CORNECT! UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Terrible Disclosure; THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. PRICE, 25 CEITTS. THE GREAT FAiVIILY JOyRWAL. I CIRCULATION OVER 300,000, Just Commenced, in the New York Family Story Paper, a new story^ entitled, SNATCHED from the ALTAR OR, THE SSCRET BISCJLOSED. /. Especially at this time every person sliould read tlie grnat story — " Sliatclied from the Altar; or, Tlie Secret j.isclosod." Ask for No. 44, NEW YORK FAMILY STORY PAPER. Now ready. THE NEW YORK FM1ILY STORY PAPER Has at the present time running in its cohimns, six stories such as never appeared in a six cent weelily, viz.; JENNIE, THE BOOK FOLDER, or the Orphan Girl's Wrongs. BETRAYED AT THE SPRINGS, or the Pet of Saratoga. THE RIVAL COUSINS, or Life at Long Branch.* T^E GIRL SPY OF PHILADELPHIA. THE MATCH GIRL OF NEW YORK. TOBY TOPPINGLIFT, a wonderful story for hoys The New York Family Story Paper IS THE MOST POPULAR SIX CENT PAPER IN AMERICA. No advertisements adniitttd in its columns. It is for sale by all newsdt-ali^ro, or sent to any address for four months for $1 ; six uionlhs, f 1.50 ; one year, S:J. Norman L. Munro & Co., Publishers, 2S and 30 BEEKM.4N STREET, N. Y. II THE DOW]NFALL OF Henry Ward Beecher. THEODORE TILTON'S FULL STATEMENT OF THE GREAT PREACHER'S GUILT. BEDROOM AND PARLOR SCENES. A Shocking Kevelation of Mr, Beecher's Actions toward Mrs. Tilton. THE BBOKENSBABTEn HUSBANn, Etc. AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. •I won a noble fame, But with a sudden frown, The people enatched my crown» Andm the mire trod down My lofty name. I bore a bounteous purse, And beggars by the way Then bleHsed me day by day. But I, grown poor as they, Have now their curse. (Igalned what men called friends, But now their love is hate, And I have learned too late How mated minds unmate, .And friendBbip ends. I clasped a woman's breast, Ae if her heart I knew. Or fancied, would be true, Who proved— alas, she too I— False like the rest. I now am all bereft— As when some tower doth fall, With battlements and wall And gate and bridge and all— And nothing left. But I account it worth All pangs of fair hopes crossed- All loves and honors lost— To g;ain the heavens at cost, Of losing earth. So, least I be Inclined iTo render ill for ill— Henceforth in me instil, O Wod, a sweet good will To all mankind. Sleepy Hollow, Nov. 1, 1871, NEW YORK. AN EXPLANATION. Oentlemen of the Committee : Having laid before you the above sworn statement, wliicL I have purposely restricted to relations of Mr. Beeeher with Mrs. Tilton only, and with no other person or persons, I wish to add an explanation due to yourselves. Jn the Golden i^«, lately edited by rae, a suggestion was made, not with my knowledge or consent, that your com- mittee, in order to be justly constituted, should comprise, in addition to the six members appointed by Mr. Beecher, six others appointed by myself. To no such proposal would I have consented, for I have never wanted any tribunal whatever for the investigation of this subject. !N either your committee, as at present constituted, nor an enlarged committee on the plan just mentioned, nor any other committee of any kind, could in and of itself have persuaded or compelled me to lay before you the facts contained in the preceding statement. Dis- tinctly be it understood, that these facts had not been evoked by your committee because of any authority which I recognize in you as a tribunal of inquiry. Nor would they have been yielded up to any other committee or board of reference, however constituted (except a court of law) ; but, on the contrary, I have divulged the above statement solely because of the openly-published demand for it, made di- rectly to me by the Eev. Henry Ward Beecher, aided and abetted by Mrs. Elizabeth E. Tilton. These two parties— these alone, and not your committee— have by their action prevailed with me. No other authorities or influences (except a court of law) could have been powerful enough to have extorted from me the above disclosure. For the sake of one of these parties gladly would I have' continued to hide these facts in the future, as I have incessantlv Btiiven to do in the past. But, by the joint action of Mi- Beecher and Mrs. Tilton, I can withhold the truth only at the price of perpetual infamy to my name, in addition to the penalty which I already suffer in the destruction of a home once as pleasant as any in which you yourselves dwell. Eespectfully, Theodore iTiltok. The Downfall of Henry Ward Beecher;> TILTON'S FULL STATEMENT OF HIS GUILT. Most Astounding Charges Against the Great Preacher.. (From the Brooklyn Argus.) Gentlemen of the Committee : In communicating to you the detailed statement of factsr of evidence whicli you have been several days expecting at my hands, let me remind you of the circumstances