Blavatsky Archives

This site contains hundreds of rare & hard-to-find source documents on the life, writings & teachings of Madame H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of modern Theosophy.

About the Blavatsky Archives

This site contains hundreds of rare & hard-to-find source documents on the life, writings & teachings of Madame H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of modern Theosophy.

For more than three decades I have done research on the life, work, writings, and teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891). In the course of this work, I've collected thousands of books, articles and unpublished documents on every aspect of Madame Blavatsky's life and teachings. A selection of some of this material consisting of first hand accounts of H.P.B.'s life, her occult phenomena, and encounters with her Masters can be found in my new book The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky: Insights into the Life of a Modern Sphinx (Wheaton, Illinois, The Theosophical Publishing House, 2000). Hundreds of other accounts, articles and documents (positive, negative or neutral) about H.P.B. are published on this Blavatsky Archives website. In publishing the great variety of documents on this website, I have kept in mind H.P. Blavatsky's own words: ". . . Contrast alone can enable us to appreciate things at their right value; and unless a judge compares notes and hears both sides he can hardly come to a correct decision." The
Theosophist, Volume II, July, 1881, p. 218; reprinted in H.P.B.'s Collected Writings, Volume III, p. 225.

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the following individuals who have helped me in my research on the life of Madame Blavatsky: Dorothy Abbenhouse, John Algeo, Karl Alston, Anita Atkins, Geoffrey A. Barborka, Walter A. Carrithers, Jr., John Cooper, Ted G. Davy, Boris de Zirkoff, Ann Denny, Dara Eklund, Caren M. Elin, Victor A. Endersby, Michael Freeman, Michael Gomes, Michelle B. Graye, Virginia G. Hanson, Jerry Hejka-Ekins, Grace F. Knoche, Mary J. Schneider Kokochak, George E. Linton, Joy Mills, Lakshmi Narayan, Ernest Pelletier, Rogelle Pelletier, David Pratt, Leslie Price, David Reigle, Nancy Reigle, Richard Robb, Carmen Small, W. Emmett Small, H. J. Spierenburg, Leona Sterba, Joan Sutcliffe, Dallas TenBroeck, Will Thackara, Gregory Tillett, Elisabeth Trumpler, John Van Mater, Kirby Van Mater, Henry Van Thiel, and Maikka Van Thiel.

Various other persons as well as numerous university, public and special libraries have also helped me with my Blavatsky research. Blavatsky Archives Material - Authors A-L Blavatsky Archives Material - Authors M-Z Historical Material about H.P. Blavatsky & the Mahatmas published on the
World Wide Web

Daniel H. Caldwell danielhcaldwell@yahoo.com

Blavatsky Archives

Complete List of Items A-L

About the Blavatsky Archives Items are listed alphabetically by author's last name. Items with no identifiable author are listed under anonymous.

Anonymous. About Spiritualism. [An Interview with Madame Blavatsky] [Reprinted from
The Daily Graphic (New York) November 13, 1874, p. 90.]

Anonymous. Citizen Helen P. Blavatsky: That Newly Naturalized Personage Explains Some Interesting Matters. 1878. The Daily Graphic (New York), July 9, 1878. Anonymous. The Theosophical Society: The Lamasery at New York. Interviews with Madame Blavatsky. The Wonderful Author of the Book of Wonders, "Isis Unveiled" etc. 1878. Hartford Daily Times
(Connecticut), December 2, 1878, p. 1.

Anonymous. H.P. Blavatsky's Adieux: The Ci-Devant Countess Ready to Depart for the East.
1878.

The Daily Graphic (New York), December 10, 1878.

Anonymous. A Hegira of Theosophists: Priestess Blavatsky and Hierophant Olcott Fly Hastily to Bombay. 1878. The New York World, December 19, 1878. Anonymous. Silence in the Lamasery: Madame Blavatsky and the Hierophant Off for India. Reprinted from The Sun (New York), December 19, 1878, p. 1. Anonymous. Theosophic Thaumaturgy---A Startling Story. 1879. First published in The
Bombay Gazette, March 31st, 1879, p.3.

Anonymous. ["Tempest in a Teapot"] Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette, September 13, 1880,
p. 3. For background on the subject matter of this anonymous article, see Henry S. Olcott's, Old Diary

Leaves, Volume II, Chapter XIII, "A Little Domestic Explosion," pp. 206-213. See also Edward Wimbridge's reply to this article.

Anonymous. [Madame Blavatsky on Swami Dayanand] Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette,
March 31, 1882, p. 3.

Anonymous. A Miracle Worker of To-Day. Reprinted from the Pall Mall Gazette (London),
April 21, 1884, p. 6.

Anonymous. More About the Theosophists: An Interview with Mdme. Blavatsky

Reprinted from The Pall Mall Gazette (London), April 26, 1884, pp. 3-4.

Anonymous. Madame Coulomb at the College Hall. Reprinted from The Madras Mail,
October 20, 1884, p. 5.

Anonymous. Arrival of Theosophists. Reprinted from The Madras Mail, December 23, 1884, p. 5 Anonymous. Mme. Blavatsky's Power: Events in the Career of a Remarkable Woman.
Reprinted from The New York Times, January 2, 1885, p. 3.

Anonymous. Koot Hoomi in 1870. Reprinted from Report of the Result of an Investigation into the
Charges against Madame Blavatsky, etc., Madras, India, Theosophical Society, 1885, pp. 93-96.

Anonymous. Report of the Committee Appointed by the Annual Convention of The Theosophical Society to Advise Madame Blavatsky as to the Best Course to be Taken by Her with Reference to Certain Letters Published in the September [1884] and Following Numbers of the Christian College Magazine. 1884. First published in Official Report of the Ninth
Session of the General Convention and Celebration of the Ninth Anniversary at Madras, December 27th-31st, 1884. Madras, India: The Theosophical Society at Adyar, 1885, pp. 99-106.

Anonymous. Mme. Blavatsky Resigns. 1885. Reprinted from The New York Times, May 7,
1885, p. 5. Includes an important letter written by Col. Henry S. Olcott.

Anonymous. Theosophy in New York: Facts about Mme. Blavatsky, Her Powers and Her Religion. 1886. The World (New York), Vol. XXVII, September 12, 1886, p. 13. Anonymous. To All Fellow-Workers in the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society.
Reprinted from a rare 4-page leaflet issued sometime in early 1887.

Anonymous. The President's European Visit. Gives a Report on Madame Blavatsky, her work and
health. Reprinted from Supplement to the Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), October 1888, pp. xvii-xix.

Anonymous. A Visit to Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Commercial Gazette (Cincinnati,
Ohio) October 13, 1889, p. 3.

Anonymous. Mme. Blavatsky Dead: End of the Life of the Investigator of Theosophy.
Reprinted from The New York Times, May 9, 1891, p. 1.

 Anonymous. Madame Blavatsky Dead. Reprinted from the New-York Daily Tribune, Saturday,
May 9, 1891, p. 7.

Anonymous. Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from the New-York Daily Tribune, Sunday, May 10,
1891, p. 6.

Anonymous.

Madame Blavatsky by P* * * * * * Reprinted from The Woman's Herald

(London), May 16, 1891, pp. 465-466.

Anonymous. Blavatsky's Life: A Brief Account of Her Career in This Country. 1891.
Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 1891, p. 12.

Anonymous. Mme. Blavatsky's Disciples. First published in the Boston Evening Herald, April
27, 1895.

Anonymous. With H.P.B. in the Seventies by A.L.P. First published in Theosophy (New York)
August 1896, pp. 150-153.

Anonymous. A Letter From China: [Concerning Madame Blavatsky and the Great Lama Kut Te Hum]. Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India) August 1900, pp. 700-701. Anonymous. The 'Complex Character' of Madame Blavatsky by M.T. Reprinted from Light
(London), March 2, 1901, p. 103. Includes an important statement by C.W. Leadbeater.

Anonymous. Helena Paulovna Blavatsky. Reprinted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1902
edition.

Anonymous. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Reprinted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910
edition.

Anonymous. Helena Petrovna Hahn Blavatsky. 1916. Reprinted from The National Cyclopedia
of American Biography, Volume XV, New York, James T. White & Company, 1916, pp. 336-337.

Anonymous. Major Cross on Madam Blavatsky's Tibetan Travels. 1927. Reprinted from The
Canadian Theosophist (Toronto), June 15, 1927, p. 71.

Arundale, Francesca. A Record of Some Phenomena. Transcribed from the original in the
Archives of the Society for Psychical Research. A portion of this narrative was quoted in Proceedings of the S.P.R. (London), Volume III, 1885, pp. 387-388. This online edition is reprinted by permission of the Society for Psychical Research, London.

Besant, Annie. Among the Adepts: Madame Blavatsky on The "Secret Doctrine". 1889.
First published in The Pall Mall Gazette (London), April 25, 1889, p. 3

Besant, Annie. Mrs. Besant and Madame Blavatsky: Mrs. Besant's Reply. This Letter to
the Editor was in reply to an article by the Rev. Henry S. Lunn. Reprinted from The Methodist Times (London), September 5, 1889, p. 874.

 Besant, Annie. Mrs. Besant and Madame Blavatsky. In this letter Annie Besant took issue with
some of the statements in a letter written by George Patterson. Reprinted from The Methodist Times (London), November 28, 1889, pp. 1164.

Besant, Annie. The Great Mare's Nest of the Psychical Research Society. Reprinted from
Time (London), March 1891, pp. 193-204.

Besant, Annie. Eastern School of Theosophy. Annie Besant replies to Mr. Judge's 1894 circular
concerning her position in the E.S.T.

Besant, Annie. In the Twilight. Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), May 1910,
pp. 1098-1100.

Blavatsky, H.P. About Spiritualism: [Madame Blavatsky's "Letter to the Editor"]

Reprinted from The Daily Graphic (New York) November 13, 1874, pp. 90-91.

Blavatsky, H.P. H.P.B. and Theosophy in France: Letters to Monsieur C. Biliere.

Originally published in The Theosophical Forum, August 1950, pp. 479-491.

Blavatsky, H.P. Leaves of Theosophical History: Letter from H. P. B. to Mrs. Hollis Billings. 1881. Reprinted from The Theosophical Forum (Point Loma, California), May 1936, pp. 343346.

Blavatsky, H.P. Extract of a Letter from Mme. Blavatsky. [Dated December 1881] Reprinted
from Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. 1, by A.O. Hume, Calcutta, Second edition, 1882, pp. 86-92.

Blavatsky, H.P. Letter from H.P. Blavatsky to Henry S. Olcott. Reprinted from The
Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), July 1908, p. 947.

Blavatsky, H.P. Letters of H.P.B. to Dr. Hartmann, 1885-1886. Reprinted from The Path
(New York), January, February, and March 1896.

Blavatsky, H.P. Communication with Masters. 1885/1886. Reprinted from The Theosophist
(Adyar, Madras, India), February 1908, pp. 393-394.

Blavatsky, H.P. Two Letters from H.P. Blavatsky to Dr. Wilhelm Hbbe-Schleiden.
1886. These letters (written in early January, 1886) have never before been published. They deal with HPB's receipt of the "Hodgson Report" and her answers to some of Hodgson's charges.

Blavatsky, H.P. Madame Blavatsky on Gerald Massey's "Lectures" and "Natural Genesis." 1887. Reprinted from The Agnostic Journal (London), October 3, 1891, p. 214. This Blavatsky
letter has never been reprinted since its original publication in 1891.

Blavatsky, H.P. H. P. B. and Theosophy in France: Letters to Mme. Camille Lemaitre.

Reprinted from The Theosophical Forum, July 1950, pp. 392-410.

Blavatsky, H.P. Pledge Folder issued in 1888 by H.P. Blavatsky to all applicants seeking
admission to the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. Photographic reproduction of this never before published document.

 Blavatsky, H.P. Extract from H.P.B.'s E.S.T.S. Instruction No. I 1889. Includes a missing
portion deleted in later editions of this Instruction.

Blavatsky, H.P. E.S.T.S. Instructions No. I. 1889. Photographic Facsimile of the complete 1890
Edition printed privately on The Aryan Press, New York

Blavatsky, H.P. Memorandum at End of HPB's Esoteric Instruction No. II. 1889. This
"Memorandum" by H.P.B. is to be found at the end of Esoteric Instruction No. II (in both the first [mimeograph] edition of 1889 and the second [printed] edition issued by the Aryan Press of New York in 1890. This "Memorandum" is missing from later editions of the Instructions, including the version published in Volume XII of H.P.B.'s Collected Writings.

Blavatsky, H.P. The Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. 1889. This short letter
dated May 14, 1889 has never been republished or reprinted since it was first issued privately.

Blavatsky, H.P. The Esoteric Section T.S.: Reorganization of the Section in America.
1889. Photographic reproduction of this never before published document from the summer of 1889.

Blavatsky, H.P. Letter of H.P. Blavatsky to Dr. Elliott Coues. 1889. Reprinted from The
Theosophical Forum (Point Loma, California), October 15, 1933, pp. 47-48.

Blavatsky, H.P. To The Members of the E.S. of the T.S. 1889. This short letter dated
November 1, 1889 and addressed to H.P.B.'s Esoteric students has never been republished or reprinted since it was first issued privately.

Blavatsky, H.P. Examination Paper No. 1, London, June 12, 1890, by order of H.P.B.
[Esoteric Section document.] This document addressed to H.P.B.'s Esoteric students has never been republished or reprinted since it was first issued privately.

Blavatsky, H.P. Criticisms and Remarks by the Head of the Section concerning Answers to Examination Paper No. I. London, August 27, 1890. [Esoteric Section document.] Blavatsky, H.P. "Personal Immortality". 1890. Reprinted from The Agnostic Journal (London),
October 4, 1890, pp. 214-215. H.P.B.'s article is in reply to an article titled "Personal Immortality" by Lord Queensberry. This article is not included in HPB's Collected Writings and apparently has never been reprinted in the last 110 years.

Blavatsky, H.P. H.P. Blavatsky's E.S. Notice dated Jan. 1, 1891. 1891. Photographic
reproduction of this never before published document.

Blavatsky, H.P. Is "Theosophy At Bay"? Reprinted from The Agnostic Journal (London),
February 14, 1891, pp. 101-102. This article is not included in HPB's Collected Writings and apparently has never been reprinted in the last 109 years.

Blavatsky, H.P. Reprint of Instructions I, II and III. An 8-page document outlining the new
edition of HPB's Instructions plus other E.S. business. Reprinted from the April 1891 original.

Blavatsky, H.P. Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to Her Family in Russia. Translated by Vera
Johnston. 1894-1895. More than 60 pages of text with scores of HPB's letters written to her relatives.

 Blavatsky, H.P. Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to W.Q. Judge and Other Miscellaneous Letters
The originals of these Blavatsky letters are preserved in the Andover-Harvard Theological Library of Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts.

Britten, Emma H. The "Higher Ego" Theory. Reprinted from Light (London) December 9, 1893,
pp. 587-588. Toward the end of this article, Mrs. Britten made several comments about Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society.

Brown, William T. The Theosophical Mahatmas. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical

Journal (Chicago, Illinois), August 28, 1886, p. 3.

Brown, William T. The Theosophical Mahatmas. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical

Journal (Chicago), October 16, 1886, p. 2.

Brown, William T. Occultism in India. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical Journal

(Chicago) January 29, 1887, p. 2.

Brown, William T. Blavatsky and Her Followers. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical
Journal (Chicago), July 23, 1887, pp. 7-8.

Brown, William T. Theosophy and Theosophists. Reprinted from The Lyceum (Dublin, Ireland),
November 1889, pp. 54-57.

Brown, William T. William T. Brown's Last Known Statement concerning H.P. Blavatsky and the Mahatmas. Reprinted from The Madras Christian College Magazine (Madras, India),
January 1890, pp. 545-547.

Buchanan, Joseph Rhodes. Helena P. Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Phrenological Journal and
Life Illustrated (New York) March 1878, pp. 134-137.

Buck, Edward J. Madame Blavatsky in Simla. Excerpted from Simla, Past and Present by
Edward John Buck. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, 1904, pp. 116-122.

Buck, J.D. Letter from Dr. J.D. Buck: Pellets from the Pulte Professor, some of Sugar and others of Nitro-Glycerine, for the Journal, Coleman, and Blavatsky. Reprinted from The
Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois) May 19, 1888, p. 3.

Buck, J.D. Portrait of the Master Morya. 1913. A brief description by Buck about this portrait and
an accompanying photographic reproduction.

Burns, James. Madame Blavatsky as a Spiritualist. Reprinted from The Medium and Daybreak
(London), March 15, 1889, p. 165.

Caldwell, Daniel H. "Bear Witness!": Who Was the Real H.P.B.? Caldwell, Daniel H. (ed.) A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas. Caldwell, Daniel H. K. Paul Johnson's House of Cards?: A Critical Examination of Johnson's Thesis on the Theosophical Masters Morya and Koot Hoomi.

 Caldwell, Daniel H. A Closer Look at Some of K. Paul Johnson's Arguments Concerning H.S. Olcott's Testimony about the Masters Caldwell, Daniel H. Missing Material by H.P. Blavatsky Discovered Caldwell, Daniel H. (ed.) Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas: Published and Unpublished Mahatma Letters to and about Mrs. Laura C. Holloway. Collected and arranged by Daniel H.
Caldwell.

Caldwell, Daniel H. The Myth of the "Missing" Third Volume of The Secret Doctrine. Caldwell, Daniel H. Postings by Daniel H. Caldwell/Blavatsky Archives on the TheosTalk Mailing List Carrithers, Jr., Walter A. The Truth About Madame Blavatsky. 1946. 1999 web edition
published by the Blavatsky Foundation.

Carrithers, Jr., Walter A. Obituary: The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky. 1963.
Preface to the Online Edition by Leslie Price. 1999 web edition published by the Blavatsky Foundation.

Carrithers, Jr., Walter A. The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky. In 1963 Walter A.
Carrithers, Jr. (under his pseudonym Adlai E. Waterman) published Obituary: The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky (Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras, India). Some five years later his book was reviewed by Robert H. Thouless in the pages of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (London), September 1968, pp. 341-349. The next year Mr. Carrithers replied to Dr. Thouless' review. An abridged version of his reply was published in the "Correspondence" section of the December 1969 issue (pp. 188-197) of the J.S.P.R. under the title "The 'Hodgson Report' on Madame Blavatsky." The unabridged version of Mr.Carrither's rebuttal letter is now published for interested readers. 2000 web edition published by the Blavatsky Foundation.

Carrithers, Jr., Walter A. The Founding of the Theosophical Society.

First published as the "Epilogue" to the 1975 abridged reprint of H.S. Olcott's 1875 Inaugural Address. This article was originally published under Mr. Carrither's pseudonym Adlai E. Waterman. 2000 web edition published by the Blavatsky Foundation.

Chatterji, Mohini M. Mohini Chatterji's Deposition to the Society for Psychical Research, 1884. Reprinted from the First Report of the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research, Appointed to
Investigate the Evidence for Marvellous Phenomena offered by Certain Members of the Theosophical Society, Appendix II, pp. 62-74, London, 1884.

Chatterji, Mohini M. The Theosophical Mahatmas. 1884. The Pall Mall Gazette (London),
October 2, 1884, p. 2.

Chetty, G. Soobiah. A Reminiscence of H.P.B. Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras,
India), May 1924, pp. 244-245.

Chetty, G. Soobiah. The Purchase of Adyar Headquarters: A Reminiscence of H.P.B.

First published in The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India) March 1926, pp. 741-747.

 Chetty, G. Soobiah. Old Diary Leaves. Reprinted from Adyar Notes and News, August 9, 1928, pp.
5-6.

Chetty, G. Soobiah. In the Days of H.P.B.: Master M.'s Visit to Madras in 1874. First
published in Adyar Notes and News, October 25, 1928, p. 2.

Chetty, G. Soobiah. Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar,
Madras, India), October 1931, pp. 47-49.

Chetty, G. Soobiah. Some Personal Memories of H.P.B. Originally published in an article titled
"H.P.B.'s Birthday," The Theosophical World (Adyar, Madras, India), August 1937, pp. 173-174.

Coleman, William Emmette. Theosophy and Spiritualism. 1881. Reprinted from The ReligioPhilosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois), August 6, 1881, p. 2.

Coleman, William Emmette. The Alleged Use of Intoxicating Liquors by Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois) April 7, 1888, p. 6. Coleman, William Emmette. Mad. Blavatsky and Theosophy: A Reply to My Critics, Part One. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois) September 8, 1888, p. 2. Coleman, William Emmette. Madame Blavatsky and Theosophy: A Reply to My Critics, Part Two. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois) September 22, 1888, p. 2. Coleman, William Emmette. "Henry Kiddle and the Mahatma; or, H. K. versus K.H.: An Important Chapter in the History of the Psychical Phenomena of the Nineteenth Century." An extremely rare, lengthy article on Madame Blavatsky and the "Kiddle Incident." Reprinted
from The Carrier Dove, a San Francisco spiritualistic magazine, in 1890 and 1891.

Coleman, William Emmette. The Frauds of Madame Blavatsky. 1891. Reprinted from The
Summerland (Summerland, California), April 18, 1891, p. 2.

Coleman, William Emmette. Blavatsky Unveiled. 1892. This rare pamphlet of 15 pages was
published in Bombay, India in 1892.

Coleman, William Emmette. Critical Historical Review of The Theosophical Society [An Expose of Madame Blavatsky]. 1893. Originally published in The Religio-Philosophical Journal,
Chicago, Illinois, September 16, 1893, pp. 264-266.

Coleman, William Emmette. The Sources of Madame Blavatsky's Writings. First published
in A Modern Priestess of Isis by Vsevolod Sergyeevich Solovyoff, London, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1895, Appendix C, pp. 353-366.

Conway, Moncure D. The Theosophists [Mme. Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott Among the Brahmins]. 1884. First published in The Glasgow Herald, April 11, 1884; reprinted in The ReligioPhilosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois), May 10, 1884, p. 1.

 Conway, Moncure D. Adyar, Mme. Blavatsky and Her Confession. Reprinted from Moncure
Daniel Conway's book My Pilgrimage to the Wise Men of the East, 1906, Chapter X, pp. 195-214.

Cooper, Laura M. How She Left Us. Originally published in Lucifer (London) June 15, 1891, pp.
267-271. Reprinted in H.P.B.: In Memory of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky by Some of Her Pupils, London, Theosophical Publishing Society, 1891, pp. 3-7.

Coopooswamy Iyer, V. Phenomenal. Reprinted from the Supplement to The Theosophist (Adyar,
Madras, India), February 1884, p. 30.

Coues, Elliott. Blavatsky Unveiled! Reprinted from The Sun (New York), Sunday, July 20, 1890, p. 17. Coulomb, Emma. Letter from Emma Coulomb to H.P. Blavatsky. Reprinted from Report of
the Result of an Investigation into the Charges against Madame Blavatsky, etc., Madras, India, Theosophical Society, 1885, pp. 131-132.

Coulomb, Emma.

Theosophy: Madame Coulomb v. Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from

The Madras Mail, April 22, 1885, p. 5.

Curtis, David A. Ghost Stories Galore: A Night of Many Wonders at second hand in "the Eighth Avenue Lamasery". First published in The World (New York), April 21, 1878, p. 9. Reprinted in
The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India) April 1884, pp. 167-168.

Dayananda Sarasvati, Swami. Humbuggery of the Theosophists. Reprint of 1882 Tract based
on a Lecture given by Swami Dayananda Sarasvati.

Densmore, Helen. A Defense of Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical

Journal (Chicago, Illinois) March 10, 1888, p. 6.

Densmore, Helen. Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical Journal

(Chicago, Illinois) May 5, 1888, p. 6.

Doubleday, Abner. General Doubleday in Defense of Madame Blavatsky. Reprinted from

The Religio-Philosophical Journal (Chicago, Illinois) April 28, 1888, p. 6.

Dunlop, Daniel Nichol. Interview with Mr. W.B. Yeats. First published in The Irish
Theosophist (Dublin, Ireland) November 15, 1893, pp. 147-149.

Eglinton, William. Spiritualism and Theosophy. Reprinted from Light (London), June 24, 1882,
pp. 301-302.

Eglinton, William. Mr. Eglinton and "Koot Hoomi". Reprinted from Light (London), January
30, 1886, pp. 50-51.

Fadeeff, Nadejda. Letter from Nadejda Fadeeff to Colonel Henry Olcott. Reprinted from
Report of the Result of an Investigation into the Charges against Madame Blavatsky Brought by the Missionaries of the Scottish Free Church of Madras, and Examined by a Committee Appointed for That Purpose by the General Council of the Theosophical Society, Madras, India, Theosophical Society, 1885, pp. 94-95.

 Finch, Laura I. H.P. Blavatsky and Phenomena: To the Editor of the OCCULT REVIEW.
Reprinted from The Occult Review, June 1927, pp. 404-405. Includes a statement concerning the Mahatmas by Bhawani Shankar.

Fodor, Nandor. Mme. Helene Petrova Blavatsky (1831-91). 1934. Encyclopaedia of Psychic
Science, 1934, pp. 31-32.

Foote, George W. The New Cagliostro: An Open Letter to Madame Blavatsky. A 16-page
pamphlet published in 1889.

Ghosh, Parvati Charan. Phenomenal. Reprinted from Supplement to The Theosophist (Adyar,
Madras, India), April 1884, p. 66

Gordon, Alice. Instantaneous Transmission of Another Letter. Reprinted from Psychic Notes
(Calcutta) March 30, 1882, pp. 60-61.

Gordon, Alice. Instantaneous Transmission of Letters. Reprinted from Psychic Notes

(Calcutta), April 13, 1882, pp. 66-67.

Gordon, Alice. Some Experiences of the Occult. 1890. Reprinted from Light (London),
November 29, 1890, pp. 575-577.

Hamon, Louis [Cheiro]. Some Modern Occultists: Madame Blavatsky, Founder of the Theosophical Society. First published in Mysteries and Romances of the World's Greatest Occultists by
Cheiro, London, Herbert Jenkins, 1935, Chapter XIV, pp. 170-180.

Harrison, W.H. Theosophy: The Himalayan Brothers. Reprinted from The Medium and
Daybreak, (London), October 5, 1883, p. 628-629.

Hartmann, Franz. My Experiences. Reprinted from Supplement to The Theosophist (Adyar,

Madras, India), March 1884, pp. 52-53.

Hartmann, Franz. Occult Phenomena. Reprinted from Supplement to The Theosophist (Adyar,
Madras, India), July 1884, pp. 99-100.

Hartmann, Franz. Statement of Franz Hartmann to the S.P.R. Committee. Reprinted from the
First Report of the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research, Appointed to Investigate the Evidence for Marvellous Phenomena offered by Certain Members of the Theosophical Society , Appendix XXXVII, pp. 122-123, London, 1884.

Hartmann, Franz. Statement of a Visitor. Reprinted from Report of the Result of an Investigation
into the Charges against Madame Blavatsky, etc., Madras, India, Theosophical Society, 1885, pp. 139-144.

Hartmann, Franz. Account by Dr. Franz Hartmann on the Ultimate Fate of the Shrine.
[First published in Richard Hodgson's "Account of Personal Investigations in India, and Discussion of the Authorship of the 'Koot Hoomi' Letters," Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume III, 1885, pp. 225-226. ]

Hartmann, Franz. Psychometrical Experiments. Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras,
India), March 1887, pp. 354-358.

 Hartmann, Franz. Memorable Recollections From the Life of the Author of the "Lotusblten." [Denkwrdige Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Verfassers der "Lotusblten."] Installment 1. Translation from the German by Robert Htwohl. Hartmann, Franz. Memorable Recollections from the Life of the Author of the "Lotusblten." [Denkwrdige Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Verfassers der "Lotusblten."] Installment 2. Translation from the German by Robert Htwohl. Newly published translation!! Henderson, P.D. The Theosophist Society: To The Editor, The "Bombay Gazette."
Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette, November 1, 1880, p.3. This is a reply to Colonel Olcott's letter to the Editor of Oct. 13, 1880.

Hern, Anthony. Records of the British Government's Surveillance of Theosophical Society Personalities and Others in the Oriental and India Office Collections of The British Library (OIOC): An Introduction. Newly published research!! Hillard, Katherine. Why I Became A Theosophist. Reprinted from The Theosophical Quarterly
(New York) July, 1909, pp. 59-61.

Hobbes, Terry. Madame Blavatsky and the Latter-Day Messengers of the Masters Hodgson, Richard. The Theosophical Society: Russian Intrigue or Religious Evolution?
1885. The Melbourne Age (Australia), September 12, 1885.

Hodgson, Richard. Mr. Sinnett's Circular. Reprinted from the Journal of the Society for Psychical
Research (London), November 1885, pp. 109-112.

Hodgson, Richard. Franz Hartmann on the Ultimate Fate of the Shrine. First published in
Richard Hodgson's "Account of Personal Investigations in India, and Discussion of the Authorship of the 'Koot Hoomi' Letters," Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume III, 1885, pp. 224-226.

Hodgson, Richard. Statement of Colonel Olcott concerning the Shrine and Environment.
First published in Richard Hodgson's "Account of Personal Investigation in India", etc. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume III, 1885, Appendix IV, Section titled "Colonel Olcott," pp. 335336.

Hodgson, Richard (compiler). Astral Apparitions of the Mahatmas at Bombay. First

published in Richard Hodgson's "Account of Personal Investigations in India" etc., Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume III, 1885, Appendix VII, pp. 348-351.

Hodgson, Richard. Col. Olcott and Mr. R. Hodgson. Reprinted from Light (London), October
23, 1886, p. 517.

Hollis-Billing, Mrs. Mary J. Madame H.P. Blavatsky. Reprinted from The Medium and
Daybreak (London), December 19, 1879, pp. 796-7.

Holloway, Laura C. The Theosophists: Something About Madame Blavatsky, the High Priestess of the Society. Reprinted from The Leader, October 14, 1888, p. 14.

 Holloway, Laura C. Blavatskys Mesmerism. Reprinted from Current Literature (New York)
March 1889, pp. 243-244.

Holloway, Laura C. Madame Blavatsky: A Pen Picture. Reprinted from The Word (New York)
February 1912, pp. 262-269.

Holloway, Laura C. The Mahatmas and Their Instruments [Part I]. Reprinted from The Word
(New York), May 1912, pp. 69-76.

Holloway, Laura C. The Mahatmas and Their Instruments [Part II]. Reprinted from The Word
(New York), July 1912, pp. 200-206.

Hubbe-Schleiden, Wilhelm. Dr. Hubbe Schleiden on a Letter from the Mahatma K.H.
Reprinted from the First Report of the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research, Appointed to Investigate the Evidence for Marvellous Phenomena offered by Certain Members of the Theosophical Society, Appendix XXXII, pp. 115-116, London, 1884.

Hume, A.O. Fragments of Occult Truth, No. 1. Reprinted from The Theosophist, October 1881,
pp. 17-22. This article written by A.O. Hume is based upon teachings he received from H.P. Blavatsky and Mahatma Koot Hoomi and Morya. This is the first article in modern Theosophical literature to set forth the sevenfold constitution of a human being. See also Fragments of Occult Truth, No. 2 and No. 3.

Hume, A.O. Fragments of Occult Truth (No. 2 of the Series). Reprinted from The
Theosophist, March 1882, pp. 157-160.

Hume, A.O. Fragments of Occult Truth (No. 3 of the Series). Reprinted from The
Theosophist, September 1882, pp. 307-314.

Hume, A.O. A.O. Hume on Madame Blavatsky

This letter from Allan Octavian Hume to a Mr. Knight has never been published before in its entirety. In fact only a very brief excerpt has ever appeared in print. The "original" copy of this letter is found in the The Bradlaugh Papers: Letters, Papers and Printed Items relating to the Life of Charles Bradlaugh (1833-1891), which are preserved in the archives of the National Secular Society (London). The letter is reprinted here with the kind permission of that Society.]

Jagannathiah, R. The Great Teacher H.P.B. As I Saw Her. Reprinted from the Adyar Bulletin,
May, 1909, pp. 156-9.

Johnston, Charles. H.P.B. Reprinted from The Theosophical Quarterly (New York), July 1931, pp.
12-13.

Judge, William Quan. Letter from William Q. Judge (dated March 18, 1882). Reprinted from
The Theosophical Forum (Point Loma, California), September 15, 1932, p. 8.

Judge, William Quan. The Theosophical Tempest. 1884. The Philosophic Inquirer (Madras,
India), September 21, 1884, p. 299.

Judge, William Quan. Madame Blavatsky's Occult Phenomena in the New York Days.
1886. First published in A.P. Sinnett's Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky, 1886, pp. 186-199.

 Judge, William Q. The So-Called Expose of Madame Blavatsky. Originally published in The
Index (Boston), March 11, 1886, pp. 441-442.

Judge, William Q. Existence of the Mahatmas. Reprinted from The Religio-Philosophical

Journal (Chicago, Illinois) October 16, 1886, p. 6.

Judge, William Q. Blavatsky Still Lives and Theosophy is in a Flourishing Condition. [An Interview with William Q. Judge]. Reprinted from The New York Times, January 6, 1889, p. 10. Judge, William Q., ed. Dr. Elliott Coues in His Letters: Some of His Letters to H. P. Blavatsky and Others, with Replies. Reprinted from a 12-page pamphlet issued by William Quan
Judge. Pamphlet is dated New York, June 14, 1889.

Judge, William Q., ed. "Light on the Path" and Mabel Collins. [Compiled and with Notes by William Q. Judge and Archibald Keightley] Reprinted from an 8-page pamphlet issued in
New York in June, 1889.

Judge, William Q. The House Where H.P.B. Worked and Died. Reprinted from The Path
(New York), July 1891, pp. 131-134.

Judge, William Quan. By Master's Direction. (Issued Nov. 1894.) A controversial E.S.T.
document which contains various statements about Madame Blavatsky. See reply by Mrs. Annie Besant.

Judge, William Quan. E.S.T. Order No. II of 1894. In this short document, Mr. Judge wrote: "In
accordance with order received from the Master, I hereby declare that [H.P.Blavatsky's] Instructions I, II and III of this School are no longer secret, with the following exceptions...."

Keightley, Archibald. From Ostende to London. Reprinted from The Path (New York),
November 1892, pp. 245-248.

Keightley, Archibald. Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky. 1910. First published in The

Theosophical Quarterly (New York), October 1910, pp. 109-122.

Keightley, Bertram. Account Written by Mr. Bertram Keightley, in June, 1884. First
published in Richard Hodgson's "Account of Personal Investigations in India" etc., Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume III, 1885, Appendix VII, p. 357. ]

Keightley, Bertram. Mr. Bertram Keightley's Account of the Writing of "The Secret Doctrine". Reprinted from Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine by the Countess
Constance Wachtmeister, London, Theosophical Publishing Society, 1893, pp. 89-95.

