The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-04-02
TEE BROOKLYN DOMESTIC DRAMA
FROM A PURITANICAL STAND

GA10 AcCuSea tstlQ dCCuS1QS pafIIoS HOW DS- |
fore that tribunal, there can be no doubt |
that there is already an impressive lesson
from the trial. It is found In the de-
valopment of the state of society In which
these parties lived and moved. Its at |
mosphere was sickly and feverish, and
the language and actions that grew out
of it were in the closest correspondence.
As regards Mr.. Beecher himself, if he
escapes conviction of the overt act of
crin1inality it is only to remain under
imputations still fatally damaging to his
usefulness as preacher and his charac-
ter as man. He falls by his own let
ters, even taking the most charitable
view of them. There is enough Of abso-
lutte and unmitigated ssgush" in these
TO ruin his reputation as guide or
teacher for the souls of his fellow beings
His twaddle about IS true inwar1ness,'
his nonsense (if nothing wors0 as re-
grads snest-hiding,' . his contortions of
spirit over what he asks us to believe
were imaginary errors, his agonized
wish for death, and the desperate state of
mind that finds peacefulness in its pros
pect, are not alone worthy of n great
teacher of Christianity ty-they speak
soul deficient IN the attribute of man1i-
ness. We may forgive and pity such
man, but outside of Brooklyn il would
be preposterous to ask anybody to, accept
him as spiritual adviser. Nor is this
the worst. There is quality of .decep-
tion IN his acts that are still more repre-
hensible. He tells that, on that
last day of the dying year
in which the development of his
difficulty with Mr. Tilton was reached,
he met Mr.. Tilton and Mr. Moulton, and
was enpalled by the revelation of the
foul conspiracy on their part against
him yet two days later we find him
writing that Theodore Tilton would have
been better man than himself under
the circumstances, followed shortly after
by an effusive letter to Moulton, telling
the latter that God had never raised up
such friend to man as he (Moulton)
had been to the writer Then succeeded
that long series of efforts at deluding the
public and concealing the facts-what-
ever they were-that have wearied the
world in the recounting since the case
was opened. Guilty or innocent, could
there be more demoralizing spectacle
of decepton2 Even the g heathen'
Moulton, with all the importance with
which these secrets invested him as the
sole confdant of the most distinguished
preacher of America, became disgusted
s.k oc%4 !.
at the subject with the eye of a si1rewd
man of the world, and knowing well the
character of the Brooklyn congregation,
he advises Beecher to tell the whole |
story, and tells him he can stand under
it. But the cowardice of Beecher over
came his faith In himself, in his people,
and in his God, and the deplorable |
drama of shifts and of expedients to
conceal the truth went on till the stories |
shout the scandal became so much mat
ter Of general talk with the public that
DIR. Leonard Bacon determined to bring |
the machinery amid which its parties |
were moving with 9 crash about the ears
of them all, and in so doing render de- |
Ception no longer possible.
Mr.. Tilton's case is somewhat differ |
ent. He is not professed teacher of
religion or of morals. IF he has been |
also public figure, it is on much less
ambitious scale of influence, and with a /
greatly more limited following. He has /
his own ideas in this connection, although /
his sphere has been that of an apostle |!
rather than of an authority. But Mr..
Tilton, too, is Brooklynite. He has to |
> large degree the manners and the
morals of the society in which he raoves.
he gushes, and, If he does not grosn, he
attitudinizes. He is statue of Forgive-
mess IN his one aspect, and he Is the inn
pIacable figure of Nemesis In the other.
We are aware that in his position toward.
his wife there is much that appeals to |
the kindly sympathy and liberation of |
the public. In condoning her alleged |
crime he is assuming 3 achivalrous attitude
toward an otherwise defense1eas woman.
He ia standing between her and judg- /
ment of the world, which. IN the present |
state of society, falls heaviest on those
who have the least power to resist and |
recover from il But CONNECTED with
Ehis attitude there is mawkish sentGi-
mentality that neutralizes to 3 great de-
gree It's nobility. With true Brooklyn
zte inversion Of the ideas Of morality, he |
refuses to accept her as sinner. She is
not fallen woman ii his estimation. |
She has still the whitesk soul he ever
knew. She ii an ndulteresH, If NE accept
H.. ss.Sa s,.sSs