which call this statement forth. In my recent letter to Dr. Bacon I alluded to an oflfence and an apology by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. To ■whomsoever else this allusion seemed indefiaite, to Mr. Beecher it was plain. The offence was committed by him ; the apology was made by him — both acts were his own, and were among the most momentous occurrences of his life. Of all men in Plymouth Church, or in the world^ the Kev. Henry "Ward Beecher was the one man who wa& best informed concerning this offence and apology, and the one man who least needed to inquire into either. Nevertheless, while possessing a perfect knowledge of both these acts done by himself, he has chosen to put on a public affectation of ignorance and innocence concerning them, and has conspicuously appointed a committee of six of the ablest men of his church, together with two attor- neys, to inquire into what he leaves you to regard as th& unaccountable mystery of this offence and apology ; as if he? had neither committed the one nor offered the other : but 4 THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHEK. as if both were the mere figments of another man's imagi- nation — thus adroitly prompting the public to draw the deduction that I am a person under some hallucination or delusion, living in a dream and forging a fraud. Furthermore, in order to cast over this explanation the delicate glamour which always lends a charm to the de- fence of a woman's honor, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Tilton, lately my wife, has been prompted away from her home to reside among Mr. Beeeher's friends, and to co-operate with him in his ostensibly honest and laudable inquiry into facts concerning which she, too, as well as he, has for years past had perfect and equal knowledge with himself. This investigation, therefore, has been publicly pressed upon me by Mr. Beecher, seconded by Mrs. Tilton, both of whom in so doing have united in assuming before the public the non-existence of the grave and solemn facts into which they have conspired to investigate, for the purpose, not of eliciting, but of denying the truth. This joint as- sumption by them, which has seemed to your committee to be in good faith, has naturally led you into an examina- tion in which you expect to find, on their part, nothino' but innocence, and on my part nothing but slander. AN UNHAPPY DUTY. It is now my unhappy duty, from which I have in vain iiitherto sought earnestly to be delivered, to give you the facts and evidences for reversing your opinion on this sub- ject. In doing this painful, I may say heartrending, duty, the responsibility for making the grave disclosures which I am about to lay before you belongs not to me, but first to Mr. Beecher, who has prompted you to this examination, and next to Mrs. Tilton, who has joined him in a conspiracy which cannot fail to be full of peril and wretchedness to many hearts. I call you to witness that in my first brief examination by your committee, I begged and implored you not to in- quire into the facts of this case, but rather to seek to bury them beyond all possible revelation. Happy for all con- cerned had this entreaty been heeded. It is now too late THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. & The last opportunity for reconciliation and settlement has. passed. This investigation, undertaken by you in ignor- ance of dangers against which Mr. Beecher should have warned you in advance, will shortly prove itself, to your surprise, to have been an act of wanton and wicked folly,, for which the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, as its originator and public sponsor, will hereafter iind no " space for re- pentance, though he seek it carefully and with tears."^ This desperate man must hold himself only, and not me,, accountable for the wretchedness which these disclosures will carry to his own home and hearth as they have already brought to mine. I will add that the original documents referred to in tlie ensuing sworn statement are for the most part in my pos- session ; but that the apology and a few other papers are in the hands of Mr. Francis D. Moulton. Truly yours, THEODORE TILTON. MR. TILTON'S SWOEN STATEMENT. Whereas, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher has instigated the appointment of a committee, consisting of six members of his church and society, to inquire and report upon alleged aspersions upon his character by Theodore Tilton ; and, whereas, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Tilton, formerly the wife of Mr. Tilton, has openly deserted her home in order to co- operate with Mr. Beecher in a conspiracy to overthrow the credibility and good repute of her late husband as a man and citizen ; therefore, Theodore Tilton being thus author- ized and required, and by the published demand made upon him