The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1875-04-03
OH, TILToN /!
Bessie Turner'S Blast.---Tilton's Peculiar
tiles to His WIFE and Bessie.---he
Carries the Girl from One Bed
to Another. in Her Sleep.

Bessie Turner'S testimony in the Beech
er-Tilton trial, on the 10Th inst, from
which it appears that Theodore, as well
as Henry, was getting IN considerable
work about that time:
On particular occasion Tilton visited
my room in 1867, and we had a CONVEX
sation. i had gone to bed in the second
story bed room, front room off of the
sitting room, connected by folding
doors and had not been in bed very long
before Tilton came in and said he had
come to kiss me good night. l was "
ing on the side of the b d nearest the
door and he went around to the other
side, and leaned over the bed and kissed
me good night.
Witness asked: "Shal 1 give all the
conversations"
She was told to give it all, and con-
tinued: He stroked my forehead and
my hair, and said what nice soft hair /
had, and how nice and soft my flesh was
on my forehead, and then put his hand
on my neck and took his hand off. He
said, "Why, Bessie, my dear, you are
painfully modest" and he said "These
caresses are all right, there are people
IN the best society who do all these
things. It is perfectly proper, and only
people of impure minds think of things
like that as not being right" I said I
could not help what they did in the best
classes of society; that 1 had my own
ideas of what was proper and what
was modest. and was going to
carry them out, and that I
did not think it proper for him to put
his hand into my neck, and I was not
going to let him do it. I said it didn t
matter what people thought in the best
classes of society. He then laid down
and asked me if would not like to be
married. Why" [ asked, "what in
the world put that in your head ?" He
said [ was an affectionate and true girl,
and l ought to be married, and ought to
have good husband. | said [ suppose
when the time came, and the right man
came, perhaps [ would get married, but
l didn't think of getting married yet
that thought didn't trouble me much,
and taat was not the chief end of life.
If did get married there would be one
thing, would not have literary man
for husband, and he then asked me if
[ didn't think some people had atfinities
for each other [ asked him what he
meant by atfinities and he said when a
man saw a woman he loved, she should
be his affinity and they should live to-
gether as man and wife. He said it was
perfectly right and proper for him to
caress me and no harm should come to
me. He said / was very strange child
and had some singular ideas. He then
kissed me, bid me good night, and left
the room.
On another occasion in 1868, went to
bed and was frightened by seeing man
in my room. [ jumped up and asked
who was there, and he said @ Hush; it is
only me, Mr.. Tilton.'' / then found he
him why he had done this and he said he
felt lonely, [ told him I would not per-
NIT snch liberties to be taken, and [ then
got up and left the room. Next morn
ing at breakfast / did not say anything
about it but after he went away [ took
the boat for Keyport, where / staid
for some time. Mrs. Tilton was then
away from home. [ returned when I
found Mrs. Tilton was in town. I did
not at that time tell Mrs. Tilton what
had TRANSFERRED between her husband
and me. l went to Marietta in the spring
of 1870 and remained there on q visit to
Mrs. Putnam eight or nine months.
[ returned the 9th of December, 1870.
Mrs. TIlton come there, / think in
October, and remained a month or six
weeks. | returned with Mrs. Tilton
because she was feeble, and / did not
like to trust her alone. Mr.. Tilton
met us at the depot with a carriage,
and we reached home about seven or
eight o'clock. Miss Ellen Dennis was
at the breakfast table next morning.
She appeared to occupy the position of
housekeeper and mistress Miss An
thony was there at dinner. Mrs. Tilton
took her seat beside Tilton, and burst
out crying. She went into the next
room, and Miss Dennis said, "Well.
this is strange conduct in Elizabeth. "
Hilton said to me, "Bessie, don't You
think Elizabeth is demented ?'' l re-
piled "No, l do not, but your conduct
is enough to have driven her
to the lunatic asylum long ago"
Triton followed her to the
other room. l followed and staia
at the folding doors and saw
him shaking his clenched hand in her
face. He said to her, "You have brought
the girl back to testify against me-. l
stepped forward and interfered in her
behalf, and he said to me, leave the
house, d-n you" / said would not,
and he struck me with his clenched fist,
and knocked me down, and then step
ping up to me, ne said in bland man
ner, "Bessie, dear, you have tripped
and hurt yourself" He said to me
pointing to the sofa, that he had seen
Beecher and Mrs. Tilton having sexual
intercourse, and Mrs. Tilton said, Glow
can you tell such things to the child"
de then took me to the other room. and
repeated the story to me. He said he
dld not claim any of his children except
Florence. He also said Beecher was in
the habit of preaching to ten or dozen
OF MS mlstresses every Sunday, and he
named two ladies of the congregation.
Hilton had also frequent habit of
changing the pictures on the wall. At
tired IN his night clothes he would take
pictures down and hang them up again.
He was also III the habit of trying all
the beds in the house before he could
make up his mind TO remain In one. I
on one occasion changed my
bed twice, and he said ne wanted to try
the beds to ascertain which was the soft
est. Mrs. Tilton followed him around
with pillows in her arms. Tilton was
in the habit of wandering around the
house in his night clothes.
OF THE POWDER MILL