Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-07-02

party who destroyed it. He declined to
charge that moral evidence is not sufficient
to support legal certainty. He charged
that the defendants avoidance Of publicity
to the charge raised was no presumption of
guilt, and that the letter of contrition did
not import adultery on its face or prove it,
for it did not specify any act real or sup
posed that the party had in his mind, and
that the same remark applies to other let
tiers of the defendant. The fact of the plain
tiif-s silence for six months after the alleged
confession was to be considered. but in con-
nection with the question whether his ST.
lence was due to his wife's request.
Miss Augusta Moore. on the Scandal.
Augusta Moore is a maiden lady, who a
number of years since prepared and published
a volume Of Life Thoughts or extracts
from Mr.. Beecher's sermons and prayers.
She lived for several years in Mr.. Tilton's
family, and knows well the parties to the
great scandal. Readers Of the testimony
will remember that her evidence was very
damaging to Tiiton; and that his counsel
could do nothing with her, on crOSs-examin-
alton. Even the crafty Fullerton gave up as
bad job the attempt to entangle her in her
own words, or to make her c,atradict herself
in any particular Miss Moore writes to the
Tribune a very spicy and interesting review
Of the scandal, from her own point of view
and as the view Of an INDEPENDENT woman,
who has had an inside view of the case, her
opinion of it and her estimate of the char
acters OF the three parties TO it, the Tiltons
and Mr. Beecher, is important. We copy
most OF it
70 the Edifor Of the Tribune.
SIR: While the most patient doe that ever
was chased and hunted is being shot at by
the archers, permit me to say, subject to
your Judgment. few things that seem to
need saying. God forbid that should add
to the blunders Of this laundering time See
yoa to that.
First, no honest, unwilling doubts of Mrs
1'ilton's innocence should be blamed Why,
when had finished reading Theodore Til
tons last long statement, sat appalled,. 1t
was midnight, and the blackneSs Of midnight
seemed to have shut in Elizabeth. |, that
knew her, and knew Theodore Titon. her
Tall Torment, that knew the lies in that
subtle romance, could not see how to pick
them out from the truth. lie had 50 mixed
and snarled up the true ard the false that
the truth itself was made to lie. 1t seemed
to me that none who did not thoroughly
understand that pair could ever untangle the
snarl
And Theodore had completely astonished
me. That he was hollow, treacherous. sell
fish, vain, had not been long in discovering
bat that he was thus crafty, malignant, and
cunning had not suspected, nor that he had
the skill this second volume Of Tempest
lost" as am informed he has named it.
showed Has Moulton helped him Whose
hand is in this? | wondered lie has made
the poor woman own woids condemn her
by them be has proved cruel lie to be
the truth. Why, seething kid in its
mothers milk IS nothing to this. And these
letters, we used to say Mrs. 1iltons friends
did, among ourselves, that he was writing
his letters and getting his wife to write hers
with view to setting himself before the
wo7ld-after he should finish her oI-as a
devoted. incompatible husband This was,
probably, his first idea regarding these de-
lectahle letters, which the poor little dupe
swallowed rs the true exponent Of ''Dory."
Himself, as she saw and felt him, she resO-
lutely rejected as not being the real Theo-
dore and 10 the IDEAL "Dory." the poet,
the hero, the prince, the god Of her idolatry, |
she wrote with all her heart, trying, as much |
As in her lay, to follow his style, perfect of |
cour,e-taking all blame for all ars and |
mi~eries upon her inoilensiye self She |
thought it was duty (it was fllly) tn Ignore |
and sacrifice herself aS She did Half way Is |
enough for wife or husband hahitually To 20 |
each toward the other. An pnself-h woman |
with small self-es;eem was not the wife for
Theodore rilton. \ wife whom he feared,
a large, strong woman, ale To cast out Of
windows or doors the lady friends" who |
sat in his lap. saving he was the only man |
they ever loved Husbands Of their own not
withstandinc), and to fasten him up in the |
chamber where he held them, and keep him |
fasting till he bowed those clustering locks |
in real repentance, might have saved what
ever there was in Theodore Tiiton worth |
saving.
Sometimes, to friends who had witnessed |
Theodore Iilton treatment of her when he |
was not ON exhibition, a he always was be- |
fore visitors whom he wished to have admire |
him. Mrs. Tilton would admit her wretched- |
ne->. Oncc-thiS was early Us 60 or Oh
Size crept TO nv room. and in nv arms wept
out her despair Il shall have TO give him
up. cannot live this way; must leave
him. You cannot live away from him. >"
replied. wishing she had never seen him
| felt he would he only calamity to her.
and that She was losing her power for good
over him. For a few years she had great
and good influence over him. Ii was a. the
influence OF 4 robin over a baby stork. rap
idly ouigrown.
Seeing that Elizabeth did not die (how
could She be 50 peryerse y and that money
was needed, the letters were put to dii-
ierent use from the one originally intended.
Is early as % or GO | began to see that
Theodore Tilton would damage Mr.. Beech
er if ever it was in his power. My pastor
had been rearing up, loving and eherishing
a chicken to pick his own eyes out | was
never agreeable 10 nor iayorite with Mr.
Beecher-not heather enough. perhaps-and
could make no impression ON him when |
tried to warn him, as again and again did
Bat they are not very noble who cannot en-
iurc not to be liked. who will not do good, if |
they can. 10 those who DO not admire them.
persisted, and he persisted in disregarding
cautions that came from one who was where
she, summer and winter, year after year, had
'een and heard. Well, when men take their
choice and have their way they know how
hey like it.
I've seen several such men in my day |
would | could have saved them They |
'Ould not plot and plan, and they were i
-eady TO bite anybody who tried to make l
hem see hat Others could. told our dea- |
,ons what Mr.. lilton really was. thought t
or his own sake he ought to be seen to and t
iealt with, that he might not destroy him |
elf or Others. Not one Of them could or
would ''sense'' the matter. i
Theodore Tilton was without distinct pur- c
)osc of damage to Mr.. Beecher long after O
he feeling that lie wanted him overthrown b
vas born in him. His feeling of personal Il
wrong by that mans being set above him e
rev year by year. We all saw it. Proba- o
'ly Mrs. Bradshaw herself would say 50. "
lie was one of the best friends Theodore Fl
'iltOn ever had. But she came to dislike II
is company ; believe she dislikes it now. n
Us early as 1862 | saw Theodore Tilton "
Working away to initiate Mr. Beecher's p
He did it we'll heard him II
disparage him saw what he
rrote about outgrowing him. | was aware h
hat he was filling hi> wiie's ears with cal h
mnies poured into hi-, by man who was II
etermined to rule or ruin Mr. Beecher. tc
bid her that slanderer had done his best to c
lin more than one man, and bad been con- eC
emned in court Of idstiee to pay thousands II
dollars for that sort OF thing But Lord tn
heodore grandly declared said man was a nj
oble Christian gentleman, and he swallow OF
| his lies ike wine. lie swallowed wine. as
10, plenty of it. saw his bottles of that m
nd stronger drink close beside his bed 10
lizabeth tried to overlook this as other be
IingS. She told me that the stories Theo- fu
,re had repeated to her had shaken her
nfidence in Mr.. Beeeher. This explains
&c way she wrote Of 1.-THE apparent lack of