Khandalvala, N.D. Madame Blavatsky and Her Slanderers. Reprinted from The Theosophist,
(Adyar, Madras, India), November 1884, pp. 48-49.

Khandalvala, N.D. Madame H.P. Blavatsky As I Knew Her. Reprinted from The Theosophist
(Adyar, Madras, India), June 1929, pp. 213-222 and July 1929, pp. 309-318.

Kiddle Incident. 1883-1884. More than 20 original articles and letters from the 1883-1884 controversy
concerning charges of plagiarism against the Master Koot Hoomi.

 Kiddle, Henry. Plagiarism: Koot Hoomi, H. Kiddle. Reprinted from The Medium and
Daybreak (London), April 18, 1884, p. 250. For more Kiddle material see: http://blavatskyarchives.com/kiddlecon.htm

Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. Isis Unveiled. Originally published in Theosophy: A Modern Revival of Ancient
Wisdom by Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Chapter V, pp. 115-146. An online edition of the entire book is available as well as a paperback reprint edition by Kessinger Publishing.

Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. The Mahatmas and Their Letters. Originally published in Theosophy: A
Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom by Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Chapter VI, pp. 147-175. An online edition of the entire book is available as well as a paperback reprint edition by Kessinger Publishing.

Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. The Secret Doctrine. Originally published in Theosophy: A Modern Revival of
Ancient Wisdom by Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Chapter VIII, pp. 194-231. An online edition of the entire book is available as well as a paperback reprint edition by Kessinger Publishing.

Leadbeater, C.W. Statement by C.W. Leadbeater. Published in The 'Complex Character' of Madame Blavatsky by M.T. Reprinted from Light (London), March 2, 1901, p. 103. Lillie, Arthur. Madame Blavatsky and Her Theosophy. Reprinted from Light (London), March
9, 1895, pp. 116-117.

Lunn, Rev. Henry S. Mrs. Besant's New Teacher, Madame Blavatsky: Her Indian Record. Reprinted from The Methodist Times (London), August 29,1889, pp. 841-842.

About Spiritualism.
[An Interview with Madame Blavatsky]
MME. BLAVATSKYS VISIT TO THE DAILY GRAPHIC OFFICE AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE-LONG JOURNEYS, MARVELLOUS ADVENTURES, AND WONDERFUL SPIRITUALISTIC EXPERIENCES. [Reprinted from The Daily Graphic (New York) November 13, 1874, p. 90. This interview was reprinted in The Spiritual Scientist (Boston), November 19, 1874, pp. 121-122. To this reprint H.P. Blavatsky added a number of annotations correcting several statements given in the interview. The reprinted article with HPB's handwritten corrections is found in a bound volume of The Spiritual Scientist preserved in the library of The College of Psychic Studies, London. See the facsimile of H.P.B's corrections. The facsimile is reproduced here with the kind permission of The College of Psychic Studies. At the end of the interview as originally published in The Daily Graphic was a letter from Madame Blavatsky on Dr.

George Beard and the mediumship of the Eddy Brothers. ]

Mme. Blavatsky visited THE DAILY GRAPHIC office yesterday, and excited a great deal of interest. She exhibited the silver jewel of the Order of St. Ann, which was buried with her father at Stavropol, and which the spirit of George Dix conveyed to her during a recent seance at the Eddy homestead in Vermont. Her object in visiting us was to hand to the chief editor a letter a propos of the Olcott-Beard discussion. The lady expresses herself with great vivacity in favor of the Eddy brothers, and seems very much exercised about the Beard letter. Mme. Blavatsky has travelled in almost every quarter of the world, has met with many romantic adventures, and is a remarkably good-natured and sprightly woman. She is handsome, with full voluptuous figure, large eyes, well formed nose, and rich, sensuous mouth and chin. She dresses with remarkable elegance, is bien gantee, and her clothing is redolent of some subtle and delicious perfume which she has gathered in her wanderings in the far East. I was born in 1834 at Ekaterinoslav, she said, of which my father, Colonel Hahn-hahn, was Governor. It is about 200 versts from Odessa. Yes, he was a cousin of the Countess Ida Hahn-hahn, the authoress. My mother was a daughter of General Fadeef, and I am a granddaughter of the Princess Dolgorouki. My mother was an authoress, and used to write under the nom de plume of Zenaida R* * * va. Do you fellows smoke here? I dont ------- Oh, you mean fellow. But the others do, and you can smoke if you wish. Thats right. All we Russian ladies like our cigarette. Why, do you know poor Queen Victoria is nearly frightened into fits because her Russian daughter-in-law smokes. Here Mme. Blavatsky took out a book of cigarette papers and a parcel of Turkish tobacco, and deftly rolled up an elegant little cigarette. The writer gallantly supplied her with a light, and she began to smoke, blowing the blue vapor through her beautiful nostrils with that dreamy relish which the smoker knows so well. When my father died, she proceeded, I went to Tiflis in Georgia, where my grandfather was one of the three Councillors of the Viceroy Woronzoff. (Puff, puff.) When I was sixteen years of age they married me to M. Blavatsky; he was the Governor of Erivan. Fancy! he was seventy-three and I sixteen. But mind, I dont blame anybody - not my friends, not in the least. (Puff, puff.) However, at the end of the year we separated. His habits were not agreeable to me. As I had a fortune of my own I determined to travel. I went first of all to Egypt. I spent three nights in the Pyramid of Cheops. Oh I had most marvellous experiences. Then I went to England. And in 1853 I came to this country. I was recalled to Russia by the death of my grandmother, Mme. Brajation. She left me a fortune, but if I had been with her before her death I should have had much more. She left

eight millions of roubles to the convents and monasteries in Moldavia - she was a Moldavian herself. I went back to Egypt, and penetrated into the Soudan. I made a great deal of money on that journey. How? Why, by buying ostrich feathers. I did not go there for that purpose, but as I found I could do it I did it. Oh! ostrich feathers that would sell for five or six guineas you could buy there for a cent. Then I went to Athens, Palestine, Syria, Arabia, and back again to Paris. Then I went to Homburg and Baden Baden, and lost a good deal of money at gambling, I am sorry to say. In 1858 I returned to Paris, and made the acquaintance of Daniel Home, the Spiritualist. He had married the Countess Kroble, a sister of the Countess Koucheleff Bezborrodke, a lady with whom I had been very intimate in my girlhood. Home converted me to Spiritualism. Did you ever see any of his levitations, as they are called? Yes; but give me a light. (Puff, puff.) Thanks. Yes I have seen Home carried out of a four-story window, let down very gently to the ground, and put into his carriage. After this I went to Russia, converted my father to Spiritualism. He was a Voltairean before that. I made a great number of other converts. Are you a medium yourself? Yes; I get some of the manifestations - spirit rappings and such like. Are there many Spiritualists in your country? Yes. You would be surprised to know how large a number of Spiritualists there are in Russia. Why, the Emperor Alexander is a Spiritualist. Would you actually believe it? - the emancipation of the serfs was caused by the appearance of the Emperor Nicholas to the Emperor Alexander. That is a very remarkable statement. Its true. The Caesarewitch was one day telling Prince Bariatinsky of it. He said, Oh, your Imperial Highness, I cannot believe it. The Emperor came forward and asked what they were talking about. Prince Bariatinsky told him what the Casarewitch had said about the appearance of the spirit of the Emperor Nicholas. The Emperor Alexander turned as pale as a ghost himself, and said It is true. That is very remarkable. Where did you travel subsequently? I went to Italy and then to Greece. As I was returning from the Piraeus to Napoli, when we were off Spezzia, the boat in which I was making the voyage, the Evmonia, blowed up, and of four hundred persons on board only seventeen were saved. I was one of the fortunate

ones. As I laid on my back I saw limbs, heads, and trunks all falling around me. This was the 21st of June, 1871, I lost all my money and everything I had. I telegraphed to my friends for money. As soon as I got it I went to Egypt again, and to the Soudan. I never saw a white face for four months. I translated Darwin into Russian while I was in Africa. I have also translated Buckle into Russian. I have contributed to the Revue des deux Mondes and several Parisian journals, and have acted as correspondent of the Independence Beige. I am a member of the order of Eastern Masonry, the most ancient in the world. I was initiated in Malta. Here Mme. Blavatsky showed the writer the jewel of one of the most celebrated orders in existence, the name of which, however, he is not at liberty to give. There are not more than six or seven women in the world who have been admitted to this order. I shall probably stay in America a long time. I like the country very much. The following is Mme. Blavatskys letter:

Citizen Helen P. Blavatsky.

That Newly Naturalized Personage Explains Some Interesting Matters.
[First published in The Daily Graphic (New York), July 9, 1878, p. 54.]

Mme. Helen P. Blavatsky enjoys the proud distinction of being the first female subject of the Czar who has renounced her allegiance to the Empire and become a citizen of this great republic. On the 22d of September, 1874, she announced her intention of becoming a naturalized citizen and made the necessary application before the proper officials. Yesterday she developed into a full-fledged sovereign by the decree of Judge Larremore in the special term of the Court of Common Pleas. There have been various conjectures among the acquaintances of the new convert to Republicanism as to the motive that prompted her to take this step. Among others was that she purposed engaging extensively in purchasing real estate in this country, and that she contemplated taking a leading part in the woman suffrage question. In order to get at the truth a GRAPHIC reporter called on Citizen Blavatsky this morning at her apartments, No. 302 West Forty-seventh street. He was very politely received, and was shown into the reception room, overlooking both Eight avenue and Forty-seventh street. The first and most conspicuous object that presented itself to view on entering was the newly signed citizens paper, placed in a conspicuous place on the wall to the left of madames writing-desk. "Yes, I have become a citizen of the United States," she remarked, as she glanced at the document, "and I must say that I feel proud of the title. You ask why I have renounced my allegiance to my country? I answer because I love liberty. There is but little liberty in Russia to-day. Here it is the reverse. There I have been subjected to great

annoyances and have been fined so often that I can safely compute the sum of $10,000, and for trivial offences, too, I assure you. This is, indeed, a great country, but then you have one great drawback. The people are so shrewd, and there is much corruption. But with all this, I prefer it and its freedom to all other countries. No, my object in securing these papers are as stated, and for no other reasons. In my country affairs look gloomy. England has completely hoodwinked the Czars statesmen, and it would seem that a revolution is imminent. From papers I have received from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Odessa and Tiflis an intense desire to fight for the honor of the empire is manifested. The highest and the lowest are willing to sacrifice their all for this one great object, and the humiliating position in which the country will be placed by the English will leave the worst impression among the Russian people, which, to my mind, will only find vent in revolution. The Czar lost the Crimean war and gained all in the last conflict. Now he has lost again. Does it not appear to any reasonable person that intense dissatisfaction will follow? I am not in favor of kings and emperors. They are the curse of the world. A revolution may accomplish much good. As for Vera Sassulitch she is a noble woman and has done much for her country, but I am afraid that the affair at Moscow will tend to tighten the grip around the throats of the Russians. The jury system will be abolished, and then where will be the redress for future wrongs?" The distinguished lady spoke feelingly on this subject. It was her impression that the modern Russian Joan of Arc had not reached Switzerland, and consequently could not be the person mentioned in this mornings cablegram as having been denied asylum in that country. She had received intelligence from a prominent editor of Paris that the young heroine was expected in that city, and she was inclined to believe that she would eventually visit the United States. In conclusion, Mme. Blavatsky repeated that she was glad that she had become a citizen of the great republic.

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. The Lamasery at New York.

Interviews with Madame Blavatsky -The Wonderful Author of the Book of Wonders, "Isis Unveiled" -- An Unique Residence -Singular People -- Remarkable Conversations.
[Reprinted from the Hartford Daily Times (Connecticut), December 2, 1878, p. 1.]

Correspondence of The Hartford Times. NEW YORK, November 30, 1878. It was with a feeling of intense curiosity, and more than ordinary pleasure that we stood at the door of Madame Blavatskys residence in New York, and awaited an answer to our

ring. It soon came, and in an odd way, for the door was unlocked by no visible hand, and for a second we did not realise that it was done by electricity. Ascending to the second floor we were ushered into a tiny reception-room, where Colonel Henry S. Olcott, the president of the Theosophical society, greeted us with cordiality. We inquired if madame was visible, and he sent a servant to inquire, who returned with a prompt and decisive answer, "No." We had arrived at a very unfavorable hour, it being in the morning, and were informed that it was almost an impossibility to gain access to madames presence in the day. Conversing, however, with Colonel Olcott, while he opened his eggs and took his coffee for breakfast, we questioned him regarding the aims and objects of this society which is becoming so well known, so much discussed, so well grounded on the basis of cultured and honorable men and women as members, and received for reply, in substance, the following: The object of Theosophy is individual cultivation in the sciences and mysteries which madame has given in a measure to the world through her book "Isis Unveiled." It is to initiate some chosen ones into the knowledge of those secrets which are higher and finer than anything now taught, and which are to eventually lift each member to the power and position of an adept. "In religion" he said, "we work to break down old dogmas and carping theologies, whether Christian, Brahmanic, Buddhistic, Jewish, Mohammedan or others, and to teach the undefiled religious philosophy which prevailed before even the Vedas were written, and which furnishes the grains of wheat in every mountain of chaff that has been piled up in any nation and labelled with the names above enumerated. In the state we wish to spread high notions of honor, patriotism, responsibility, and that international exchange of courtesy based upon the Golden Rule, which would make a brotherhood of humanity possible. In the individual we would purge away the vicious taste, the groveling sensuality, the mean sordidness, the pettiness of aim, the obtuseness as to civil, social and moral obligations, which everywhere prevail under the patronage of the church. This is a wide field, and were our laborers an hundred times more numerous, it could not be covered at once. We are not unreasonable or optimistic. We are quite content with the rate of our progress up to this time, and shall add to our roll of Fellows from time to time as they offer themselves (for we solicit no one), if they prove to be in sympathy with our work, and are willing to help us in these projects. And first of all, we who lead the movement mean to set an example of correct living and dealing which will at least win the respect of the community." "We, presume that those who become members are bound by the most solemn oaths, and are initiated by the most fearful and mysterious ceremonies?" we remarked inquiringly. "The pledge we exact," replied the colonel, "is, that none who join us shall do anything to retard, by word or deed, our progress. We are quite willing to leave your own conscience to be the monitor. We bind members by no oath whatever, saving their word of honor, to keep strictly secret those matters confided to them which should, in the opinion of their superiors, be kept sacredly private!" "But you have rules, by-laws, officers, etc., do you not?" "Certainly! Its officers are a president, two vicepresidents, a corresponding secretary, a recording secretary, a treasurer, a librarian, and councilors. At first it was an open body; but later it was reorganized on the principle of secrecy, experience having demonstrated the advisability of such a change." "But what are the benefits to be derived from such a membership? Can all members become adepts?" "By no means! To be admitted into the highest degree, of the first section, the Theosophist must have become freed of every leaning toward any one form of religion in preference to

another. He must be free from all exacting obligations to society, politics and family. He must be ready to lay down his life, if necessary, for the good of humanity, and of a brother fellow of whatever race, color or ostensible creed. He must renounce wine, and every other description of intoxicating beverages, and adopt a life of strict chastity. Those who have not yet wholly disenthralled themselves from religious prejudice, and other forms of selfishness, but have made a certain progress towards self-mastery and enlightenment, belong in the second section. Those only who persevere in these studies, who practice every virtue, and eschew every vice, who subjugate the body to the will, and throw off every tie which binds them to things gross, can become that to which even Madame Blavatsky has not yet, after all her long life of devotion, perfectly attained. We offer for your zeal, industry and loyalty, the reward of an approving conscience, the respect of a brotherhood whose good opinion is well worth having, and the assurance that you are assisting to lay the foundations of a great society whose future is already an established certainty. Already you would be able to meet brothers in the remotest quarters of the globe; and before long the public will know that we have enlisted on our side some of the profoundest scholars and purest souls of the present day." "This is only a branch society we are told. There are other branches similar to this in New York, are there not?" "We have already one established in nearly every country in Europe. It was only this morning also, that we had from Bombay full permission to announce our society as the American branch of the Arya Somaj of India. This is a great organization founded by one of the holiest and most learned men of our age, the Pundit Dyamund Sarswati. His preaching and teaching of ancient Vedic philosophy and Ethics has created a profound sensation throughout the Indian Peninsular among the natives. He preaches against castes, idolatry and superstitious observances of all kinds. Many of the latter originally devised by the priesthood to increase their power and emolument, have become accepted as of divine authority, after many centuries. Among these are suttee (widow burning), sitting Dhurna (a creditor deliberately starving himself to death at the door of his debtor), and others, for which the Vedas contain no authority. What the Pundit teaches is the identical, pure, Wisdom Religion, about which Madame Blavatsky discourses so learnedly in her "Isis," and which was the primeval substratum upon which not only Brahmanism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism were built, but which is the essence of Christism when the embroidered sere-cloths are unwrapped from its body. It teaches one Incomprehensible, Eternal, Divine Essence, out of which all things come, and to which all return, in a never-ending series of evolution and involution --- "Days and Nights of Brahma." "The correspondence for your society must be enormous; who does it, pray?" "Madame. She writes nine languages, and reads three more. She converses fluently and daily with her various friends in at least five. You may hear them any evening at her little receptions -- but madame has concluded to see you." The colonel said this without having moved from his chair; no one had entered the room, the door was shut; there was no visible means by which he could have received this communication of madames pleasure. We were delighted as well as astonished, and only waited to ask one question before entering her parlor. "There are so many rumors regarding madame, Colonel, that one is almost driven to desperation, in trying to select which is most probable. Can you tell us how old she is? We have heard she is thirty, eighty, an hundred; that her countenance is so changeable that at one moment she seems a young girl, at another she seems an old lady. But the general tendency is to belief in her great age!" "Perhaps my sister will tell you,"

laughed the colonel, as he gave the requisite introductions to that estimable lady and two or three children who were entering. "Will you not say how old you think madame to be?" "I think it would be utterly impossible to determine; her age seems to me as mysterious as her character, for all I have known her so long and so intimately. Indeed, although I live in the same house with them," she added, "and see madame at any time, there are some subjects on which she is as non-committal as the Sphinx!" "What is your imagination of her person?" inquired the lady. "We have thought she might be tall with a thick, compact figure, cold gray eyes, a broad face, a high forehead, and light hair." "I declare!" exclaimed Colonel Olcott, "you must be clairvoyant! This is a very fair description." Madame was seated in her little work-room and parlor, all in one, and we may add her curiosity-shop as well, for never was apartment more crammed with odd, elegant, old, beautiful, costly, and, apparently, worthless things, than this. She had cigarette in mouth, and scissors in hand, and was hard at work clipping paragraphs, articles, items, criticisms and other matter, from heaps of journals from all parts of the world, relating to herself, to her book, to the Theosophical society, to any and every thing connected with her life, work and aims. She waved us to a seat, and while she intently read some article, we had a chance to observe the walls and furniture of this New York Lamasery. Directly in the centre stood a stuffed ape, with a white "dickey" and necktie around his throat, manuscript in paw, and spectacles on nose. Could it be a mute satire on the clergy? Over the door was the stuffed head of a lioness, with open jaws and threatening aspect; the eyes glaring with an almost natural ferocity. A god in gold occupied the centre of the mantle-piece; Chinese and Japanese cabinets, fans, pipes, implements and rugs, low divans and couches, a large desk, a mechanical bird who sang as mechanically, albums, scrap-books, and the inevitable cigarette holders, papers and ash-pots, made the loose rich robe in which madame was appareled seem in perfect harmony with her surroundings. A rare, strange countenance is hers. A combination of moods seems to constantly play over her features. She never seems quite absorbed by one subject. There is a keen, alert, subtle undercurrent of feeling and perception perceivable in the expression of her eyes. It impressed us then, and has invariably, with the idea of a double personality; as if she were here, and not here; talking, and yet thinking, or acting far away. Her hair light, very thick and naturally waved, has not a gray thread in it. Her skin, evidently somewhat browned by exposure to sea and sun, has no wrinkles; her arm and hand are as delicate as a girls. Her whole personality is expressive of self-possession, command, and a certain sang froid which borders on masculine indifference, without for a moment overstepping the bounds of womanly delicacy. Very, very old! Impossible! And yet she declares it is so; sometimes indignantly, sometimes with a certain pride; sometimes with indifference or impatience. "I come of a long-lived race. All my people grew to be very old. One of my ancestors lived to be more than 100, and preserved all his faculties. You doubt my age? I can show you my passports, my documents, my letters for years back. I can prove it by a thousand things." She began to talk with us in a friendly and cordial manner, tinctured with foreign nonchalance and piquancy combined. We explained that our errand was to pay our devoirs to the author of "Isis Unveiled," but our courteous speeches were hushed with a peremptory command to take a cigarette, which we gladly proceeded to do. The chat was naturally turned into that channel which leads to the great ocean of the Unseen Mysteries, and we were astonished at the rapidity and fluency of her speech. Her English is far better than the ordinary run of conversation in America, however, for it is absolutely correct; bookish, in fact. Her accent is not very marked. She said, "I cannot get your English. I cannot pronounce it."

"Why, madame," we replied, "There is hardly a scholar in New York who can equal your elegance of speech." "Yes, yes, I know," she answered impatiently, "but your accent, I cannot get it!" "How do you so preserve your looks, your health, madame? What magic receipt have you to keep your freshness, and all these evidences of youth? Our women of forty, however fat and fair, would sell their eyes, almost, for the knowledge! You must have drank of the fountain of perpetual youth!" "That is what we study for," she replied, quietly. "Well, how long do you intend to live?" we added, laughingly. "Oh! if no accident occurs, as long as I please; thirty, forty, fifty years perhaps. I dont know!" -- in the most indifferent manner, as if it were a mere matter of her good pleasure. "If all the stories we hear about you are correct, you must be the great mystery of the world yourself, madame! Why, do you know, we heard the other day that instead of having an immense library, as we had supposed it was absolutely necessary you should have, since you quote from at least a thousand authors in twenty languages, that you really have no library at all, but when you desire to make use of a passage, say for instance in some old Hindoo parchment, that all you have to do is to will it to appear before you, and there it is ready to be copied! Then we have heard that it is not done in that way, but that you can send mental telegrams to brother adepts all over the globe, and they give you the desired information in the same way! Why, we presume, if an adept were in the planet Venus, and you desired his presence by your desk here, all you would have to do would be to mentally call him, and his astral body would cast its shadow on the floor!" Madame seemed heartily to enjoy the speech. We defy, however, the keenest observer to have discovered whether we were, as one might say, "driving the nail home," or merely amusing her with our half-badinage. She evidently does not wear her heart on her sleeve. "Whether these rumors may be true or not," she remarked, serenely, after a singular little smile to herself, "there is certainly nothing supernatural in anything we teach. The wonderful things recorded in the Isis, if they were produced at all, were produced according to the eternal laws. It is all natural, all scientific. You people do not know the laws of your own atmospheres, your own bodies, your own powers. That is all! We do. We have learned the mysteries of real wisdom from those who knew them before us. If you did but hold the key you would see there is nothing in our knowledge or our powers but what is natural and according to the plan of the universe. There never was a miracle, and never can be. What are called miracles were not so. They were produced by natural laws. One must have the gift of fine intellectual powers, moral purity and physical health to attain to the higher mysteries. Not all who live are immortal. Some will be annihilated. Their natural tendency is ever downward. It is inevitable. They cannot go higher; they must go lower. Change of some kind constantly takes place. There are two progressions -- upward and downward. Those who go downward in virtue, in experience, in taste, will be eventually

blotted out, and return into the elements. Those who live longest on this earth and ever advance upward, will stand the highest when they enter the spiritual life. This is the preparatory school. There begins action!" "Of course you believe in Spiritualism?" "We admit the reality of mediumism and mediumistic phenomena, but discourage them unless under very strict precautions, as we think they tend to degrade the medium. Our views are not original --- only those entertained by Eastern psychologists. We say that for a pure person to passively submit to the domination of unseen, unknown and uncontrollable influence is to place himself in very great peril of corruption and ruin. The passive medium takes all the chances of control by the worst as well as the best spirits; in fact, the former class are far more likely to take control, for they are the most intimately connected with the earth. You could not be a medium!" "Why not?" we questioned. "Because you are in such perfect health. The elementaries could not control you!" "Well, which is superior --- to be or not to be a medium?" "I can imagine nothing worse than to be one! They are always sickly, puny, with no will or character of their own! A poor, miserable set!" Glancing at a pile of letters which the servant had just brought, we exclaimed, "What an immense correspondence must be yours, madame! And in so many different languages! Tell us! What language do you think in?" "In a language of my own! which is neither Russian, French, nor any you know." "It may be in the Pythagorian numbers, who can tell? or in some dead language employed by races who had attained to a civilization of which the present phonograph may have been but the merest commonplace to them! Who knows but Madame may some time find a sheet of tin foil in some future museum of recent excavations, which she will run into her little instrument here, and make talk to her in the very language of her thoughts!" The Colonel said this with the mock solemnity of one very amusedly in earnest. Madame laughed. When we write Madame laughed, we feel as if we were saying, Laughter was present! for of all clear, mirthful, rollicking laughter that we ever heard, hers is the very essence. She seems, indeed, the Genius of the mood she displays at all times, so intense is her vitality. As she now opened her bag of letters we immediately felt that this interview must end. "You will be quite welcome to come any evening," she exclaimed, busily tearing open envelope after envelope, "and no doubt you will meet many agreeable people. I want to show you my album, also, containing portraits of many of our friends in India," and here her face brightened, as a mans does when he is far away from home, and speaks of the dear, beloved spot. "I want to tell you of them, and have you meet others who have lived in that grand country!" We accepted the invitation with pleasure.

It was on the following evening, after our introduction to various people, among whom were no Americans save Colonel Olcott and ourselves, that madame displayed to us her much treasured album containing portraits of foreign members of the Theosophical society. It was indeed one of the finest collections of intellectual, cultured, refined faces, that it has ever been our pleasure to examine. Men and women of every nation were here represented. Every type of countenance, from the veteran English general, to the Indian philosopher, with his delicate features, clean-cut, expressive countenance, and wonderfully perfect form. The costumes were as curious as elegant; and in many cases, characteristic of the persons who wore them. Here was a face, filled with self-will , command and power; here one poetic, imaginative and aesthetic. "India!" exclaimed Madame, turning the leaves lovingly. "India! I love it! It is the country of my heart, my soul! Born in Russia, and of Russian parentage, my physical body may be claimed as of that country; but the land of my adoption, the home of my affections and ambitions, is grand old India, ancient of days!" The sparkle, the enthusiasm of her mood, was catching. Conversation was for a moment hushed. The eloquence of her intense emotion was felt by every one to breathe itself from eye, lip and hand. The conversation becoming more general, we were held breathless, listening to the adventures and incidents happening to the narrators, and which are well worth reproducing. A young English colonel of her majestys service -- regiment in India, who had been there three years, a perfect Hercules in stature, and with a frank, genial countenance, detailed the following tricks or phenomena, whichever we choose to call them. "I have seen many fakirs and jugglers perform inexplicable tricks, but I think the best I ever saw, and the most incomprehensible, was one which I am told Madame perfectly describes in her book. A juggler in the open air, in the presence of a dozen of our officers, in broad daylight, and nude, excepting a cloth about his loins, took a melon seed which was presented to him by one of our number, and digging a little hole in the earth with his finger, thrust it in, and making some passes over it, the seed soon sprouted and put forth little leaves. It grew and grew, adding leaf after leaf, and flower after flower, until the flowers became fruit, and the juggler handed us the melons, and we cut them up and ate them, finding them very rich and sweet, all within the space of half an hour." "Do you mean to assert that you ate them -- ate fruit grown in half an hour?" "I not only assert it, but can prove it by twenty witnesses. Why, it is not an uncommon thing at all. The powers of those Hindoos are perfectly marvelous! Here is another thing I saw; and not only I, but a crowd of us fellows; and it can be seen any day. "One of those nude natives took a common ball of yarn, which we all examined, and holding one end, flung it up into the air. It went up, up, beyond our sight, and remained so, our vision only following it perhaps thirty feet. He then told a native boy assistant, perfectly nude, to climb up the yarn. He did so, like a sailor going up a rope, hand over hand. He also went out of sight. The juggler then pretended to be angry, and called him down. As he did not obey, the native climbed up himself, and also disappeared, the end of the yarn still hanging to the earth. Pretty soon down fell an arm, then a leg, covered with blood, and horrible to look at. The trunk of the boy soon followed, then the head, and the remaining

limbs. With inconceivable rapidity, then came down the juggler, sliding on the yarn, and with a commanding gesture waving his wand over the severed members, they as it were; crawled together again, and became the living boy, absolutely whole and unharmed. The Prince of Wales saw all these wonders also, as have innumerable Europeans and Americans. There is no explanation! I never found a European who so much as attempted one. The basket trick, so well imitated in this country lately; the lying suspended in the air, a yard from the ground; dancing on swords keen as a razor; changing a coin into a reptile in the palm of a spectator, and other strange tricks, too numerous to mention, may be witnessed daily in any of the principal cities of India." "I am delighted," cried Madame, as he concluded, "that I find still another witness to the truth of my assertions regarding the peculiar exhibition given by these people. You are fortunate," she continued, turning to us, "to have heard this gentleman --- whom I have the pleasure of meeting this evening for the first time --- corroborate me in all that I may have stated in Isis Unveiled." It was at this point that a charming English gentleman sought our corner, and remarked, quietly, "All this is very wonderful. I have lived seven years in India myself, and was in a state of chronic astonishment during the whole period; but nothing quite equals what, I am told on good authority, our mutual hostess can do herself." "What is it? How delightful! Do tell us; no one is listening. Is it possible that she can really do wonders?" "If my friend was not deceived in his own senses, she certainly can. I will tell it to you precisely as he told it to me. I know it will seem incredible to you, my dear fellow, said my friend, for it does to me as I look back upon it; yet, at the same time, I know my senses could not have deceived me. Besides, another gentleman was with me at the time. I have seen Madame create things." "Create things!" I cried. "Yes, create things -- produce them from nothing. I can tell you of two instances. Madame, my friend and myself were out one day looking about the stores, when she said she desired some of these illuminated alphabets which come in sheets like the little painted sheets of birds, flowers, animals, and other figures, so popular for decorating pottery and vases. She was making a scrap-book, and wished to arrange her title page in these pretty colored letters. Well, we hunted everywhere, but could not find any, until at last we found just one sheet, containing the twenty-six letters, somewhere on Sixth avenue. Madame bought that one and we went home. She wanted several, of course, but not finding them proceeded to use what she could of this. My friend and I sat down beside her little table, while she got out her scrap-book, and busily began to paste her letters in. Bye and bye she exclaimed, petulantly, "I want two Ss, two Ps, and two As." I said, "Madame, I will go and search for them down town. I presume I can find them somewhere." "No you need not," she answered. Then, suddenly looking up, said, "Do you wish to see me make some?" "Make some? How? Paint some?" No, make some exactly like these.

"But how is that possible? These are printed by machinery." "It is possible -- see!" She put her finger on the S and looked upon it. She looked at it with infinite intensity. Her brow ridged out. She seemed the very spirit of will. In about half a minute she smiled, lifted her finger, took up two Ss exactly alike, exclaiming, "It is done!" She did the same with the Ps. Then my friend thought: "If this is trickery, it can be detected. In one alphabet can be but one letter of a kind. I will try her." So he said, "Madame, supposing this time, instead of making the two letters separately, you join them together, thus: A--- A--- ?" "It makes no difference to me how I do it," she replied, indifferently, and placing her finger on the A, in a few seconds she took it up, and handed him two As, joined together as he desired. They were as if stamped from the same piece of paper. There were no seams or joinings of any kind. She had to cut them apart to use them. This was in broad daylight, in the presence of no one but myself and friend, and done simply for her own convenience. We were both astounded and lost in admiration. We examined these with the utmost care. They seemed as much alike as two peas. But if you wish, I can show you the letters this moment. "Madame, may we take your scrap-book to look at?" "Certainly, with pleasure," returned Madame, courteously. We waited impatiently until Mr. P could open the volume. The page was beautifully arranged, and read thus, in brilliant letters:
THIRD VOLUME, SCRAP-BOOK,

Of the Theosophical Society, New York, 1878. Their Tribulations and Triumphs. "There!" he said, pointing to the S in Scrap, and the S in Society, "those are the letters she used, and this is the one she made." There was no difference in them. Space forbids further details of the odd, the marvelous, the inexplicable things which we have witnessed during subsequent visits to the "Lamasery," but at some future time we shall be pleased to give our friends still deeper glimpses into the mysterious chambers where dwells that singular being who is said to be "half-human," "half-goddess," "mother of all ghosts," "seer," "prophet," and "magician," but whom on this occasion we found to be simply a courteous and refined lady, entertaining her guests with almost royal hospitality --Madame Blavatsky. A.

H.P. Blavatsky's Adieux.

The Ci-Devant Countess Ready to Depart for the East. Having Disposed of Strange Gods, She Ventilates Her Ideas -- The Land of Freedom [Reprinted from The Daily Graphic (New York), December 10, 1878, p. 266.]