by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, and being now and hereafter released by act of Mrs. Tilton from further responsibility for concealment of the truth touching her relations with Mr. Beecher — therefore, Theodore Tilton hereby sets forth, under solemn oath, the following facts and testimony : I. That on the 2d of October, 1855, at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, a marriage between Theodore Tilton and Eliza- beth R.' Richards was performed by the Rev. Henry Ward '« THE DOWNFALL, OF HENEY WARD BEECHER. Beecher, which marriage thirteen years afterwards was dis- ^tonored and -violated by this .clergyman through the crim- inal seduction of this wife and mother, as hereinafter set forth. II. That for a period of about fifteen years, extending both before and after this marriage, an intimate friendship existed between Theodore Tilton and the Kev. Henry Ward Beecher, which friendship was cemented to such a degree, that in consequence thereof the subsequent dis- honoring by Mr. Beecher of his friend's wife was a crime ■of uncommon wrongfulness and perfidy- III. That about nine years ago the Rev. Henry Ward .Beecher began, and thereafter continued, a friendship with J-Mrs. Elizabeth R. Tilton, for whose native delicacy and ■extreme religious sensibility he often expressed to her hus- band a high admiration ; visiting her from time to time for years, until the year 1870, when, for reasons hereinafter stated, he ceased such visits; during which period, by many tokens and attentions he won the affectionate love of Mrs. Tilton ; whereby after long moral resistance by her, and .after repeated assaults by him upon her mind with over- ■mastering arguments, accomplished the possession of her person ; maintaining with her thenceforward during the iperiod hereinafter stated, the relation called criminal in ter- 'course; this relation being regarded by her during that ■period as not criminal or morally wrong — such had been the power of his arguments as a clergyman to satisfy^ her religious scruples against such violation of virtue and honor. A DIEECT CHAEGE OF CBBUNALITY. IV. That on the evening of October 10, 1868, or there- ■abouts, Mi-s. Elizabeth R. Tilton held an interview with the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher at his residence, she being then in a tender state of mind owing to the recent death and burial of a young child ; and during this interview an act of criminal commerce took place between this pastor and ■this parishioner; the motive on her part being, as herein- -before stated, not regarded by her at the time criminal or THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WAKD BEECHEK. 7 wi'ong ; which act was followed by a similar act of crim- inality between these same parties at Mr. Tilton's residence during a pastoral visit paid by Mr. Beecher to her on the subsequent Saturday evening, followed also by other sim- ilar acts on various occasions, from the autumn of 1868 to the spring of 1870, the places being the two residences aforesaid, and occasionally other places to which her pastor would invite and accompany her, or at which he would meet her by previous appointment ; these acts of wrong being on her part, from first to last, not wantonly or consciously wicked, but arising through a blinding of her moral per- ceptions, occasioned by the powerful influence exerted on 'her mind at that time to this end by the Kev. Henry Ward Beecher, as her trusted religious preceptor and guide. V. That the pastoral visits made by the Eev. Henry "Ward Beecher to Mrs. Tilton, during the year 1868, became so frequent as to excite comment, being in marked contrast with his known habit of making few pastoral calls on his parishioners, which frequently, in Mrs. Tilton's case, is shown in letters wi'itten to her husband during his absence in the West ; these letters giving evidence that during the period of five or six weeks twelve difierent pastoral calls on Mrs. Tilton were made by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, which calls became noticeably infrequent on Mr. Tilton's return to his home. VI. That previous to the aforesaid criminal intimacy, one of the reasons which Mrs. Tilton alleged for her en- couragement of such exceptional attentions from the Kev. Henry Ward Beecher was the fact that she had been much distressed with rumors against his moral purity, and wished to convince him that she could receive his kindness, and yet resist his solicitations ; and that she could inspire in him, by her purity and fidelity, an increased respect for the chaste dignity of womanhood. Previous to the autumn of 1868 she maintained with Christian firmness toward her pastor this position of resistance, always refusing his amor- ous pleas, which were strong and oft-repeated ; and in a letter to her husband, dated February 3, 1868, she wrote as