Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-05-24
IHE BEECHER TRIAL-THE SPINNING
Up
THE SECOND DAY.

THE SECOND DAY.
The proceedings opened at 1907 Returning to
his analysis of Mrs. Tiltons letters Judge Porter
conjured up beautiful picture of the holiness
and purity of mothers feelings at her childrens
| cradle side on Sunday evening, "the hour which
brings mother nearest to God" This is the date
of one of Mrs. Tilton's letters, in which she says
that "whatever her husband may do, say, or be,
it becometh her to be Christian wife and mother
He asked if there any better illustration OF
the judicial blindness with which God dalkens the
understanding of those who turn from the light of
His countenance, than that Tilton, in his own
justification and defense, should have published
this letter to the world.
Judge Porter then analysed Tilton's letter in
which he specutates on what Christ might have
been had He been married. In remarking upon
the next letter-one of Mrs. Tilton's-the speaker
thrilled his audience by an exquisite word picture
adroly addressed to Judge Nelson whom it vsibly
affected, of the conjngal love which prevents
husband and wife from noticing the marks OF adj
vancing age in one another. This, he said, was
the spirit which newspaper men deride Christian
minister for uttering In mis- letters-the spirit of
Mrs. Tilton believing that even her husband might
be redeemed by the devotion of pure womans
love. The last letter Judge Porter took up was
one of Tilton to his wife, written five days after
the alleged confession, in which he says that she
| "is the only woman who touches his highest ma
ture" Emphasizing highest, the speaker insin-
uated that there were other women who touched
| Tilton's lower nature. From a phrase used in
this etter-"inward reverence"-he argued that
Mrs. Tilton got her expression "true lnwardness;"
that it was from her husband in his better moods
that she learned all such talk. If man, he sand,
in conclusion, is so mean and base to 20 to the
receptacle in which the wife and the mother kept
the letters expressive of what she battered herself
is conjugal love, among the relics of her dead
child and the stray locks of hair that she associ
ates with the memories of love, and to which she
believes she is to be reunited with the resurrec-
| ton Of her body in the great judgment day-when
these holy sanctities are invaded for the purpose
| of vanity and hate-God would indeed be asleep
did He Over-rue the action to the disgrace and to
the dishonor of the man who was capable of the
dissertation. Mr.. Beecher and many others of the
audience were moved TO tears at this passage.
| Passing on to the evidence, Judge Porter ar
gued that the two dates given in the complaint,
| being between prayer meeting nights, and Sunday
morning services, and seven years old, had been
selected by Titon and Mouton as those on which
| Mr. Beecher would have least chance of proving
an alibi He pictured the plaintiff and his friend
searching the files of the Independent and Chris
tan Union, lest by an unlucky chance there might
| have been an Exchange" on those nights. twill
| be a dark day. he said, for Brooklyn when Henry
| Ward Beeceer is called to his grave. After
! glowing eulogy Of Miss Turner, in which he
claimed that she was an adopted child OF lllton,
and not mere servant, Judge Porter drew an
equally horrible portrait of the plaintiff, with ma
| terals taken from Bessie's testimony, and asked
the jury which they would believe. 'lf your YER
diet IN this case, he SAID, "be against the deem
dant, it must rest the testimony of Theodore
Tilton as its cornor- stone Is the stone sound or
rotten" Bessie Turner's description Of the two
| bedroom scenes was gone into at length, elici-
ting laughter several tunes from the audience
| The speaker claimed that they bore the impress
| of truth on their face. 1t would be impossible
| for man or woman OF any age to invent them
| Who were the witnesses against Miss Turner 7
| Joe Richards, the 'dastard, reared under the NAL
| ign influence Of Henry c. Bowen, tutored by
| theodore Tilton, his brother-in-aw, capable Of
coming TO this stand and making theatrical ex-
hibition of himself which nobody could have de-
vised without the aid Of Theodore Tilton's ac-
quaintance with the histrionics Of all shame"
and going off exalted at having had the oPportun-
ity Of stabbng his sister under the fifth rib; A. b.
Martin, the ''ciIher," ''1iton's miserable spy"
"ready whenever the occasion called to do his lit
tie all in the service Of Theodore Iilton in his
fight with woman ready to attend that woman
TO fawn upon her and pretend to be her friend
ready when the time comes, II ii be neediul In Or
der 10 raise an issue with Bessie Turner ana with
Gen. Tracy-ready il need be, to swear TO walls
where carpenters never reared them, TO bring m
to protected shadow piazza which was in the
blaze of torrid summer sun; ready to do any