Helen P. Blavatsky, who has dropped her title of Countess, and even her conventional one of Madame, and who constantly alludes to herself in the third person, as "H.P.B.," is about leaving America, as she says, forever. A very damp reporter found his way into the pleasant French flat at Eighth avenue and Forty-seventh street this morning, and his ring was answered by a colored servant, who expressed serious doubts as to whether her mistress would see any one at so early an hour. The interviewer was, however, ushered into a breakfast room, which was in a very disordered condition, and invited to a seat on a vacant stool. The disorder was a necessary result of yesterdays auction sale, and the only semblance of occupancy left were an uncleared breakfast table and three human occupants. Colonel Olcott, the new hierophant of the Arya-Samaj, sat at the table busily making memoranda in a note-book and burning his handsome moustache with a half-finished cigar that struggled ineffectually to reach beyond the outskirts of his beard. A male companion sat Eastern fashion on a bench under the window and read a morning paper, which he held in one hand, while he twisted one end of his moustache with the other. On the wall were leaves formed in emblematic designs, Rosecrusian or otherwise, and an Oriental landscape of the same material, filled with elephants, serpents, monkeys and other denizens of the typical jungle. When the reporter was finally ushered into Mme. Blavatskys own room, he found that lady seated at the end of a letter and tobacco laden table, twisting a fragrant cigarette from a quantity of loose tobacco of a famous Turkish brand. The room was the inner temple of the Lamasery, which has become so widely known in recent years. A highly-polished and highly ugly idol, doubtless many years unworshipped, sat with the stolidity of long habit, on the mantleshelf, and in the centre of the room, on a platform delicately constructed from an old barrel, surmounted by a zinc stove plate, was mounted the marvellously designed and artistic treasure house of Arya-Samaj. The reporter said: "And so you are going to leave America?" "Yes, and the Lamasery, where I have spent so many happy, happy hours. I am sorry to leave these rooms, although there is little to regret about them now," glancing about at the bared floors and walls, "but I am glad to get away from your country. You have liberty, but that is all, and of that you have too much, too much! Do you wonder I am anxious to leave it when you know how I was received and the treatment I have met? They said I was a spiritualist, a heathen, a believer in all manner of impossible things; that I was an adventuress and had neither title nor family; that I was a felon and a forger; that I had been

married seven times and had murdered six of my husbands; that I was a free lover and had never been married; that I was the mistress of Pio Nono, and that I came here a fugitive from justice. Think of it all! They never stopped to think that I was an old woman and not likely to adopt a vile life which had not been mine when I was young, that I have been a bitter hater of Pio Nono and the Catholic religion all my life. Then the reporters came and asked me how I was, how much I was worth, and wanted to see inside my mouth to count my teeth and see whether they were genuine or not. Will you have a cigarette?" As soon as the reporter could recover from the surprise at this sudden turn in the conversation he signified his willingness to smoke with his hostess, who thereupon discovered that she had no fresh tobacco and called to a servant to go for a supply. Colonel Olcott, however, appeared with ulster, hat and umbrella and volunteered to secure the desired "long cut." The reporter paid a friendly compliment to the hierophants generous good nature, and asked Mme. Blatavsky: "How with your dislike for America, did you come to abandon your Russian citizenship and become a resident of New York?" "Ah, you have liberty. I had none. I could not be protected by Russian consuls and so I will be protected by American consuls. It has cost me much. When I took out my papers here, it cost me $40,000. I had forgotten to secure it first and they stopped it en route. It is not a small sum to lose, but I have still other property in Russia which I shall also lose. Still I shall live. I correspond for three papers in Russia, at Moscow and Novnj-Novgorod, and I shall soon have one in St. Petersburg. They pay me liberally. One of them gives me 120 roubles a month, but, of course, I have to be careful what I say. They make me a great deal of trouble. There was M. de Bodisco, who always got himself written Count de Bodisco, but who never was a count, and I dont believe he was ever in Russia. He spoke Russian like a Spanish pig, and his French was extremely bad -- for a Russian. He told me I had no right to come to America, and that he would not allow me to have money sent through him. Then he advised me to buy a place on Long Island, and when I had paid $3,000 for it the woman to whom I had paid the money sold it again and went away, and I found I was helpless, because I was not an American citizen and could not hold real estate. Now I shall have the protection of my citizenship both here and abroad." "When shall you leave?" "I do not know. I never knew." "There!" broke in the lady; "you see what a dear, philanthropic man he is. He will not even allow the servant to go out in the storm, if he can help it." "I do not know what I shall do an hour beforehand, I am all ready to start and am only waiting for a telegram. Then I shall go in three hours." Here the tobacco arrived, and she continued, as she twisted a sample of fresh cigarettes: "I know neither the time nor the vessel, but it will be very soon and very secretly. No one shall know when I go. I am going first to Liverpool and London, where we have branch theosophical societies, to whom I must take their charters and with whom I must arrange other matters. Then to Paris and one

or two other places, and from Marseilles or Brindisi I shall go direct to Bombay. Then I am going to Northeastern India, where the head of the order is, and where I shall obey whatever orders they may give and go where I am told. Oh! how glad I shall be to see my dear Indian home again." and as she arose and wrapped a morning gown of strange design about her, she looked very much the Oriental priestess which she claims she is -- not.

A Hegira of Theosophists
Priestess Blavatsky and Hierophant Olcott Fly Hastily to Bombay
[Reprinted from The New York World, December 19, 1878, p. 1]

A lugubrious group of native theosophists, a huge pile of luggage, and two or three reporters were gathered on the deck of the steamer Canada yesterday, the occasion being the departure from America of Mme. Blavatsky, Colonel Olcott and an active but unobtrusive Theosophist in whose name the passage for the party had been engaged. All three are bound for Bombay, where the Arya Samaj, it is expected, will absorb them. "I go to my beloved heathen," said Mme. Blavatsky, enthusiastically. "I am tired of what you call civilization. And yet, " she continued, "at the very last I find myself sorry to leave some of the friends I have found here. I feel that I have done some good, however, in America. I have converted a few persons at least from the terrible bondage of Christianity, and I have helped to found a society which will, I believe, maintain the warfare." "Take care of that phonograph," shouted the Hierophant just at this moment to a sailor who seemed about to drop a heavy box. "Have you a phonograph among you?" asked the WORLD reporter. "We have indeed," said Colonel Olcott, "And we are taking over the voices of our members. They all talked into the machine the other night, and we have the record and will grind out their greetings to the Arya Samaj when we get there. Now the Americans have laughed at the accounts they have had of Eastern magic, and I suppose the Hindus will at first laugh at the explanation we will give them that they are actually listening to the voices of their American brothers." "Do you think they are fools?" asked Mme. Blavatsky. "By no means," said the Colonel suavely. "But I mean those who are not scholars. It will be on the same principle that the Americans don't believe in magic. They don't understand the laws. "

The time was too short for the dissertation which the learned Hierophant had ready, and the attention of the party was turned to leave-taking. "I do not think I shall ever come back," said Mme. Blavatsky, "but I hope to see many of you in India, my friends." Colonel Olcott did not commit himself to coming back. "Anything is possible," he said, and the theosophists were partially comforted. "At any rate," he continued, "we will be likely to come over occasionally in our astral bodies." The general impression in secular circles was that the Theosophical Society had dishonorably failed to provide any more corpses for the Hierophant and the priestess, and that they are seeking a land where life is reasonably cheap and a funeral once a week --- or perhaps twice a week, counting second-hand ones --- can be contracted for.

Silence in the Lamasery.

Madame Blavatsky and the Hierophant Off for India. Eager to See her Dear Heathen Again, and to Have a Little Tiger Shooting --Greetings by Phonograph --- The Theosophical Cat.
[Reprinted from The Sun (New York), December 19, 1878, p. 1.]

On last Sunday night a farewell reception was given to the friends and the members of the Theosophical Society, by the famous heathen of Eighth avenue, Madame H. P. Blavatsky, who, together with Col. H. S. Olcott and another Theosophist, sailed yesterday for Liverpool, en route for Bombay. The spacious rooms of the Lamasery were denuded of furniture, even the carpets having been torn up and sold, and the guests sat on two or three chairs hardly worth selling, and upon boxes and trunks corded and marked for transportation. The usual refreshments were provided in the usual plenty. Tea was served in rotation, only three teacups being left from the sale, but every guest had either a pipe or a cigarette. The long series of "Sunday nights at home" was ending, and there was an unusual number of unusually subdued Theosophists present. There was much talk of the probable future of the Theosophical Society, which, now that it is in coalition with the Arya Samaj of Aryawari, is expected to become a powerful factor in the development of the mental and religious freedom of the world. But, as was natural, there was far more talk of personal memories and anticipations. Madame Blavatsky carried fully her share of the conversation. Her memories of the years she has passed in America were far from cheerful. "I hate the civilization you boast of," she said, emphatically. But

her anticipations were rose colored. "I shall go to Bombay, and be with my dear heathen," she said, "who are free from the yokes of Christianity at least. I shall only stop for a day or two in England to visit our branch society, and then on to India. When I get there, the first thing I shall do will be to go tiger shooting. I shall go into the jungles with one friend, and no guides, and we will not come back till we get each of us a tiger skin." "But it is not for that I go to India," she continued. "It is to work for the Arya Samaj. I promise you you will hear of it before long." Presently a man came in with a phonograph which had been procured for the purpose of carrying greetings to India, without the possibility of any mistake in their delivery. A tall sculptor was dislodged from a barrel on which he sat, and the phonograph was put in position, after which the greetings were shouted into the paper funnel, and a song in pigeon Hindustanee was sung into it by a jolly English artist. Charles, a huge theosophical cat, was then induced to purr at the machine, and the various records were carefully put away. Long after midnight the talk was kept up, and from the writings of the Church in the second century to the latest English attack on the Arya Samaj, religious themes were discussed. On Monday and Tuesday the packing was finished, and on Tuesday night the little party gathered in the Canadas saloon. Charles, in the mean time, had been sent to a good Theosophists house, but had disappeared from the basket in transitu, and has not been seen since. "I dont know where he is," said the Hierophant, "but I presume we will find him in Bombay when we get there." Yesterday morning a few of the most intimate friends of the travellers went to the steamer to bid them farewell. The Hierophant wrote dozens of last despatches on the cabin table, sending messenger after messenger away on various errands, and giving all sorts of instructions as to the future management of the society to the newly chosen officers. Madame Blavatsky held high court in her stateroom, when the inevitable cigarettes were consumed in great numbers, and when a few of her most faithful disciples were telling her of their grief at her departure. "I am glad to go, but I am sorry to leave the few good friends I have found here," she said, and one by one they bade her what was probably their last farewell on earth. [The following two articles deal with one of Madame Blavatsky's occult phenomena involving a glove psychically transported from Bombay to London. The recipient of the glove in London was C.C. Massey.---Editor.]

Theosophic Thaumaturgy---A Startling Story

(Communicated.) [First published in The Bombay Gazette, March 31st, 1879, p.3.]

Strange stories have, for several years, been rife in the American newspapers about the marvels of thaumaturgy wrought by the Countess Blavatsky, one of the Theosophical party now in Bombay. If they are credible, the inference would be that a Simon Magus in petticoats had arisen in our days. Some of them stagger belief, as for instance, her causing music to float through the air in the absence of any comprehensible cause, the instantaneous duplication of documents and articles of clothing, the causing of inscriptions in golden letters, in Oriental texts, to appear and disappear on the furniture, the rendering of herself invisible, the production of paintings and writings on paper by the mere placing of her palm upon the same. Yet all these phenomena and many equally strange have been attested by numbers of eye-witnesses, not theosophists nor even always previous acquaintances. Of one of her magical pictures--the portrait of an Indian yogi,---Thomas LeClear, an eminent American painter, and William R. O'Donovan, an equally distinguished sculptor, affirmed in a London journal, that no living artist could, in their opinion, equal it in vigour, breadth, and uniqueness, while they were both unable to decide upon the nature of the colouring substance employed in the manner of its application. Since her arrival here, the lady has been very chary of exhibiting her rare powers, but two instances have come to our hearing. These two are, however, strong enough to excite astonishment. The first was the instantaneous substitution of one name, in thread embroidery, on a fine handkerchief, for another one that was previously there. The feat was done under the very eyes of an Assistant Magistrate and the Collector of the N. W. P. who had been a fellow-passenger with the Theosophical party on the voyage hither. In fact, he held one corner of the handkerchief while the change was made, and there was a roomful of native gentlemen as on-lookers, besides. The second fact was even more miraculous. Before leaving London she was requested by an English barrister, President of the British Theosophical Society and the son of a Liberal M.P., whose name is well known throughout India, to give relief to his father's eyesight, now seriously injured. She said that upon reaching India she would try, but it being necessary to establish an electrical and. magnetic current between herself and the patient, she must have some article of wearing apparel or other object that had. been in close and frequent contact with his person. A pair of gloves was given her, which were put into an envelope and brought intact to India. On the 17th inst., the day after her arrival, they were taken by her from her box and in the presence of Col. Olcott, to whom she declared her intention to send one of them to the London friend. She laid the two gloves on the table in the drawing room and locked the door. This was the last that Col. Olcott saw the gloves, as he informs us. But by the last Overland Mail came the sequel. A letter from the barrister, dated London 18th February, says, that on getting to his chambers in the Temple the day beforethe 17thhe found a telegram from a certain lady of good education and the highest respectability, who is what is termed a powerful "medium", but above suspicion of trickery, to be at her house at 6 p.m., as her familiar "spirit" has a message for him from Madame Blavatsky. He was punctual to the appointment, and was received by the lady and her husband, who presently ushered him into a darkened room. What happened we will let the barrister himself describe. "Truth to say," he remarks, "I did not expect much, but prompt to the appointment the 'spirit' came, loading the air with sweet perfume, and commencing the interview (which did not last live minutes) by flinging something light and soft in my facea good shot in the dark. From this proceeded the perfume aforesaid. Directly I handled it I knew what was up, without

being told. The glove! the glove! from you, from Bombay, when the papers had already informed us your ship arrived on Sunday, two days ago. What can I saywhat think? The well-known signature on the inside of the kid, in the well-known blue writing and the less known and less decipherable symbols above it." The witnesses in this case are unimpeachable, and we really do not know what is to be said of this new trans-atmospheric mail service. The remaining glove or what purports to be such, has been kindly given to a gentleman in Bombay to dispose of as he may elect, and will be sent to London for comparison with its mate, whose flight through space makes the boast of Puck, in that he would "put a girdle round the earth within twenty minutes," seem something more than poetic license.

Theosophic Thaumaturgy
( First published in The Bombay Gazette, May 31st, 1879, p. 2.) Our readers will no doubt recollect the article on "Theosophic Thaumaturgy", which appeared in the Bombay Gazette of March 31st. To-day we have the sequel in the form of a letter from the English barrister who received the glove. The moderation of his tone in speaking of the value of the affair as proof of an occult force in nature is highly commendable. Whatever we may or may not think respecting "magic," it is at least a comfort to know that the witnesses in this case are so trustworthy. We regret that pain should have been given by the publication of the article in question, especially as we are entirely persuaded that its author was quite ignorant that he was committing any indiscretion in furnishing us the facts. To The Editor of the "Bombay Gazette". Sir, Having read an account published in your paper of the 31st of March last, relating to the instantaneous transmission of a glove from Bombay to London by H. P. Blavatsky, and received by me through the mediumship of a lady in the latter city, I beg to state that the circumstances, so far as I can avouch them, are correctly set forth in that account. I wish to add, however, that my father, who is alluded to, was not a party to the experiment, having no faith in the powers which I desired to call into requisition for his sight (which is not seriously "impaired.") It is obvious that the whole force of the evidence depends on the improbability, however any one may estimate that, of previous collusion between Madame Blavatsky and the other lady, for the purpose of a stupid and shameful imposture. That being assumed, there was, of course, nothing to prevent the gloves being matched in London before the departure of Madame Blavatsky, the new pair being worn till they resembled the original in appearance of use, and one of the latter, with the inscribed characters, being left with the medium in London, with a prearrangement as to the time and manner of its production to me. The telegraphic announcement of the arrival of the ship at Bombay would of course make this part of the imagined scheme perfectly easy.

Having said this much, out of a professional regard to the value of evidence, I desire to state most emphatically that my intimate acquaintance with both these ladies, and previous experiences of Madame Blavatsky's extraordinary powers, enable me to reject these suggested suppositions without hesitation. But in as much as the general public have not this knowledge and experience of the parties, I consider the publication of these facts to have been ill-advised, as I have already explained in English papers which have commented upon them in the strain which might have been expected. I enclose my name and address for your own satisfaction, and beg to remain, Sir, your obedient servant, The Recipient of the Glove in London. (1) Temple, London, May 6. (1) The "Recipient" was Charles Carleton Massey. See H.P. Blavatsky's Collected Writings, Volume I, pp. 497-9 for biographical information on Massey. --- BAO Editor.

["Tempest in a Teapot"]
[Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette, September 13, 1880, p. 3.] [For background on the subject matter of this anonymous article, see Henry S. Olcott's, Old Diary Leaves, Volume II, Chapter XIII, "A Little Domestic Explosion," pp. 206-213. See also Edward Wimbridge's reply to this article. --- BA Editor.]

The paragraph which recently appeared in several papers regarding the split in the ranks of the Theosophists has drawn forth a circular letter from Col. Olcott, President of the Society, addressed "to Theosophists and Arya Samajists," in which we are informed that the disagreement in question is a very small affair and can "no more impede the progress of the Theosophical Society than the fly does the wheel of the engine on which it alights", because in the "crusade for universal brotherhood and Aryan revival, individuals count as nothing; the idea we represent is everything." The "tempest in a teapot," Col. Olcott aptly terms it, has arisen from the resignation, voluntary on the gentlemans part but enforced in the case of the lady, of Mr. [Edward] Wimbridge and Miss [Rosa] Bates, who accompanied Col. Olcott and Madame Blavatsky when they first came to this country from America in "the Cause of Universal Brotherhood and the revival of Aryan religion and science." These colleagues, however, we are now told, were not "equally founders of the Society and equally occupied in carrying on its work" with Col. Olcott and Madame Blavatsky, but the entire management, both of the Society and its journal, the Theosophist, devolved upon the two last named. Neither Mr. Wimbridge nor Miss Bates appear to have been ever very earnest disciples. Col. Olcott and Madame Blavatsky complain that they "could never fully sympathise with us in our views & plans." Mr. Wimbridge does not appear to have taken open objection to any of the rules and tenets of the order, but he never offered to assist in the work, even in the duties of receiving visitors. As for Miss Bates, she was evidently a

thorn in the sides of both Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky from the first, and the friction amongst them culminated in a very pretty quarrel. The circular states: --- "Between Miss Bates and ourselves there has always been disagreement upon questions of grave importance, as well as of minor, as for instance, the eating of beef, use of beer, wine, etc., which we would never allow in our house. An unfortunate quarrel between Miss Bates and a lady theosophist [Emma Coulomb] , which broke out and culminated while we were absent in Ceylon, brought on the crisis. Upon our return the matter was officially investigated, and we were asked by our two colleagues (Mr. Wimbridge and Miss Bates) to do what we considered an act of injustice, to wit --- to expel the other lady and her husband [Alexis Coulomb] from the Society and turn them out of the house in which they were stopping as guests. But, believing that blame was with both of the disputants, we refused. The bad feeling increased, and, not withstanding all our efforts we could not bring about a reconciliation. Bitter words ensued until, at last, in a very grave matter Miss Bates demanded the expulsion of her antagonist for the alleged breaking of a rule of the Society which she had herself flagrantly violated; and being charged with the same gave the lie to both Madame Blavatsky and myself, who were witnesses to the fact. So gross an offence against truth and the dignity of the founders of the Society could not be passed over." Col. Olcott considers that the affair ought never to have been made known to the profane public, but "certain unfriendly editors" having adverted to the matter, and "some good men, our respected Swamijee Dayanand Saraswati among others," being of opinion that the honour of the Society was in danger of being compromised, he and Madame Blavatsky join in the explanation we have above referred to, which is signed "Henry S. Olcott, President of the Theosophical Society," and countersigned and registered, H. P. Blavatsky, Corresponding Secretary. [See Edward Wimbridge's reply to this article.]

Theosophists' Differences
To The Editor of the "Bombay Gazette."

by Edward Wimbridge
[Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette, September 15, 1880, p. 2.] [For background on the subject matter of this letter, see Henry S. Olcott's, Old Diary Leaves, Volume II, Chapter XIII, "A Little Domestic Explosion," pp. 206-213. See also the anonymous article that elicited Mr. Wimbridge's letter. --- BA Editor.]

Sir, --- In your issue of yesterday you give publicity to a circular letter, which Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky have in their wisdom thought fit to send you for publication. As the document in question is filled with inaccuracies, I am compelled to ask for space in

your valuable journal for the correction of the same. We are told that Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky complain, "that they (Miss Bates and myself) could never fully sympathise with us (Colonel Olcott and Mdme. Blavatsky) in our views and plans." As a matter of fact, we, in common with a great many others, have never been able to arrive at a just appreciation of what those views and plans were. Recent events have, however, cast some light upon the subject. Again, we are told that "Mr. Wimbridge never offered to assist in the work." In the real work of the Society I was at all times ready to assist, as an evidence of which I may mention the designing and engraving of the cover of the [Theosophist] journal; the designing and lithographing of the elaborate invitation cards issued for the anniversary last year, &c. But, as talk appears to have always had more weight with them than deeds, and as I have always regarded gush and slop as Colonel Olcotts peculiar province, I must plead guilty to having rendered no assistance in that direction. Your readers could better estimate the value of the remarks as to "the eating of beef, use of beer, wine, &c., which we would never allow in our house." If they had heard Colonel Olcott as I have done, referring with a sort of pride to a time, not long past, when his bills for whisky alone were something abnormal. Why, again, should they say, referring to the beef, &c., "which we never would allow in our house," when it is only since they came to India that beef has been tabooed, out of mere policy. The question of veracity between Miss Bates and Mdme. Blavatsky arose nearly a year ago, and was imported into the present quarrel as dernier ressort, with what result the action of the members present at the last meeting --- when the affair was discussed --- will best testify. Most of them openly declared that henceforth they should cease to take any interest in the Society, basing this determination on the extremely unfair action taken by the founders of the Society in the matter at issue. Within a day or two after this meeting, six members, including myself, resigned. Yours &c. Edw. Wimbridge. Bombay, Sept. 13.

[Madame Blavatsky on Swami Dayanand]

[Reprinted from The Bombay Gazette, March 31, 1882, p. 3.]

MADAME BLAVATSKY, in her official capacity as corresponding secretary of the Theosophical Society has written a long letter, for which it is impossible for us to find space, taking exception to the statements recently set forth on the part of a certain learned Pundit in regard to that Society. Madame Blavatsky denies that the Theosophical Society ever became a branch of the Arya Samaj, but says that the latter became a branch of the Theosophical Society. The Swami Dayanand was accepted as a teacher on the faith of

misrepresentations, but when it was found that he had views of theology altogether incompatible with those of the Society he was shunted from the post. The theosophists are eclectic; they see a [great] deal that is good in the Vedas, in Buddhism, and in Zoroastrianism, but they dont give all their affections to any one of these forms of religion. Still, it appears, they are Buddhists, and have been so now for a good many months. The Swamis declaration that they dont know the occult science of the Yogis Madame Blavatsky declares is true in so far as this, --- that neither she nor Colonel Olcott is able to swallow twenty-five yeards of dhotee cloth to wipe up and clean the interior. This, it appears, the venerated Swamis Yogis can do at will. But as a set off to this, Mr. Sinnett is preparing a second edition of his great work on the Occult World, in which he will tell us a great deal more than we yet know about the mysterious "will-power" and other secrets of the theosophists.

A Miracle Worker of To-Day.

[Reprinted from the Pall Mall Gazette (London), April 21, 1884, p. 6.] Colonel Olcott, president of the Theosophical Society, is at present in London on a mission from the Sinhalese Buddhists, who have considerable reason to complain of the manner in which they have been denied justice in their disputes with the local Roman Catholics. With that aspect of Colonel Olcotts mission, however, we do not propose to deal to-day. Suffice it to say, that Colonel Olcott and the petitioning Buddhists ask for nothing that should not be conceded as a matter of simple right to any body of religionists in any part of her Majestys dominions. Much more interesting than the champion of the aggrieved Buddhists of Ceylon is Colonel Olcott as the Apostle Paul of theosophy, an archaic philosophy which, taking its rise in the remote regions of Thibet, is destined, in the fervent faith of its disciples, to spread over the whole earth. Colonel Olcotts account of his conversion affords a key to the whole of his present mission. The Colonel --- a New Yorker, a prosperous lawyer, well-to-do in this worlds goods, and with a prospect, almost amounting to a certainty, of being appointed State Director of Insurance of New York, with an honourable record of gallant services performed in the American Civil War --- was much attracted by the study of Eastern philosophy. The reason why Colonel Olcott abandoned his professional career in the United States was as follows: --- One night he had been meditating deeply and long upon the strange problems of Oriental philosophy. He had wondered whether the mysterious teachings of Mdme. Blavatsky were after all nothing more than the illusions of an overwrought brain, or whether they had really been revealed to her by those weird Mahatmas --- a race of devotees dwelling in the remote fastnesses of the Thibetan Himalayas, who are said to have preserved intact for the benefit of mankind the invaluable deposits of archaic spiritual truth to be revealed in the fulness of the times. His judgment inclined towards the latter alternative. But if theosophy as expounded by its latest hierophant were true, then was it not his duty to forsake all that he had, and leaving behind him the busy Western world, with its distracting influences which indisposed the mind to the perception of pure spiritual truth,

hasten to the East, the chosen home of repose and speculative calm? Yet should a step so momentous be taken without ample confirmation; nay, without absolute certainty of the truth for which he was expected to sacrifice all? Could such absolute certainty be vouchsafed to mortal man? Colonel Olcott pondered long, revolving these and similar questions, when suddenly he became aware of the presence of a mysterious visitant in the room. The door was closed, the window was shut, no mortal footstep had been heard on the stair; yet there, clearly visible in the lamplight, stood the palpable form of a venerable Oriental. In a moment Colonel Olcott knew that his unspoken prayer had been answered. He was face to face with one of the mysterious brotherhood of the Thibetan mountains, a Mahatma who from his distant ashrum had noted the mute entreaty of his soul, and hastened across ocean and continent to remove his lurking doubts. The Mahatma entered into friendly conversation with his American disciple, and in the course of half an hour succeeded in convincing him beyond the possibility of doubt that Mdme. Blavatskys testimonies concerning the existence of the Mahatmas and the mission which invited him were simple transcripts of the literal truth. Ere the sudden visit was over, Colonel Olcott was a fast adherent of the new philosophy so strangely confirmed. But when the Mahatma rose to go, the natural man reasserted itself. Would you not, he asked, before you go, leave me some tangible token of your presence, some proof that this has been no maya --the illusion of overstrained sense? Give me something to keep that I may touch and handle. The Mahatma smiled a kindly smile; then removing his turban he wrought upon it a marvellous transformation. Colonel Olcott saw the shadowy folds of the Eastern headgear thicken and materialize under the fingers of his guest, until at last the shadow became substance, and a substantial turban rested on the head of the spectre. The Mahatma then handed the turban to the astonished Colonel and vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared. That turban Colonel Olcott carries about with him to this day, he has it at the present moment, and it can be seen by the unbelieving, the outward and visible sign of the mysterious visit that completed his conversion. With that turban in his hand Colonel Olcott could doubt no longer. He ultimately threw up all his business engagements, and left New York for Hindostan. There he has remained until recently a weariless apostle of the theosophic faith which has the Mahatmas of the Himalayas as its sage oracles and Mdme. Blavatsky as one of its Delphic priestesses. Such is the story which is told concerning Olcotts conversion, and, however strange it may be, it is the only explanation which is as yet forthcoming as to how a shrewd Yankee editor --- for Colonel Olcott edited the agricultural department of the New York Tribute, under the late Horace Greeley --- has been for the last six years engaged in carrying on an active apostolate in India and Ceylon in favour of the ancient mysterious doctrines which are popularly known as theosophy. Colonel Olcott, who is at present, as we have already stated, in this country on an errand to the Colonial Office, in order to secure protection for the injured Sinhalese Buddhists, is about to undertake a mission through Burmah on the invitation of his Burmese Majesty, with a view to purifying and reviving Buddhism. After this tour through Burmah he proposes to make an itinerary through Siam. Subsequently he may visit China and Thibet. Mr. Sinnett vouches for the fact that Colonel Olcott, in the course of his tours in India and Ceylon, performed more miracles --- using that term, of course, in its popular and unscientific sense, for the theosophists stoutly deny that there are such things as miracles contra naturam --- than are recorded in the whole of the Gospels. Colonel Olcott himself modestly places the number of his psycopathic treatments at 8,000 in thirteen months. During that period he is said to have performed almost every cure as recorded in Old or

New Testament. He has made the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the blind to see; the paralysed have been restored to the full use of their limbs, the cripples have walked; and, although he cannot boast of having raised the dead or healed a leper, he asserts that he cured a man suffering from elephantiasis, who was the nearest approach to a leper which he had to do with. Colonel Olcott is rather chary of speaking of these cures, fearing, not unnaturally, that his life may become a burden to him if it is known that a miracle-worker of such power is within hailing distance of the innumerable sick and afflicted of London. During his visit to our office Colonel Olcott obligingly explained to our representative the method of healing which he pursued. Its central principle seemed to be that of establishing a magnetic current between the right and left hands of the operator which traverses the patient and imparts the surplus vitality of the operator. Almost all disease, in Colonel Olcotts opinion, arises from deficient local vitality, and can be removed by influx of fresh life from another person. Of course, this in time tells upon the vital force of the healer, and Colonel Olcott himself was at the close of his healing campaign nearly paralyzed, and would, he maintains, have been altogether so but for the timely warning of his watchful Mahatma, who ordered him to desist before the mischief had gone too far. As it was, he had paralysis for some time in the forefinger of his right hand; but he is now perfectly recovered. During his recent stay in Nice, he asserts, he was the means of effecting a very remarkable cure on the person of Princess W., a Russian lady who had been paralysed in her right arm and leg for seventeen years. Colonel Olcott in the course of fifteen minutes was able to restore to her the perfect use of both limbs, on which physicians had so long experimented in vain. Of these gifts, however, Colonel Olcott makes but small account. They are incidental, nor does he think that he is exceptionally gifted in this respect. Similar powers may be exercised by almost any healthy person, provided they go the right way about it. The Colonel was even obliging enough to instruct our representative how to work miracles; but hitherto, whether owing to lack of experience on his part or to the uncompromising nature of the human material on whom he tried his newly acquired art, the experiments so far have not proved successful. Colonel Olcott before he left India enjoyed another remarkable experience in the shape of a visit from another Mahatma. It was at Lahore, when he was in his tent at night, that he was visited by the sage in question in propria persona. He recognized the person in a moment, and they entered at once into a lively conversation, at the close of which the Mahatma said, You wanted something tangible when first you met your present teacher. You are going to Europe. Here, I will give you something to take to Sinnett as a message from me. With that the Mahatma encircled the Colonels palm with the finger-tips of his right hand, and there gradually grew into substance, precipitated as it were out of the thin air, a letter written in English characters, enfolded in Chinese silk, and addressed to Mr. Sinnett. Of the labours of this gentleman on behalf of theosophy in the benighted West, the recluses in the Himalayas are gratefully conscious. Of these and many other wonders too numerous here to tell, as well as the story of the strange propaganda which this American Colonel is successfully carrying on in the remote East, we must say nothing at present. Colonel Olcott himself may take an opportunity during his visit of setting forth the latest light --- the light of theosophy --- in the midst of the modern Babylon. At present it is sufficient to repeat for the benefit of our readers the remarkable story which this American apostle of Eastern occultism is prepared to uphold against all the gibes of the sceptical capital of the Western world.

More About the Theosophists

An Interview with Mdme. Blavatsky
[Reprinted from The Pall Mall Gazette (London), April 26, 1884, pp. 3-4.]

So much interest has been excited in so many different circles by the accounts which we have published of the Theosophical Society and Colonel Olcott, that the following report of an interview with Madame Blavatsky, the seeress who founded the new religion, will probably command some little attention. Our representative, who waited upon the modern prophetess at Mr. Sinnetts writes as follows:-Who is Mdme. Blavatsky? Mdme. Blavatsky is a woman of mystery. Of her life in the past no one can speak. All that is known is that she is the niece of General Fadayeff, the well-known Panslavonic leader, who died the other day at Odessa, and is related to the Dolgorouki family, which is one of the oldest is Russia. Mdme. Blavatsky, however, is noble, not on account of her aristocratic origin of high descent, but from the part which she has played in the establishment of Theosophy in India. There is something inexpressibly bizarre and paradoxical about the strange religious movement of which Mdme. Blavatsky is the founder. That a woman --- and that woman a Russian --- should be the appointed agent for the revival of occultism, as a practical religious faith in our Indian Empire is one of the strangest phenomena of our time. Altogether apart from her peculiar claims as leader of a religious movement which within the last few years has displayed an astonishing vitality, and, while numbering its followers in every capital in Europe, is rapidly extending in Hindostan, Mdme. Blavatsky is a figure well deserving attention. Her English is not less fluent than if she had been born in Westminster, and probably a good deal more correct. Her reading is extensive, and her knowledge even of the minutest details of English speculative and religious controversies is extraordinarily exact. Her book, Isis Unveiled --- a new edition of which she is shortly to prepare for the press --- is written in English, and displays a vigorous grasp of our language, as well as a very great controversial vehemence. She is contributing, to the leading Russian review, studies of Indian social life and character, and she has long been known as a learned correspondent of the Moscow Gazette. But all these mundane distinctions, which entitle her to be regarded with the same interest as that which is commanded by Mdme. Novikoff in a different sphere, are as nothing compared with those mysterious attributes with which in the opinion of believing Theosophists she is invested. For Mdme. Blavatsky is a woman who has stood nearer than any other among mortals --- outside Thibet --- to the secret of the universe. She it is who, after passing through a long and toilsome novitiate, has been selected as the chosen vessel by which the mysterious Mahatmas have determined to communicate some portion of their jealously guarded hoard of spirit-lore to a generation which as yet but dimly perceives the need of it. If we believe one quarter of the stories confidently repeated by those who have the honour of Mdme. Blavatskys acquaintance, she lives in constant communion with the unseen. Time and space have no existence for her. While she is sitting on the divan in Mr. Sinnetts drawing-room, smoking her accustomed cigarette, she is holding converse with her chiefs and teachers who in actual flesh are residing in the remotest glens of the

Himalayas; nor is this communion purely spiritual. At times the message of the Mahatma will be committed to writing, and a small triangular note neatly folded, bearing the strange Thibetan characters, will flicker into existence from the impalpable air and fall at her feet. To talk to Mdme. Blavatsky is like reading Zanoni, with this difference, that Bulwer Lyttons hero is the creation of the romancing brain, whereas Mdme. Blavatsky in flesh and blood stoutly asserts that she herself has witnessed or exercised all the mysterious powers after which Zanoni sought. As for Vril, that fatal essence with which the coming race was to be armed, Mdme. Blavatsky is aware not only of its properties and the conditions under which it can be employed, but she sees potential Vril on every side and can employ it should the need arise for any beneficent purpose. To the uninitiate and to those who as yet are groping darkly about the outer portal of the Theosophic temple, Mdme. Blavatsky can necessarily speak but in enigmas. Even to Mr. Sinnett, the chief Theosophist of the London branch of the true believers, she is but allowed to communicate in part. Secrets too vast to be communicated even to him lie hidden in her soul; nor dare she venture to unfold those occult mysteries which, if grasped by persons whose fitness for such powers has not been tested by a long series of probationary stages, might prove disastrous to the world. She moves among men much as one who knew the secret of dynamite might have lived in the Middle Ages, and she trembles as she thinks of the possibility that this dread secret may some time fall into unhallowed hands. Mdme. Blavatsky is at present in Paris, but she expects to return to London in the course of next month. Within two hours conversation which I had with this remarkable woman, she expressed herself in very energetic and confident terms concerning the prospects of Theosophy in England. Of all peoples the English, she said, seem to be best fitted to embrace the new doctrine. Supreme in every English head is common-sense and reason, the two faculties upon which Theosophists rely, while below there lies, the deep basis of mysticism, a soil in which the pure spiritual truth can take root and flourish abundantly. Of all nations the least prepared for the spiritual doctrine which she teaches are the French, whose shallow, scoffing nature is at once indifferent to reason, and proof against all appeals to the inner depths. The Russians were too much given to extremes. They were either so pious and orthodox as to regard all Theosophy as begotten of the devil or so purely materialistic as to deride the very conception of spiritual truth. Not that Mdme. Blavatsky is given to use the term spiritual, for her contention is always that Theosophy is a science, appealing to the reason, more than a religion appealing to the emotions --- an exact science, based like any other science, upon the recorded result of centuries of experience. Her attitude towards European nations is strictly impartial, for, as she frankly confesses, she loathes the Western world and all its ways. Christianity and civilization are detestable hypocrisies. She dilated for nearly half an hour with much fervour and natural eloquence concerning the melancholy contrast between the professed creed of Christendom and the political actions of Christian nations, proclaiming herself on the side of the heathen whom they despise. She maintained that no European who ever lived among the heathen could call himself a Christian without a blush of shame. Christianity to the heathen --- what is that but organized murder and wholesale burglary? If your Christ were to come to life at this moment in London and to act as you say He acted, what would you do with Him? Send Him to gaol, or shut Him up in a lunatic asylum. Among all your millions of Christians is there one Christ - one who will act upon the principles laid down in your

Gospels? I do not know of one. And yet you marvel that the heathen world is not converted by your missionaries! Mdme. Blavatsky, it may be mentioned in passing, does not believe in the historic Christ of the Gospels, but in a Christ who, she maintains, was crucified one hundred years before the date usually assigned. This Christ, of whom she always speaks in terms of the greatest admiration, and whom she avers has suffered many things at the hands of those that call themselves by his name, was, like, Buddha and Zoroaster, a great Mahatma, versed in the occult science of which she at present is the chief authorized exponent. We reverence, she said, Gautama Buddha beyond all other Mahatmas, because he alone of all religious teachers has ordered his disciples to disbelieve even his own words if they conflicted with true reason. The Theosophical Society which she has founded aims, first, at the restoration of Buddhism in its original purity, and it is in this reformation of a corrupt Buddhism that Colonel Olcott has been so assiduous of late. His catechism of Buddhism is only one among many forms of activity, literary and other, which his propaganda has assumed. After the reformation of Buddhism, the second great object of the Theosophists is to restore Brahmanism to the purer ideal which finds expression in the Vedas; a herculean task, no doubt, but one in the accomplishment of which the Theosophists profess unshaken faith. The third great task, quite as formidable in its way as either of the preceding, is to combat a false materialism by the establishment of pure spiritual truth. As explained by Colonel Olcott and Mdme. Blavatsky, the essence of this spiritual truth consists in the cultivation of the inner life and the systematic sacrifice of the lower instincts of our nature to the higher law. The propaganda has met with unexpected success, and at the last conference of the society, which was held at Bombay, the muster included representatives from all parts of India, who were of all races, met on the common platform of truth, justice, and brotherhood. Mdme. Blavatsky is now advanced in years, but she displays remarkable vitality and vehemence in controversy which may well confound less vigorous opponents. That she is alive at all is, according to her own account, due to a semimiraculous cure affected by the agency of her masters, as she calls the Mahatmas --repudiating the term spiritual guide with much indignation --- for after the physicians had given her up as incurably ill with Brights disease, she was completely healed in three days. Her will, however, she laments, is no longer so strong as it was in the old days, when she could rid herself of any disease by sheer will-power. Whatever may be thought of her philosophy or Theosophy, whatever credence may be attached to the account of the mysterious powers she claims to possess --- powers upon which, it is fair to say, she lays no stress, nay, appears to regard with the supremest unconcern --- she is a woman who, regarded from the purely intellectual stand-point, deserves more attention than she has hitherto received.

