The Portland daily press., 1875-05-21
THE SCANDAL.
Continuation of fudge Porter's Argu.
sAgut.

his habit of dropping his voice almost to a
whisper precisely when he onght 10 talk his
loudest. Bessie Turner and two friends were
in court to day. and that lively young lady at
tracted good deal of notice.
Ex-Judge Porter commenced to-day by eX'
cnsng himself 70 the reporters for not being
heard distinctly yesterday. This he attributed
TO the effects of a cold III the chest before the
trial commenced, and at the same time SAID he
would take Il rs favor whenever his voice
dropped too low to be reminded OF It, Counsel
resumed by calling attention to the ietter OF
Mrs. Tilton 10 her husbahd dated "Ihe Nur.
sery Sunday evening, no place. He SAID
nothing was dcarer TO woman than the nursery;
the place where she thinks of marriage, but not
of lust. That letter was Written from the nur-
sery aud on Sunday, the very day on which it
is charged that Mrs. Tilton left her children in
that nursery and sought that house on Colum
bian Heights for the purpose of prosttutng her
body to the lustful embraces of her pastor. 1t
was an illustration of judicial blindness with
which Providence blinds men sometimes, that
the plaintiff was advised by his counsel to pub
fish those letters. He would rather speak of
the plaintiff in other terms. The plaintiff was
one on whom Providence had smiled as on few,
and who was endowed with an order of genius
which if regulated by religion would place him
in a front place among the leading men of the
generation, but he fell, as an angel fell, through
pride, and when such men fall they go down
until they reach place where there is no fur
ther descent. He commences letter to his
wife, February 16, 1867, with sneer, such as
would curl the lip of Voltaire-"My dear Or
thodox wife" Counsel went on to read the
letter, in which Tilton INDUCES in some silly
and impious speculatons on the possible conse-
uuence if Christ had been a married man.
Counsel in reading this letter occasionally
turned around towards Tilton, emphasizing the
worst passages. "This," said counsel, was
the teaching of this man in that Christian
house, OF that God to that wife who adored
him. The next letter taken up was Mrs. Til
tons remorseful letter in 1868, to her husband,
saying she sometimes feels she has committed
an objectionable sin, and that all her desire
was that he might be restored to his former
self respect for she still saw him only as he
first impressed himself on her mind before time
had left its traces on them both-she, pure, in
nocent, unspotted, unstained, compared with
Tlton, white as wool, she wrote to him IN the
spirit in which minister of the gospel, Beech
er, has been Knocked at for writing to men like
Titon and Moulton, 81 am the chief of sim
ners; will carry these agonies gladly" Tor she
had faith in God and felt that Tilton could be
saved by the devotion of a pure woman, and yet
Titon would have jury believe that nine
months afterwards that soul SO pure, so loyal to
Titon, so loyal to Him above was debauched
and polluted ''Darlius." she wrote in the
same letter "Let us labor to be what we seem,
then will be fulfilled my idea of marriage love
for each other, contact OF body with no other.
In the fall of 1869 Tilton wrote to his wife at
the time when he now says she had prostltutedi
her honor to the pastor of Plymouth church"
would to God L were worthy of yonr good
ness YOUR self-denial.'' SIN this letter." coun-
sci remarked, Tilton used the expression "True
inwardness." He had planted thickly such
phrases in his wife's memory. When he uses
s'true inwardness' it is in high and noble
sense, yet when she uses it Tilton will attribute
it to vile and degrading meaning. When
these confidential letters, these sanctities are
unrolled and those communications published
for purposes of egotism, it would be strange if
Providence did not override the action for the
infamy and disgrace of the man who brought
them out.