follows : 8 THE DOWNFALL OF HENKY WARD BEECHER. To lore is praiseworthy, but to abuse the gift is sin* Here I am strong. No demonstrations or fascinations could cause me to yield my womanhood. THE FIEST SUSPICION. VII. That the first suspicion which crossed the mind of Theodore Tilton that the Eev. Henry Ward Beeeher was abusing, or might abuse, the affection and reverence which Mrs. Tilton bore toward her pastor was an improper caress given by Mr. Beeeher to Mrs. Tilton by the ******* while seated by her side on the floor of his library over- looking engravings. Mr. Tilton, a few hours afterward, asked of his wife an explanation of her permission of such a liberty, whereat she at first denied the fact, but then confessed it, and said that she had spoken chidingly to Mr. Beeeher concerning it. On another occasion Mr. Tilton, after leaving his house in the early morning,, returned to it in the forenoon, and on going to his bed- chamber found the door locked, and when, on knocking,, the door was opened by Mrs. Tilton, Mr. Beeeher was seen within, apparently much confused, and exhibiting a flushed face. Mrs. Tilton afterward made a plausible explanation, which, from the confidence reposed in her by her husband was by him deemed satisfactory. Ylil. That in the spring of 1870, on Mr. Tilton's return from a winter's absence, he noticed in his wife such evi- dences of the absorption of her mind in Mr. Beeeher that in a short time an estrangement took place between her husband and herself, in consequence of which she went into the country earlier than usual for a summer sojourn. After an absence of several weeks, she voluntarily returned to her home in Brooklyn. On the evening of July 3 1870 when, and then and there, within a few hours after her arrival, and after exacting from her husband a solemn promise that he would do the Eev. Henry Ward Beeeher no harm, nor communicate to him what she was about to say, she made a circumstantial confession to her husband of the criminal acts hereinbefore stated, accompanied with citations from Mr. Beecher's arguments and reasonings THE BOVVNFALL OF HENliY WAUD BEECHER. y with iiei' to overcome her long-maintained scruple against yielding to his desires, and declaring that she had com- mitted no wrong to her husband or her marriage vow, quoting, in support of this opinion, that her pastor had repeatedly assured her that she was spotless and chaste, which she believed herself to be. She further stated that her sexual commerce with him had never proceeded from low or vulgar thoughts either on her part or his. but always from pure affection and high religious love. She stated, furthermore, that Mr. Beecher habitually characterized their intimacy by the term " nest-hiding," and he would suffer pain and sorrow if his hidden secret were ever made known. She said that her mind was often burdened by the deceit necessary for her to practice in order to prevent discovery, and that her conscience had many times impelled her to throw off this burden of enforced falsehood by making a full confession to her husband, so that she would no longer be living befoi'e him a perpetual lie. In particular she said that she had been on the point of making this con- fession a few months previously, during a severe illness, M'hen she feared she might die. She affirmed also that Mr. Beecher had assured her repeatedly that he loved her better than he had ever loved any other woman, and she felt justified before God in her intimacy with him, save the necessary deceit which accompanied it, and at which she frequently suffered in her mind. CONDONIKG THE WEONG. IX. That after the above named confession by Mrs. Elizabeth K. Tilton, she returned to the country to await sucKaction by her husband as he might see fit to take ; whereupon, after many considerations, the chief of which was that she had not voluntarily gone astray, but had been artfully misled, through religious reverence for the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, as her spiritual guide, together, also, from a desire to protect the family from open shame, Mr. Tilton condoned the wrong, and he addressed to his wife such letters of affection, tenderness aad respect as he felt would restore her wounded spirit, and which did partially produce that result. 