Madame Coulomb at the College Hall

[Reprinted from The Madras Mail, October 20, 1884, p. 5.]

On Saturday night the College Hall, Madras, was half filled by an audience comprised of all classes of the community, including many natives, on the occasion of an entertainment given by Madame Coulomb, formerly on the staff of the Theosophical Society. As an entertainment it can hardly be said to have been successful, and as an exposure of Madame Blavatsky we know that many of the audience were rather disappointed. The Rev. Mr. Goudie presided, and introduced Madame Coulomb, who, he said, had no quarrel with occult science. Her motive was, in the interest of truth, the exposure of certain false phenomena which had been displayed as belonging to the occult world, and used spiritually. This was her first appearance as a lecturer. Madame Coulomb now commenced her entertainment, which mainly consisted of a lecture directed chiefly, in a sarcastic vein throughout, against Madame Blavatsky. It was partially inaudible, even to reserved-seat holders. She said that necessity compelled her to take the course she was now pursuing. The fable of Koot Hoomi was not suitable for the nineteenth century. Reason should accompany our researches after truth. We should see whether these phenomena of the Mahatmas were possible. Was there a law in chemistry, or any other branch of science, by which a letter could be written by a Mahatma, and then travel instantly hundreds of miles to Madras, appearing here on ordinary paper and exactly as written in the Himalayas? The Mahatmas had been described by Mr. Srinavassa Row, a Judge of Madras. (Here the Chairman read Mr. Srinavassa Rows description.) The Mahatmas, as believed in by the Hindus, said Madame Coulomb, were real flesh and blood; Madame Blavatskys Mahatmas were made of bladders and masks. To the sham Mahatmas the Hindus bowed their heads to the ground. Blind faith had even made them confess their weaknesses, and state their wants. The Hindus, she admitted, entered into the matter bona fide and did not suppose they were being made dupes of. How much better would it have been for them to look into the matter scientifically. Why did those blessed Masters, the Mahatmas, --- who had left aside all worldly cares to contemplate the Supreme Being --select a Russian lady and an American gentleman, as their means of communication with the outer world? Why were not the natives of the country given the preference? If the Mahatmas had such power as was claimed for them, why need Madame Blavatsky have recourse to masks and bladders, paper and sliding panels? One real phenomenon recently would have convinced a whole audience of the truth of Theosophy; but immediately that was demanded, of course it was found that the Mahatmas would not work. She appealed to her Hindu friends not to be misled. The Hindus had accepted the Theosophical doctrine blindly. They had no idea of where they were going; and because a few of their community joined the Theosophists hundreds followed. Who were these Mahatmas? Would a Mahatma, who had given up all worldly things to the contemplation of the Supreme Being, descend to such nonsense as boring holes in coins just to please Rajahs and other dupes of Madame Blavatsky? Madame Coulomb then proceeded to explain the phenomena, confining herself, she said, to the truth. She first called upon the Chairman to read, from a Theosophical pamphlet, some reasons why so many precautions were taken in selecting houses for the head quarters of the Theosophists. Madame Blavatsky and her servants were necessary for all the phenomena, and there was another person in the secret ready at hand. I was requisite to specially magnetise the house all persons being sent out excepting Madame Blavatsky and her servant; of course Madame Blavatsky, as priestess, must be present, as there were certain arrangements to be made in fixing up the panels and masks, &c. Allusion was next made to Mr. Sinnetts conversion to Theosophy, and an extract was

read from his book giving a description of the phenomena of the falling of a letter from a Mahatma on to his table at Bombay. This phenomenon, said Madame Coulomb, was performed by means of an ingenious trap fixed in the ceiling of the room in which Mr. Sinnett sat. Then followed an account of Mr. Ramaswamys interview with a Mahatma in Sikkim, the same as he had seen on the balcony of the head quarters at Bombay. The Bombay Mahatma, Madame Coulomb averred, was none other than M. Coulomb. The incident of the two vases of flowers which appeared in an almirah on it being opened by Colonel Olcott, was explained. The vases had been bought for Madame Blavatsky by Madame Coulomb for Rs. 13, and were introduced into the almirah through an otherwise unused window at the back of the almirah. The whole business was one of panels, and traps and confederates. Koot Hoomi had just come. [Here some amusement was caused by the appearance on the stage of a tall figure, with a mask well surrounded with hirsute appendages, and wearing a long white robe. About 6 1/2 feet high, it slowly passed across the stage and disappeared.] This was Koot Hoomi, who had been shown on the roof of the bungalow at head quarters. The mask and dress formed the identical Koot Hoomi which Mr. Sinnett had done poojah to. Madame Coulomb next produced the mask and dress, after it had been taken off the person who had worn it on the stage, pointing out that the head was made up of bullocks bladder, while two sheeps bladders served the Master for chest and shoulders. She had herself helped to make it. The next phenomenon was that of the musical box, which had been worked to the great wonder of credulous natives. Madame Coulomb had her lecture written, but here departed from her notes to converse with the audience rather than lecture. She had been blamed she said, because she did not believe all this business. How was she to believe in things she made with her own hand? How could she pretend to believe in a sort of god she sewed up herself? (Laughter.) The Hindus would go back a thousand centuries if they went on believing what the Theosophists told them. The Hindus should raise themselves by education and not superstition. She could not understand how B. A.s and B. L.s, and people with all the letters of the alphabet after their names, could believe in Theosophy. She did not believe in it, and was turned out of the Society in consequence. The Hindus ought to be horsewhipped for being so foolish. She apologised for the nonperformance of some of the phenomena she had intended to include in the entertainment, as she was not so used to it as Madame Blavatsky, and some of the apparatus did not work properly. She had hoped to show a shrine, but she might be able to do so on the occasion of another entertainment. After a few words from the Chairman, the audience dispersed at 10-15.

Arrival of Theosophists
[Reprinted from The Madras Mail, December 23, 1884, p. 5]

After an absence of over ten months in Europe, Madame Blavatsky, Founder and Corresponding Secretary of the Theosophical Society, returned to Madras Sunday afternoon, by the s.s. Navarino. She was accompanied by Colonel Olcott (who had gone to Ceylon to report to the Sinhalese the result of his mission for them to Europe), Dr. F. Hartmann, Mrs. Cooper Oakley (a graduate of the Cambridge University), Rev. Mr. Ledbeater (from the London Lodge) and three delegates from Ceylon. Two of the leading Theosophists went to meet the party on board the steamer, and when the boat containing the party reached the companion ladder, a band of Tanjore minstrels stationed on the pier, commenced to play, and there was a round of applause. After shaking hands and briefly conversing with a few of the gentlemen present, Madame Blavatsky was conveyed, with her party, in one of the pier carriages to the shore and of the pier. They drove to Pacheappahs Hall, where Madame Blavatsky met with an ovation. A large crowd of gentlemen and students had assembled there. Mr. C. Ramiah, Tahsildar, welcomed Madame Blavatsky and her friends on behalf of the Madras Branch. Mr. P. Streenevasa Row said that the students of all the Colleges of Madras, and of the Christian College in particular, were very desirous of presenting the Founder with an address of welcome. Her permission being granted, A. G. Krishnasawmy Iyer, a student of the Christian College, read the following address, which was received with loud applause: --DEAR AND REVEREND MADAME, --- In according to you this our heartiest of welcomes on your return from the intellectual campaigns which you have so successfully waged in the West, we are conscious we are giving but a feeble expression to the debt immense of endless gratitude which India lies under to you. You have dedicated your very valuable life to the eminently disinterested services of disseminating the truths of Occult Philosophy. Upon the sacred mysteries of our hoary religion and philosophies you have thrown such a flood of light by sending into the world that marvellous production of yours, the Isis Unveiled. By your exposition, has our beloved Colonel been induced to undertake that gigantic labour of love --- the vivifying on the altars of Aryavarta the dying flames of religion and spirituality. Your labours have so grandly supplemented the researches of comparative philology by establishing the community of mankind upon a commonality of religious beliefs. The very breath of life animating that colossal parent of incalculable good --- the Theosophical Society --- has been breathed into its nostrils by your much honored self. And now, you have increased a thousand fold the weight of those blessings by your recent personal exertions in Europe, whereby you have demonstrated to the West that the true tree of knowledge flourishes but in the East. You have procured for oriental metaphysics a reverential hearing and acceptation in Germany --- the nursery ground of philosophy. You have introduced the torch of eastern wisdom into the West End of London, and in the stream of its radiance shown to the pick and flower of English society, that the philosophy they were content to look upon as the crown and consummation of grandeur, should hide its diminished head in view of that of another hemisphere. Flippant France has thrown open to you her grandest saloons, and even the usually apathetic savants of Paris have been persuaded to receive at your hands the cup of oriental wisdom. While at one quarter of the globe you had been with all your heart and soul addressing yourself to the work of propagating eternal truth, your enemies on this side have been equally industrious in the shameless cause of suffocating the same. We allude to the recent scandalous events at Madras, in which an expelled domestic of yours has been made

a convenient cats paw of. While looking upon such futilities with the indignant scorn which they certainly deserve, we beg to assure you that our affection and admiration, earned by the loftiness of your soul, the nobility of your aspirations and the matchless sacrifices you have made, have become too deeply rooted to be shaken off their ground by the rude blasts of spite, spleen and slander, which however, are no uncommon occurrences in the history of Theosophy. That the revered masters whose hearts are overflowing with love for humanity will continue as ever to help you and our esteemed Colonel in the discovery of truth and the dissemination of the same, is the earnest prayer of, dear and revered Madame, your affectionate servants, students of the College of Madras. Madame Blavatsky replied that, unaccustomed as she was to public speaking, she could not make a speech like any of Colonel Olcotts. With regard to the amiable conspiracy which had been going on here during her absence, she would only say that of all the letters published, not a single one, as it stood, had been written by her. She would deny them all in toto. A man might, in an unguarded and mad moment suddenly become a thief, a forger, or any other sort of criminal; but that he should become such a fool as to send letters to others and put his signature to them, --- letters such as would convict him of fraud --- was a thing which one would find it very difficult to conceive. She would be the greatest fool in the world to commit herself so that she might be fairly accused of such vile, disgusting and stupid things. She had been a good deal accustomed to calumny, persecution and slanders, and was therefore much hardened by them. She did not care much for the opinions of Europeans or Anglo-Indians; what she really cared for was the good opinion of her Hindu brothers. And what was the greatest crime she had committed to merit all that persecution? It was her caring more for India than for any other country in the world, and more earnestly for Heathendom than for the so-called Christendom. She next referred to her accusers, the Coulombs. She stated that the Colonel [and] herself had treated them with all possible kindness, and what could she say of their going over to the enemies camp, when her back was turned, and selling her like Judas Iscariot? In conclusion, she hoped to spend every moment of her life for the benefit of India, and to deserve the confidence which they so generously reposed in her. She had not done anything against India of which she should be ashamed, and she was determined to work for India while there was health in her. (Loud applause.) Mr. Ramiah rose once more and welcomed the delegates on behalf of the Madras Branch. Colonel Olcott, in replying on behalf of the delegates, said that Mrs. Cooper Oakley and Mr. Ledbeater came to Madras to labour on behalf of Theosophy. He felt called upon to assure the meeting that they were highly pleased with the reception, and that they hoped to become better acquainted with the Hindus. The Colonel then remarked that in Mr. Ledbeater they had a gentleman of the Christian Ministry who came to work here in the cause of Theosophy. The speaker said that there were padris in India who worked against themselves and against the Hindus; but there was one who had thrown aside his cassock and gown that he might devote his entire energies to the cause of Theosophy. The Theosophical movement, the Colonel said, had the soul of the Rishis in it, and its current, he would assure them, would spread itself over the face of the whole world. Mrs. Cooper Oakley and her sister were graduates of the Girton College, Cambridge (the celebrated College for the higher education of women,) and the former had made herself conspicuous

in the agitation set on foot to extend the Franchise to females. He concluded by saying that she was going to learn the vernaculars of this country, and would bring into the families of the Hindus all the comforts which Theosophy held out. This, he hoped, would be the beginning of the real Zenana mission for India. (Loud applause) Mrs. Oakley expressed her inability to describe adequately how deeply gratified she felt at the hearty welcome given to her respected friend and sister, Madame Blavatsky. As coming from the London Lodge, she would assure them that the recent calumnies had not produced the slightest effect there; on the contrary, Madame Blavatsky was respected and loved all the more. (Applause) Garlands of flowers and bouquets were then presented to Madame Blavatsky and others, and the assembly dispersed.

Mme. Blavatsky's Power

Events in the Career of a Remarkable Woman
The Wonderful Tales Narrated by Her Disciples - The Theosophical Society Which She Formed [Reprinted from The New York Times, January 2, 1885, p. 3.]

A promulgation was received only a few days ago by the Rochester branch of the Theosophical Society, from Col. H. S. Olcott, Hierophant, the President of the society. Its address was in London, where he and the founder of the society, Mme. Blavatsky, were recently visiting, if indeed they are not still there. The communication is called the "Special Orders for 1884," and is signed by the Hierophant as President, and countersigned and attested by M. M. Chatterje, his private secretary. It is an elaborate system of regulations to govern the formations of the new branches of the society, which it is expected will be shortly in working order in various American cities. The "order" begins: "Mr. William B. Shelley, President, and Mrs. Josephine W. Cables, Secretary, of the Rochester Theosophical Society, Rochester, N. Y., and Mr. George Frederic Parsons, of New-York City, are appointed members of the General Council to fill vacancies caused by the departure from America of Mr. W. Q. Judge and the non-acceptance of Mr. M. M. Marble, and Mr. Elliot B. Page, of St. Louis, Mo., and Mr. Thomas M. Johnson, of Osceola, St. Clair County, Mo., are appointed additional members of the same. The above five, with Major-Gen. Abner Doubleday, United States Army, and Prof. J. H. D. Buck, M.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, to constitute a Board of Control for America and have charge of the general direction of the Theosophical movement in that part of the world. They are hereby empowered to admit and initiate applicants and by consent of a majority grant temporary charters for new branches without preliminary reference to headquarters. Applications for charters from parties east of the Alleghany Mountains to be made to Mrs.

J. W. Cables, and those from persons residing in the territory west of the said mountains to be made to Mr. E. B. Page, for submission in each case to their colleagues of the Board or Control." The rest of the document consists of directions as to the proper mode of procedure by applicants for charters. This intelligence is interesting to the general reader, mainly as it serves to recall a most curious phase of modern thought. Its development nearly 10 years ago in New-York attracted much attention. The doings of the strange society mentioned in the French flat at Eighth-avenue and Forty-seventh-street, where they had their headquarters, were widely noticed by the press, and some influence on the thought of certain classes of men and women undoubtedly emanated from the small circle who gathered there. This influence was beyond a question the result of the strange personal power of Mme. Blavatsky - a woman of as remarkable characteristics as Cagliostro himself, and one who is to-day as differently judged by different people as the renowned Count was in his day. The Pall Mall Gazette recently devoted a half column to the lady. By those who know her only slightly in this country she was invariably termed a charlatan. A somewhat better acquaintance developed the thought that she was a learned, but deluded enthusiast. And those who knew her intimately and enjoyed her friendship were either carried away into a belief in her powers or profoundly puzzled, and the longer and more intimate the friendship was the firmer the faith or the deeper their perplexity became. The writer was one of the last class. The closest study of a trained New-York reporter failed for over two years to convince him that she was either a fraud or self-deluded, or that her seeming powers were genuine. That she wrought miracles will be denied flatly, of course, by all persons whom the world calls sober-minded, yet there are scores of people who will swear to-day that she did work them in New-York. A lady whose brother was an enthusiastic believer in the wonderful Russian, but who was herself a devout Methodist and thoroughly antagonistic to Theosophy, (as the new system of thought was then beginning to be called,) was induced to make Mme. Blavatskys acquaintance. They became friends though they continued widely opposed in belief. One day Mme. Blavatsky gave the other lady a necklace of beautifully carved beads of some strange substance that looked like, but was not, hard wood. "Wear them yourself," she said. "If you let any one else have them they will disappear." The lady wore them constantly for over a year. Meantime she moved out of the city. One day her little child, who was sick and fretful, cried for the beads. She gave them to him, half laughing at herself for hesitating. The child put them around his neck and seemed pleased with his new toy, while the mother turned away to attend to some domestic duty. In a few minutes the child began crying, and the mother found him trying to take the beads off. She removed them herself and found that they were nearly one-third melted away and were hot, while the childs neck showed marks of being burned. She tells the story herself, and in the same breath denies that she believes in "any such things." One of Mme. Blavatskys friends, an artist, sat with her in her parlor, one day, when she suddenly said, "Make a sketch for me and I will see if I can control you." He began

sketching without, he says, knowing exactly what he should draw, but thinking presently that he would make a picture of an Oriental head, he drew one. When he had finished she unlocked a drawer and showed him a fac simile of what he had drawn, excepting that the headdress was slightly different in the two pictures. The pose, features, and expression of the two could not be told apart. The artist solemnly declares that he never saw the picture and never thought of the peculiar type of face before. Such stories could be repeated by dozens, and for each one a reputable witness could be produced to swear to the truth of it. It was not, however, by the working of tricks or miracles whichever the reader may choose to regard them, that Mme. Blavatsky made the impress she certainly made on the thought of the day. It was by the power of her own personality, vigor of her intellect, freedom and breadth of her thought, and the fluency and clearness of her powers of expression. Her personal appearance was remarkable. She was fat; of medium height, or very little more; she weighed probably 200 pounds. While her hands were small, delicate, and very white, her face retained something of the mahogany hue it had taken on in the tropics. Her eyes were full and large, her features piquant and fairly regular, and her hair "fluffy." There was a childlike air of open frankness in her expression, which, perhaps, more than anything else, enforced confidence in her sincerity. But while the frankness of her manner and expression never varied the childlike character of it often disappeared. Mme. Blavatsky said (in 1877) that she was 80. This seemingly wild statement she clung to, although every one who heard it pronounced it incredible. The writer, however, was only one of many who noticed great variations from time to time in her apparent age. It was not unusual for her to seem to be 60 years old. As frequently, however, she appeared no more than 35. It was impossible to say what made the difference, but that the difference actually occurred is beyond question. ODonovan the sculptor, Walter Paris the artist, and Wimbredge, who fairly ranked with either of them as an artist, all discussed and studied this phenomenon without being able to understand it. These three are cited among many observers simply because as artists they must be accredited with accurate habits of observation. Mme. Blavatsky herself declared that she made herself older or younger at will. She would not discuss the question of the potential immortality of the body, and neither affirmed nor denied that it could be attained, but she affirmed openly that she had gone far enough toward the attainment of it to make herself young whenever she chose. How it was done she never explained. Her mental characteristics were as remarkable as her appearance. A more impetuous or impulsive person than she never lived. She was generous and hospitable to a fault. To her intimate friends her house was Liberty Hall, and while there was nothing sumptuous or pretentious about her mode of life, she lived well and entertained constantly. She seemed physically indolent, but this was on account of her great size, which made bodily exertion onerous. Nothing like mental indolence could be noticed in her conversation, and if such a trait had ever been attributed to her the publication of "Isis Unveiled," her work on Eastern mysteries and religions, would have exonerated her from the charge. Without discussing the merits of the book it may be asserted that the labor involved in its production was very great. As a friend Mme. Blavatsky was steadfast and devoted to an unusual degree. Credulous by nature, she had been imposed upon by so many that she learned to limit her circle, but up to the time she left America she was always liable to imposition on the part of any designing person.

She was unconventional, and prided herself on carrying her unconventionality to the utmost extremes. She would swear like a dragoon when in anger, and often used in pure levity expressions which served no other purpose than to emphasize her contempt for common usages. Born, so it is said, of the best lineage in Russia, she had been bred and educated not only as a lady but as an aristocrat. Discarding, as she did, the traditional belief of her family, she discarded at the same time the entire system of European civilization. During her residence in America at least, for the writer claims to know no more about her than was developed here, she protested against our civilization as vigorously as against the Christian religion. The criticism she drew on herself by this course was merciless, and from a civilized standpoint was certainly deserved. Those who knew her best believe her to have been entirely incapable of a mean act or a dishonest one. The honesty of her utterances was often questioned, but never by those who knew her well enough to understand how she was often carried away by her own eagerness and credulity. A case in point. A ghost story was started some eight years ago by some unknown person on the east side of town, near the river. It was declared that the disembodied spirit of a watchman who had been known in his lifetime as "Old Shep" had been seen around where he had worked, and that it came to a certain dock every night in a ghostly boat. Many people in the neighborhood of Thirtieth-street professed to have seen this, and among these persons were several policemen. Mme. Blavatsky was one of a party who visited the river front one midnight in hope of seeing the ghost. It is useless to say that no ghost appeared, and a careful investigation of the story (which was made) failed to develop anything like respectable evidence of its truth. Yet Mme. Blavatsky always insisted that the story was true - insisted angrily when the story was ridiculed. "There are ghosts, and ghosts," she said once to the writer, when she was questioned about "Old Shep." The air that we breathe is permeated by a subtler fluid that corresponds to it, as the soul corresponds to the body of man. It is the astral fluid, and in it are the thoughts of all men, the possibilities of all acts as in the photographers plate there are images that remain unseen until revealed by chemical action. So the last dying thought of any person, if it be intense enough, becomes objective, and, under favorable conditions, is very apt to be seen. Only a little while ago the newspapers of the city reported the case of a man who committed suicide in his bathroom. A friend ran for a doctor against the earnest remonstrance of the dying man. On the way the friend was startled by seeing, for a moment only, the image of the dying man, clad only in his night shirt, grasping his pistol, and bleeding from his death wound. This was at a considerable distance from the house where the suicide was, and the apparition disappeared almost instantly. "That was merely the intense desire of the dying man to stop his friend. It became objective and visible when the astral man left the physical. So it is with many other apparitions. In haunted houses the last thought of the victim of a crime may remain, and the tragedy may be re-enacted thousands of times before it fades away. It is likely in the case of Old Shep, the watchman, that he does not know he is dead, and his last thought was probably that he was going his rounds. So he will continue to go his rounds until that thought fades away, and under certain conditions he will be visible to the physical eyes of those around him. Many persons do not know when they are dead, and they go around afterward in great

perplexity, sometimes for several days, because no one pays any attention to them. They feel as well as ever and talk to their friends, and are almost frantic at not being able to get any answers." It will readily be seen from this discourse how impossible it was for any one to hold controversy successfully with Mme. Blavatsky. Accepting as demonstrated facts things and thoughts that seem to every-day mortals to be ingenious dreams, and flatly denying, as she did, what are held ordinarily to be the fundamental proved facts of human knowledge, there was no common ground of argument between her and the most of her antagonists. You cannot argue with anybody who will "speak disrespectfully of the multiplication table." It will be asked, "What did this singular woman really believe? What was the exact ground she occupied as a controversialist?" The answer is difficult. It could, possibly, be made by digesting "Isis Unveiled," and stating the import of that book in a sentence, if that were a possible task. Probably no one could do that satisfactorily excepting the author herself. She would say "Science" is a true and beautiful thing, but these modern scientists have not found out what it is. They borrow theories from the ancients, and dress them up in beautiful, eloquent language, and pass them off for their own productions. The ideas that Huxley advanced while he was in America are all taken from the ancients, as I shall show in my book. But they dont any of them know what they are talking about - Huxley, Tyndall, and the rest. They refuse to investigate things which are absolutely demonstrated, and they break their noses over the origin of matter, which is a correlation of spirit, and they reach, for a conclusion, the annihilation of man. "I am a Buddhist," she said, in reply to the obvious question which followed the statement, "but Buddhism does not hold out annihilation as the last best good. That is one of the misrepresentations of ignorant theologians. The Buddhists teach that whatever is beyond the power of human language to describe, beyond the reach of human intellect to conceive, whatever is impossible in any measure to understand, is, so far as man is concerned, non-existent, and what we term God is therefore non-existent. That is, that so far as the understanding of man is concerned God can have no existence. You see, it is merely a refinement of metaphysics. And we believe in the triple nature of man. We believe we are a material body, an astral body, and pure soul, or nous, as the Greek terms it. After the death of the material body we lead a dual existence, and finally, when purified, the soul enters nirawana, that is, it rejoins the Creator. The astral body I spoke of is not spirit, and yet not the matter with which we are familiar. It is imponderable matter, and ordinarily is imperceptible to the senses. It is what St. Paul called the spiritual body." Speaking of Spiritualism and its alleged manifestations, Mme. Blavatsky in the same conversation said: "The phenomena that are presented are perhaps often frauds. Perhaps not one in a hundred is a genuine communication of spirits, but that one cannot be judged by the others. It is entitled to scientific examination, and the reason the scientists dont examine it is because they are afraid. The mediums cannot deceive me. I know more about it than they do. I have lived for years in different parts of the East and have seen far more wonderful things than they can do. The whole universe is filled with spirits. It is nonsense to suppose that we are the only intelligent beings in the world. I believe there is latent spirit in all matter. I believe almost in the spirits of the elements. But all is governed by natural laws. Even in cases of apparent violation of these laws the appearance comes from a misunderstanding of the laws. In cases of certain nervous diseases it is recorded of some

patients that they have been raised from their beds by some undiscoverable power, and it has been impossible to force them down. In such cases it has been noticed that they float feet first with any current of air that may be passing through the room. The wonder of this ceases when you come to consider that there is no such thing as the law of gravitation as it is generally understood. The law of gravitation is only to be rationally explained in accordance with magnetic laws as Newton tried to explain it, but the world would not accept it. "The world is fast coming to know many things that were known centuries ago, and were discarded through the superstition of theologians," she continued. "The church professes to reprobate divination, and yet they chose their four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John by divination. They took some hundred or so of books at the Nicene Council and set them up, and those that fell down they threw aside as false, and those that stood, being those four, they accepted as true, being unable to decide the question in any other way. And out of the 818 members of the Council, only two - Eusebius, the great forger, and the Emperor Constantine - were able to read. The rest were ignorant donkeys. And the theologians of to-day are as great donkeys as they were. Greater than Balaams, for that ass knew a spirit when he saw it and owned up to it at once." Talking thus by hours together when the right listener was present, and speaking always, "as one having authority," it is small wonder that Mme. Blavatsky made her modest apartments a common meeting ground for as strange a group of original thinkers as NewYork ever held. Not all who visited her agreed with her. Indeed, there were only a few who followed her teachings with implicit faith. Many of her friends, and many who joined the Theosophical Society which she formed, were individuals who affirmed little and denied nothing. The marvels which were discussed and manifested in Mme. Blavatskys rooms were to the most of them merely food for thought. If the bell tones of the invisible "attendant sprite" Pou Dhi were heard as they were heard by scores of different persons, this phenomenon so minutely described by Mr. Sinnett in "The Occult World," was as likely to be chaffed goodnaturedly by an obstinate skeptic as it was to be wondered at by a believer. But even the skeptic would shrug his shoulders and say, when hard pushed, "It may be a spirit. I cant tell what it is." If the discussion turned on some marvel of Eastern magic, or some fanciful doctrine of Eastern mythology, there was always a witness to the magic and a believer in the mythology present, and there was no one bold enough to deny what was affirmed, however much it might be laughed at. Sensitive as Mme. Blavatsky was to personal ridicule and to slander, she was truly liberal in matters of opinion, and allowed as great latitude in the discussion of her beliefs as she took in discussing the beliefs of others. The apartment she occupied was a modest flat of seven or eight rooms in West Fortyseventh-street. It was furnished plainly but comfortably, but of the furniture properly so called it was hard to get an exact idea, for the rooms, especially the parlors, were littered and strewn with curios of most varied description. Huge palm leaves, stuffed apes, and tigers heads, Oriental pipes and vases, idols and cigarettes, Javanese sparrows, manuscripts, and cuckoo clocks were items only in a confusing catalogue of things not to be looked for ordinarily in a ladys parlor.

Concerning the relations between Col. Olcott and Mme. Blavatsky much foul slander has been written and uttered. Not one person who knew them both ever believed that there was the slightest foundation in fact for this calumny. Col. Olcott was thoroughly and entirely dominated intellectually by Mme. Blavatsky, and if there was ever a thorough-paced enthusiast in religious matters he was one. The story of his life has no place here, but it is due to him to say that without his practical knowledge of the world and executive ability the Theosophical Society would never have been even as well organized as it was. The society, however, was never, at least in New-York, very much more than a dream. So long as Mme. Blavatskys lips were the channel through which it was to be enlightened the study of theosophy was a recreation, and the society flourished after its own straggling, irregular fashion, but when, some eight years ago, she sailed, with Olcott and two other Theosophists, on her way to India, the New-York society virtually died. Gen. Doubleday was made President and tried hard on several occasions to revive it, but failed. The influence this strange thinker and writer exerted while she was in America seems to have been only temporary. It was not very strong. Perhaps it was to some extent more apparent than real, but today it is difficult to realize that such a person was ever living in prosaic New-York.

Koot Hoomi in 1870

[Reprinted from Report of the Result of an Investigation into the Charges against Madame Blavatsky Brought by the Missionaries of the Scottish Free Church of Madras, and Examined by a Committee Appointed for That Purpose by the General Council of the Theosophical Society, Madras, India, Theosophical Society, 1885, pp. 93-96.]

In the year 1870, Madame Blavatsky having disappeared from the sight and hearing of her family for so long a time that they thought her dead, and the relatives, after exhausting every source of information, having determined to go into mourning for her, news was brought to them in a most extraordinary manner. Her aunt, Madame de Fadeeff, writes as follows: [Translation of a letter to Col. Olcott.] Dear Sir and Brother, I am always ready to render service when within my power, and, above all, when, as in the present instance, it merely requires the speaking of the plain facts. It is true that I did write to Mr. Sinnett some two or three years ago, in reply to one of his letters; and I seem to remember that I narrated to him what happened to me in connection with a certain note, received by me phenomenally when my niece was at the other side of

the world, and not a soul knew where she was - which grieved us greatly. All our researches had ended in nothing. We were ready to believe her dead, when - I think it was about the year 1870, or possibly later - I received a letter from him, whom I believe you call "K. H.," which was brought to me in the most incomprehensible and mysterious manner, by a messenger of Asiatic appearance, who then disappeared before my very eyes. This letter, which begged me not to fear anything, and which announced that she was in safety - I have still at Odessa. Immediately upon my return I shall send it you, and I shall be very pleased if it can be of any use to you. Pray excuse me, but it is difficult, not to say impossible, for me, to comprehend how there can exist people so stupid as to believe that either my niece or yourself have invented the men whom you call the Mahatmas! I am not aware if you have personally known them very long, but my niece spoke of them to me, and at great length, years ago. She wrote me that she had again met and renewed her relations with several of them, even before she wrote her Isis.(1) Why should she have invented these personages? For what end and what good could they have done her if they had no existence? * * * * If I, who have ever been, and hope ever to continue, to be a fervent Christian, believe in the existence of these men although I may refuse to credit all the miracles they attribute to them - why should not others believe in them? For the existence of at least one of them, I can certify. Who, then, could have written me this letter to reassure me at the moment when I had the greatest need for such comfort, unless it had been one of those adepts mentioned? It is true that the handwriting is not known to me; but the manner in which it was delivered to me was so phenomenal, that none other than an adept in occult science could have so effected it. It promised me the return of my niece, - and the promise was duly fulfilled. However I shall sent it you, and in a fortnights time you shall receive it at London. Accept, dear Sir and Brother, the expression of my sincere esteem. (Signed) Nadejda Fadeeff, Paris, 26th June, 1884. (2) _________ Ten days later, Madame de Fadeeff having returned to her home at Odessa (Russia), she wrote as follows to Col. Olcott: Dear Sir: - Scarcely arrived at Odessa, I count it as my first duty to send you that which you asked of me. Although this letter enclosed is not signed, yet there is no doubt that it comes directly from one of your masters. My only fear is that it should be injured on the way, considering the brittleness of the paper upon which it is written. Accept, Sir, the assurances of high respect and consideration with which I am your very devoted friend. (Signed) Nadejda Fadeeff.