Counsel then said it would next be his duty
to consider that portion of the testimony which
had been assigned to him to discuss. The com
plant alleges adultery on the ninth OF october,
1869, day between Friday night prayer meet
ing and the Sabbath on which Beecher preach
ed one of those sermons which are caught up
and spread over the land by the reporters
those pioneers of civilization and progress. On
thattvery night he delivered an address in the
Academy of Music. The date was well select
ed by the forgers and fa6ricators OF those pre-
tended confessions. 'gThe theory of these men,
said counsel, sis that your hosored townsman
is gray-haired hypocrite who stood over the
coffins of your wives and of your children, and
joined your daughters and sons in wedlock and
preached to your fellow citizens, men aud
women, boys and maidens, and baptized your
children, not in the fear of the Supreme Being,
but in the fear of the devil. They want you to
believe that he was viper who found nesting
place in two hearts-the hearts OF Tilton and
Henry G. Bowen (smiles) and that this man
was capable of giving the blood OF the Saviour
on the Sabbath day to the lips of your mothers
and children, that this man in the decline OF
life whose head is blossOming for the grave and
bears the marks that the dark day when he
must depart is near, that this man is perJured
villain, that at sixty years OF age he commence
ed for the first time the act OF debaucbeIy,
that on a certain day one of your parishloner5
sought his home and gave herself to the impure
embraces of her pastor aad that seven days aft
erwards he sought he- house for the same pur-
poses of debauchery." Counsel then went on
to comment on the fidelity of these thansandS
of members of Plymouth church to their pastor
and how fifteen of the men who are pillars in
the magnificent fabric of our commercial pre-
eminence were examined and testified on his
behalf. The names of these men were suffi-
cent answer to the calumny that the members
of Plymouth church were cop tble OF coming
forward to perjure themselves for their pastor
There was day when Tllton was incapable OF
laying his finger on his wife in anger or
for casting reproach upon her or any woman,
but that time was past. There was witness
whom God has preserved Bessie Turner) and
rilton with the cunning subtlety. and malice
Of friend prepared the way for her coming to
the witness chair by speaking Of her with at
fected scorn and contempt She got her educa-
ton, (being sent west to screen bis mIsconduct)
but from the bountifut charity OF Beecher
through an appeal made to him by Frank
Moulton. She was the daughter OF poor but
respectable parents. She won the heart of
every woman she met and eventually got into
the family of T., who signs many of his letters
to her, "Your father" which did not prevent
him from lustfal attempts on that adopted
daughter. but at that time she never believed
ha lad tn, hn1i "a
whom Mrs. Titon taught her to love meant to
destroy her innocence uutil she learned from
the communication he made to his own wife
that behind what she regarded as only indecen-
cy was purpose to blast her young life. How
ever counsel would do Tilton the justice to say
ne believed he did not dare to touch the honor
of that young girl, but was there to satisfy the
morbid feeling that influences such men.
Counsel read Miss Turner's testimony as to
Tilton's talk to her about afflnities, &c, on
which counsel remarked: These are the very
words these men put into the mouth OF Henry
Ward Beecher for the purpose of debauching
Elizabeth r. Tilton. Talk of such words mis-
leading a woman of the culture, character and
opportunities of Mrs. Tlton. Why, they did
not deceive this schoolgirl. Miss Turner's re-
eital was truthful, candid, childlike, and no
man who ever read or heard it doubted it for
Thus, then, the jury would see that the
charge against Beecher ORR mated in the heart
Of man capable OF corrupting the mind OF his
adopted daughter. Tilton is bold man and
bad man, but vital as it was to his case to de-
stroy the credibility of Bessie Turner, he only
Jared to give qualified denial to the last of
The occurrences related by her. How happened
it that if these incidents were lies, Tilton was
able to communicate to his wife that when he
entered Bessie's room on these two occasions it
was with the purpose of leaving her debauched,
and that Mrs Tilton was able to speak of them
10 Mrs Putnam, so that Mrs. 2. could cross
examine Bessie on these incidents which she
mad not mentioned to living soul up TO that
time.
The court here took recess.
The ladies present up to recess went away,
put they were replaced by batch of Plymouth
church ladies, Mrs. Beecher, her sister and
ler daughter-in.law, and DR.. Edward Beecher
we're also present. Taking up the testimony of
Mrs Tilton's brother, Joseph Richards, Porter
"a ID bastard tutored by his brother-in-law,
Elton, was capable OF coming TO court and
making theatrical exhibition OF himself,
which no one but TIton could have devised
lie came to the rescue of Tilton to persuade
he Jury that Bessie Turner should be cast
rom the court as unworthy of belief. He
Richards was gratifed that by his evidence he
vas able to give his sister a stab in the fifth
lib to please his honored friend Tilton and
.ttract the notice of Henry G. Bowen. 'Spy?'
exclaimed counsel, bringing down his list upon
he table, Spy! have some respect for FRANK
Moulton's minion, but none for the miserable
py sent to find OUT what is going on in his Sis
er's house, talk to his wife and find out what