Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-06-02

wittold the latter being" man who knows his
wife's infdeity and submits to it-at tame cuckold"
Tlton is of intelligence, strong, suspicious,
and of great experience in the wickcdness of the
world yet he swears that for two years there did
not come one doubt, one suspicion, one fear into
his heart. At II :j6 Mr.. Evarts sgned his will
| ingness to stop, and recess was taken.
Mr. Evarts went upon the bench and spoke to
| Judge Nelson before rcsumng his speech, which
he did at 2 10. lie began with the testimony of
Mr. Tiltons housekeeper-an honest heart, but
sympathzer with the father OF the 1llton family.
| She had been silent in regard to thing wrong
in the conduct of Mrs. lllton, because thcre was
| nothing wrong to be told. The prosecution had
told them to wait for the rebutta but no witness
was called to contradict Mr.. Beecher except Mr..
Bowea, whose testimony was as valuable 10 the
defense as that OF any witness that had been called
on their side. The bulk of the rebuttal was taken
up with the question Of the Communist procession,
the only point in which was that Tilton and Wood
hull and Claflin carried their communion and asso-
Citations far as TO demonstrate them III public;
andsthis had not been denied
The theory of the prosecution was that up to
six months before the tial OF this cause the plain
tiff his wife, and their children lived in an ideally
happy home; that the only dissonance came from
Mr.. BeeCher that TO keep the secret the most
ponderous machiney necessary; that it was
necessary to make accusations in the permanent
form of writing, and to tell the story to friends;
that then came an intricate series of communlca-
tons, devices, plots, to lock the secret up; and
then a compulsory association of Iilton and MI.
and Mrs. Moulton with dlscredltabe persons; that
after the Woodruff publication new devices and
plots were necessary to put the secret back TO
where it first was; that finally duty compelled Mr..
1ilton to commence the destruction OF his wife
and children and that all this time Mr.. Beecher
was leading life of circumstantlsl or argumenta-
tive confession. The prosecution hoped by lis
boldness and Enthusiastically to impose upoa the
public, and the Proctor imputation WIS put for
ward to prepare the world to believe him q scoun-
drel capable Of anything.
The theory of the defense was first, that Mr..
Beecher and Mrs. Tilton were people Of the pur-
est lives Then came the proposed separation,
which showed the ideal home TO be filled with
growing discords. Then there came to be new
and equally sudden, unexpected, and unntelligi-
BILE assault upon Mr., Beechcr by Mr.. Iilton, con-
veyed by Mr. Bowen. Both these things came to
an end five minutes after their inception as far as
Mr. Beecher concerned. All this did not III,
terrupt sermon, prayer-meeung pastoral
duty or a nights rest. Mr. TIlton then opened 10
Mr.. Beecher grounds of complaint which he had
against hm--complants which wee serious and
caused great commiseration on Mr. Beechers part
for Mr.. Ti!ton Whatever damage Mr.. Beecher
might have done Tilton to Bowen became sub
ject of great repioach to hun but more than all
else did he reproach himself for having, as he be-
lieved, drawn to him the affections OF Iilton's
wife. Then Mrs. Tton, under the influence of
her husband, was induced to make false accuse,
ton against her pastor. Mr.. Beecher convinced
himself that it was his duty to make ample repair
alton and to keep from the public eye the unhappy
dissensions in Titons family
The plaintiffs theory took long time in pres
entation The defense were compelled to consent
to the admission of much that was irrelevant lest
| any grain of truth might be excluded. The de-
Tense had introduced not a word of testimony
damaging to Mr. Tilton outside of that bearing
upon the main quesion-not single word in NIT
igation of damages. The defense did not seek to
prove the false theory that Mr.. Tiltons disasters
were in any way due to Mr.. Beecher They were
due to himself. Mr.. Ti!ton's claim to want of
sordid interest in this suit was without foundation.
His claim that his acquaintance with Mrs Wood
hull grew out of the interests or feelings, or
wishes of Mr. Beechcr equally false. The
theories that Bowens s. 900 was ust debt, and
that the money for Bessie Turner's schooling was
necessary to the coIceament of Mr.. Beecher's
crime, were also false. Mr. Beecher's connection
with that matter began and ended with the repre-
sentation to him that Tilton's finances would not
permit him to bear the expense. The contrlbu-
ton to the Golden Age was similar piece of be-
nevolence. Titon's story OF his conduct was
damnatory to his character. No love letters of any
kind have been offered pretended to exist, as
between Mr.. Beecher and Mrs. Tilton, during the
entire period of their acquaintance down to No
vember, 1870. All the letters of Mrs. Tilton in
troduced were written after the accusation and
were left exposed by her when she quit her hus-
bands house. All Mr.. Beecher's letters were
written after the explosion, and were deposited in
the hands of Mr.. Moulton. The interpretations
given to those letters vile and vulgar that
Theodore Tilton in his senses would never have
fathered them for he has said that nothing low
could ever find lurking place in the heart of
Elizabeth Tilton.' Mrs. Bradshaw, the plaintiffs
witness, said that Mrs. Tton was "the cleanest
minded woman she ever knew" Their own evil
dence shows that nothing ever passed from Mr..
Beecher to Tilton or Moulton tina. ever betrayed
guilt or consciousness Of guilt. Another most ex-
traordinary and universal trait Of this evidence is
that it all comes out of the house of Mr.. Mouton;
not word out of the houses Of Mr.. Beecher or
Mr.. Tilton, except few inte ryiews which were
arranged for in Moulton's house.
1t being o'clock, Mr.. Evarts ceased speaking.