The enclosure was a brief note written upon Chinese rice-paper, a very brittle substance, often used in China for fine paintings and formal writings. It is backed with the glassy hand-made paper one sees in Cashmere and the Punjab, and enclosed in an envelope of the same paper. The address is "To the Honorable, Very Honorable Lady Nadejda Andriewna Fadeeff, Odessa." In one corner, in the handwriting of Madame Fadeeff, is the note in the Russian language, in pencil, "Received at Odessa, November 7th, about Lelinka (H. P. B.s pet name) probably from Tibet, November 11th, 1870. Nadejda F." The note says: The noble relatives of Madame H. Blavatsky have no cause to mourn. Their daughter and niece has not departed from this world. She lives and wishes to make known to those she loves, that she is well and feels very happy in the distant and unknown retreat that she has chosen. ....... Let the ladies of her family comfort themselves. Before 18 new moons have risen, she will have returned to her home. Both the note and envelope are written in the now familiar handwriting of the Mahatma K. H. So that those who pretend that Mme. Blavatsky has invented both Mahatma and writing, have to disprove the fact that both were known to the family of Madame Blavatsky fourteen years ago, and five years before the Theosophical Society was founded in America! Many persons, both in Europe and India, have carefully compared this note with others received through the Adyar shrine and in various other places phenomenally, as well as with the voluminous letters in Mr. Sinnetts possession, and find the handwriting absolutely identical. Further comment is useless.

Notes
(1) In New York, in the year 1875. (2) Addressed to Col. H.S. Olcott, London, and registered and stamped at the Paris P.O., June 26th, 1884.

Report of the Committee Appointed by the Annual Convention of the Theosophical Society to Advise Madame Blavatsky as the Best Course to be Taken by Her with Reference to Certain Letters Published in the September and Following Numbers of the Christian College Magazine
[First published in Official Report of the Ninth Session of the General Convention and Celebration of the Ninth Anniversary at Madras, December 27th-31st, 1884. Madras, India: The Theosophical Society at Adyar, 1885, pp. 99-106.]

Resolved: That the letters published in the Christian College Magazine under the heading "Collapse of Koot Hoomi," are only a pretext to injure the cause of Theosophy; and as these letters necessarily appear absurd to those who are acquainted with our philosophy and facts, and as those who are not acquainted with those facts could not have their opinion changed even by a judicial verdict given in favour of Madame Blavatsky, therefore it is the unanimous opinion of this Committee that Madame Blavatsky should not prosecute her defamers in a Court of law. NORENDRO NATH SEN, Chairman. A. J. COOPER-OAKLEY, Secy. FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D. S. RAMASAMIER. NAROJI DORABJI KHANDALEVALLA. H. R. MORGAN, MAJOR-GENERAL. GYANENDRA NATH CHAKRAVARTI, M.A. NAVIN K. BANNERJI. T. SUBBA ROW. P. SREENEVAS ROW. R. RAGOONATH ROW. RUDOLPH GEBHARD. P. IYALOO NAIDU. S. SUBARAMANNI IYER.

Discussion on the above Report.

BABU NORENDRO NATH SEN gave some account of an action for libel brought by Babu Keshub Chunder Sen, his cousin, saying that the action was not brought in K. C. Sens own name but in the name of one of his missionaries as the former did not wish to be crossexamined as a witness. He said the position of plaintiff in an Indian libel case is much worse than that of defendant. MR. KHANDALAVALLA, a member of the Committee, said that from the day the letters were published he had made them his special study. He was himself connected with one of the most damaging of the letters put forward, and regarding that letter he had come across certain documents which show that the "Sassoon letter" is a perfect forgery. With regard to the letters about Messrs. Damodar and Padshah, the latter had long ago communicated with him in a way that showed that the phenomenon did not happen as the woman Coulomb said it did. GENERAL MORGAN said he had examined one of the letters sent him by request, in the presence of Mr. Benson of the Civil Service and two other persons at Ootacamund, and after careful examination of the letter and comparing it with the letters of Madame Blavatsky, they came to the conclusion that the letter concerning the speaker was a forgery. Both from the character of the hand-writing and from other circumstances it was clear that

Madame Blavatsky could not have written the letter. She was at the time living in the Generals house and knew he desired no phenomena. The only reason of his visit to the Head-quarters at that time was to see a portrait of the Mahatma, and it was impossible for Madame Coulomb to know the day and hour of that visit; and moreover he found her out on his arrival. He said it was utterly impossible for the circumstances as related by the woman Coulomb to have taken place. They had made other false statements, such as that referring to Madames having dined with the Governor, whereas she had refused the invitation sent. Putting all these statements together it was clear to the General that the whole series of letters was a forgery, and therefore when Mr. Gribbles pamphlet appeared, he thought it incumbent on himself to come forward and disprove it to the best of his ability. MR. SREENEVAS ROW said: Being interested and implicated, I went over the letters very carefully and tried to find out what intrinsic evidence they contained besides that of the character of the handwriting which is always a most fallacious test. From my experience as a judicial officer of 25 years standing, I attached more importance to the intrinsic facts given by the letters than to the writing, and I came to the conclusion that every one of the letters was a forgery. I will not detain you with a lengthy narrative of my investigations. In one of the letters I am mentioned. The letter is supposed to be sent by post and then a reply to be returned enclosing a letter to me. Now the train leaves Madras at 5:45 p.m., the letters are delivered at Ootacamund at 5 the next evening, the post starts on its return journey on the third day and reaches Madras on the fourth. The facts are these: Madame Coulomb came to my house one evening, when Damodar, the Dewan Bahadoor, myself and two or three other gentlemen were holding a committee upon the Societys Sanskrit schools. I asked Damodar if I could see the Shrine, but he said Mme. Coulomb had the key. I then asked her to let me see the Shrine when I came to Headquarters, and then she asked me to procure some shoes for Damodar, describing the kind he wanted. I sent for the shoes and it was nearly 7 oclock before Damodar was suited with a pair. At this hour she started, promising to show me the Shrine on the morrow. Next day I went to the office and thence direct to Adyar. Unknown to any one I wrote a short letter and kept it in my pocket, showing it to nobody. At about 6:15 p.m. Mme. Coulomb came into the room and asked if I was ready. Mme. Coulomb, Babajee, Damodar and every one in the house, even the servants, went with me upstairs, to the occult room. The room was opened and I inspected the pictures and Mme. Coulomb said: "Judge, have you any letter for the Shrine?" I said, "I am not sure if it will be taken." Damodar said, "I am not sure either, because Madame Blavatsky is not here, but let me try." I did not like to put the letter in with the risk of its not being taken, but Damodar opened the Shrine and said, "Let us see." I saw there was nothing in the silver bowl inside and put my letter into it, and the door was closed. A few moments after, it was opened no one stirring out during the time and my letter was gone and there was a reply from my Master in its place. I became very much excited, because, from Damodars doubts, I did not expect a reply, but I was tenfold more excited at the contents of the letter, since it contained a reply to every single point in my letter which I had just deposited and had shown to nobody else. The Coulombs were the first to come forward and congratulate me, as they had been doubtful of my success. Now is it physically possible for any one to send a letter from Madras to

Ootacamund at that late hour in the evening? Or even if so, how could the letter in reply have been received in time? How could Madame Blavatsky have known the contents of my letter 24 hours before it came into existence? Again, I have not formed my opinion on the strength of only one letter; I have seen various phenomena during the absence of both Madame Blavatsky and the Coulombs and Col. Olcott. I one day received a letter when I was extremely wretched on account of domestic affliction. I came to Adyar and found no one there: Damodar was absent and I sat in the office alone. Shortly afterwards he came in and I asked to see the Shrine. He said it was not usual to show it at that hour, but we went up, and the door was opened. Before I could express my condition, Damodar said: "Master says we are to close the door." I thought: "Is the door of mercy then shut against me in my trouble?" But before I had time to put my thought into words, Damodar said: "The door is to be opened," and as soon as this was done I found a letter in a Tibetan envelope. I took the letter from the cup and found that it contained this passage among others: "My dear brother, there is no occasion for you to feel so miserable" to-day. Now who could have known that I was miserable? Accounts like this can be multiplied over and over again. Besides, as to the general question whether the Coulomb-letters are genuine or not, the Missionaries came here with some of the letters which Mr. Gribble thinks to be genuine. Mr. Gribble examined them and compared them with Madame Blavatskys handwriting in company with one of our brothers, Diwan Bahadur R. Raghunath Row. Both had the same chance of examining the letters, and our brother has had considerably more experience then Mr. Gribble in such matters. The result was I hear that Mr. Gribble said: "The letters look like Madame Blavatskys," but our brother said: "I am certain they are not her writing." At the best it is but a matter of opinion; gentlemen with the same opportunities of arriving at a conclusion have expressed different views. THE HONBLE S. SUBRAMANI IYER said: I had previously come to the same conclusion as the Committee. My reason is that an opinion requesting that Madame Blavatsky should go to law would rest upon the assumption that a Court of justice is the only instrument by which truth can be ascertained. Madame Blavatsky has of course the right of disregarding the recommendation of the Committee if she so pleases. From my experience, however, I know the difficulty of proving the genuineness of letters in a Court of law, a difficulty which has existed in cases on which I have been engaged myself. It is merely a question of opinion, and I will ask whether it is not better to form such an opinion from the evidence embodied in a pamphlet than by the surrender of ones judgment to the verdict of a Court of justice. The question is whether this Society, putting itself forward as a Society for the promotion of peace and order, is justified in making an appeal to a Court of justice in this matter. I think that every reasonable man is at liberty to form an opinion on the evidence placed before him. It would be an easy thing for any member, if he wishes to satisfy himself by comparison of handwriting, to obtain a comparison of that of Alexis Coulomb and Madame Blavatsky. It is open to every member of this Convention if he so wishes to come to a conclusion without going into a Court of justice in which the results arrived at are very often contrary to the truth. If Theosophy has only strength in itself, I consider it will survive such difficulties. And if Madame Blavatsky feels justified in making an appeal to a Court of justice, I think such an appeal should be made, and the issue tried not upon the question of the genuineness of some paltry letters, but upon the question of the truth or otherwise of occultism. We cannot bind Madame Blavatsky, but as members of our Society I do not think it is the proper course for us to give the world the spectacle of a spiteful

cross-examination. Many are insisting that it will be necessary, simply because it would make an interesting trial, but as sober men engaged in spreading the truth, we ought to take a different view. I submit that the proper course is to wait for the appearance of the pamphlet which is to be published, and from it decide which side is speaking the truth. COL. OLCOTT said that although Madame Blavatsky might do what she liked with her own reputation, neither he nor she had any right to trifle with that of the Theosophical Society, and if that Society, represented by the strong Committee appointed, demanded that Madame Blavatsky should not prosecute her traducers, she ought to feel her self bound by that decision. He then read a letter from Mr. Finch, an English Barrister, on the subject, which strongly advised against a prosecution. MR. DAMODAR said that reference had been made to him in four or five of the letters published in the September number of the Christian College Magazine. An attempt had been made to prove that he had been imposed upon by Madame Blavatsky. Long before the dates assigned to those letters he had seen phenomena with which neither Madame Blavatsky nor Col. Olcott were concerned, accounts of which were given by him at the time in letters to several people in England and America. If these were not sufficient to strengthen his "faith," he did not see what use there could have been in the clumsy tricks of the Coulombs. He would prefer to confine his remarks to only one letter written from Simla. He said, "I have been able, from evidence in the Theosophist, to assign dates to these letters. From Simla Madame Blavatsky is made to write that she sends a letter to Coulomb, which letter is to be thrown at me in a miraculous manner; that refers to certain family troubles I then had." Here the speaker produced the letter and said: In September, a Bombay native weekly paper published one Sunday an article containing a personal attack on Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott in reference to myself, stating that their only object in taking me was money; that they had duped me, that because I belonged to a rich family it was their interest to make my father give up my property to them. Four or five days after the attack appeared, it was repeated in the columns of an influential Anglo-Indian paper, without my being allowed any time for answering the vernacular papers correspondent. When I saw such attacks, it made me very miserable, because it seemed that my removal to Head-quarters, instead of fulfilling its object of helping the Founders, was only the cause of slander and trouble to them. Engrossed in such thoughts, that very evening I was making up accounts, but felt very unhappy, when suddenly I saw a white form before me and felt a shivering sensation. Here is the letter I then saw formed before my eyes; and to show that it refers to this particular occasion, I will read an extract: "Do not feel so disheartened, my poor boy; no need for that; your fancy is your greatest enemy. Do not accuse yourself and attribute the abuse lavished upon ... to your fault. I tell thee, child, the hissing of a snake has more influence upon the snow-covered Himavat, than the breath of slander on me. Keep steadily to your duty and no mortal man will harm you." That is the advice I have always tried to follow, and so, as soon as this last attack appeared, my first feeling was that this being a great work, we cannot help being attacked; but we have to keep steadily to our duty and no mortal man can harm us. The evidence I have given proves how impossible it was for Madame Blavatsky to have written the letters, referring to me. As regards one of those published, which refers to my father, he was bed-ridden at the time, and Madame Coulomb

had professed a desire to nurse him; so Madame Blavatsky writes: "Take care of Damodars father," which is construed into meaning "Play a trick upon him!" Such a hypothesis is perfectly absurd under the circumstances, as my father was confined to bed in his own house. COL. OLCOTT said he supposed a hundred such cases could be adduced if necessary. The report of the Committee was then unanimously adopted by acclamation. Three cheers were then given for Madame Blavatsky, who was deeply (and very naturally) affected by this fresh proof of affectionate confidence.

Mme. Blavatsky Resigns

Compelled by Ill-Health to Relinquish Her Duties
Col. Olcott Also Retires, Leaving Theosophical Affairs to the Care of an Executive Committee. [Reprinted from The New York Times, May 7, 1885, p. 5.]

Rochester, May 6 --- A circular letter has just been received by Mrs. J. W. Cables, Corresponding Secretary of the American Board of Control of the Theosophical Society, from India, announcing the voluntary retirement of Col. Olcott and Mme. Blavatsky from active and sole control of the affairs of the society. They are to be succeeded by an Executive Committee, of which Col. Olcott will be a member. Mme. Blavatsky is forced, by reason of ill-health, to give up her arduous duties. It is also hinted that her life is despaired of, and that she has not many months to live. This news has created something of a surprise among the 50 members of the local branch of the society, which is now considered the most influential of any in the United States, and will interest those who have followed the Theosophical leaders in their work in India. There are hundreds and perhaps thousands of New-Yorkers who remember the furor created by Mme. Blavatsky while a resident of the metropolis. It was there that her voluminous work Isis Unveiled was written. Her parlors were constantly filled with believers in the then new doctrine of theosophy and the phenomena performed by Mme. Blavatsky and by spiritualists and hosts of inquirers. Blavatsky and Olcott left the United States in 1879, and took up their residence in India, establishing the headquarters of the society at Adyar, Madras. A monthly journal, the Theosophist, was started, which, according to a recent statement, has yielded a profit of about $8,000, all but about $300 of which has been turned over to the society to be used in prosecuting its work. Besides this sum and other contributions, dues and fees for initiation, &c., Olcott and Blavatsky have given about $9,000 of their private funds to the cause, besides their constant care and attention.

Stories of the wonderful phenomena performed by Madame Blavatsky and Olcott and other members of the societys household have reached this country through the medium of the societys journal, Sinnetts books, and newspaper correspondents. Under the guidance of Blavatsky letters to persons hundreds of miles from Madras would drop apparently from the ceiling before the astonished receiver; articles would be found by their owners in the most unexpected places, and thousands of persons are said to have been cured of various diseases by Olcott by the simple laying on of hands. People like Moncure D. Conway, who went to Adyar and demanded to be given evidence of this occult power, were very apt to have their labor for their pains. Conway wrote two or three scathing letters to American journals describing the alleged charlatanry carried on at the society headquarters. Then a short time ago charges of fraud against Blavatsky were brought by the Coulombs, a couple who kept house for her. They were incited to it by the Christian College Magazine, as it afterwards proved, and the charges fell flat. When the Society for Psychical Research was formed in London, the theosophical phenomena formed a subject for inquiry. A Mr. Hodgson was commissioned to proceed to India to look over the evidence and report his conclusions. Mr. Hodgson has not made his final report, and pending its appearance, and in the belief that it would contain strictures on the society, Col. Olcott felt constrained to issue the following letter, as if to ward off the blow as much as possible:

[Letter from Henry S. Olcott]

ADYAR, March 23. --- As the report of the special commission of the Society for Psychical Research to India is likely to be unfavorable as regards the genuineness of our phenomena and to reflect upon the character of individuals, and as much pain will be caused to and doubts raised in the minds of our distant colleagues and sympathizers, your attention is asked to the following points: Mr. Hodgson has, of course, made no specific statement as to the tone of the report, so I am not able to answer its point in detail, nor can I say whether any answer or explanation would be possible as regards some of them, but from what has come to my knowledge I am convinced that, despite his good intentions, his intelligence, and his zeal, he is conveying to his colleagues and the public very incorrect impressions both as to the facts and persons. I should compare his report to that of the French Royal Commission of 1784 upon mesmerism as to its possible effects --- a temporary checking of public interest in our movement, a rain of abuse and denunciation, and a speedy reaction in our favor upon sober second thought. The weak point in his case is that having as he thinks discredited certain specified phenomena, ergo all undescribed phenomena are to be rejected, and as he also thinks, bad faith having been shown on the part of Mme. Blavatsky, ergo all her witnesses were dupes or accomplices. The condemnation is in a word so sweeping that inevitably it must react. To fit a general theory of fraud to all our observed phenomena he is forced to invent hypotheses in each case which the circumstances utterly refute. For instance, when asked by me to explain how Damodar (Mavalankar) could have written the Adyar letter about his alleged astral journeyings to London, (Society Psychical Research, Report of Theosophical Society Phenomena,) which was so convincing to Mr. Myers he replied that the letter was doubtless written by Mme. Blavatsky in London, the fact being that it came by post in a cover duly postmarked at Madras. And, moreover, if it had been concocted in

London by Mme. Blavatsky, it would naturally have contained numerous details as to the furniture of the rooms in Elgin-crescent and the personal appearance and conversation of the persons present, so as to give a greater air of verisimilitude to the alleged visit than was afforded by the meagre yet striking facts mentioned by Damodar. * * * Again, conversing with him about Mr. Coulombs assertion that Mme. Blavatsky had caused certain Ceylon and Simla names of persons to be embroidered upon her own handkerchiefs, so that she might produce the trick of apparent obliteration of her own name and its replacement by the others, I pointed out to him the following facts: When the names Wijiratna and Dies were caused to come upon two handkerchiefs in the presence of many on-lookers at Galle, Ceylon, the choice of names was left to a vote of the company then and there, and no amount of arranged trickery at Bombay could have foreseen that these two names and none others would be selected. A further fact is that Mme. Blavatsky did the handkerchief phenomenon three times in Ceylon. Again, she repeated it a fourth time, on board the steamship Ethiopia, changing her name on a handkerchief to that of Elliott, the chief engineer, of whose existence we had had no reasonable means of knowing. In this instance the change was made upon his sudden demand, and at the card table at which they sat. * * * But to say nothing of the Simla feats of this sort, there was a fifth case. On Feb. 16, 1879, we arrived at Bombay from America, and that same evening, in the presence of a room full of persons, Mme. Blavatsky caused to occur upon a handkerchief held by one end by Mr. Ross Scott substitution of the name Hurrychund for her own. That persons name was selected for the feat then and there by Mr. Ross Scott out of those of the thirty or forty persons present. These examples go to show the insufficiency of the theory of fraud to account for this one class of Mme. Blavatskys phenomena. You have all read or heard about the cup and saucer phenomenon at the Simla picnic. (This is mentioned in Sinnetts Occult World.) At the time it impressed every one present as an absolutely unimpeachable test of psychic powers, for the cup and saucer were dug out of the ground from amid a tangled mass of rootlets of the Deodara, (cedar tree.) Later the fraud theory was fitted to it by assuming that the articles might have been placed there through a small tunnel from the slope of the hillock --- the picnic ground having been previously noted and selected by, or for, Mme. Blavatsky. The pivotal points of the case are that the extra person unexpectedly joined the party as they were leaving the house, hence Mme. Blavatsky could not have previously arranged for the phenomena, and Mrs. S., (our hostess,) when the new guest joined up, turned to her butler, and ordered him to put an additional cup and saucer in the baskets. If he had obeyed there would have been no occasion to demand the phenomenal production of the seventh pair of articles on the picnic grounds. But no amount of consideration of these facts was sufficient to offset the congenial theory of fraud for those who did not want to believe in phenomena. Mr. Hodgson and all who work upon his hypothesis help to obscure the truth, to impede philanthropic work, to sow doubts and dissension between earnest people, and make it the more difficult for his society, for ours, and for all other associations and persons interested in psychical research to convince skeptical people of the existence of the higher powers in man. Mr. Hodgson has, I hear, visited Bombay, seen the localities where some of our phenomena happened, and tried whether the mechanical surroundings were such as to support the allegation of Mr. Coulomb as to the fraudulent manner of their production. He also examined our witnesses. The result was that he found defects and discrepancies in our testimony all round, and that there were cracks in ceilings through which letters might be dropped, and other physical surroundings that might be dove-tailed into the fraud theory. But, after all, the question is

whether one or all of the letters were so dropped and other phenomena dishonestly produced.*** It would be the height of impropriety either to discredit altogether the theosophical phenomena because some classes of them may be imitated fraudulently or to deny to Mme. Blavatsky the possession of any control over the occult forces because doubt has been or may be thrown upon her bona fides in certain instances. If we should concede to our enemies everything they claim by admitting that every published phenomenon may have been --- a most violent and unwarrantable concession certainly --- there will still remain a mass of others equally surprising and instructive, more than sufficient to support the claims of Asiatic occult science. * * * Unless it is pretended that Mme. Blavatsky is the society solely and absolutely, then, assuredly, the basis of its attempt to verify the claims of Eastern occultism remains unshaken. And since the existence of the Mahatmas, Dhyan Chohans, and other superior personages or entitles, as well as those of lower entities, of man fits in with the current theories of evolution, we have no right to ignore the testimonials as to their existence found in Eastern literature and borne by many living persons outside and inside our society because Mr. Hodgson can pick flaws in the statements of the witnesses we have summoned. * * * If Mr. Hodgson would exchange duties with me for one month he would discover what sort of iron memory and self-control the executive direction of a society having more than one hundred branches, scattered all over the world, must have to be ready to serve as a model witness as to psychical phenomena of which he has seen hundreds under all sorts of conditions. Suffice it that I did see the Mahatma in New-York, that he did give me his turban as a piece of evidence, that I showed it to many persons before sailing for the East, that it has his cryptograph embroidered upon it, and that this is not the only experience of the kind, either as regards that particular personage or others. Moreover, others besides myself have similar knowledge, and some of our members have lived with those teachers. What we know we know, and it is of small consequence whether we are believed or discredited so far as the general body of truth is concerned. If we have been shown phenomena by Mme. Blavatsky which may be brought under suspicion, we have also seen others when she was far away and in her absence, which were as great a mystery to clever conjurers as they were to us profane. To turn from the phenomenal aspect of things, let us see whether the society is or is not entitled to your allegiance and hearty sympathy for useful and philanthropic work done. The sensational character of our phenomena has so attracted the attention of our members and the general public that the other work has been mostly overlooked. The Theosophical Society has three objects, it must be borne in mind, and a mass of testimony can be adduced to show that we have effected the following results: 1. We have practically shown the possibility of bringing men of various races, creeds, and cases into one harmonious working body. 2. We have revived Sanskrit learning throughout India, causing colleges and schools to be opened to the number of about 43; books to be written and translated and printed to the number of over 56, and a widespread, eager interest to be excited in the study of Aryan philosophy and science.

3. This interest has, through the works put forth by our members, spread over the West quite widely already, and seems destined to have the greatest expansion in time. Edouard von Hartmann, Baron du Biel, and other German philosophers of the first rank have begun to criticise and discuss our views, as also have leading reviewers in England, France and Belgium, and other countries. 4. We have begun a colossal work in the Department of Buddhism without any reference to phenomena; have established a press and journal at Colombo; published thousands of copies of Buddhist books of all sorts and have at this moment in operation schools for both sexes. 5. Mesmeric science we have popularized throughout the East, and many persons are daily healing the sick and administering remedies in dispensaries supported by our contributions without cost to patients. 6. By the universal testimony of the Indian native press, we have aided largely in stemming the materialistic, irreligious drift of the educated class of the Hindus, and created a native public that buys religious books and patronizes pundits who turn to authorship. 7. Without meddling with politics we have helped to assuage the bitterness of feeling between the two races, that, but for the Ilbert bill agitation, which opened a wider gulf than ever, would have done by this time more than any other agency to bring about a cordial relation. * * * * * * *

Just now we are beginning to found an Indian National League of Honor among youth, whose object is to promote truth, honesty, virtue, and manly self-sacrifice. If you have to complain of faults in my management and scandals arising out of Mme. B.s phenomena you will have to do so no longer, for I am forming an Executive Committee of the General Council, to have, with myself, the direction of affairs, reserving to myself but one equal vote with the rest; and Mme. B. resigns her office of Corresponding Secretary, and, for the few more remaining weeks or months of life she is allowed by her physicians to count upon, will be simply members like yourselves. Whatever can be done to increase the efficiency and usefulness of the society shall be done to the full extent of my power to bring it about. I ask but to be shown by my duty by those competent to instruct me. In conclusion, I will say but a word as to the attitude we have maintained toward the Society for Psychical Research and its Commissioner throughout. In India, as in London, we have tried to show them the deep and unselfish interest felt by us in their work and our cordial wishes for their success. We no sooner received news of the organization of that society than we offered through the columns of our magazine every help we and our Eastern branches could afford. Upon Mr. Hodgsons arrival at Adyar we took him into our house, introduced him to the delegates present at the annual convention, and bespoke for him the friendly regard and aid of all our colleagues in his labors. We laid before him for inspection our private diaries, books, and papers. We influenced the Indian occultists to break through the traditional policy of reticence and freely answer his questions, thus

placing ourselves and our dearest interests in his power. I submit, then, that all this goes to show the absence of anything like a disposition to conceal fraud or obstruct a full and free inquiry into our phenomena, our methods, our motives, our character. Is it too much to ask that, in making up your verdict on our case, you should take into account this and the facts above mentioned, and do us strict justice? Fraternally yours, H. S. OLCOTT, P.T.S.

Theosophy in New York

Facts about Mme. Blavatsky, Her Powers and Her Religion
Brilliant Bohemian Gatherings at the Lamasery --Intellectual New Yorkers at the Feet of the Marvellous Russian Countess --The Mediums Outdone --- Votaries of the Buddhist Teacher --- Is She a Freemason? [Reprinted from The World (New York), Vol. XXVII, September 12, 1886, p. 13]

A few days ago a Hindoo was thrown into jail for preaching Buddhism at the Ocean Grove Camp-Meetings. The Aryan Theosophical Society of New York has been expounding and disseminating the gospel of Buddha here for nearly ten years with quiet and unimpeded persistency. It was William Q. Judge, President of this society and editor of the Path, the organ of Theosophy in America, that went to the rescue of the aggressive Hindoo Sattay and secured his release. Local interest is thus revived in a movement strangely at variance alike with conventional Christianity and with nineteenth-century materialism. In other cities, also, Theosophy has recently achieved sensational notoriety. In Washington, Prof. Elliott Coues, one of the foremost scientists of the Smithsonian Institution, astonished his friends and the public by declaring his complete acceptance of the ideas and tenets of Theosophy. In Boston the wife of a prominent literary man, herself a woman of rare intellectual gifts and great social influence, became insane through studying Theosophy. In Cincinnati a lady of wealth and position is worshipped by hundreds and pretends to have reached the highest state of psychological development in deification and, like Alexander, claims divide honors while still in the flesh. In less than ten years after the organization of the parent society in New York branch societies have been formed in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and San Francisco, aggregating a membership of nearly 5,000 --- all enthusiastic to the point of fanaticism. Within the same period the movement has become actively prominent in

London, Paris and other European capitals. Western disciples of this religion transplanted from the Orient have written books discussing it in a way that has challenged the attention of profound religious and scientific scholars. In fact, the rapid headway made by this religion of marvels is fully as marvellous as any other feature of it. Whatever may be thought of the claims to serious consideration of modern Theosophy and its credulous adherents, the founder, organizer and inspirer of the movement is certainly a remarkable woman. Mme. Blavatsky came to New York about ten years ago unheralded and unknown. She was said to be a Russian Countess in her own right, the widow of a General whose services in the Russian army had won him fame and a place on the personal staff of the Czar. In appearance, Mme. Blavatsky, though not at all handsome in the common acceptance of the term, was exceedingly impressive and interesting. Tall and stoutly built, she carried herself with queenly dignity. Her head is large, and under a broad, intellectual brow shone a pair of large, luminous blue eyes whose strange spiritual expression fascinated all who came within her influence. Like Bulwers mysterious Zanoni, her age was uncertain. She might have been under forty; with the physical vigor and elasticity of youth she possessed the mental maturity of age. She had not been in New York long before she gathered about her a curiously mixed set of literary and artistic Bohemians, visionaries, cranks and an occasional practical thinker from Wall street or the colleges. At that time Spiritualism was the rage in New York. Flints teapot trick had not been exposed, Charles Foster was astonishing the town and Henry Kiddle was writing his book. Looking upon Mme. Blavatsky as a valuable ally, the Spiritualists at first welcomed her with open arms; but their joy was short-lived. One evening, at the close of one of Flints seances during which the usual fol-de-rol manifestations of knocks and musical instruments played by unseen hands, writings, &c., had been gone through, a companion asked her opinion of it all. She replied that it was all very wonderful, perhaps, but that if the company would accompany her to her rooms she would repeat the whole performance without turning down the gas. Several of those present, including Col. H. S. Olcott, who had gained much notoriety in Spiritualist circles by his defense of the Fox sisters, politely expressed incredulity. Come along and see, said Madame. And they went. Upon reaching her apartments in Thirty-seventh street, near Eighth avenue, sure enough Mme. Blavatsky repeated all Flints wonders with seeming ease, and in the full glare of gaslight. The mediums and their followers never forgave her expose of their humbuggery. She explicitly disavowed any belief in Spiritualism in the common sense or any claims to mediumistic powers. It is my own spirit and not the spirits of those who have gone from earth, she declared, that does these things. Whatever powers I possess are simply the result of the complete power over my will that I have acquired. It was in these rooms, afterwards familiarly known as The Lamasery (the name given a Bhuddist convent in Thibet), that a brilliant crowd of Bohemians were wont to gather of an evening to drink tea from Madames samovar and indulge in a feast of reason and a flow of soul. The hostess proved herself a conversationalist of rare magnetic power, and no one ever tired of listening to her fascinating recital of experiences in many lands, her views on life and art, or her exposition of the occultism of the East. She was an accomplished linguist, as most Russians are; and she not only spoke French, German, Italian, Spanish,

Russian, Hindostanee and several Arabic dialects with east and fluency, but displayed a deep knowledge of the ancient and modern literature of all countries. She was familiar with German and French philosophy, and commenting upon the work of the great thinkers expressed many ideas of striking force and originality. Occasionally she entertained her guests with music, and her piano playing was pronounced emphatically that of a great musician. Among those who were to be seen at these gatherings were Prof. Weiss, of the New York University; Thomas A. Edison, A. L. Rawson, the painter; Prof. Wilder, the genial and lamented Sam Ward, poet, philosopher, lobbyist and bon vivant; his chere ami, William Henry Huribert, then editor of THE WORLD; the Earl of Dunraven, whose father wrote a monumental book on Spiritualism, and who is now Lord Salisburys Under-Secretary for the Colonies; David A. Curtis, of the Herald; Edward P. Mitchell, then, as now, exploiting his brilliant imagination in the Suns columns; Albert Bierstadt, the artist; Charles Sotheran, mystic and bibliophile; Linda and Eda Diez, the actresses; A. M. Palmer, the manager; Edwin Booth, John Russell Young; William Stuart, then manager of the Old Park Theatre; Edward Donavan, the artist, and a host of other choice spirits, including on several occasions the Earl of Dufferin, whose present position as Viceroy of India affords him opportunities to continue his studies of Oriental religion in its ancient home, and Laurence Oliphant, whose social satires in Blackwood and whose scheme for the Jewish colonization of Palestine have given him a prominence distasteful to his native modesty. At this time Mme. Blavatskys great life work, Isis Unveiled, was on the press, and many curious stories of her alleged remarkable powers are told. One day Mr. J. W. Bouton, her publisher, called, and fancying from something that was said that the author was in need of money, delicately offered to advance a sum on the book. Money! exclaimed Mme. Blavatsky, laughing; Im never troubled about money. I toil not, neither do I spin for material needs, yet I am always provided. Now I think of it, I have several little bills to pay. Will you kindly see if there is any money in the top drawer of my writing-desk while I pour you some tea? Mr. Bouton opened the drawer indicated, which was in a desk at the other end of the room. It was quiet empty. He made sure of that and, closing the drawer, declared the fact. Ah, said madame, nonchalantly, I want $500. Open the drawer again, if you please. Mr. Bouton did so, and started back amazed. Where but an instant before was emptiness, five good, crisp hundred dollar bills met his astonished gaze. That is my Fortunatus purse, explained the fair Russian, handing her visitor a cup of tea and receiving the money from his hands. Whenever I want money it is placed there conveniently and safely to my hands.