10 THE DOWNFALL OF HEMIY WAUD BEECHEU. ■X. That, in December, 1870, differences arose between Theodore Tilton and Henry 0. Bowen, which were aug- mented by the Rev. Henry "Ward Beecher- and Mrs. Beecher ; in ccmssquence whereof, and at the wish oi' Mrs. Elizabetli E. Tilton, expressed in writing in a paper put into the hands of Mr. Francis D. Moulton, with a view to procure a harmonious interview between Mr. Tilton and Mr. Beecher, such an interview was arranged and carried out by Mr. Moulton at his then residence on Olinton street, Mr. Beecher and Mr. Tilton meeting and speaking then and there for the first time since Mrs. Tilton's confession of six months before. The paper in Mr. ^Moulton's hands was a statement by Mrs. Tilton of the substance of the confession which she had before made, and of her wish and prayer for i-econciliation and peace between her pastor and her husband. This paper furnished to Mr. Beecher the first knowledge which he had as yet received that Mrs. Tilton had made sueh a confession. At this interview between Mr. Beecher and Mr. Tilton permission was sou.2;ht by Mr. Beecher to consult with Mrs. Tilton on that same evening. This permission being granted, Mr. Beecher departed from Mr. Moulton's house, and in about half an hour returned thither, expressing his remorse and shame and declaring that his life and work seemed brought to a sudden end. Later in the same evening Mr. Tilton on returning to his house, found his wife weeping and in great distress, saying that what she had meant for peace had only given pain and anguish ; that Mr. Beecher had fust called on her, declaring that she had slain him, and that he woald probably be tried before a council of ministers unless she would give him a written paper for his protec- tion. Whereupon she said he dictated to her, and she copied in her own handwriting, a suitable paper for him to use to clear himself before a council of ministers. Mrs Tilton having kept no copy of this paper, her husband asked her to make a distinct statement in writing of her design and meaning in giving it, whereupon she wrote as follows : The downfall oi? hknrY ward BEj^ciiiiii, ii THE LBTTEE. Deokmbke 30, 1870— Midnight. My Dear Husband: I desire to leave with you, before going to bed, a state- ment that Mr. Henry Ward Beecher called upon me this evening, and asked me it' I would defend him against any accusation in a council of ministers ; and I replied, solenm- ly, that I would in case the accuser was any other person than my husband. He (H. W. B.) dictated a letter, which 1 copied as my own, to be used by him as against any other accuser except my hiisband. This letter was designed to vindicate Mr. Beecher against all other persons save only yourself. I was ready to give him this letter because he said with pain tliat my letter in your hands addressed to him, dated December 2S.t, "had struck him dead, and ended his usefulness." You and I are pledged to do our best to avoid iiublicity. God grant a speedy end to all further anxieties. Affectionately, Elizabeth. On the next day, namely, December 31, 1870, Mr. Moulton, on being informed by Mr. Tilton of the above- named transaction by Mr. Beecher, called on him (Mr. Beecher) at bis residence, and told him that a reconcilia- tion seemed suddenly made impossible by Mr, Beecher'a nefarious act in procuring the letter which Mrs. Tilton had thns been improperly persuaded to make falsely. Mr. Beecher promptly, through Mr. Moulton, returned the letter to Mr. Tilton, with an expression of shame and sorrow for having procured it in the manner he did. The letter was as follows : December 30, 1870. Wearied with importunity and weakened by sieknesss, I gave a letter implicating my friend Henry Ward Beecher under assurances that that would remove all difficul- ties between me and my husband. That letter I now revoke. I was persuaded to it — almost forced — when I was in a weakened state of mind. I regret it, and recall all its statements. E. E. Tilton. 1 desire to say explicitly, Mr. Beecher has never offered any improper solicitation, but has always treated me in' a manner becoming a Chi-istian and a gentleman. Elizabeth R. Tilton. 12 THE DOWNFALL OF HENKl' WAKD BEECHEK. At the time of Mr. Beecher's retuiiiing the above document to Mr. Tilton through Mr. MouUon, Mr. Beecher requested Mr. Moulton to call at his residence, in Columbia street, on the next day, which he did on the evening of January 1, 1871. 'A long interview then ensued, in which Mr. Beecher expressed to Mr. Moulton great contrition and remorse for his previous criminality with Mrs. Tilton; taking to himself shame for having misused his sacred office as a clergyman to corrupt her mind; expressing a determination to kill himself in case of exposure, and begging Mr. Moulton to take a pen and receive from his (Mr. Beecher's) lips an apology to be conveyed to Mr. Tilton, in the hope that such an appeal would secure Mr. Tilton's forgiveness. The apology which Mr. Beecher dictated to Mr. Moulton was as follows : THE APOLOGY. [In trust with E. D. Moulton.J My dear friend^ Moulton. I ask, through you, Theodore Tilton's forgiveness, and I humble myself before him as I do before my God. He would have been a better man in my circumstances than I have been. I can ask nothing, except that he will re- member all the other breasts that would ache. I will not plead for myself. I even wish that I were dead. But others must liveto suffer. I will