
question arises II they are not lying now
We were accustomed to believe in the truth
not by the number OF those who spoke,
but in the probability Of the stories told
in regard to the matter, who was all eyed
by the Culprit, man three score years Of
age, self disciplined, well vGrsed and not
merely christian but veteran and min.
istcr; man who from his youth up had
dedicated himself to God and religion;
II he was true to his wifes virtue in these
early days Of his ministry should it be be.
lievcd that he had fallen now.
The speaker dwclt at some length
upon the purity Of Mrs. TiltOn and her
intellectual capacities, and yet they would
have you believe what is known to every
man, woman and child in the country
that this man could have nmOurs in open
day, openly dcbauching the mother Of n
familyahat such intrigue could be carried
on through a year and half, and the
first woman on earth to tell it Is Mrs,
'l'iltOn aud the first man she would tell II
to was Theodore TiltOn,and Henry Ward
lIsechcr the last man on earth that could
have bcenguilty.
Turning toward MoulIon and Tilton
the speaker exclaimed!
What are such men for unless for hunt
Ing down Clergymcn and TO cruelty
women; letters, which passed with no
other thought on the part Of the writer
except in confidence reposed In her
friend and pastor, have been thrown bc.
fore the world in altogether different
light from that intended.
Mr.. portcrs address was interrupted
by the recess.
After recess BcechCr and his wife came
into court with Cx.Judge Porter, who
continued ms summing up by quoting
from one Of Mrs. TiltOn's letters, in which
she breathCd forth with fervor her admi-
ration for her husband. The woman
whom he nskrd to be stoned as an adul.
trcss knclt to him rs TO God and loved
him a. she loved her Redeemer. This
woman, standing ut the grave of her boy,
they would have you believe stood within
nine months and n half Of the grave Of
her own honor. Mr.. Morris, in opening,
alluded to the frequency Of the interviews
between Icccher and Mrs. TiltOn. Now,
no one would doubt for moment that
Mrs. Matte Bradshaw was Il good and
pure woman, and Mrs TiltOn IN letter
to her husband said that she was jealous
Of the attention shown to her by Beecher.
The counsel quoted further from some
letters Of Mrs. Tilton, illustrative Of her
unsclfshncsS. Did any woman who had
committed adultery ever write such let.
ters Of love, admiration and confidence.
The counsel also quoted from the letter Of
February 3, 1868, in which she rcprOACh
ed herself for her short COmings. The
bastard to whom this letter was written
furnished Ito the papcrs for publication
with the intention Of blasting his wife and
iniuring Henry Ward DcCcller. In an.
other letter she says: "LifC never seemed
to her better worth living than Il was
then" lie did not return her love in the
same warm manner in which she tendCr-
ell II 10 lllIll. III JNUUul lNOb AVA " l IL
ton wrote to her husband that Mr.. Beech.
or called to sec her, and they talked Of her
husband; Mrs. TiltOn says that Mr. Beech.
cr loved him; Mr. lICCchCr speaks Of the
soothing influences lie has over him; this
woman writes to her husband Of every visit
to her and Of what passed nj these Visits
thia man prrtcnla that after the alleged
confession Of his wife to him In July,
1870, he broke of from the church aud
hc swcars himself that his connection
with the church ceased four years before
1873 The counsel then referred to the
rilts Of books and which were parNdcd
by Judge Morris, and which he said
would not be likely presents to he made
hy n libcrlinc. The counsel read other
letters for the purpose Of showing the
iury what pnsacd between Mr.. lCCchcr
and Mrs. f'ilton ht each visit, and said
they only offered the excuse ol jealousy
to n man who only wanted m orportuni.
ty for hi4 inlidcltics, deny, sAid the
ccuscI, that in the history Of the whole
human race have we similar case Of
woman writing such letters to n Cuckold
husband. The counsel here quoted from
the letter in which she nsks her husband
to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and
bear patiently with her; the woman
who wrote that letter to Theodore
MI.