A lady living in West Thirty-first street, possessed of a considerable fortune and well known in New York society, who spent much time with Mme. Blavatsky, in those days, and who is still active in the Theosophical organization, avers that she saw the seer produce instantly, by simply laying her hand on a sheet of paper, an excellent photograph of a relative of this lady whom madame had never seen and who was then in a distant city. Mr. Rawson, the artist above mentioned, aided Gen. Cesnola greatly in his explorations of Cyprus. His archaeological acquirements gained him the warm personal friendship of Pope Pius IX., and by special favor of the Pontiff he was allowed, under surveillance, to examine some books in the secret chambers of the Vatican Library absolutely forbidden to everybody but the Papal Secretary and members of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Even these were not privileged to copy a line. Yet Mr. Rawson affirmed that several pages of extracts from these secret books are given verbatim in Isis Unveiled. Clairvoyance is the only explanation vouchsafed for the accomplishment of this seeming impossibility. A like explanation is given of her thorough knowledge of Freemasonry. She astonished thirtythird-degree Master Masons by her knowledge not only of all the ordinary grips, signs and passwords, but of the inner mysteries revealed only to the most advanced members of the craft. An old Freemason once complimented her on this knowledge as a convincing test of her clairvoyant powers. It is not clairvoyance, she rejoined earnestly. I am as genuine a Mason as you are. But women are not admitted to the mysteries, said the incredulous man. Not now, rejoined the mysterious woman, but they were formerly. I must look up the matter, said my friend humbly. He did look it up and found that though it was an accepted tradition that priestesses of the Temple of the Sun in ancient Egypt were initiated into the Masonic order, there was no record of the admission of a woman within the sacred circle during the last 2,000 years. As he was too gallant to utter a reflection on either the age or the veracity of the lady he did not mention the matter again. Sam Ward, himself a Mason of high degree, frankly accepted the idea that, like Zanoni, madame was at least 3,000 years old and had discovered the secret of eternal youth. More than one of Mme. Blavatskys former associates in New York assert that the lady has repeatedly demonstrated her power of projecting her astral body beyond the bounds of flesh, as Prof. Coues claims to do. Her appearances and disappearances were as sudden and mysterious as those of the weird adept, Ram Lal, in Marion Crawfords story of Mr. Isaacs. In fact, if all that is reported be true, this Theosophist priestess might well controvert Sir Boyle Roches famous aphorism that a man cannot be in two places at once, barrin he was a bird. Mme. Blavatsky claimed to be able to be in two or more places at once when she so desired. When she announced that she was about to go to India to spread the doctrines of Theosophy among the natives and foreigners there, a friend asked her why she did not utilize her supernatural powers by continuing to give the infant Theosophical Society of New York the aid of her presence and guidance, carrying out her mission in India at the same time. To this she replied simply that she was commanded to leave New York and that she bowed to the superior wisdom of the adepts.

These adepts, be it understood, are the highest order of Theosophists, who by long years of fasting, study and meditation had attained an advanced state of spiritual perfection. These men dwell principally in the mountains of Thibet, far from contact with the world and mankind; sometimes in small communities, oftener as hermits in solitude. Dwelling entirely away from railroads, telegraphs and newspapers, they are said to possess a direct knowledge of everything of moment that goes on in the world and to be able to communicate their thoughts or to convey their persons instantaneously to any quarter of the globe. Astrology is a favorite study of the Theosophists, and those who have devoted themselves sufficient to this science (popularly supposed to have been exploded centuries ago) are said to forecast individual destinies and events with marvellous exactness. Far from being an ascetic, Mme. Blavatsky when here greatly enjoyed a good dinner washed down by good wine, and was much addicted to smoking Turkish cigarettes of a peculiar and excellent quality. In the discussions at the Lamasery already alluded to, Mme. Blavatsky argued that Theosophy was but an extension of the theory of evolution taught by Spencer, Huxley and Darwin, beyond its mere material phase. In universal evolution she held that mans higher nature --- the spiritual rather than the physical or intellectual --- was developed. Among the proven possibilities of this development she counted omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence --- the qualities generally attributed by the mass of mankind to the Deity it worships. The principal means to these grand attainments, according to the Blavatsky theory, are a complete control of the will power and the acquisition of divine knowledge. Theosophy (from the Greek Theos, God, and sophos, wise) means wise in the things of God. Its mission is to teach man to control and use his will power for the higher advancement of humanity. This, stripped of mystic symbolism, Oriental phraseology and abstruse metaphysical speculation, is the real essence and meaning of Theosophy. Soon after Mme. Blavatskys departure, five years ago, she was followed by Col. H. S. Olcott, Hierophant and President of the New York society. The sensation their teachings produced will be remembered by newspaper readers of that day. Much of the notoriety they then gained was due to the persistent efforts of the Rev. Joseph Cook, of Boston, who followed Olcott and Blavatsky from place to place endeavoring to carry on a controversy and valiantly abusing Buddhism and all its teachers. Olcott is still in India, but Mme. Blavatsky is in Germany writing another book, which, as the result of her advanced development in the East, will probably cause even a greater sensation than Isis Unveiled. Gen. Abner Doubleday, who succeeded Olcott in the Presidency of the New York society, retired about two years ago, and William Q. Judge, a former law partner of Col. Olcott, took the helm. President Judge is a tall, handsome, blond-bearded, blue-eyed and eager enthusiast. He speaks with ready and impressive eloquence, has travelled in the East and read much of the literature of Oriental religions. But even Theosophists are human. Personal jealousies arose, petty scandals were whispered about and under the first year or so of Mr. Judges regime there was a serious falling off both in the dignity and the membership of the society. Its fortnightly meetings are held in an Odd-Fellows hall over a beer saloon at 35 Union square, amid strangely incongruous surroundings. At a recent meeting Mr. Bjeregaard, the learned and amiable Librarian of the Astor Library, read a paper on Occultism to about a score of women and half a dozen men. In the

discussion which followed it was evident that the speaker had been very imperfectly understood. An old outsider of cranky aspect got into a mathematical discussion with an impetuous young Chela in gold-bowed spectacles. Another young man ruffled the Presidents temper in a discussion of the comparative morality of monogamy and polygamy. An enthusiastic woman of uncertain age poured forth a fearfully strange and complicated discourse on astrology, maintaining the floor against all contestants until shut off by a motion to adjourn. In putting this motion the President adroitly got in some vague and glittering generalities about universal brotherhood, and the select gathering abandoned the warm and stuffy room for the fresher atmosphere of the square.

To All Fellow-Workers in the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society

[Reprinted from a rare 4-page leaflet issued sometime in early 1887.]

[Note by BA editor: The Theosophist Dr. Archibald Keightley wrote about some of the events leading up to the publication of this leaflet: "In the early months of 1887 there were some few members of the TS in London who felt that if Theosophy did not receive some vital impulse, the center there would be confined to a few individuals only who were pursuing and would continue to pursue their studies. There were many anxious discussions as to how a vital interest could be awakened in the truths of Theosophy, and how attention should be restored to the ethical philosophy. We all felt that we were working in the dark and that we were ignorant of the real basis upon which the philosophy rested. Obviously we required a leader who might intelligently direct our efforts. We then determined each separately to write to H. P. Blavatsky, who was then in Ostend [Belgium], laying before the Founder of the TS and the messenger of the Masters the position as each of us saw it. We asked her to reply in a collective letter giving us advice as to what to do. She replied, however, to each individual, writing letters of eight to twelve pages. . . . " (For more background information, see Narrative 17b in The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky; also consult Dr. A. Keightley's remarks on the events of late 1886---early 1887 in his article "Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky." as well as the article titled "Extract of a Letter from H.P.B. to a London Group, 1887," The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), July 1988, pp. 386-389.) The following leaflet is based on some of the information from Madame Blavatsky's communications to this "small group":]

It having come to the knowledge of a small group of this Lodge that the Masters are on the point of ceasing to concern themselves any further with the Lodge, should it not awake to a sense of its responsibility, the said group enquired in what way could action be taken in order to prevent such a catastrophe. The answer was as follows: --It is advisable to form small groups where perfect mental unity and singleness of purpose can be obtained, and where the object and desire of the group is not merely a selfish one --viz., that of self-progression, but an earnest wish to advance the cause of Theosophy and teach those desirous of learning Spiritual truths. It was also suggested that the Members of each such group should not exceed seven in number, and that they should in each case meet regularly once a week, if possible, and endeavour to find out for themselves the path in whatever way they preferred, not forgetting that the comparison of the daily events in the life of each Member is of vital importance, as showing the hand that is guiding from above the destiny of individuals and groups. The first rule of the Society can only be carried out by such groups endeavouring to realize the true spirit of universal Brotherhood and to work for the good not only of themselves but of the whole society and also the world. When the current sets strongly in the direction of this first rule then the Society is encouraged to hope that the Masters will actively undertake its assistance; but till these groups shall themselves earnestly engage in work and determine to force a passage for themselves into the light beyond, that so they may illuminate others, it is certain that no help will be forthcoming. The group above-mentioned having made this communication to the Hon. Sec., Mr. Bertram Keightley, 30, Linden Gardens, W., and requested him to forward it to every Member of the Lodge, he will be glad to receive any correspondence from Members desirous of forming or joining small groups and to assist Members in making arrangements with this object in view.

The President's European Visit

[Gives a Report on Madame Blavatsky, her work and health] [Reprinted from Supplement to the Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), October 1888, pp. xvii-xix.]

Embarking at Bombay on board the P. and O. mail steamer Shannon on the 7th of August, the President [of the Theosophical Society, Henry S. Olcott] reached Brindisi [Italy] on the 23rd, and proceeded overland to London, when he arrived on the 26th. The sea-voyage was

very pleasant on the whole, though the passengers were miserable enough with sea-sickness during the first five days. He stopped twelve hours at Bologna to enquire into the merits of the electro-homoeopathic medicine system of Count Mattei, about which such wonderful reports are current. Among several instances which had come to Colonel Olcotts knowledge was the cure of one of our Hindu members in the North Western Provinces of a chronic dyspepsia of twenty-five years standing. His inquiries at Bologna were made in the interests of our charitable dispensaries. Important results may flow from it; assuredly they will if it should prove true that the Counts minute pills and his fluid remedies cure diabetes, leprosy, elephantiasis and syphilis in all its stages! Colonel Olcott was not able to meet Count Mattei personally, the castle where he resides being two hours distant by rail from Bologna, but he spent an agreeable day with his representative, Signor Venturoli, and is to visit the Counts residence on his return journey from London to Brindisi. Probably he will bring back with him to Bombay enough of the medicines to supply our charitable dispensary for one month, so as to give the system a thorough trial. The President found Madame Blavatsky in bad health, but working with desperate and pertinacious energy. An able physician told him that the fact of her even being alive at all was in itself a miracle, judging by all professional canons. Her system is so disorganized by a complication of diseases of the gravest character that it is a simple wonder that she can keep up the struggle; any other being must have succumbed long ago. The microscope reveals enormous crystals of uric acid in her blood, and the doctors say that it is more than likely that one hot month in India would kill her. Nevertheless, not only does she live, but she works at her writing desk from morning to night, preparing copy and reading proofs for The Secret Doctrine and her London magazine, Lucifer. Of her greatest work over three hundred pages of each of the two volumes were already printed when Colonel Olcott arrived, and both volumes will probably appear this month. From all he heard from competent judges who had read the manuscript, the President was satisfied that The Secret Doctrine will surpass in merit and interest even Isis Unveiled. Madame Blavatsky is living at 17, Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, with three Theosophical friends, among them her devoted guardian, nurse and consoler, the Countess Wachtmeister of Sweden, who has attended her throughout all her serious illnesses of the past three years. The house is a pleasant one, in a quiet neighbourhood, and the back of it looks upon a small private park or compound, common to the occupants of all the houses which surround it. Madame Blavatskys rooms are on the ground floor, she being practically unable to go up and down stairs. Her desk faces a large window looking out upon the green grass and leafy trees of Holland Park; at her right and left hands are tables and book racks filled with books of reference; and all about the room are her Indian souvenirs --- Benares bronzes, Palghat mats, Adoni carpets, Moradabad platters, Kashmir plaques, and Sinhalese images, which were so familiar to visitors at Adyar in the old days. As regards her return to India, the question is largely a medical one. It is extremely doubtful whether she could stand the journey, and it is quite certain that she would have to be hoisted in and out of the steamer in a sling, as she was when she sailed from Madras for Europe, three years ago. Of course, with her book passing through the press, she could not quit London for a fortnight, even if she could arrange for the editorial conduct of Lucifer; later on, this obstacle will be out of the way, and it will remain a mere question of her health. Clustering around her in London she has several devoted Theosophists who,

besides advancing 1,500 to bring out The Secret Doctrine and Lucifer, have formed a Theosophical Publishing Co. (Limited), to issue at popular prices reprints of articles from The Theosophist, Lucifer and The Path, and useful tracts of all sorts. The interest in Theosophy increases and deepens in Europe, and still more in America; for not only do we see its ideas colouring current literature, but provoking discussion by the first Orientalists of the day. The recent lectures of Professor Max Muller, Monier Williams, and others in which we are referred to and criticized, and the admirable articles on Buddhism in the West, by that learned scholar M. Em. Burnouf, which we have translated and printed in this issue of our magazine, illustrate the case very well. Practically, there are now three Theosophical centres, whence influence of this kind is being exerted upon the mind of our age --- Madras, London and New York. And however much Madame Blavatskys absence from Adyar may be deplored by her ardent friends, it cannot be doubted that the movement as a whole profits by her presence in London, and her Theosophical proximity to our devoted colleagues in America. It was too early when our latest advices left London to report any progress in the special business upon which the President went to Europe. Mr. Sinnett was away in Switzerland on his usual summer vacation, other leading English members were abroad elsewhere, and the members whom Colonel Olcott will have to see in France, Germany, Belgium, and other countries are also availing themselves of the holiday season. His first step was to be the calling of a convention of the Presidents of European branches with a view to organization, but it seemed inevitable that he should postpone his return until the beginning or middle of November, instead of October, as he and we had hoped. In any case, he will be here for the Convention and direct the preparations as usual.

A Visit to Madame Blavatsky

[Reprinted from The Commercial Gazette (Cincinnati, Ohio) October 13, 1889, p. 3.] Since the time, many years ago, when the daily papers told us of a mysterious and gifted woman in our midst who was preparing a book of occult lore, such as had never before been given to the readers of our western world, up to the present time, when the author of "Isis Unveiled" is recognized in the literary world as one of its indefatigable workers, in the religious world as an enemy to old beliefs, and in the social world as a woman as incomprehensible as a sphinx --- Madame Blavatsky is without doubt the most remarkable woman of the age. Shrug your shoulders, my friend, and utter the word infamous if you choose --- but you will find it no easy task to prove aught that will derogate from her character or ability, and no one will venture to assert that any other woman is known around the world like her. It matters little who the reader may be, Judge, clergyman or professor, every item regarding the life of this lady is read with interest. One is told that she is five hundred years old and renews her age in the far East as often as it is necessary; another tells of magical feats where crisp new bills are improvised by a moments thought, or as Lytton called it, by will-power; a third affirms that she has been exposed as a cheat and trickster, and so on ad infinitum. While all the world read and discuss, she lives and

writes, and performs an amount of literary work as astonishing in its amount as in its subject matter. A few days ago it was the writers good fortune to call upon Madame Blavatsky at her home in London. The day was rainy, as London days always are, and the drive from Charing Cross to Holland Park in a two-wheeled cab would have been anything but agreeable, had not the mind for a time forgotten the body and busied itself with memories of the long years of patient waiting since first the desire to see her had taken possession of it. Pilgrims to Mecca --- the devout who at length have audience with the Pope,; the American who gains the privilege of a presentation at court, the tourist who sees Mont Blanc for the first time --- all these sink into insignificance before the experience of emotions in which all these are blended, and a something added which mystery alone gives, as one wheels along the crowded London thoroughfares to meet Madame Blavatsky. The rain increases every moment, and after twenty minutes hard driving the cabman stops at No. 7, Landsdowne road. It no longer rains, it pours, and the pilgrim dashes through the falling torrents to find that the number is not 7, but 17. With thanks for the information and the mental comment that the lady in question must be well known, another dash through the rain is made and the number is sought. Landsdowne road is one of those wide, beautiful streets that are to be found in the neighborhood of Hyde Park --- where every house is a home, and a home that might satisfy nobility. Well kept gardens, or yards of green shrubbery, add a charm to the substantial stone buildings that are here the fashion. Oui, Madame, entrez, sil vous plait, was the cordial response to the question, Is Madame Blavatsky in, and can I see her? Ushered into the first room to the left, wherein a large table and furniture betoken use, --- perhaps as a dining room, perhaps as a reception room, and sometimes as a study --- for upon the table were divers papers and writings. I waited for further orders. A few moments later the folding doors were thrown open and I stood face to face with a gentleman of grand physique, of genial face, of wonderful beard --- a gentleman so unique in manner and appearance that I at once involuntarily exclaimed: Colonel Olcott. The same, and you are my countrywoman. Be seated. He had only arrived in London from India a few days before, and the minutes flew as he spoke of the excitement of the work, and was only interrupted by a door opening, announcing the entrance of Madame Blavatsky. How shall I describe her? It would be impossible. A general impression of kindliness, of power, of wonderful gifts, is all that remains at this moment on my mind. She moved with difficulty, for she was suffering greatly from rheumatism, but she laughingly asserted, as she seated herself in an easy chair: I have cheated the doctors and Death so many times before, they say, that I hope to cheat this rheumatism also, but it is not so easy to manage. But you still write, Madame? Of course, I write as much as ever; and Colonel Olcott interrupted with, What matters it about a little rheumatism so long as it does not creep into her head or her writings? and we all laughed. When I said, Lucifer is quite at home in America, she replied with spirit: They have boycotted it in London, and will not allow it to be sold at the news-stands. I could scarcely comprehend this and she laughed as she said: There are people who believe

I am the devil with hoofs and horns, and again we laughed. We talked of Theosophy and its rapid spread --- its workers and writers, and of Dr. Buck, of Cincinnati, whose picture hung just above my head, where his well-known face seemed to smile a welcome to us all. Have you seen this work noticed, Madame? and she laid in my hand the advanced sheets of her new book, "The Key to Theosophy." I had not; and she said it would be issued very soon, also a smaller work she had just finished, "The Voice of the Silence." When I expressed surprise at the amount of writing she had done, as well as the immense knowledge displayed, Colonel Olcott remarked: I worked with Madame Blavatsky several years, and know all about it. She is a steam engine at writing, and when I tell you that in writing 'Isis Unveiled', with its large number of extracts from ancient writings, she had access but to a small book-case of ordinary books, you will believe me when I tell you that she reads as clearly in the Astral light as from the open pages. All this time I was conscious of a pair of eyes that were reading my very thoughts, and a face opposite me that might become at any moment as immovable as a sphinx, but was very kindly and animated at the present moment. I can imagine no personality so expressive of indomitable will power as that of Madame Blavatsky. The room in which we sat was instinct with her individuality. It was full of everything that suggested thought, refinement, literary labor, an interest in friends, but there was no place for mere display of useless ornament. The table, with Colonel Olcott on one side and herself on the other, was loaded with papers and books. The walls were covered with photographs. And here in the heart of the bustling city lives and works the founder of the Theosophical Society that now numbers in America alone more than thirty branches. All this has been accomplished in little over a decade. The conversation turned upon Mrs. Besant, whose allegiance to Theosophy has called out a most absurd and puerile production from Mr. Foote. I had just purchased her reply, "Why I Became a Theosophist," but had not read it, and was only too glad to hear more about the gifted woman, who has caused all this commotion. "Her brother-in-law is Mr. Walter Besant, the novelist, and her husband a clergyman. She is a wonderfully clever woman, and will preside next Thursday evening at the meeting where I deliver an address," said Colonel Olcott. "And may I know what you will say?" I asked. "Willingly, if I could tell you, but as I always speak extemporaneously and trust to the inspiration of the moment, you see it is impossible," and he smiled so delightfully that I lost my sense of regret in the pleasure of the smile. As I rose to go, Madame Blavatsky took my hand warmly in her own and bade me adieu, with kind regards to her American friends. "America," she said, "is the best and the worst, the kindest and most abusive country in the world." "And ------- is the worst of all Americans," said Colonel Olcott, laughing. "Lord, yes," came vehemently from her lips, as old memories were stirred by the name. mentioned, "I should think he was." The door opened and a lady of sunny face entered; it was Mrs. Besant herself. She laid a bunch of grapes in Madame Blavatsky's hands and turned a pleasant face to welcome the stranger.

Rather below the ordinary height, bright, earnest and intense, she looks at you with all the honest candor of a fearless soul that has cast off the shackels of worn-out conventionalities and weeds. To know her one must read her life as written by herself. She was evidently very much at home at No. 17 Lansdowne road, for her bonnet and outer wraps were removed, and she entered from an inner room. The conversation turned upon the churches, and Colonel Olcott remarked that they already had several clergymen enrolled as members of the Theosophical Society --- and among them some very prominent. Mrs. Besant, herself the wife of a clergyman, smiled an assent, and after a brief chat the visit came to an end. It was still pouring when Colonel Olcott escorted the stranger to the cab and with the words, "We hope Madame will soon be completely restored," the door closed, and another half hour over London pavements in a two-wheeled cab, in a pouring rain, only intensified the impressions made by the visit to the most wonderful woman of the age. PIQUE.

Mme. Blavatsky Dead

End of the Life of the Investigator of Theosophy
[Reprinted from The New York Times, May 9, 1891, p. 1.]

A dispatch from London announces the death of Mme. Blavatsky of the Theosophical Society. She died in that city three weeks ago of influenza. The body was cremated. Of Mme. Blavatskys parentage and early life little is definitely known. Her father was Col. Peter Hahn, a descendant of the titled family of Mecklenburg, and her mother Helen Fadeef, daughter of Privy Councilor, Andrew Fadeef and the Princess Helene Dolgorousky. She was born in Ekaterinoslav, Russia, in 1831. At seventeen years of age, according to her own account, she married Nicephore Blavatsky, Councilor of State and Vice Governor of Erivan, an old man, and ran away from him a few weeks afterward, and traveled in Greece, Egypt, and India upon money supplied by her father. It was her business in life to surround herself with an atmosphere of romance and mystery, but it is certain that she did travel extensively, and the belief is widespread that she was a spy in the employ of the Russian Government. It is popularly credited that she invented her theosophical humbug in India to cover political intrigues, and that when she was dropped by the Russian Government she used it as a means of livelihood. In 1870 she was expelled from Egypt while endeavouring to form a spiritualistic society, and in 1873 she made her appearance in this country, and was identified with the formation of the imposture known as the Mahatic movement, which to this day has its believers.

She met Col. H. S. Olcott in 1874. He was a New-York lawyer, assigned by a newspaper to write a series of articles upon a spiritualistic demonstration in Vermont. She induced Olcott to have a dream in which she called into existence a mysterious Hindu spirit whom she called Mahatmu Koot Hoomi. This spirit left instructions for the organization of a society, upon which the New-York Theosophical Society was formed in 1875, In 1875 Mme. Blavatsky created a mild sensation by marrying a merchant from Tiflis named Betanelly, who got a divorce from her two or three months later. In the following year the death of Joseph Henry Louis Charles, Baron de Palm, reputed a rich man, afforded Mme. Blavatsky opportunity for further notoriety, by giving him what was known and advertised as the "Pagan Funeral" in the Masonic Temple. Five months later Mme. Blavatsky created a new sensation by having the body cremated, it being the first cremation in the United States. In 1878, with Col. Olcott, she went to India, and in Madras established a shrine and a cabinet, specially designed for an earthly post office for the delivery of Mahatmus letters. A branch was subsequently established by her in London. The London Society for Psychic Research sent Dr. Hodgson to Madras to investigate this shrine. After five months he made an elaborate report, exposing the imposture. The results of this was a violent quarrel between Col. Olcott and Mme. Blavatsky. The latter went to Paris to stay until the storm blew over. When the two parted company, Col. Olcott retained the Madras Shrine, terming his society the Exoteric Theosophical Society. Mme. Blavatsky, in England, formed the Esoteric Society. Mme. Blavatsky is described by Prof. Coues as obese, with small and pretty hands and feet and long finger nails. She had a nose slightly snubbed, flossy yellow hair, a Tartar face, fat cheeks, and high cheek bones. She always tried to make herself out many years older than she was.

Madame Blavatsky Dead

The Career of the Founder of The Theosophical Society. Her Travels Throughout the World Her Labors in Spreading Theosophical Views.
[Reprinted from the New-York Daily Tribune, Saturday, May 9, 1891, p. 7.]

London, May 8. - Madame Blavatsky, the well-known Theosophist, is dead.

Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the founder and great apostle of Theosophy, was born at Ekaterinoslaw, an important town on the River Dneiper, and capital of the provinces of Ekaterinoslaw. Madame Blavatsky's maiden name was Helena Petrovna Hahn-Hahn. Her father was Colonel Peter Hahn, her grandfather being General Alexis Hahn von Rottenstern Hahn, a member of a noble family of Mecklenburg, Germany. Her mother was Helena Fadeef, a daughter of General Andrus Fadeef, a Privy Councillor, and Princess Helena Dolgorouky. The Dolgoroukys trace their descent to Rurik, the founder of the house of Romanoff, the ruling house of Russia. When only seventeen years old Helena Hahn-Hahn, in a fit of pique, married Nicephore Blavatsky, a Councillor of State, who was then sixty years of age. Their married life was short and unhappy. After three months the couple separated by mutual consent, Madame Blavatsky returning to her father's home. Her mania was travelling, and she soon left home and went to Constantinople, where she met Countess Kinsky, and with her travelled through Egypt, Greece and the Eastern countries of Europe and Asia Minor. From these countries she extended her travels all over the world, and it was ten years before she saw her family again. In 1851 she started for Quebec, Canada, as she wished to make the acquaintance of the "noble red man," but she was deeply disappointed with the individual when she did meet him. From Quebec Madame Blavatsky went to New Orleans in quest of the voodoos, or negro sorcerers. Thence she travelled through Texas to Mexico, and she managed to see most of that insecure country, protected only by her natural daring and fearlessness, even in the roughest and most brutal communities. Leaving Mexico with two companions of similar tastes, she sailed by the way of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon to Bombay, and attempted to enter Thibet by the way of Nepaul. Failing in this endeavor, she travelled through Southern India, and then on to Java and Singapore, whence she returned to Europe. The next two years were passed in the United States, and in 1855, she again went to India by way of Japan and the Straits, and with four companions she made a second attempt to enter Thibet through Kashmir. Two of her companions were politely, but immediately, conducted back to the frontier, and the third was prostrated by fever. In a suitable disguise, however, and conducted by a friendly Tartar Shaman, Madame Blavatsky succeeded in crossing the frontier and penetrating the dreary deserts of that little known country. After some strange adventures and getting lost in the pathless wilds of Thibet, she was mysteriously conducted to the frontier by a party of horsemen. The mutiny troubles shortly afterward began, and she sailed from Madras to Java, and thence again to Europe. After spending some time in France and Germany, she returned home to Russia in 1858. From Pskoff, Madame Blavatsky went to Tiflis, where, riding one day in the forest, she was thrown from her horse and sustained a fracture of the spine, which was the cause of a strange psychological experience. For eighteen months she lived a complete dual existence, and considerably puzzled the cleverest physicians who attended her. On her recovery in 1863 she left the Caucasus and went to Italy, passing the following four years in Europe and experiencing a multiplicity of adventures. From 1867 to 1870 she again visited the East. On her return, the vessel on which she was sailing from the Piraeus to Spezzia and which was carrying a cargo of gunpowder, blew up and Madame Blavatsky was one of the few passengers saved. From Greece she went to Alexandria, and thence to Cairo, where she established a society for the investigation of modern "Spiritualism," of

which she had had no experience up to that time. She speedily threw it up, however, and after spending some time at Boulak, she returned to her family at Odessa in 1872. In 1873 she again left Odessa for Paris, and crossed to New York, which she made her headquarters for the next six years, becoming a naturalized American. During this period she investigated some of the most striking phenomena of American spiritualism. In 1875, in conjunction with Colonel H.S. Olcott and W.Q. Judge, she founded the Theosophical Society, with which she had been ever since prominently connected. In defence of her opinion, Madame Blavatsky in 1876 published her first book, "Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology." In 1887 she settled in London and started a Theosophical magazine called "Lucifer, the LightBringer," which she edited up to her death, with Mrs. Annie Besant. In France she was actively connected with three Theosophical reviews, "Le Lotus," "La Revue Theosophique" and "Le Lotus Blea." In 1888 the first two volumes of Madame Blavatsky's greatest work, "The Secret Doctrine; the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy," appeared. This was followed in 1889 by "The Key to Theosophy; a Clear Exposition in the Form of Questions and Answers of the Ethics, Science and Philosophy for the Study of which the Theosophical Society has been Founded," and by a smaller work, "The Voice of the Silence; or Fragments from the Book of the Golden Precepts." The members of the Theosophical societies of New York and Brooklyn received the news of Madame Blavatsky's death yesterday, and were shocked and saddened by the news. W.Q. Judge, who is the general secretary of the Theosophical Society in America, was seen by a Tribune reporter last evening and said: "We have known that Madame Blavatsky has been an invalid for a long time, and it was only her indomitable pluck and endurance that have kept her alive so long. Up to her death she was working heart and soul for the cause for which she so ably preached. It is of course a shock to us, and I, who have known her intimately for years, have lost a dear friend. She can have no successor. Of course somebody will be elected president of the European Theosophical Societies, but that is only a mundane matter. In the spiritual sense nobody can succeed her. There was something about Madame Blavatsky that was not of this world. The good she has done is known to but few. Her home of late was at No. 19 Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, London, where the Theosophists have a large house and a large community that live in the vicinity. They have done much charitable work among the poor and during the late severe winter did all they could for the distressed around them. The death of Madame Blavatsky will have no effect upon the movement here. We shall work as diligently as ever and try to carry out her teaching and wishes. We shall have a meeting in a few days, when no doubt resolutions of regret will be passed."

Madame Blavatsky
[Reprinted from the New-York Daily Tribune, Sunday, May 10, 1891, p. 6.]

Few women in our time have been more persistently misrepresented, slandered and defamed than Madame Blavatsky, but though malice and ignorance did their worst upon her there are abundant indications that her life-work will vindicate itself; that it will endure; and that it will operate for good. She was the founder of the Theosophical Society, an organization now fully and firmly established, which has branches in many countries, East and West, and which is devoted to studies and practices the innocence and the elevating character of which are becoming more generally recognized continually. The life of Madame Blavatsky was a remarkable one, but this is not the place or time to speak of its vicissitudes. It must suffice to say that for nearly twenty years she had devoted herself to the dissemination of doctrines the fundamental principles of which are of the loftiest ethical character. However Utopian may appear to some minds an attempt in the nineteenth century to break down the barriers of race, nationality, caste and class prejudice, and to inculcate that spirit of brotherly love which the greatest of all Teachers enjoined in the first century, the nobility of the aim can only be impeached by those who repudiate Christianity. Madame Blavatsky held that the regeneration of mankind must be based upon the development of altruism. In this she was at one with the greatest thinkers, not alone of the present day, but of all time; and at one, it is becoming more and more apparent, with the strongest spiritual tendencies of the age. This alone would entitle her teachings to the candid and serious consideration of all who respect the influences that make for righteousness. In another direction, though in close association with the cult of universal fraternity, she did important work. No one in the present generation, it may be said, has done more toward reopening the long-sealed treasures of Eastern thought, wisdom, and philosophy. No one certainly has done so much toward elucidating that profound wisdom-religion wrought out by the ever-cogitating Orient, and bringing into the light those ancient literary works whose scope and depth have so astonished the Western world, brought up in the insular belief that the East had produced only crudities and puerilities in the domain of speculative thought. Her own knowledge of Oriental philosophy and esotericism was comprehensive. No candid mind can doubt this after reading her two principal works. Her steps often led, indeed, where only a few initiates could follow, but the tone and tendency of all her writings were healthful, bracing and stimulating. The lesson which was constantly impressed by her was assuredly that which the world most needs, and has always needed, namely, the necessity of subduing self and of working for others. Doubtless such a doctrine is distasteful to the egoworshippers, and perhaps it has little chance of anything like general acceptance, to say nothing of general application. But the man or woman who deliberately renounces all personal aims and ambitions in order to forward such beliefs is certainly entitled to respect, even from such as feel least capable of obeying the call to a higher life. The work of Madame Blavatsky has already borne fruit, and is destined, apparently, to produce still more marked and salutary effects in the future. Careful observers of the time long since discerned that the tone of current thought in many directions was being affected by it. A broader humanity, a more liberal speculation, a disposition to investigate ancient philosophies from a higher point of view, have no indirect association with the teachings referred to. Thus Madame Blavatsky has made her mark upon the time, and thus, too, her works will follow her. She herself has finished the course, and after a strenuous life she rests. But her personal influence is not necessary to the continuance of the great work to

which she put her hand. That will go on with the impulse it has received, and some day, if not at once, the loftiness and purity of her aims, the wisdom and scope of her teachings, will be recognized more fully, and her memory will be accorded the honor to which it is justly entitled.

Madame Blavatsky
By P* * * * * *
[Reprinted from The Woman's Herald (London), May 16, 1891, pp. 465-466.]

The first time I saw Madame Blavatsky was many years ago when she and her friends first went to live at Norwood. I had then been a good deal in London society; that perhaps accounted for the fact that the strongest impression I received about her on this occasion was her naturalness. She seemed to me before all things a child of nature; other people might say she was Bohemian, rather opposed to les convenances --- that is simply another way of putting it. Manners she had none, and her appearance, it cannot be denied, was the reverse of attractive, but her unconventionality, though rough, was refreshing. I never observed that her eyes were either beautiful or magnetic as has been stated. They did not give me that impression. She had a large mobile mouth, there were no set hard lines around it, such as English people usually have. She once had it in her power to do me a great service, and I have always been grateful to her for the kindliness and earnestness with which she helped me; at the same time I must confess that a certain indiscretion and want of tact on her part, in this connection, caused me the most exquisite tortures. This was very characteristic of her; it is also characteristic of her that I did not resent my sufferings. No one with a sound and true heart could long bear her ill-will; at the same time no one with a sound and true judgment could deny that she was the most trying and aggravating person that ever lived. Few people have been in more constant hot water than Madame Blavatsky, indeed it may be said that her sky was never without a thundercloud of criticism and abuse; and it often struck me as strange that she was never able to meet it with equanimity. It always hurt her to the quick. This was possibly the result of temperament, but I think it was the result also of the mere intellectuality of her religion. Our Western nature appears to need the spirit of the Christ in order that it may reach its highest development, and she was almost antagonistic to Christianity sometimes --- but upon these points we may not dogmatise. In any case, although much of the criticism to which she was exposed was well deserved, still more was the result of blind prejudice.