die before any one but myself shall be inculpated. All my thoughts are running out toward my friends and toward the poor child lying there and praying, with her folded hands. She is guiltless sinned against, bearing the transgression of another. Her forgiveness I have. 1 humbly pray to God to put it into the heart of her husband to forgive me. I have trusted this to Moulton, in confidence. II. W. Beeohek. In the above document the last sentence and the signa- ture are in the handwriting of the Eev. Henrv Ward Beecher. ^ XL That Mrs. Tilton wrote the following letter to a friend: " 174 LrvMGSTON Street, Beooklyn, Jan. 5 1871 Deae Feiend: A cruel conspiracy has heen formed agaxnst my husband, in which my mother and Mrs Beecher have been the chief actors * * * * Tours truly. Elizabeth E. Tilton. THE UOVVNFALt, 01*" HENKV WaKU BEEUHKH. la XII. That in the tbllowing month Mr. Moul ton, wishing to bind Mr. Tilton and Mr. Beecher by mutual expressions of a good spirit, elicited from them the following corres- pondence : MR. TILTON TO ME. MOULTON. Beooklyn, Feb. 7, 1871. My Dear Friend: ' In several conversations with you, you have asked about my feelings toward Mr. Beecher ; and yesterday you said the time had come when you would like to receive from me an expression of this kind in writing. I say, therefore, very cheerfully, that, notwithstanding the great suffering which he has caused to Elizabeth and myself, I bear him no malice, shall do him no wrong, shall discountenance every project (by whomsoever pro- posed) for any exposure of his secret to the public, and (if I know myself at all) shall endeavor to act toward Mi'. Beecher as I would have him in similar circumstances act toward me. I ought to add that your own good offices in this case have led me to a higher moral feeling than I might other- wise have reached. Ever yours, affectionately. I'heodoee. To Feank Moulton. On the same day Mr. Beecher wrote to Mr. Moulton the following : me. beeohee to me. motjlton. Febeuaet 7, 1871 . My Dear Friend Moulton. I am glad to send you a book, &c. ******** Many, many friends has God raised up to me, but to no one of them has He ever given the opportunity and the wisdom so to serve me as you have. Tou have also proved Theodore's friend and Elizabeth's. Does Grod look down from heaven on three unhappier creatures that more need a friend than these ? Is it not an intimation of God's intent of mercy to all, that each one of these has in you, a tried and proved friend? But only in you are thus we united. "Would to God, who orders all hearts, that by his kind mediation, Theodore, Elizabeth, and I could be made friends again. Theodore will have the hardest task in such a case ; but lias iie not proved himself capable of the noblest things? 14 tHE DOWNFALL OF HENRt WAKD BfiECflES. I wonder if Elizabeth knows how generously he haa carried himself toward me. Of course I can never speak with her again without his permisfsion, and I do not know that even then it would be best. * * * Mr. Moulton, on the same (iay, asked Mr. Tilton if he would permit Mr. Beeclier to address a letter to Mrs. Tilton, and Mr. Tiltou replied in the affirmative, where- upon Mr. Beecher wrote asr follows. ME. BEECHEK TO MRS. TILTON". Brooklyn, Feb. 7, 1874. My dear Mrs. Tilton : When I saw you last I did not expect ever to see you again, or to be alive many days. God was kinder to me than were my own thoughts. The friend whom God sent to me, Mr. Moulton, has proved, above all friends that I ever had, able and willing to help me in this terrible emei'- geiicy of my life. His hand it was that tied up the storm that was ready to burst on our heads. Toa have no friend (Theodore excepted) who has it in his power to serve you so vitally, and who will do it with such delicacy and honor. It does my sore heart good to see in Mr. Moulton an un- feigned redpect and honor for you. It would kill me if I thoutrht otherwise. He will be as true a friend to your honor and happiness as a brother conld be to a sister's. In him we have a common ground. You and I may meet in him. The past is ended. But is there no future? No wiser, higher, holier future? May not this friend stand as a priest in the new sanctuary of reconciliation, and mediate and bless Theodore and my most unhappy self? Do not let my earnestness fail of its end. You believe in mj judgment. I have put myself wholly and gladly in Moulton's hand. And there I must meet you. This is sent with Theodore's consent, but he has not read it. Will you return it to me by his own hand ? I am verv earnest in this wish for all our sakes, as such a letter ouo-lit . not to be subject to even a chance of miscarriage. Your unhappy friend, H. W. Beechee. XIII. That about a year after Mrs. Til ton's conlession her mind remained in the fixed opinion that her criminal relations with Mr. Beecher had not been morally wronw 