ctures of General Fitz-Hugh Lee,
and judge you are the man; am I right?' General Lee was taken aback by
this direct address, and nodded stiffly, while the audience bent forward
breathless with curiosity as to what was going to follow. 'Then,' said
Beecher, his face lighting up, 'I want to offer you this right hand
which, in its own way, fought against you and yours twenty-five years
ago, but which I would now willingly sacrifice to make the Sunny South
prosperous and happy. Will you take it, General?' There was a moment's
hesitation, a moment of death-like stillness in the hall, and then
General Lee was on his feet, his hand was extended across the
footlights, and was quickly met by the preacher's warm grasp. At first
there was a murmur, half surprise, half-doubtfulness, by the audience.
Then there was a hesitating clapping of hands, and before Mr. Beecher
had loosed the hand of Robert E. Lee's nephew,--now Governor of
Virginia--there were cheers such as were never before heard in that
hall, though it had been the scene of many a war and political meeting.
When the noise subsided, Mr. Beecher continued: 'When I go back home I
shall proudly tell that I have grasped the hand of the nephew of the
great Southern Chieftain; I shall tell my people that I went to the
Confederate capitol with a heart full of love for the people whom my
principles once obliged me to oppose, and that I was met half way by the
brave Southerners who can forgive, as well as they can fight.' That
night Beecher entered his carriage and drove to his hotel amid shouts,
such as had never greeted a Northern man since the war."

The famous Beecher-Tilton trial began in a series of whispers. With such
an immense congregation, with everybody in Brooklyn familiar with his
affairs, and with the whole community seemingly resolved into an immense
gossiping committee, it was no wonder that rumors and report went flying
about until at last, in the summer of 1874, Plymouth Church appointed a
committee to investigate the charges preferred by Theodore Tilton
against Mr. Beecher.

Mr. Tilton read a sworn statement detailing his charges and specifying
the actions of Mrs. Tilton and Mr. Beecher during the previous two
years. This was on July 28th, and on the next day Mr. Beecher made his
speech declaring the innocence of Mrs. Tilton; and she, too, testified
in her own defense. Mr. Beecher made an elaborate statement before his
congregation, August 14th, denying all imm