For instance, I have frequently heard her charged with taking money from people, the implication being that there was something nefarious and dishonest in her doing so. My answer has invariably been, Do you think she takes money for her personal use? The answer has always been No. Then I ask, Why may not Madame Blavatsky collect funds for the cause she has at heart, just as you collect funds for your temperance, your mission, or your various philanthropic schemes? This question is not usually answered. As a matter of fact, had any one suggested that she spent the money on herself I could have denied it. I am not a Theosophist, and speak only as an outsider, but I have frequently stayed in her house, and I know the extreme simplicity, almost the poverty, of her life. I remember on one occasion some years ago she was very seriously ill, and her doctor ordered her to drive out; her friends did all they could to persuade her to take an occasional drive in a hired carriage, or a bath chair; nothing would induce her to spend the money on herself --- and so it always was. It is impossible to read a more true account of this strange and difficult character than Mr. Sinnetts life of her. I have been very frequently struck with the suggestiveness of the following passage. No one could understand Madame Blavatsky without studying her by the light of the hypothesis that she was the invisible agent of unknown occult superiors. There was much in her character which repelled the idea that she was an exalted moralist trying to lead people upward towards a higher spiritual life. Once, however, recognise her as the flighty and defective, though loyal and brilliantly gifted representative of superiors in the background, making through her an experiment on the spiritual intuitions of the world in which she moved, and the whole situation was solved, the apparent incoherence of her character and acts explained, and the best attributes of her own nature properly appreciated. Those who are acquainted with the deep religious sentiment and spiritual aspirations which influence the advanced women who are the reformers of this age were frequently disappointed in her. Mr. Sinnett has given us the reason --- we were always looking for the exalted moralist who would help us to solve our social problems, and we never received any help. She was exceedingly clever at not answering questions, and was, moreover, entirely ignorant of our social questions. It must never be forgotten that she was Russian to the backbone. But no such feeling of disappointment accompanies us when we try to follow her through her book, The Secret Doctrine. The Secret Doctrine is not religion, but it is the scientific aspect of religion; the age has not produced a more marvellous work than this, its erudition alone is unsurpassed; for the clearest thinker it is a hard nut to crack --- a good preparation towards the understanding of it is to pass through the Moral Science tripos of the University of Cambridge, but those who have not this advantage may yet be able to get some gleams

of light on the subjects it treats of; these are Cosmogenesis or Cosmic Evolution, Anthropogenesis, and Symbolism. Just before one of these volumes appeared, her secretary, who was a great student of Tennyson, remarked that he was not acquainted with some quotation which she gave in it from Tennysons works, and as a matter of fact it could not be found in his published writings. But Madame Blavatsky was not to be moved, and Mr. K. (1) went off to the British Museum to make further investigations. After several days of fruitless search he discovered a poem of Tennysons, written in his early youth and published in some insignificant magazine which contained the lines in question. To criticise such a work is impossible, because in the first place the critics do not read it (they have not all passed the Moral Science Tripos); those who have made a serious study of this volume and who are unable to accept its teaching are still bound to confess that it exhibits not only a working hypothesis but, indeed the only hypothesis yet offered to us of the genesis and evolution of cosmic and individual life. To those of us who seek to penetrate behind and beyond the dry bones of positive science The Secret Doctrine opens out possibilities which are infinite, and avenues of thought which a conventional world has hitherto stopped, and which the thinkers of past ages, Plato, Porphyry, Schopenhauer, Boehme, Schelling, &c., have dimly perceived and have pointed out. There is much in it that is repellant to Christian feeling, but there is more that may be taken as a priceless commentary upon the Bible. The two main doctrines which she has been instrumental in transplanting from the East to the West are the doctrines of Karma and Re-incarnation; neither can be described within the limits of a newspaper article, both are deeply interesting, and suggest thought, whether we accept them or not. Re-incarnation is based on the eternity of the soul in the past as in the future and its ultimate identification with the true self; the self, they say, is not this body, but the body is used by the soul for its own edification, and to this end also each soul incarnates itself in a succession of thousands of lives, and these lives, with an intervening period of rest, are to the life of that soul as the days and the nights are to the life of the individual. Karma is the destiny which we weave for ourselves by our thoughts, our desires, and our actions, and in which, of course, the past life history of the soul plays an important part. Madame Blavatsky has long been out of health, and lately her sufferings had been aggravated by the cold. She died on Friday week, and was, according to her wish, cremated at Woking Cemetery last Monday. A large number of friends and followers were present. Whatever may be out opinion of H. P. B. we, who are not her followers, may offer to those who are, our compassionate sympathy for the loss of their leader.

Endnote
(1) "Mr. K." is Mr. Bertram Keightley.

Blavatsky's Life A Brief Account of Her Career in This Country

A Very Remarkable Woman

Description of Her Person, Her Habits and Her Home --Something About Her Associates and What They Thought of Her. [Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 1891, p. 12.]

The general secretary of the American section of the Theosophical Society, in a letter dated New York, May 9, says: So many rumors and statements have appeared in the New York papers to the effect that Mme. Blavatsky died three weeks ago, and that the death was concealed until yesterday, that I beg to state that a cable just received by me from the private secretary of Mme. Blavatsky reads as follows: She died Friday, the 8th of May, at 2.25 in the afternoon. This hour in London would be about 9 A.M. here, and the telegram of announcement to me was received here between 1 and 2 P.M. Mme. Helen P. Blavatsky, whose death in London was announced in yesterdays Times, and concerning whose career some interesting facts were printed in these columns yesterday, was born in the inner Court circles of St. Petersburg. Her maiden name was Hahn; her husbands name was Blavatsky. She was married to Blavatsky when she was a school girl, and left him a few weeks afterward. Concerning the separation and the reasons therefor, stories are told in the inner circles of the Court that would surprise some of the people who have talked scandal about her of late years. These stories have never been published, says the New York Times. Mme. Blavatsky came to New York early in the seventies, and from the time of her arrival here until now, scandal and misrepresentation have made free with her name. When she appeared in New York she had certainly learned very much of the philosophy of the Eastern school of religionists. Whether this was a genuine knowledge of religion or not, it is not material in this connection. It is known, however, that she traveled in the Eastern countries. She claims that she traveled from about 1850 to about 1870 among the priests in the East, who professed to hold the secret of the Magian religion. No evidence has been brought to New York to substantiate this. Neither has it been disputed. So far as New York knows she appeared here about 1873. It has been said that she was an immoral woman. It has been said that she was a Russian spy. It has been said that she organized the Theosophical Society and conducted it for the purpose of making a living for herself and Colonel Olcott, who was said to be connected with her by ignoble ties.

The Theosophical Society, of which she was the parent, was started in New York some two years after she arrived here. Soon after the inception of this society she encountered Colonel Henry S. Olcott. Olcott was then an ardent Spiritualist. Mme. Blavatsky never was a Spiritualist. Olcott, however, had become involved in certain personal difficulties, which led him to sever his own domestic relations and to join forces with Mme. Blavatsky in the formation of a society which they intended should embody the study of an intellectual religion. This was the inception of the Theosophical Society. It became necessary to attract public attention to it. The death of Baron de Palm, who was genuine baron, and who held numerous titles of nobility, despite the fact that he was a tramp and dependent upon the charity of Olcott for his food and clothing, gave the society a chance to exploit itself. The funeral, the cremation, the exploitation and finally the scattering of the incinerated remains of the unfortunate baron followed, and all served to attract the attention of the public to the Theosophical Society. All this was new to the American public then. Mme. Blavatsky, about the year 1877, took a flat at the southwest corner of Eighth avenue and Forty-seventh street. This was the place that afterward became famous by the name of the Lamasery. Col. Olcott, having been separated legally from his family, was a joint occupant of this flat. William Q. Judge, who was for years before that time a mystic, joined the two partners, and then began the public career of the Theosophical Society. Concerning this there is very much to be said, more, indeed, than can be comprised in a newspaper article. The flat itself was a modest apartment of seven or eight rooms on a third floor. The rent was perhaps $35 a month. The expenses of running it, including the table bill and the hire of a servant, and also including the abundant hospitality which Mme. Blavatsky extended to a few personal friends, might possibility have been $30 a week, possibly $40. This was the basis of all the stories that have been circulated to the effect that she made theosophy pay while she was in New York. Offsetting this is the unquestioned fact that she was a correspondent of newspapers in Russia and in Paris during all that time. In this flat certain wonderful things occurred --- at least, they were said to be wonderful. Donovan, the sculptor; Chase, Wimbredge, Harrisse and others, among the artists; Linda Dietz, and her sister and father, Sara Cowell, Mr. and Mrs. Le Moyne, and Mme. Schevitsch, among actors, and General Abner A. Doubleday, United States Army; Charles Lotheran, the journalist, Mitchell of the Sun, Curtis of the World, half a dozen Catholic priests, Professor Alexander Wilder, the famous anthropologist, and a score of other observers, more or less known to fame, are ready today to testify to certain happenings in this flat which transcended the recognized laws of events. There were displayed before critics the keenest that could be selected certain phenomena which could not be explained by any one present. To go into a discussion of them would be to open up a string of fairy stories. Mme. Blavatsky, while she was willing to work these wonders in the presence of friends, always refused to do anything of the kind when she was confronted by an unfriendly skeptic. Her friends might scoff and good-naturedly question all her powers and she would never get angry, but would laugh and make merry over the alleged wonders without a word of controversy. The moment, however, that any one appeared who was antagonistic to her

was the moment when she closed her shell. It happened in 1878 that she was interviewed by a man who saw both sides of this question. If she was really the person she claimed to be the world was bound to listen. If she was not it was certain that a worthy successor of Cagliostro had appeared. Accordingly he wrote a series of articles which attracted the attention of the whole country. From that moment the Theosophical Society became an accomplished fact. It has been said that the society has been used as a means of revenue by the two or three who have had charge of all its business affairs. If this by any chance can be true these people are contended with little, for not enough money has come in, in the regular course, to the society to hire a small hall in New York, let alone paying the expenses of the principal officers in traveling half around the world. A personal characterization of Mme. Blavatsky, by one who knew her as intimately as any one could, who was not a sworn disciple of hers, is as follows: She was a woman of apparently 60 years of age when she first became prominent as the leader of the Theosophical Society. A very curious thing about her was that she would look old one day and young the next. I suppose that I was as intimate in my visiting of the Forty-seventh street flat as anybody was, and I have happened upon her at 10 oclock in the morning when she seemed to be 70 years old. I have seen her in the evening when I would have sworn that she was not 35. You may take this as the evidence of a man who does not know physiognomy, but W. M. Chase, Donovan, and Wimbredge will all tell you the same, and I can find half a dozen other artists in New York who will do as much. These are people whose business it is to study faces, and that is what they told me after studying her face week in and week out. She was curious in her habits as she was in her appearance. It has been said in the papers that she was very obese, weighing more than 300 pounds. As a matter of fact, she was a woman of slender frame, and she did weigh probably 200 pounds. She was active and quick on her feet, and never made any objection to going out in the evening or in the daytime if there happened to be anything outside which she considered worth seeing. I have taken her to the circus to see certain people whom Barnum had advertised as Indian magicians. I have taken her to the East River shore to track a ghost which was said to row up and down the river in a small boat every night. I have taken her to the house of a so called medium, three miles away, where I told her she was likely to see some clever tricks in Spiritualism. All this happened while she was writing her great work, Isis Unveiled, which has been pronounced one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the nineteenth century, and I never knew her to complain of the physical exertion. I only mention this to show how unfounded are the stories about her physical lethargy. I might say this as indicating a curious turn or tendency in her mind. She became furiously angry when any one questioned the truth of a story which ordinary people would call supernatural. For instance, when I told her that the ghost of old Shep which she had gone down to the East River to see was probably nothing more than the imagination of a drunken man, she almost put me out of the house. Yet she had no evidence of the existence of old Shep beyond what I had told her.

The characteristic which she impressed upon all those who met her in a friendly way was, beyond question, sincerity. Of course I can say nothing about the alleged exposure of her trickery in India. Neither do I propose to question the statements of Professor Coues, of Washington, as to whether she was an impostor. I can only say that, supposing her to have been one, she was cleverer than all the others who have appeared in New York within my twenty-five years recollection. Into the flat which Mme. Blavatsky occupied during the latter part of her stay in New York came a constant procession of people whose importance would be readily recognized if it were possible to give a full list of their names. From all over the world people of distinction came to learn what it was that she was offering under the name of Theosophy. It is safe to say that not one in a hundred went away with any idea of the real significance of what she was teaching. It has been said that she was the only person who knew what Theosophy was. It has also been said that Judge knew and that Olcott knew. But even the best advanced in the society will question this statement. The Theosophical Society is said to number about 2,000 members in the United States and it is also said that these members are admitted for money and that the society is kept alive by means of dues and compulsory subscriptions. It is said, moreover, that members upon admission to the society bound themselves to obey Mme. Blavatskys injunctions implicitly and to render all moral and pecuniary aid in their power to the society. This is not true, and whatever the society may do in the future and whatever Mme. Blavatsky has said in the past are two things. Whether the society shall go on or not is nothing to the purpose. What Mme. Blavatsky has done is all that need be considered here. After four or five years work in New York she decided to leave this country and go to India, where she has been already assured of ample support for her scheme, which, as she had formulated it, was nothing more or less than a revival of what English scholars have called the Wisdom Religion of the East. Before going to India she had been assured of the help of one Dya-Nand-Saraswati, a reformer, who had traveled through a great portion of India preaching the revival of the original Buddhism as taught by Guatama-Buddha, much in the same way that Martin Luther preached original Christianity some centuries ago. She had also letters full of encouragement from a man named HurrychundChintamon, a learned Pundit, who had translated the Bhagavat-Gild, and who afterward turned out to be a precious swindler. She believed that the society would be better carried on in India than in America, and after providing for its perpetuation here she started, in company with three or four personal followers, in 1879. The breaking of the Lamasery was a mournful occasion to her personal friends. An auction sale was held, at which the few trifles of Oriental bric-a-brac which she had gathered together were sold for nothing at all. The descriptions which have been written of her rooms in Forty-seventh street seem to have been coined by the writers out of very misty recollections. The real fact is that she had hardly anything of intrinsic value there, and was frequently hard pressed to pay current expenses, even with Olcotts assistance, and he was then practicing law.

After her departure from New York the Theosophical Society languished so far as New York was concerned. But letters were received from India, some of which were published here, going to show that a great start in theosophy had been made among the Hindus. About this time it was noticeable that there were numerous publications in the American and European press to the effect that Mme. Blavatsky was a Russian spy. This is a story which has been told about her at every stage of her career since 1865. None of the writers who have repeated the story have given a single statement as corroborative proof of the story. Yet it has clung to her, and while she was in India there is no question that she was greatly embarrassed by the reiteration of this reflection upon her character. Concerning her career in India many contradictory stories have reached this country. It is certain that she was accused by very respectable people of imposture. Dr. Hodgson was sent out some six years ago by the London Society for Psychic Research, and he spent two or three months in India with the avowed object of learning whether she was or was not a humbug. A Mme. Coulomb, who had been employed by Mme. Blavatsky as a housekeeper, and who is said to have had some personal difference with her before Dr. Hodgsons arrival, made a statement to that gentleman regarding impostures which she declared that Mme. Blavatsky was guilty of. The report of Dr. Hodgson was, beyond a question, the heaviest blow that the Theosophical Society ever received. It put into a position of antagonism very many people who had before that remained in an attitude of doubt. It also alienated many who had been up to that time inclined to believe in the professions of the society. Mme. Blavatsky shortly after this left India, and after a little travel in Europe made a residence in London, where she had been for the last three or four years. Since her exit from India there has been a notable revival of theosophy in England. Without a question it is due to her personal influence upon a certain class of English thinkers. No more notable example of this can be cited than that of Annie Besant, who is now a pronounced theosophist and who had been up to the time of her meeting with Mme. Blavatsky one of the leaders of atheistic thought and a pronounced follower of Charles Bradlaugh. Mme. Blavatsky was or was not the prophet of a new religion. She said it was old, but it was new to this country, where she introduced it. She was or was not one of the most advanced thinkers of the nineteenth century. She was or was not gifted with certain powers which she claimed to have learned by a study of the religion of the East, of which powers she gave manifestations freely to those who were willing to see or hear judicially. She was not a common humbug. She did not exhibit her alleged powers for money. She did not lend herself --- at least, not while she was in America --- to any exhibition for which any individual was charged a penny. She did not demand money from any member of her society, and she did not benefit a penny by the very few dollars paid into the society while she was here. She drew her scany income from abroad and worked hard for it. She was a woman of very unusual education, who had a mind that proved itself capable of confusing some of the best intellects of the age. She succeeded in convincing people who did not believe in spiritualism or in supernaturalism that she had powers which they could not explain. She reviled the accepted religions of this part of the world, and offered in their stead theosophy. To this new, or old, creed or belief, theory, or philosophy, whatever it

may be, at least 2,000 Americans have given their adherance. Whether she was a Cagliostro or a John the Baptist she has made her impress

Mme. Blavatsky's Disciples

Mr. Judge says Annie Besant is scheming to be President of the Theosophists.
[First published in the Boston Evening Herald, April 27, 1895.]

At the meeting of the American section of the Theosophical Society in Horticultural Hall tomorrow more than 3000 members will be represented by delegates and proxies. It is expected that the American section will vote to become independent of the European. The chief personage in the convention will be William Q. Judge. Mr. Judge seems to be supported by the majority of the American theosophists, while he is bitterly opposed by those in England. In England he is accused of forging letters from the Mahatmas. Mr. Judge denies this strenuously, and says the charge is made by Annie Besant because she desires to get him out of the way so that she may become president of the society. Mr. Judge says that even if these letters are forgeries (of course not his), it is easily possible, with the laxity of the Indian postal arrangements, for the messages to have been written en route. A Boston theosophist has recently received a letter referring to this controversy, from A. P. Sinnett of London. The gentleman who has received the letter says: This whole theosophical movement, as engineered by Mr. Judge, hangs upon the question of the genuineness of Madame Blavatskys alleged Mahatmas. The principal evidence in their behalf is that given by Mr. Sinnett in his Occult World and Esoteric Buddhism. He then refers to the remarkable change of front in the following letter:

[Statement by A.P. Sinnett]

Some of Mr. Judges recent remarks about the possibility of letters coming into existence in the handwriting of the Mahatmas, which do not really emanate from their authorship at all, are quite in harmony with my own knowledge of the facts; but I am obliged to give my recognition of that embarrassing condition of things a very different application from that which Mr. Judge suggests. I have known for a great many years that many letters in the Mahatmas handwriting, coming through Madame Blavatsky herself, were anything but what they seemed.

The trouble in this respect began about the year 1887 (1), when Madame Blavatsky was in this country [England], and desirous of carrying out many arrangements connected with the society in London, of which I personally disapproved. To my surprise I received through her letters in the familiar handwriting of the Mahatma K. H., which endorsed her view and desired my compliance. These gave me great distress at the time, though I did not at first suspect the bona fide of their origin. The flavor of their style was unlike that to which I had been used during the long course of my previous correspondence with the Mahatma, and gradually my mind was forced to the conviction that they could not be really authentic. A year or so later, when the Coulomb scandal had for the moment almost overwhelmed Madame Blavatskys influence here, I visited her in her retirement at Wurzburg (2), and in the intimate conversation that ensued she frankly avowed to me that the letters to which I have above referred had not proceeded from the Mahatma at all. She had, in fact, procured their production in order to subserve what she conceived to be the right policy of the society at the time --- falling into the fatal error of doing evil that good might come. There is no room for supposing that I am mistaken in my recollection of what passed. These are clear and definite, and were the subject of much conversation between myself and theosophical friends at the time. Moreover, at a somewhat later date, when Madame Blavatsky was staying at Ostend (3), I then referred to the matter, and said that I considered myself to have been hardly used, in so far as my deepest sentiment of loyalty to the Mahatma had been practiced upon for purposes with which he had nothing to do. Madame Blavatsky, I remember, replied: Well, you were not much hurt, because, after all, you never believed the letters were genuine. The Coulomb scandal referred to the investigation of the Society for Psychical Research into the subject of these Mahatma letters, during which Mr. and Mrs. Coulomb, who had been at one time closely allied with Madame Blavatsky, declared that her letters were frauds --- mystic missives pulled down from the ceiling with a string.

Endnotes by BA editor:
(1) An error (printing or otherwise). The year was 1884. (2) A.P. Sinnett visited Madame Blavatsky at Wurzburg, Germany in late September 1885. (3) Sinnett again visited H.P.B. at Ostende, Belgium in mid-July 1886.

With H.P.B. in the Seventies

by A.L.P.
[First published in Theosophy (New York) August 1896, pp. 150-153.]

Some twenty years ago there came into my life several strange happenings and I began to attend Spiritualistic seances in the hope of solving some of these apparent mysteries. I was visiting New York City and it was about the time that Spiritualism began to be considered as a fad, and to take on new life and vitality, for previously, and even at that time, people with Spiritualistic tendencies were relegated to the ranks of cranks. In fact so great was the prejudice of my parents to these supposed "fools and knaves," as they termed mediums, that I had been forbidden to frequent seance rooms, or to have communication in any way with so-called mediums. I was then about eighteen years of age, and had been brought up a strict and practical Roman Catholic and taught that whatever was true in the Spiritualistic teachings emanated purely and simply from the devil. Although I believed this I still felt a lively desire to know more of this Spiritualism, and consequently attended all the seances to which I could gain access. At that time Spiritualistic meetings were not so frequent as they have become since and certainly not so popular, for I remember that I was always rather ashamed to have my friends know that I visited mediums, fearing that they would think me, at least, a little queer. But, as Kipling says, "that is another story." In New York in my hunt after the supernatural I met a Cuban family by the name of A. . . . and the head of the family seeing my enthusiasm and faith in spirit control, proposed, if possible, to introduce me to one whom he considered the greatest medium of the age. I say if possible advisedly, for it was not easy at that time to have interviews with H. P. B. - for it was none other than she. Several days after this I started with Senor A. for what I thought would prove a sitting with a medium. We went to a house on Irving Place, and after climbing a flight of stairs knocked at a door and were told to come in. We entered an ordinary looking room, somewhat disorderly, littered with books, papers and oriental tapestries, and filled with the odor of tobacco. My first thought was that this Mme. Blavatsky must be a successful medium, for there were none of the signs of a struggle for existence which I so frequently met with in the houses of mediums. I forget what form the introduction took, but I distinctly remember seeing the outlines of a large figure seated behind a table with a pen in one hand and a cigarette in the other and wondering as to whether it was a man or a woman. Suddenly a pair of eyes, the like of which I have never seen before or since were turned upon me and I felt as though I had received an electric shock. I was thoroughly frightened, and felt tempted to run out of the room. For a moment I seemed to realize that my father confessor was right in asserting that Spiritualism meant dealing with the devil, and I felt as though I had struck the high

priestess of Beelzebubs court. All this went through my mind like a flash, but in a moment I heard a pleasant voice, with an accent foreign to my ear, asking me to sit down. A pleasant conversation followed between Senor A., H. P. B. and myself. I told her of my interest in Spiritualism, what strange fancies and dreams often came to me, how my desire to investigate was opposed at home, and how I firmly believed all phenomena to be the workings of the devil. She said very little but kept those wonderful "windows of the soul" fixed on me and seemed looking me through. After a little I began to feel easier under that wonderful gaze, and what had struck absolute terror to my heart in those eyes a few moments before, now became a halo of soft and kindly light. How strange, I said to myself, that this medium is so different from the others that I have seen. I felt an almost irresistible impulse to reach across the table and take hold of her hand. I wanted to come in contact with her flesh, - perhaps to assure myself that she was really flesh and blood, not a spiritualistic materialization. Still I did not at all like her untidy and careless appearance, and, with the exception of those wonderful eyes, I did not feel especially attracted to her. I could not help admiring however the small and aristocratic shape of her hands. The conversation was for the most part between H. P. B. and Senor A., and of a general nature, and after a short call Senor A. arose to depart and I followed. As soon as we were outside again I took a long, deep breath, my first, it seemed to me, since I had entered H. P. B.s presence. On reaching the street I turned to Senor A. and said: "Who is this woman? I have never met any one who had such an effect on me as did she; I feel as though I had been through some terrible experience." He replied that she was a great medium visiting America to investigate Spiritualism. On reaching home I could think of nothing and talk of nothing but the woman with the wonderful eyes who, much as I disliked her careless and disorderly appearance, had so fascinated me that I fairly ached to see her again. It must be borne in mind that there could have been no mental hypnotism in my case, for I had never heard of H. P. B. and supposed her to be simply a medium such as I had visited many times. My family declared that I had been in the presence of the evil one; but for my part I could think of nothing but those splendid eyes. Several days after I asked Senor A. to beg another opportunity for me to see the "wonderful medium," as I called her, and great was my joy at being given permission to call on a certain day. I went alone, and found H. P. B. seated behind the same table. On entering the room I walked straight up to her and shook that small, slender hand, every motion of which betokened the high strung, finely organized sensitiveness which I am sure H. P. B. possessed. I sat at the table opposite her, and we talked of Spiritualism for half an hour or more. Suddenly she placed her left arm upon the table and drawing out a strand of her yellowish hair, twisted it around her fingers and asked me what I saw. I saw plainly a small wriggling snake, and said so. She laughed heartily at this and said, "Indeed, you see nothing but a piece of hair. I willed that you should see a snake and you saw it."

She advised me to let Spiritualism and its phenomena alone, and turn my thoughts into a higher channel. If only I had known then, what I know now, about this wonderful woman, how differently I would have talked and acted! On my return from this strange visit, I found a telegram summoning me home to New Orleans at once. I left for the South the next day, and strange to say H. P. B. faded completely from my memory. Several months later I received a copy of Isis Unveiled from H. P. B., but without a word of comment. Up to this time I had never heard a word about H. P. B. or Theosophy, and though I looked over Isis Unveiled I could not understand its purport. I still thought H. P. B. a spiritualistic medium, and as I had discontinued all investigation in that line, I ceased to think of her. Soon after, I married, and joined the Episcopal Church. Fifteen years went by and during all this time I never heard a word of H. P. B. or the T. S. One day a friend of my childhood, whom I had not seen for twenty years, as she had been living in California, returned to New Orleans and came to see me. She told me of Theosophy and what it meant and how anxious she was to form a branch in the Crescent City. I looked into the subject, and lo! my surprise to find that H. P. B., the "wonderful woman" whom I had quite forgotten, was the one who had brought this great truth to our continent. As soon as my friend mentioned H. P. B.s name in connection with Theosophy I experienced something akin to the sensation I had felt when those "wonderful eyes" first met mine in the room on Irving Place in New York, though for sixteen years I had never heard of her or her great work for Theosophy. Needless to say, I joined the T. S. This was four years ago, but I have felt almost daily that my strange meeting with H. P. B. was a preliminary to my entering its ranks. It was sheer curiosity that prompted my going to see H. P. B., but it was certainly a great privilege, although at the time I did not appreciate it. Is it not at least strange that twenty years ago I should have met one whose writings, so many years after, have proven an inspiration, a reality, a living power in my life? Truly mysterious are the ways of Karma. A. L. P., New Orleans, T. S.

A Letter From China

[Concerning Madame Blavatsky and the Great Lama Kut Te Hum]
[Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India) August 1900, pp. 700-701.]

Through the kindness of an Indian Prince we have received a letter written by a gentleman from Simla who was travelling in China, to an Indian friend. The reference to H.P.B.

makes it specially interesting. We omit the names from the original letter which is in our possession. Ed. Note. RUNG JUNG MAHAN, CHINA 1st January 1900. MY DEAR : Your letter addressed through His Highness Raja Sahib Hira Singh, reached me while traversing the Spiti mountains. Now I have crossed these mountains and am in the territory of Mahan, China. This place is known by the name of Rung Jung and lies within the territory of the Chinese empire. The place has a great cave and is surrounded by high mountains. It is the chief haunt of Lamas and the favourite resort of Mahatmas. Great Rishis have chosen it on account of its antiquity and beautiful and charming scenery. The place is suited for divine contemplation. A man can nowhere find a place better suited for focussing one's mind. The great Lama, Kut Te Hum, is the guru of all Lamas and has absorbed his attention in the form of Samadhi for the last two and a half months. He is expected to be out of Samadhi after some three and a half months, so it is my chief desire to wait here for that period and personally converse with him. His chelas (disciples) also are ever meditating and trying to absorb themselves in the Great Divine. From conversation with them I came to know that Madame Blavatsky had visited this place and meditated here for some time. Formerly I had doubts as to her arrival here, but all my misgivings have now been removed and I feel confident of her divine contemplation at this holy and sacred place. The lesson and Updesha I received from these Lamas show that the views of the Theosophical Society are not merely visionary and theoretical but are practical schemes. But after a long experience I feel that it is difficult to practise yoga in the plains of Hindustan; that it is possible to do so only in these high mountains. Formerly I used to contemplate for two or three hours per day, and that even with difficulty, now I can sit easily for eight or nine hours, and even more. I am, now-a-days, quite healthy and feel myself better than before. A Bengali Babu named is here with me and has come here for the sake of contemplation and we two will together proceed to Lhassa. These Lamas have got with them a valuable library which I cannot describe to you within this short space. If God wills, this Bengali Babu will accompany me to those parts and will have occasion to see men noble, like you, as soon as he shall have his term of contemplation completed. He serves me in writing letters at times when he is not busy. The Athyas of these Mahatmas and Lamas show that every man should devote a portion of his life in contemplation and should not lead a life of atheism and agnosticism. He should spare a portion of each day in contemplating the Divine Being. With prayers to the Almighty for your health and welfare, Yours, &c

The 'Complex Character' of Madame Blavatsky

by M.T.
[Reprinted from Light (London), March 2, 1901, p. 103.]

Professor C. W. Sellin contributes to Psychische Studien an article on Theosophy, in which he expresses his profound conviction, founded on a close study of the subject, that Theosophy, in the person of its foundress and in that of some of its adherents, is a gigantic humbug. This is strong language; but perhaps the most interesting part of the Professors article is that in which he quotes a remarkable letter, written, he says, in 1885, by Mr. Leadbeater. As I had never before seen this letter, and as it may be equally new to some of the readers of Light, I subjoin a translation: ---

[Statement by C.W. Leadbeater]

June 14th, 1885: Subba Row related to us recently more concerning Madames remarkable complex character than I, at least, had previously known; and it shows us plainly how foolish it would be to blame her for what in anyone else would be called a want of common moral qualities. We were right in believing that the original H. P. Blavatsky, who was by nature clairvoyant and who had some knowledge of occultism, disappeared from earth life some twenty years ago, and that a certain Adept, who in some way had failed to reach his goal, voluntarily took possession of her body, or was placed there --- partly as a punishment, in order to do all in his power to promulgate the truth through her. We likewise understood rightly that when engaged on other business he was frequently absent from this body. But now I come to a point about which I was completely in error. I thought that during the absence of the Adept, the body was in a state similar to that of Margrave in Bulwer Lyttons "Strange Story," only animated by its original lower constituents. But it seems this was not the case. At her death, all the usual constituents of the body left it as with that of others, and the present inhabitant had to supply the whole want from his own organisation. For this purpose two Chelas, but little versed in occultism, were selected to take the Adepts place when necessary; and as no Adept or Chela can enter into a womans body during times of illness, at such times it had to be taken possession of by a terrible illtempered, ignorant old Tibet woman, in place of the Adept or Chelas, as she was the only female available for this purpose. It seems that when either of the four replaced one of the others, he or she had no idea of what had been said or done by the predecessor, and thus endless confusion occurred. This explains the fact that Madame so often contradicts what she had said a few hours previously, which fact naturally greatly excited Hodgsons suspicions. It likewise accounts for the fact that sometimes she seems to know less about occultism than we ourselves do, while at others she speaks with the power and authority of a Rishi. For months together, in consequence of her various illnesses, the terrible old woman alone has inhabited her almost all the time, and all around her have suffered from her ill-temper. Still the Adept maintains his connection, in the hope, as we think, to be able to complete his promulgation of the "secret doctrine" through her. Whether this poor diseased body will hold together long enough for this purpose no one at present can predict. Of course this true explanation is useless for outsiders. But I think I can give even to them

a satisfactory explanation of Madames contradictions without attributing intentional untruth to her, when I inform them that, as a Russian, she was prone to exaggeration, coupled with an unretentive memory and an excitable style of speaking; and especially when we consider that English is not her mother tongue --- [Olcott boasts of her that her English is classic --- Professor Sellin] --- and therefore she often makes mistakes. Poor old lady! her life has truly been a wonderful one, and who can say what will still come of it! Whether or not the foregoing strange story be, as Mr. Leadbeater writes, the true explanation of Madames extraordinary personality, one can scarcely wonder at the few words of advice with which Professor Sellin thus concludes: --'To Theosophists in general I would offer the advice that they should employ their time in some more useful occupation than in the silly game of Theosophy. Our age is over full of phenomena of degeneration, and we really cannot do with Theosophy, which is one of the worst.' M.T. [For Professor C.W. Sellin's involvement with Madame Blavatsky, see her letters to Wilhelm Hbbe-Schleiden.---BAO Editor.]

Helena Paulovna Blavatsky

[Reprinted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1902 edition. ] Blavatsky, Helena Paulovna (1831-1891), Russian theosophist, was born at Ekaterinoslav, Russia, 31st July (O.S.) 1831. She is stated to have been the daughter of Peter Hahn, a Russian officer. An unruly girl, she sought emancipation from family ties by marrying in her 17th year (7th July 1848) Nicephore Blavatsky, a Russian official in Caucasia, from whom she was separated after a few months of stormy conjugal life. In later days, when seeking to invest herself with a halo of virginity, she described the marriage as a nominal one, and her bridegroom as a plumeless raven nearer seventy than sixty. If this statement were true, M. Blavatsky, who was reported as still living in 1895, would then have been considerably over 110 years of age. During the twenty years that followed the separation from her husband, Mme. Blavatsky travelled and probably gained experience as a spiritualistic medium in large cities, among which it is believed that she visited Paris, Cairo, New Orleans, Tokio, and Calcutta. The period 1848-58 was alluded to subsequently as the veiled period of her life, and she spoke vaguely of a seven years sojourn in Little and Great Tibet or preferably of a Himalayan retreat. In 1858 she revisited Russia, where she created a considerable sensation as a spiritualistic medium. Early in the 'seventies she acquired prominence among the spiritualists of the United States, and was mixed up in the Eddy Brothers and Katie King frauds. Her leisure was occupied with the study of occult and cabalistic literature, to which was soon to be added that of the sacred writings of India, though these had to be approached through the medium of translations.

