Year: 1874

Po''Veu WIN MohIton ior safe keeping:


MR.. BEEcHER To MRS. TILroy.


BROOKLYN, FEB. q ls7l.-My Dear Mrs. Tilton:


o nen 1a1 saw yoq iast did not expect ever 70 see
er 20 me than were my own thoughts. Tie fiiend
, Wnsm G9d ,, sent to me, Mr. Moulton, has proved
| to help me in this terrible emergency Of nv Iifs
His hand it was that tied up the storm that was
disposed to trust him from finding that he has your
welfare most deeply and tenderly at heart. You
| have no friend, Theodore excepted who has IL i'm
his power to serve you vitality, and who will do II
with so much decaey and honor. beseech Of YOU.
ifmy wishes have yet auy influence, let my delber-
| ate Judgment in this matter weigh with yours IL
does my sore heart good to see in Mr.. NIoulton an
unfegned respect and honor for you. 1t womb XIII
me IL he thought otherwise. He will be as true a
| friend to your honor and happiness as a brother
| could be to a sister. In him we have a common
ground on which you and may meet. The past is
ended but is there future, wiser hi her holi-
er future? May not this friend stand as a priest in
| the new sanctuary Of reconciliation and mediate
ana Dless you, Theodore and my most unhappy self.
| DO not let my earnestness fail of its end You be-
| lieve in my Judgment. L havs put myself wholly
| aud gladly in Moulton's hanls and there 1 must
you. This is sent with Theodore's consent hnt
10 has not read ii. VIII you return il to me by his
nanss. am very earnest in this wish, for all our
sakes lor such letter ought not to be subject to
even a chance OF miscarriage


Your unhappy friend,


II. w. BEEcHER.
BEEcHER TO MoULToS.


My Dear Mr.. Moulton: / am glad 10 send Won n
book which you will relish or which man on sick
bed ought to relish. l wish had more like H. and
that could send you every day, not as a repay
ment OF your great kindness to M, for that never
freely Many, many friends has God en rassd syS yIa
me, but to no one of them has he ever given the op
portunlty and the wisdom so to serve me as you
nave. My trust IN you Is complete. You have also
proved yourself Theodores friend and Elizabeth's.
Does God look down from heaven on three unhappy
creatures that more need friend than these? Is
not intimation Of Gods intent of mercy 10 all thai
each one OF these has in you a tried ann proved
friend, but only in you are We three unitedP Would
to God, who orders all hearts, that by YOUR Kind
mediation Theodore, Elizabeth and could be made
friends again. Theodore will have the hardest task
In such case but has he not proved himself capable
OF the noblest things? wonder if El zabeth knows
now generously he has carried himself toward me.
VI course can never speak with her again, except
with his permission, and do not know that even
then it wou be best. My earnest longing is to see
her in the full sympathy of her nature at rest in
lug her with esen betef than Se od hSr ays ana ioy
always sad in such thoughts. Is there any way out
OF this night? May not day star arise?


Truly yours always, and with trust and love,


HENRY WARD BEEcHER-
WHY BEEcHER DID NOT EXPECT TO ''BE ALIVE


MANY DAYS"


have no recollection of seeing, or hearing
read, the letter of Mr.. Tilton of the same date,
In my letter to Mrs. Tilton, L alluded to the
fact that did not expect, when saw her lost
to be alive many days This statement stands
connected with a series of symptoms which
first experienced in 1856. L went through the
Fremont campaign, speaking in the open air
three hours at time, three days in the week.
On reviewing my literary labors l felt / must
have given away, and l very seriously thought
was going 10 have apoplexy or paralysis, or
something of the kind. On two or three occa-
sions, while preaching should have fallen in
the pulpit If had not held to the table; very of
ten L came near falling in the streets During
the last fifteen years, have gone into the pull
pitt suppose one hundred times, with q very
strong impression that L should never come out
L Ornachpl
than any human being would believe when [
felt all the while that whatever 1 had got to
say to my people must say to them then, or I
would never have another chance to do So III
had consulted ply sician his first advice
would have been, 'you must stop work" but
was in such situation that could not stop
work. read the best medical books on symp-
toms of nervous prostration, and over work, and
paralysis, and formed my own judgment of my
case. The three points l marked were, must
have good digestion, good sleep, and must 90
on working. Toese three things were to be
reconciled, and in regard to my diet, and
stimulants, and medicine, / made the most
thorough and searching trial, and, as the re-
suit. managed my body so that could get the
most work out of it without substantially inn
pairing it. If had said word about this to
my family it would have brought such dis
tress and anxiety, on the part of my wife, as
could not bear have for many years so taxed
my mind ia the utmost that there have been
periods when l could not bear to have people
.
wife or friends anxisus about it, and showing
it TO me, would be just the drop too much. In
1868 came again into the same condition just
before going to England. and it was one of the
reasons why was willing to go. The war was
at its hight I carried my country in my heart.
l had the Independent in charge, and was
working, preaching and lecturing continually.
knew was likely TO be prostrated again.


