The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-02-23
TILTON,S LOVE.

HIS EXPLANATION OF SOME STRANGE DoINGS
DENIAL OF FREE LOVE DOCTRINES.
The Chicago Tribune has a special on the
Beecher-Tilton trial, in which the following
was given in evidence: After lull of ten
minutes or quarter of an hour, Fullerton,
who had been talking earnestly
with Judge Morris, rose and
blandly commenced the redirect exsmina-
turned home OF her own free will, and after
showing also that she abandoned her hus-
band to join the Beecher forces without any
previous notice whatever, Fullerton asked
the following question and received the
following reply: Q.-In answer to a
question put by Mr.. Evarts with re-
gard to your wife, you answered; 81
think my wife loves everything good and
hates everything bad, and / believe to-day
she is good woman" Now, 1 want to
ask you the foundation for that belief, in
view eli this charge that had been preferred
against your wife. In other words, how you
reconciled that statement with the fact that
she is charged with adultry? A. [Hesitat-
iDgl-Well, sir, that is a sad question. 1 can
answer only for my own judgment of her
behavior-not for other peoples opinions
You must remember, sir, that l knew
Elizabeth when i was ten years old /;
that l became her confessed lover at 16;
that was married 20 her at 20, and that, for
fifteen years of our married lives, i held her
in my reverence, perhaps almos. to the
point of making her an idol of my worship;
and when she came to her downfall it was
the necessity OF my own heart that must
| find some excuse for her. Other people
might blame, but must pardon her. 1
found that excuse in the fact that
she had been wrapped up in her re-
ligious teacher and guide, and had
SURRENDERED HER CONVICTIONS
to him. She went at his beck and led trust
ingly; she walked after him like one blinded.
thought she sinned her sin as one en-
tranced. did not think she was a free
agent. 1 think she would have done his
bidding if, like the heather priest in Hindoo
he had babe her throw her child in the
Gam es, or cast herself under the jugger-
naut. That was my excuse for Elizabeth. As
| bespoke thus s0rrowfully OF the weak wo.
man who had tangled her own infirmities in
| the net of her ruin, his voice fsltered and
began to tremble. There was a great
silence in the room so that the rustic of a
wOmans dress was heard clearly by every
one. All eyes fastened upon Elizabeth Til
ton, whose cheeks were crimson, and who
shrunk from the glare of curiosity like g
wounded animal. Beecher's own gaze was
| fixed upon the gas jets in the ceiling. @
Something bias been said by you about mar
riage only continuing while both parties
were willing. Your opinion is that the law
should regulate this matter? Any opin-
ion is that the civil law of contracts should
regulate the matter. After this came Til
toms solemn proclamation against free love
"In all my writings-and they are vol
ume-I have always condemned the doc
trines of free love, knowing nothing of them
in my own experience until my heart was
pierced by the discovery that free love had
been practiced in my own house to the de-
structlcn OF my own family" A
loud hustle of comment few around the
room at this dagger-thrust az Beecher. The
concluding incidents of the afternoon ses-
sion were quotation of Mrs. Morse's man.
ace to cut holes in the portrait Of Beecher
and desperate battle between Evarts and
Beach over the admission of soven photo
graphs found IN a secret closet in which
Mrs. Tilton used to conceal her mementos oil
Beecher, and all of which photographs, by a
curious coincidence, were likenesses OF
Beecher in seven different positions. They
were finally admitted in evidence, so Fuller
ton put 1t, "as the deadly instrument is adj
|. united In case OF homicide"