National Republican., 1875-07-05
"pUT YOURSELF m HIS PLACE"

rot De Issued 70 mOrTOW. ~
"RUT YOURSELF N HIS PLACE"
The Tilton- -Beecher trial is over. Thank
God for that, /" But what do you think Of
itf,' That is the question which Is now
propounded on every hand. The answer
is as various among the people as il was in
the jury-room. No twelve persons In
crowd can agree about it. Now what is to
be donef Shall We all continue to have
faith in Mr.. Beecher as teacher Of morals
and religionf Or is his usefulness to be
impaired by the cloud of suspicion which
has been hanging over him during the year
just passedt And what of Tilton and his
broken and discovered familyf Is this
wreck to remain an eyesore to the Brook
iyn public and q monument to the folly of
disappointed ambitionf Or will all the
members of this wearied and heartbroken
family forgive and forget their examinations
and recriminations and reunitef The out
side world has grstifed its prurient tastes
and curiosity to the I'LL, and viii now turn
TO fresh gossip and scandal unless it can
unearth some more obscene tales under the
title of ''new evidence" The parties to
this great scandal suit will soon retire to
ordinary obscurity upon the development
of the next nine days wonder, which can
afford full employment to the talent and
genius of the detectives ofthe Independent
press. ....
Now that the Tilton- -Beecher case is out
of court few reflections, uch IS are prop
erly suggested by the trial, almost inevita-
bly suggest themselves to the mind. Di-
vested Of the romance, envy, bigotry, fanat-
icism and partisanship with which 1t has
been constantly surrounded. the case Is q
very simple one. Such an investigation Of
the matter, however impossible 1t may have
been during the trial, when the whole press
of the country was teeming with all sorts
Of stories and rumors and sayings of this or
that Mrs. Grundy, may now be easily made
by any one who really desires, in the in
terest of true religion and good morals, to
reach an impartial conclusion upon the
case in the light of the facrs presented.
Those who are imbued with such de-
sire, bearing in mind the injunction, "Judge
'not lest ye be judged. for with whatsoever
measure you mete unto others the same
''shall be meted unto you again, and not
forgetting that We are commanded by our
great advocate with the last Great Judge,
eIet him that is without sin among you
cast the first stone at her." will be able to
arrive at satisfactory conclusion perhaps
in something like the following manner:
First, the defendant in this civil suit for
damages, the Reverend Henry Ward
Beecher, Is man who was reared accord
ing to the straitest sect of our religion
Calvinist He early professed religion,
married when mere boy and has had the
reputation always until quite recently of
being and having been pattern of domes-
tic and Christian virtue His father and
all his brothers have borne themselves in
manner to meet the approval everywhere
Of their Christian brethren. In addition to
such record, Mr.. Beecher was a popular
teacher, preacher and editor, whom resi-
dence of q quarter of century as pastor in
Brooklyn, editor in New York and lecturer
throughout our broad land, has made so
familiar to the whole people that all knew
him at glance. Privacy or disguise were
not for kim personally; were not possible
for him except, perhaps, in his own study
at his own residence. His outgoings and
incomings, his studies and his recreations,
his very labors we're before the face Of the
whole community, as 1t were. Indeed,
the latter were so enormous that
his time, like that Of NJ. Thiers, had to be
carefully measured and allotted to different
tasks, to sleep, to meals and to recreation.
The whole community knew that he had
absolutely no time for dslliance, but little
for visiting, and that his calls and visits
were usually made hsp-hazsrd, without
previous appointment and rarely if ever
upon any particular member of the family.
Knowing these things, and also the great
openness of his life, his constant guard over
his own conduct, that he might teach by
example as well as by precepts. it is little
wonder that his flock should have adhered
to him VIXEN he was beset by the ACCUSE
tion of adultery with one of the most ex.
emplary Of his whole charge. What had
this man TAUGHT Purity of life, as evi-
dence ofthe presence of regeneration Con-
troll of the animal passions through the in
tellect, which indicates the superiority of
the man over the brute And his whole
walk and life for upwards of two decades
had been In consistent conformity with
these teachings. Now, however, comes an
accusation of adultery with female parish.
ioner years ago Not with brazen, friyo-
Ious, voluptueus woman Of the world, full
of all the wiles and arts of temptation, such
as are designed to throwa good man off his
guard, but with sincere, ardent earnest,
plain, practical, Christian woman, who had
grown up under his teaching and who ven
Grated him as her pastor next to her Crea.
Tor; and as the mentor OF her husband,
whom she also idolized ss an intellectual
chief. Is it any wonder that he was dazed.
that his whole church was wounded by
this accusation, which they felt that
they knew must be false, and that they
arose as one person to defend their pastor
from this charge and to sustain him during
the ordeal through which he mist pass!
Put yourself in his place" and ask
whether it is likely that you could, under
like circumstances, have been guilty of such
an act. Put yourself in the place of ais
church. Imagine yourself consistent
Christian, member o. Plymouth church,
and ask yourself whether you could be-
Heye your pastor, whose life for years had
been your admiration as an example of
/ Segistisn duty and propriety, whose visits
70 ycay own household had been seasons Of
great Joy to yourself and family, the guilty |
thing his accusers would make him out
the 6stan who debsuched snd corrupted
Ever If you believe that he is guilty as
accused, then he is, besides being an adul.
ferer. not onlYa periured Yillain hrt a rnn.t |