In December, 1S70 the sudden shock of these
troubles brought ON again those symptoms in a
more violent form. L was very much depressed
in mind, and all the more because it was one
of those things that could not say anything
about. ! was silent with everybody. During
the last four years these symptoms had been
repeatedly brought on by my intense work,
carried forward on the un 'erlying basis of so
much sorrow and trouble. My friends will
bear witness that in tine pulpit have very fire.
quently alluded TO my expectation of sudden
death, feel that have been more than once
already near a stroke that would have killed or
paralyzed me, and carry with me now, as L
have so often carried in years before this
trouble began, the daily thought of death as
door which might open for me- at any mo-
ment, out of all cares and labors into more
welcome rest


THE EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE TILToNs RE-


LIGI0US VIEWS.


During the whole of the year 1871 was kent
in state of suspense aud doubt, not only as to
the future of the family, for the reason and
happiness of which L had striven so earneetly
but also as to the degree to which might per-
sonally be subject to attack and misconstruc-
tion, and the trouble he brought into tho
church and magniied by publicity. The Off
GERS of the church sought to investigate MIR.
Tllton's religious views and moral conduct, and
on the latter point had been deceived into a
belief that he was not in fault AS to the re-
ligious still hoped for a change for the bet
ter, and it was proposed to drop him from the
LIST of members for non-attendance, and as he
asserted to me his withdrawal, this might have
been done; but his wife still attended the
church and hoped for his restoration. l recOl-
lect having with him a conversation in which
he dimly intma'ed to me that he thought it
not unlikely that he might go back into his
old position. He seemed to be in mood TO re-
gret the past, and so when L was urged by the
examining committee to take some steps l
said: II am not without hope, that my pa
tience and kindness, Tilton will come back
again into his old church work and be one of
us again. l therefore delayed decision upon
the point for a long time. Many of our lmem-
bers were anxious and impatient, and there
were many tokens of trouble from this quar-
ter


THE ABoMIMABLE Woodruff CLIQUE.


Meanwhile, one wing of the Female Suffrage
party had got hold of the story in distorted
and exaggerated form, such as had never been
intimated to me by MI. Tilton and his friends.
did not then suspect what 1 now know, and
the most atrociously false rumors originated
with Mr.. Tilton himself. l only saw the evil
growing instead of diminishing, and perceived
that while was pledged to silence, and there
fore could not speak in my own defence, some
one was forever persevering in falsehood,
growing continually in dimensions, and these
difficulties were immensely increased by the
affliiation of Mr.. Tilton with the WoodhulI
clique. In May, 1871, Mrs. Woodruff advor-
tised as forthcoming an article sbadowing an
account of the disturbance in Mr.. Tilton's fami-
ly, but without using names. 1t was delayed
ostensibly by Mr. Tilton's influence with Mrs.
Woodruff until November 1872.


THE ATTEMPT TO ENTRAP MR.. BEEcHEE.
During this suspension of the publication she
became the heroine of Mr.. Moulton and Mr..
Tilton. She was made welcome to both houses
with the liberation but not the cordial consent
OF their wives. / heard the most extravagant
eulogies upon her. She was represented as o
genius, born and reared among rude influences,
but only needed to be surrounded by refined So
ciety to show noble and commanding nature
did not know much about her, and though my
impressions were unfavorabe, her real charac-
ter was not then known to the work. / met
her three times. AT the first interview she was
gracious; at the second she was cold and
naughty bat at the third she was angry and
threatening, for / had peremptoriy refused to