80 strongly had he impressed her to the contrary ; hut'at length a change took place in her convictions on this sub. THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHEE. 1* ject, as noted in the following letter addressed by her to her husband : MES. TILTON TO ME. TILTON. SoHOHAEiE, June 29, 1871. My dear Theodore: To-day through the ministry of Catherine Gaunt, a char- acter of fiction, my eyes liave been opened for the first time in my experience, so that I see clearly my sin. It was when I knew that I was loved to suffer it to grow to a pas- sion. A virtuous woman would check instantly an absorb- ing love. But it appeared to me in such a false light. That the love I felt and received could harm no one, not even you. I have believed unfalteringly, until four o'clock this afternoou, when the heavenly vision dawned upon me. I see now, as never before, the wrong 1 have done you, and hasten immediately to ask your pardon, with a penitence so sincere that hencef )rth (if reason remains) you may trust me implicitly. Oh ! my dear Theodore, though your opinions are not restful or congenial to my soul, yet my own integrity and purity are a sacred and holy thing to me. Bless God, with me, for Catherine Gaunt, and for all the sure leadings of an All- Wise and loving Providence. Yes ; now I feel quite prepared to renew my mai-riage vow with you, to keep it as the Saviour requircth, who looketh at the eye and the heart. Never before could I say this. When you yearn toward me with true feeling, be assured of the tried, purified, and restored love of Elizabeth. Mrs. Tilton followed the above letter with these: mes. tilton to me. tilton. July 4, 1871. O, my dear husband, may you never need the discipline of being misled by a good woman, as T was by a good man. [No date.] I would mourn greatly if my life was to be made known to father. His head would be bowed indeed to the grave. [iVb date.] Do not think my ill health is on account of my sin and its discovery. My sins and life-record I have carried to my Saviour. No ; my prostration is owing to the suffering I have caused you. XIV. That about one year after Mrs. Tilton's confession, and about a half year after Mr. Beecher's confirmation of, the same, Mrs. V. C. Woodhull, then a total stranger to Mr. 16 THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECH ER. Tilton, save that he had been presented to her in a company of friends, a few days previous, wrote in the World, Mon- day, May 22, 1871, "the following statement, namely: I know of one man, a public teacher of eminence, who lives in concubinage with the wife of another public teacher of almost equal eminence. All three concur in denouncing offences against morality. I shall make it my business to analyze some of those lives. Victoria C. "Woodhull. New Yoke, May 20, 1872. On the day of the publication of the above card iu the World, Mr. Tilton received from Mrs. Woodhull a request to call on imperative business at her oflSce ; and on going thither, a copy of the above card was put into his hand by Mrs. Woodhull, who said that "the parties referred to therein were the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and the wife of Theodore Tilton." Following this announcement Mrs. Woodhull detailed to Mr. Tilton, with vehement speech, the wicked and injurious story which she published in the year following. Meanwhile Mr. Tilton, desiring to guard against any possible temptation to Mrs. Woodhull to pub- lish the grossly distorted version which she gave to Mr. Tilton (and which she afterward attributed to him), he sought by many personal services and kindly attentions to influence her to such a good will toward himself and family as would remove all disposition or desire in her to afflict him with such a publication. Mr. Tilton's efforts and asso- ciation with Mrs. Woodhull ceased in Api-il, 1872, and six months afterward, namely, Nov. 2, 1872, she published the scandal which he had labored to suppress. THE EEV. THOMAS K. BEECHEE. XY. That on the third day thereafter, the Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, of Eimira, N. Y., wrote as follows : Elmiea, Nov. 5, 1872. "Mrs. Woodhull only carries out Henry'' s philosophy against which 1 recorded my protest twenty years ago." XVI. That in May, 1873, the publication by one of Mr. Beecher's partners of a tripartite covenant between H. C. Bowen, H. W. Beecher, and Theodore Tilton led the press of the country to charge that Mr. Tilton had committed against Mr. Beecher some heinous wrong, which Mr. Beecher had pardoned ; whereas the truth was the revei-se. To remedy this false public impression Mr- Moulton requested Mr. Beecher to prepare a suitable card, relieving Mr. Tilton of this injustice. THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEEOHER. 