The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-04-15
NUMBER so.
Tilton's Moral Photograph.
[Ga,h's Letter to the Philadeip phia Press ]

Gath \ Letter TO the fnilauephin fresb.I
If were called upon to account for
Theodore Tilton's apOtheosis in this scan
dial, l should fill out the following notes:
A preternaturally good boy, resembling
the heroes of the Sunday-school books,
with long legs and hair brushed back
from his maiden temples. He has no
bad behaviors, and reads unnecessarily
sober books, and exclaims once, to the
surprise of his mother, al will be a
preacher Of the gospel" He works up
at school without fighting; is somtimes
called " Sissy" by very bad boys, eschews
both tobacco and bad words, and poses
for literature. 1t is no news that he has
joined the church carly, and aspires to
teach the Bible class, or that he escorts
the clergyman's daughters to parties,
wears serious intentions in his face and
gait. He learns to go out of his way to
rebuke swearing, and strides off with in
dignation at bad manners in his COM
pany. He grows sublimated, se6ate,
fend of the company of his elders, and is
a parvenu. Boys who have no devil in
them early entertain him unawares later
in life. The young girls around the
church, who are taught above all things
in marrying man not to marry a
"wild" one, but to get some demure
fireside saint of twenty or twenty-five
who can lead hymn or say "grace ," at
the table, these behold Apollo and
Adonis, the youthful David and the de-
ceased Abel, in "Dory" Tilton. There
is competition for him. Precocious in
nubility as in gravity, he marries at
twenty an older woman than himself, as
he has since frequently said under oath
with spiteful spirit. 1t was mean to
marry an old girl and take advantage of
her, but meaner to tell it.
This senior wife had all the RESPONSE
BILE emotions. She sublimated and
spooned over her engagement, and has
ever since not been satisfied with doing
anything until, like the woman who
washed her Lords feet, she also wiped
them with her hairs. Mrs. .Tilton has
been in a state of convulsive deshabille
for the necessary duration of her days.
Theodore Tilton submitted to have his
feet wiped. She was the champion fond
ler and he the champion fondlee for fit
teen years. Conceive a statue of long
legged man, cold and languid, perpetu-
any uChcu ny Cav duu yOu oSO Wills
lachrymachristal family. They conju-
gated the verb to weep" in their daily
rounds, and the woman made fool of
the man, who had strong disposition to
be tyrant of himself. Other women as
sisted in the business.
Theodore TiltOn was the idol of that
part of Brooklyn Heights which regards
Mr.. Beecher as above the earth. He was
fattered into q sordid cake of sclf-cOn-
temptation, and still his graces and nat
ural piety disguised the ossifcation. He
grew more worldly without losing his
precocious moral identity. With one
long leg on the altar of religion, he
spanned the wide distance to politics,
and put the other leg in a newspaper Of
flee. As an editor, he dealt with every
public man as if he was disciplining him
in n deacon's meeting. He calmly
handed lawyers, working on their cli-
ent's causes, over to the stake. He
bullied his minister in his own pulpit
and behind his back in the press, and
like too many reformers grew enraged
with his times from what he knew of
himself and what he did not know of
other things. Headlong, rapidly, fiercely,
the latent devil, suppressed in the boy,
broke out in the man. He awoke from
an illusion of greatness to reality of
contempt; broken hearthstone and a
departed wife, the wall of children and
the disgust of his times.