17 In answer to this request, Mr. Beecher pleaded his em- barrassments, which prevented his saying anything with- out bringing himself under suspicion. Mr. Tilton then proposed to prepare a card of his own containing a few lines from the recently quoted apology, for the purpose of showing that Mr. Beeclier, instead of having had occa- sion to forgive Mr. Tilton, had had occasion to be forgiven by him. Mr. Beecher then wrote a letter to Mr. Moulton, which, on being shown to Mr. Tilton, was successful in appealing to Mr. Tilton's feelings. Mr. Beecher said in it, under date of Sunday morning, June 1, 1873 : ME. BEBOHEE TO ME. MOULTON. My Dea/r Frank : I am determined to make no more resistance. Theo- dore's temperament is such that the future, even if tem- porarily earned, would be absolutely worthless, and ren- dering me liable at any hour of the day to be obliged to stultify all the devices by which we saved ourselves. It is only fair that he should know that the publication of the card which he proposes would leave him worse off than before. The agreement (viz., the " tripartite cov- enant ") was made after my letter through you to him (viz., the " apology ") was written . He had had it a year. He had condoned his wife's fault. He had enjoined upon me, with the utmost earnestness and solemnity, not to betray his wife nor leave his children to a blight. * * * "With such a man as T. T. there is no possible salvation for any that depend upon him. With a strong nature, he does not know how to govern it. * * * * There is no> use in trying further. I have a strong feeling upon me» and it brings great peace that I am spending my last Sun- day and preaching my last sermon. The hopelessness of spirit which the foregoing letter portrayed on the part of its writer led Mr. Tilton to re- consider the question of defending himself at the cost of producing misery to Mr. Beecher ; which determination by Mr.jTilton to allow the prevailing calumnies against himself to go unanswered was further strengthened by the following note received by him two days thereafter from the office editor of Mr. Beecher's journal : OLIVEE JOHNSON TO THEODOEE TILTON. 128 East Twelfth Steeet, June 4, 1873. Mt Deae Theodoee : May I tell you frankly that when I saw you last you did not seem to me to be the noble young man who inspired my warm affection so many years 18 THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHEK. ago. You were yielding to an act which I could not help thinking would be dishonorable and perfidious, and, although it is easy for me to make every allowance for the circumstances that had wrought you to such a frenzy, I was dreadfully shocked. My dear Theodore, let me as an old friend whose heart is wrung by your terrible suf- fering and sorrow, tell you that you were then acting ignobly, and that you can never have true peace of mind till you conquer yourself and dismiss all purpose and thought of injuring the man who has wronged you. Of all the promises our lips can frame, none are so sacred as those we make to those who have injured us, and whom we have professed to forgive ; and they are sacred just in proportion as their violation would work injury to those to whom they are made. You cannot paint too blackly the wrongs you have suffered. On that point I make no plea in abatement : but I beg you to remember that nothing can change the law which makes forgiveness noble and God- like. I have prayed for you night and day, with strong crying and tears, beseeching God to restrain you from wronging yourself by violating your solemn engagements. To-night I am happy in the thought that you have been preserved from committing the act which I so much dreaded. In a letter written by Mr. Beecher, in order to be shown to Mr. Tilton, Mr. Beecher spoke as follows : ME. BEECHEE TO ME. MOULTON. No man can see the difficulties that environ me unless he stands where I do. To say that I have a church on my hands is simple enough, but to have the hundreds and thousands of men pressing me, each one with his keen suspicion, or anxiety, or zeal; to see the tendencies which if not stopped, would break out into a ruinous defence of me ; to stop them without seeming to do it ; to prevent any one questioning me; to meet and allay prejudices against T. which had their beginnings years before ; to keep serene, as if I was not alarmed or disturbed ; to be cheerful at home and among friends when I was suffering the torments of the damned ; to pass sleepless nights often, and yet to come up fresh and fair for Sunday — all this may be talked about, but the real thing cannot be under- stood from the outside, nor its wearing and grinding on the nervous system. In still another letter, written for the same purpose as the above, Mr. Beecher said : THE DOWNFALL OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. 19 If my destruction would place him (Mr. Tilton) all right, that shall not stand in the way. I am willing to step