In 1875 she conceived the plan of combining the spiritualistic control with the Buddhistic legends about Tibetan sages or wonder-working adepts. Henceforth she determined to exclude all control save that of two Tibetan adepts or mahatmas, called respectively Koot Hoomi and Morya. The mahatmas exhibited their astral bodies to her, precipitated messages which reached her from the confines of Tibet in an instant of time, supplied her with sound doctrine, and incited her to perform tricks for the conversion of sceptics. At New York, in October 1875, with the aid of Colonel Olcott, she definitely launched the Theosophical Society, which was formed out of a group of disillusioned spiritualists, and had for its avowed objects to put down spiritualism, to convert the materialists, and to prove the existence of the Tibetan brothers. The Brahmanic and Buddhistic literatures supplied the society with a technical vocabulary, and its doctrines were a curious amalgam of Egyptian, cabalistic, occultist, Indian, and modern spiritualistic ideas and formulas. The two leading text-books, Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), both compiled by Madame Blavatsky, are a mosaic of unacknowledged quotations from wellknown works, as Mackenzies Masonic Cyclopaedia, Kings Gnostics, Zellers Plato, the works on magic by Dunlop, Salverte, Ennemoser, and Des Mousseaux, but above all from the mystical writings of Eliphas Levi. She took great pains with A Glossary of Theosophical Terms (1890-92), compiled for the benefit of the flap-doodles, as in moments of candour she called her disciples. But the appearance of Homes Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism (1877) had a prejudicial effect upon the propaganda, and Heliona P. Blavatsky (as she began to style herself) sought temporary obscurity in India. Thence she contributed some clever papers, From the Cave and Jungles of Hindostan, to the Russky Vyestnik. Defeated in her object of obtaining employment in the Russian secret service, she resumed her efforts to gain converts to theosophy. For this purpose the exhibition of physical phenomena was found necessary. The jugglery which she practised was cleverly conceived, but carelessly executed, and on three distinct occasions the elaborate system of trickery to which she resorted was exposed in the most conclusive manner. Nevertheless, Madame Blavatskys extraordinary cleverness, volubility, energy, and will power enabled her to maintain her ground, and when she died on 8th May 1891 (White Lotus Day), at the Theosophical headquarters in Avenue Road, Regents Park, London, she was the acknowledged head of a community numbering not far short of 100,000, with journals in London, Paris, New York, and Madras. Much information respecting her will be found in Solovyoffs Modern Priestess of Isis, translated b Walter Leaf (1895), in Arthur Lillies Madame Blavatsky and her Theosophy (1895), and in the report made to the Society for Psychical Research by the Cambridge graduate despatched to investigate her doings in India. In personal appearance the old one, as Madame was familiarly called by her following, has been described as globular in shape, with a dull gray complexion, a far from attractive physiognomy, and eyes like discolored turquoises. Yet she certainly fascinated those who came in contact with her, even those of her colleagues whom her fibs and indiscretions kept in a continual state of uneasiness.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

[Reprinted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910 edition. ]

BLAVATSKY, HELENA PETROVNA (1831-1891), Russian theosophist, was born at Ekaterinoslav, on the 31st of July (O.S.) 1831, the daughter of Colonel Peter Hahn, a member of a Mecklenburg family, settled in Russia. She married in her seventeenth year a man very much her senior, Nicephore Blavatsky, a Russian official in Caucasia, from whom she was separated after a few months; in later days, when seeking to invest herself with a halo of virginity, she described the marriage as a nominal one. During the next twenty years Mme. Blavatsky appears to have travelled widely in Canada, Texas, Mexico and India, with two attempts on Tibet. In one of these she seems to have crossed the frontier alone in disguise, been lost in the desert, and, after many adventures, been conducted back by a party of horsemen. The years from 1848 to 1858 were alluded to subsequently as the veiled period of her life, and she spoke vaguely of a seven years sojourn in Little and Great Tibet, or preferably of a Himalayan retreat. In 1858 she revisited Russia, where she created a sensation as a spiritualistic medium. About 1870 she acquired prominence among the spiritualists of the United States, where she lived for six years, becoming a naturalized citizen. Her leisure was occupied with the study of occult and kabbalistic literature, to which she soon added that of the sacred writings of India, through the medium of translations. In 1875 she conceived the plan of combining the spiritualistic control with the Buddhistic legends about Tibetan sages. Henceforth she determined to exclude all control save that of two Tibetan adepts or mahatmas. The mahatmas exhibited their astral bodies to her, precipitated messages which reached her from the confines of Tibet in an instant of time, supplied her with sound doctrine, and incited her to perform tricks for the conversion of sceptics. At New York, on the 17th of November 1875, with the aid of Colonel Henry S. Olcott, she founded the Theosophical Society with the object of (1) forming a universal brotherhood of man, (2) studying and making known the ancient religions, philosophies and sciences, (3) investigating the laws of nature and developing the divine powers latent in man. The Brahmanic and Buddhistic literature supplied the society with its terminology, and its doctrines were a curious amalgam of Egyptian, kabbalistic, occultist, Indian and modern spiritualistic ideas and formulas. Mme. Blavatskys principal books were Isis Unveiled (New York, 1877), The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy (1888), The Key to Theosophy (1891). The two first of these are a mosaic of unacknowledged quotations from such books as K. R. H. Mackenzies Royal Masonic Encyclopaedia, C. W. Kings Gnostics, Zellers Plato, the works on magic by Dunlop, E. Salverte, Joseph Ennemoser, and Des Mousseaux, and the mystical writings of Eliphas Levi (L. A. Constant). A Glossary of Theosophical Terms (1890-1892) was compiled for the benefit of her disciples. But the appearance of Homes Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism (1877) had a prejudicial effect upon the propaganda, and Heliona P. Blavatsky (as she began to style herself) retired to India. Thence she contributed some clever papers, From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan (published separately in English, London, 1892) to the Russky Vyestnik. Defeated in her object of obtaining employment in the Russian secret service, she resumed her efforts to gain converts to theosophy. For this purpose the exhibition of physical phenomena was found necessary. Her jugglery was cleverly conceived, but on three occasions was exposed in the most conclusive manner. Nevertheless, her cleverness, volubility, energy and will-power enabled her to maintain her ground, and when she died on the 8th of May 1891 (White Lotus Day), at the theosophical headquarters in the Avenue Road, London, she was the acknowledged head of a community numbering not far short of 100,000, with journalistic organs in London, Paris, New York and Madras.

Much information respecting her will be found in V. S. Solovyovs Modern Priestess of Isis, translated by Walter Leaf (1895), in Arthur Lillies Madame Blavatsky and Her Theosophy (1895), and in the report made to the Society for Psychical Research by the Cambridge graduate despatched to investigate her doings in India. See also the article THEOSOPHY.

Helena Petrovna Hahn Blavatsky

[Reprinted from The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume XV, New York, James T. White & Company, 1916, pp. 336-337.]

BLAVATSKY, Helena Petrovna Hahn, theosophist, was born at Ekaterinoslav, Russia, July 31, 1831, daughter of Col. Hahn von Rothernstern Hahn, who was of a noble family originally hailing from Mecklenburg; her mother was a daughter of the Russian statesman, Andrew Fadeef, and of the Princess Helena Dolgorouky. She was thus a descendant of Rurik and a member of the highest Russian aristocracy, the Dolgoroukys being a considerably older and nobler family than the Romanoffs themselves. Her mother, who had some renown in Russia as a novelist, died while Helena was still a child, and the greater part of her childhood was spent at Saratoff on the Volga, at the castle of her grandfather, who was governor of the province. At the age of fourteen she visited Paris and London with her father, and three years later was married to Gen. Nicephore Blavatsky, vice-governor of Erivan in the Caucasus. Within a few weeks, however, she found that life with Gen. Blavatsky was impossible, and she left him. She was but a girl of seventeen; he was over sixty. The following years were spent in traveling, during which she visited all parts of Europe, Egypt, India, and both North and South America. In 1848, while in Egypt, she met an old Copt with whom she studied the ancient teachings of that country; she met him again several times during her travels, and spent some time with him at Boulak in 1871. It is said that she fought under Garibaldi in the wars of Italian liberation, and that she was wounded at Mentana. After the death of her father Mme. Blavatsky came to the United States in 1873, was naturalized and supported herself in New York city by her writings, which attracted considerable attention. With Col. Henry S. Olcott and William Q. Judge she founded the Theosophical Society in September, 1875, the objects of which were: (1) To be the nucleus of the universal brotherhood without distinction of race, creed, caste, sex or color; (2) to study oriental and other religions, philosophies, science and art; (3) to indicate the importance of this inquiry; and (4) to investigate the hidden mysteries of nature and the latent powers of man. Col. Olcott was the first president and Mme. Blavatsky, although holding officially only the position of corresponding secretary, was regarded as teacher and inspirer of the whole society. A stir in the literary world was created by the publication of her first theosophical book, Isis Unveiled (1877), in which almost all the literatures of the world are laid under contribution for the sake of introducing the ideas of theosophy to the western world. Briefly, the book undertakes to prove the existence of a secret wisdom, preserved by sages in all lands, which is the root from which all the world religions have sprung. Throughout her life she devoted her immense learning and the titanic force of her nature to ethical and moral ends; she elucidated and examined the world

religions in order to prove the essential unity of all religions and of man, and thus to remove one of the most potent causes of strife and human separation. She founded The Theosophist magazine, for a time dwelt at Madras, India, and after 1884 in London, where she was largely engaged in literary work, writing and publishing The Secret Doctrine (1888); The Key to Theosophy (1889); The Theosophical Glossary (1892); translating fragments from the Thibetan Book of Golden Precepts under the name of The Voice of the Silence (1889); editing and writing for her magazine Lucifer and contributing to other theosophical magazines both in French and English; also in teaching the body of disciples that grew up around her and in holding receptions for the public. She labored under great physical suffering towards the end, and some who worked with her during her latter years declare that her life was shortened by the bitter persecutions she received from her enemies. She died in London, May 8, 1891.

Major Cross on Madam Blavatsky's Tibetan Travels]

[Reprinted from The Canadian Theosophist (Toronto), June 15, 1927, p. 71.]

Major Cross, who with his wife, Dr. Cross, and their daughter, have been visiting Toronto, spoke to the Toronto Theosophical Society on Sunday afternoon, May 15 [1927]. His address, which we hope to report more in detail, gave a long, graphic, and intensely interesting account of Major Cross's travels in North-eastern Tibet, during which he traced the progress of a white woman in 1867 through the most difficult hill country, to a lamasery far north, through the recollections of various old people, who were impressed by the personality of this unusual visitor. He identified her with Madam Blavatsky, and the date was settled by those he talked with as having been ten years after the Mutiny. Major Cross said he was not a Theosophist, but could not help being interested in the story of Madam Blavatsky's journey as it had been related to him, and on finding a community of Theosophists in Toronto who were more interested in the founder of the Society than in those who sought to exploit it for other ends than it had been intended to achieve, he was glad to tell them what he had heard. His address was illustrated with an interesting series of views of Tibetan scenery. Major Cross described himself as manager or factor of tea and other estates of the Dalai Lama in Tibet, to which he was returning, his position giving him a special opportunity to gather the information upon which his lecture was based.

[A Record of Some Phenomena]

by Francesca Arundale
[Transcribed from the original in the Archives of the Society for Psychical Research. A portion of this narrative was quoted in Proceedings of the S.P.R. (London), Volume III, 1885, pp. 387-388. This online edition is reprinted by permission of the Society for

Psychical Research, London.]

A record of some phenomena which occurred during the stay of Madame Blavatsky at 77 Elgin Crescent Notting hill in the months of July and August 1884. One morning in July I was called by Madame Blavatsky to her room where she was still in bed. She desired me to open a drawer and give her out a letter which was lying there closed and addressed. I did so. She asked me to notice that the letter was addressed in the handwriting of a person whom I knew, that it was fastened and apparently had not been opened. She then took a match and having lighted it proceeded to burn the letter. I protested against this being done but she answered "it is the Master's orders" and further added "you had better go to your room and meditate." I went up stairs into my room and shut the door. I remained there some time considering the whole affair. The window of the room, which was at the top of the house, was wide open and looked out into a garden. Before the window was a dressing table on which was a pink cloth, there was no mirror on the table only one or two small articles of toilet, and the sun was shining full into the room. I went to the window without any definite reason and as I approached the table I perceived on the pink cover a large white envelope. I took it up looked at it and found that it was closed and evidently contained a letter, but there was no superscription. I had the letter in my hand for a little while and then looked at it again. To my great surprise I found that where but a few moments previously there had been a blank space there was distinctly visible a name and address written in purple ink in a hand-writing which I well knew as being that of one of the Mahatmas. The name and address was that of the writer of the letter I had previously seen burned. Another incident I have to describe occurred a short time after the above narrated fact. One night I wrote a letter to one of the Mahatmas touching a question entirely of personal interest. This letter I placed in an envelope, closed it and put it in my pocket and told no one that I had written it. I carried the letter in my pocket during the following day and night. The next morning while engaged in conversation with Madame Blavatsky she suddenly paused in what she was saying and apparently listening and repeating something she heard said: "Tell Miss A. it is a question of Karma" and further proceeded to give me an answer to the question contained in the letter I had written which was still in my pocket and which I can certify had been seen by no one. Francesa Arundale

Among the Adepts (1)

Madame Blavatsky on The "Secret Doctrine"
by Annie Besant

(First published in The Pall Mall Gazette (London), April 25, 1889, p. 3 Reprinted in The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India) August 1889, pp. 696-8.)

It would be difficult to find a book presenting more difficulties to the "reviewer with a conscience" than these handsome volumes bearing the name of Mdme. Blavatsky as author --- or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, as compiler and annotator. The subjectmatter is so far away from the beaten paths of literature, science, and art; the point of view so removed from our Occidental fashion of envisaging the universe; the lore gathered and expounded so different from the science or the metaphysics of the West, that to ninety-nine out of every hundred readers --- perhaps to nine hundred and ninety-nine among every thousand --- the study of the book will begin in bewilderment and end in despair. Let it be said at once that the great majority of average easy-going folk will do well not to begin "The Secret Doctrine" at all. A certain mental position must be acquired ere any reading thereof can be aught save weariness and futility. The would-be reader must have an intense desire to know, and to know not merely the relations between phenomena but the causes of phenomena; he must be eagerly searching for that bridge between matter and thought, between the vibrating nerve-cell and percipiency, which the late Professor Clifford declared had never yet been thrown across the gulf that sunders them; he must be free from the preposterous conceit (that exists now as really for the psychical universe as it did in the days of Copernicus for the physical) that this world and its inhabitants are the only inhabited world and the only intelligent beings in the universe; he must recognize that there may be, and most probably are, myriads of existences invisible, inaudible, to us, because we have no senses capable of responding to the vibrations that they set up, and which are therefore non-existent to us, although in full activity, just as there are rays at either end of the solar spectrum quite as real as the visible rays although invisible to us. If only the nerve ends of our eyes and ears could respond to higher and lower rates of vibration, who can tell what new worlds, more and less "material" than our own, might not flash into our consciousness, what sights and sounds might not reach us from spheres interblended with our own? A deep-sea fish, aware that his comrades explode if they are dragged to the surface, and knowing nought of life-conditions other than his own, might, if he were a rash deep-sea fish, deny the possibility of other intelligent beings inhabiting the upper regions of the sea or the land invisible to him. And so we may, if we are rash, deny all lives save those led on our globe at the bottom of our air-ocean, and human deep-sea fishes had better leave Mdme. Blavatsky's volumes alone. None the less is her book at once remarkable and interesting --- remarkable for its wide range of curious and ancient lore, interesting for the light it throws on the religions of the world. For as she unrolls the "Secret Doctrine" we catch sight of familiar faces in the imagery that passes under our eyes, now Egyptian and now Jewish, now Persian and now Chinese, now Indian and now Babylonish, until slowly the feeling grows up that she is showing us the rock whence all these faiths were hewn, the complete cosmogony whereof these have presented disjointed fragments. Inevitably the question arises: "Have we here,

from the Aryans who rocked the cradle of the world's civilization, the source of all the master-religions as well as of the master-races of the earth?" The first volume of the "Secret Doctrine" is divided into three parts --- an exposition of Cosmic Evolution, of the Evolution of Symbolism, and of the contrast between Science and the Secret Doctrine. Of these the first will most repel and the third will most attract. For the first is a metaphysical treatise wherein the Hindu brain, subtlest and most mystic of all mental organisms, expounds Being and the beginning of beings in a fashion that no Western intellect can rival. The causeless Cause, the rootless Root, whence spirit and matter alike differentiate, is the One Existence --- hidden, absolute, eternal indistinguishable by us from non-existence in that it has no form that can enable us to cognise it. From this all that exists proceeds; in itself Be-ness --- why not Existence? --then Becoming, and the Becoming alone can be intelligible to us. From this one primal element, whereof all phenomena are transmutations, and then a hierarchy of existences in linked order, the gradual evolution of a universe. In reading this "origin of things," as in reading all others, there is the constant feeling of unsatisfied desire for evidence, despite the sweep of conception and the coherency of the whole. Of course the claim set up is that this "Secret Doctrine" comes from those who know, know with scientific certainty, not with mere guess and groping, from the Arhats, the Wise Ones of the East, whose disciple Mdme. Blavatsky claims to be. But then we crave for some proof of the revealers. As regards the metaphysics, here again once more there is the feeling of the breakdown of language, the contradictions in which the mind is involved when it strives to grasp the ever elusive ultimates of being. However flexible and subtle in its shades of meaning Sanskrit may be, our Occidental tongues, at least, stumble into maddening confusion amid the shadowy forms and no forms of the Thing in itself, and when it comes to symbolizing existence as a boundless circle, using a word that implies limitation, and is empty of meaning without it, in connection with the absence of limitation, what can one do save admit that we have passed out of the region in which language is useful as conveying concepts, and that before the mystery of existence silence is more reverent than self-contradictory speech? Very briefly and roughly put, the idea is that Be-ness evolves spirit and matter, spirit descending further and further into matter in search of experience not otherwise attainable, evolving all forms; it reaches the lowest point, commences its re-ascent, evolves through mineral, vegetable, animal, until it attains self-consciousness in man: then in man, with his sevenfold nature, it climbs upward, spiritualizing him as he evolves, until the grosser body and the animal passions are purged away, and his higher principles united to Atma, the spark of the divine spirit within him, reach their goal, the absolute existence whence they originally came, carrying with them all the gains of their long pilgrimage. This process implies, of course, manifold re-incarnations for each human spirit as it climbs the many steps at whose summit alone is Rest. Only when a certain height is touched comes memory of the past, and then the purified spirit can gaze backwards over the stages of its ascent. Passing over Part II, on Symbolism, we find Mdme. Blavatsky, in Part III, in full tilt against modern science, not as against its facts, but as against its more recondite theories. It is an easy task for her to show that great scientific thinkers are at issue with each other as to the constitution of the ether, the essence of "matter" and of "force," and she claims that the Occultist has the knowledge after which the scientist is only groping, and that at least,

among the warring theories, Occultism may demand a hearing. Some of the theories now put forward, indeed, come very near to occult views, and make scientifically possible some of the startling manifestations of occult power. Newton's view, for instance, that "gravity must be caused by an agent acting constantly according to certain laws," is in unison with the Occultist's assertion that all the "forces" in nature are actions of Intelligences, working ceaselessly, though invisibly to us, in the universe; while much of the speculation of Butlerof and Crookes almost touches Occult teaching. The Akasa of the Occultist is, as it were, the "matter-force" after which Science is groping, the parent of all phenomena. Within our terrestrial sphere, on the plane of the universe accessible to our physical senses, Science is accurate as to vibrations and so on; where it fails, says the Occultist, is in supposing that these are all, that on these lines of investigation can ever be discovered the nature, say, of light or colour; there are planes above ours on which matter exists in other modifications, in other conditions; on those must be sought the causes whereof science studies the effects, the true nature of our physical phenomena. The Atom, that strange conception of the physicist, elastic yet indivisible, is to the Occultist a soul, "a centre of potential activity," differentiated from the One Soul of the universe, "the first born of the ever-concealed Cause of all causes," building up the visible universe. Instead of matter "inert" and "inanimate," clashing through eternities, flinging up here a sun and there a world, and finally evolving thought, the Occultist sees Intelligence robing itself in matter, energizing, guiding, controlling, animating, all that is. The antithesis could not be sharper, and one or other solution of the problem of problems must be accepted by the philosopher. Which? The second volume of Mdme. Blavatsky's work deals with man, the first part being occupied with his genesis, the second with the symbolism of his religions, the third with the contrast between the Occult and the scientific views of his evolution. Of these the first will be met with the most furious and contemptuous resistance, for briefly this is the theory; Man as he is now, with his sevenfold nature --- physical body, vital principle, "astral body," animal soul, human or rational soul, human spirit, divine spirit --- was not created offhand complete. The First Race was created, breathed out of their own substance, by the beings who built our world, and was spiritual, ethereal, sexless, and of slight intelligence; the Second Race was produced by gemmation from the First, more material than its progenitor and asexual; the Third Race was produced oviparously, and among these separation of the sexes appeared gradually, the earlier being androgynous, the later distinctly male and female; the intellectual development was still very low, for spirit had not yet become sufficiently clothed with matter for self-conscious thought. Of this race in its later stages were the dwellers in Atlantis and the Lemurians, among them the birth of religions, astronomical and sexual, and of these was born the Fourth Race, the giants, the "men of renown," in whom we touch the "purely human period." (A curious excursus on the "third eye," which occurs here, receives remarkable confirmation from some of the latest scientific speculations on the pineal gland.) Now begins civilization, and the building of great rock cities, and the physical and intellectual nature of man develops "at the cost of the psychic and the spiritual;" the huge statues and remains found in Easter Island, Bamian and other spots, bear witness to the great size of their makers, as do the vast dwellings and the "enormous human bones" of Misorte. With the Fifth Race we pass into the domain of history, and to this the present races of men belong. Far away as, at first sight, all this seems from Occidental science, yet the careful reader will mark the curious analogies between this

occult view of human evolution and the scientific view of the evolution of living things on our globe, an evolution still shown in broad outline in the individual development of each human being from ovum to man. Mdme. Blavatsky's views may not meet with acceptance, but they are supported by sufficient leaning, acuteness and ability to enforce a respectful hearing. It is indeed the East which, through her, challenges the West, and the Orient need not be ashamed of its champion. We have here but given a few fragments of her lore, and injustice is necessarily done by such treatment to a coherent whole. The book deserves to be read; it deserves to be thought over; and none who believes in the progress of humanity has the right to turn away over-hastily from any contribution to knowledge, however new in its form, from any theory, however strange in its aspect. The wild dreams of one generation become the common places of a later one, and all who keep an open door to Truth will give scrutiny to any visitant, be the garb of Asia or of Europe, be the tongue of Paris or of Ind. If this counsel be of folly or of falsehood, it shall come to naught, but if of Truth ye cannot overthrow it. Passing strange is it. Of the truth in it our superficial examination is insufficient to decide.

Endnote
(1) "The Secret Doctrine." By Madame Blavatsky, 2 vols. (Published by the Theosophical Publishing Company.)

Mrs. Besant and Madame Blavatsky Mrs. Besants Reply.

by Annie Besant
[This Letter to the Editor was in reply to an article by the Rev. Henry S. Lunn.] [Reprinted from The Methodist Times (London), September 5, 1889, p. 874.]

To the Editor of The Methodist Times. Dear Sir, --- In your last weeks issue a direct appeal is made to me, expressing a hope that I will investigate, and if possible disprove, certain accusations made against my friend, Madame Blavatsky. You will, I am sure, find room in your pages for an answer to your challenge. Let me say, at the outset, that I have carefully read both reports, the preliminary and the final, issued by the Psychical Research Society, and weighed the evidence therein adduced. This I did because I desired to know the worst that could be said against Madame Blavatsky. The day after I had completed my task I joined the Theosophical Society. I am not alone in the effect produced on me by the obviously unfair straining after a conviction which marks Mr. Hodgsons pages, for I have heard of others who joined immediately after

reading them. I should like also to add, as Madame Blavatsky has been so furiously attacked in connection with my adhesion to the Theosophical Society, that I had only once met her, and that in company with half-a-dozen other people, before I joined the society. I say this, not because I should feel ashamed of being influenced by her, but merely because it is unfair to abuse her for an action I took on my own initiative. Since I have known her intimately, the respect which I at first felt only for her intellect has developed into a strong attachment to a singularly noble character. I proceed to take the paragraphs in your article seriatim. In par. 2 a contrast is drawn between the flourishing condition of the society in India before and after the falling of the bolt from the blue. This contrast is purely imaginary. You give a number of well-known men as belonging to the society before the bolt; would it not have been but fair to say that these men --- with the doubtful exception of Mr. Hume, who has floated in and out of the society more than once --- are members of the society still, the Premier to the Maharajah Holkar being now one of the seven members of the Presidents Council? You say that today the number of men in all India willing to sign themselves F.T.S. might almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. It would have to be a large hand, for on the yearly reckoning, taken in December, 1888, the society in India counted 129 branches in active operation, officered by men of position --- barristers, bankers, Government officials, men connected with every branch of education --- and new members are joining at the rate of about 700 a year. You might as well say that Methodism is dead in England as say that the Theosophical Society is dead in India; and I ask you, sir, whether such gross perversion of facts is worthy the character of your journal? The list of Indian branches, with the names and addresses of the secretaries, may be read in The Theosophist for Jan., 1889, published in Madras, but sold at 7, Duke street, Adelphi, by the Theosophical Publication Society, and you can verify the names and addresses therein given. Par. 3, --- It is true that the attack on Madame Blavatsky began among the Christian missionaries, who bitterly hated her, chiefly for her success among the educated classes in India whom the missionaries had vainly endeavoured to reach. The Rev. H. S. Lunn does not explain the means used to expose Madame Blavatsky. The missionaries approached M. and Madame Coulomb --- persons whom Madame Blavatsky had aided when they were in distress, and to whom she had given employment in her house --- and bribed them to betray their beneficiaries. The plot was carefully planned; certain letters were published which were alleged to have been written by Madame Blavatsky to Madame Coulomb, in which a whole system of fraud was described. The letters were the letters of a fool, and Madame Blavatsky is admittedly astute and strong-brained. The frauds were so clumsy that a child would have seen through them had they been practised. Madame Blavatsky at once denounced the letters as forgeries, but she was never allowed to see them. Mr. Hodgson was pressed by her to show them to her, but he refused. Her friends made prolonged efforts to obtain a sight of them, but they met with a similar refusal. I ask you, Sir, was it the part of honest men to make such a charge and to refuse to the incriminated person all chance of disproving the allegation? Par. 4, --- The Coulombs pretended that various trap-doors had been used by Madame Blavatsky for purposes of fraud. Madame Blavatsky had been absent for months in Europe when this plot was hatched. Mr. Judge, a reputable American gentleman, saw these trap-

doors, and found them newly made, and so stiff that they were difficult to open, though they would have needed to slide easily backwards and forwards if they were to have been used as alleged. But letters from the Mahatmas did not come only through Madame Blavatskys hands; they were received by persons far away from her --- by Col. Olcott, among others. In dealing with the alleged forgery of the letters of the non-existent Mahatmas, Dr. Lunn would have done well to give the conflict of evidence among experts as to these letters. Why did he not quote the sworn evidence of Herr Ernst Schutze, the Court expert in caligraphy at Berlin, that the letter of Koot Hoomi has not the remotest resemblance with the letter of Madame Blavatsky; they are of different handwritings. The same gentleman wrote as to these letters: I must assure you most positively that if you have believed that both letters came from one and the same hand you have laboured under a complete mistake. Other experts, after taking the same view, were persuaded to come over to the views of those who sought their advice; but surely Dr. Lunn, if he meant to be fair, would have given both sides. For my own part, I think it extremely likely that Madame Blavatsky may have caught some tricks of likeness in handwriting here and there from one with whom she spent years in daily familiar contact; the writings of persons in close companionship often show such superficial resemblance. I conclude by remarking that for an accomplished, ingenious, and interesting impostor, Madame Blavatsky has made a bad thing of her imposture. She gave up high rank in Russia; even Mr. Hodgson admits that she has not gained a penny by Theosophy, and he can only suggest as motive that she is a Russian spy! She has ruined her health as well as emptied her purse over Theosophy, and still devotes all her time and admitted abilities to serve the cause to which she has devoted her life. Annie Besant. [See George Patterson's reply to Mrs. Besant's letter.--- BA editor.]

Mrs. Besant and Madame Blavatsky

To the Editor of The Methodist Times.

by Annie Besant
[In this letter Annie Besant took issue with some of the statements in a letter written by George Patterson.] [Reprinted from The Methodist Times (London), November 28, 1889, pp. 1164.]

Dear Sir, --- My attention has been called to a letter from Professor Patterson in your issue of October 31. My note --- to which it is a reply --- was called forth by your direct challenge to myself to investigate the evidence against my friend, Madame Blavatsky, and I had no intention of provoking a prolonged correspondence. It is clear that we are face to

face with absolutely contradictory assertions. Professor Patterson says Madame Coulomb was not paid for the letters: Major General Morgan says (pamphlet published in 1884, Reply to a Report, &c) that the Scottish missionaries paid them (the Coulombs) Rs. 150 as a commencement. Professor Patterson says every Theosophist who has expressed a wish to see the letters has been permitted to do so. Madame Blavatsky tells me she asked, and was refused; Mr. B. Keightley tells me he asked, and was refused, and that to his personal knowledge other prominent Theosophists met with the same refusal. I do not know Professor Patterson; I do know these Theosophists; and I prefer to accept their word. But my belief in the forgery of the letters does not rest on these comparative trifles; it rests on a review of the whole case. On one side, a man and woman who had been expelled from a society, the latter for attempts to extort money --- four affidavits of such attempts are in evidence; a woman who had been prevented by Madame Blavatsky from obtaining money, and had vowed to be revenged --- affidavit giving this threat; a woman who had attempted to blackmail Madame Blavatsky --- letter sent by her; a woman who had forged letters from Dr. Hartmann and Major-General Morgan, and who, bringing a suit against the latter for accusing her of forgery, dropped it before it came to trial (the pretence that it was dropped because Madame Blavatsky had left is absurd; what had that lady to do with the forgery of Major-General Morgans letter?) --- a woman who, by her own confession, had been guilty of fraud. On the other side, the evidence of a committee, including Dr. Hartmann, Major-General Morgan, A. J. Cooper-Oakley, Dr. Gebhard, and ten Indian gentlemen of rank, learning, and proved ability, who investigated every charge at the time, and declared each one to be fully disproved; the testimony of those who saw the letters that they were manifest forgeries (see Report, 1885); the testimony of Mr. G. Row [Sreenevas Row], from my experience as a judicial officer of twenty-five years standing, I came to the conclusion that every one of the letters was a forgery (Official Report, 1884); the parallel forgeries on Dr. Hartmann and Major-General Morgan, alleging their disbelief in Madame Blavatsky --- forgeries at once denounced and exposed by them on the spot; the internal evidence of the letters, such as the illiterate French, whereas Madame Blavatsky speaks and writes French perfectly, like most educated Russians; the fact that Madame Coulomb was disgraced and expelled, and had everything to gain by currying favour with the missionaries; the fact that the letters were published while Madame Blavatsky was in Europe, that she hurried back to meet the accusation, remained while the matter was investigated, and only left again when the accusations were disproved. (So far from flying secretly, she was assisted into the steamer by the Presidency Magistrate himself, and left at the peremptory order of Dr. Scharlieb, her medical attendant, who feared for her life if she remained in the Madras climate. She had not been called as a witness in the CoulombMorgan case, having no concern in it.) I might add to all this the oath of Madame Coulomb: I may have said something in my rage, but I swear on all that is sacred for me that I never said fraud, secret passages, traps, nor that my husband had helped you in any way. If my mouth has uttered these words, I pray to the Almighty to shower on my head the worst maledictions in nature. Emphatic, very; but I do not lay stress on an oath from such lips. As to Professor Pattersons final threat, let him publish. If any compromising documents existed, those who used Madame Coulomb can have no scruples which would prevent the

publication. Madame Blavatsky is poor, a worn-out invalid; she is not likely to go to India to prosecute him. 19, Avenue-road, N.W. Annie Besant.

The Great Mare's Nest of the Psychical Research Society

by Annie Besant
[Reprinted from Time (London), March 1891, pp. 193-204.]

Mr. Frank Podmore of the Psychical Research Society, is much troubled by "the transcendent and cosmopolitan miracle of human credulity," as specially exemplified in the appalling fact that "Mr. Hodgsons elaborate and exhaustive exposure has been before the public for some years, but the faithful still throng the levees of Madame Blavatsky, and still accept the Gospel according to Koot Hoomi." Now, granting that it is a wonderful and horrible thing that Mr. Hodgson - Mr. Hodgson of the Psychical Research Society and of St. Johns College, Cambridge - should have exposed a person, and that person remain uninjured by the exposure, it may, perchance, be worth while to examine the portentous phenomenon, and seek therefor some explanation. Let me say, for the information of that somewhat large section of the public for whom the redoubtable Mr. Hodgson may not even be a name, that in 1884 the Psychical Research Society appointed a committee to take "such evidence as to the alleged phenomena connected with the Theosophical Society as might be offered by members of that body at the time in England, or as could be collected elsewhere." It is worthy to note at the outset that the Psychical Research Society appears to have constituted itself judge and jury of the Theosophical Society and of its leaders in a somewhat remarkable way. Neither the Theosophical Society nor its leaders invited the judgment of the Psychical Research Society, nor did the public appeal to it for enlightenment or for protection. The "alleged phenomena" had never been worked publicly, nor offered for money; they had been performed quietly, in illustration of certain statements, in the presence and generally at the earnest request of private friends and of a few inquirers interested in Oriental teachings. The person who worked them - a Russian lady - made exceedingly light of them, constantly spoke of many of them as mere "psychological tricks" - a phrase more intelligible now than it was when first uttered, and a phrase withal that gave much offence to some of her overzealous friends, who would fain have had her a miracle-worker in her own despite. When the Psychical Research Society started on its uninvited investigations, it was met with candour and courtesy, for members of the theosophical Society are always ready to answer inquirers, though not anxious to impress the curious by means of marvels. The Psychical Research Society responded to this candour and courtesy by issuing a "First Report of the Committee" of investigation marked "Private and Confidential," and containing a warning that "no part (not previously published) of this private and confidential Report can be

printed or published elsewhere without infringing the legal rights of the Council, to whom the Report is addressed, and to whom it belongs." This threat, of course, debars me from utilising this report in any way; it must suffice to draw attention to a fact that will scarcely make on the public mind an impression of straightforward honesty, and to the further fact that the Committee thought the evidence they had obtained of sufficient importance to justify the expedition of one of their members to India to investigate matters on the spot. Before turning to Mr. Hodgsons report, on which the charge of fraud is based, it is right to point out that the value of the whole report depends entirely on the ability and the honesty of this young man. The most marked peculiarity of the Psychical Research Society is the genial and child-like trust they place in their own members, combined with extreme suspicion towards everyone outside that charmed circle. A Psychical Researcher can do no wrong, he cannot even make a mistake; if his opinion or his word comes into conflict with those of another person, no evidence is lacking that the opposing sinner is a deliberate impostor, a fraud, and a liar. This rule simplifies matters amazingly, and saves so much trouble. Now I do not know Mr. Hodgson, but I am told that he was not regarded as a genius at Cambridge, and that his opinion was there looked on as little worthy of respect. Whether the young man was clever or stupid, it was indubitable that he, with his English ignorance of Hindu thought and his English contempt for Hindu veracity, was pitted against the brains of the subtlest race in the world, a race, moreover, that to guard its holy things from the insolent foreigner will deny point-blank a belief that will be frankly acknowledged among sympathisers. I do not blame poor Mr. Hodgson, that he was befooled to the top of his bent - it may have been more his misfortune than his fault - but I blame him for the prejudice which made him welcome every unproven suspicion or charge made by known enemies of the Theosophical Society, and ignore all evidence tendered by friends. Leaving aside the question of his ability, his honesty is of primary importance; if he be not honest, his report is worthless. Now, apart from the general impression of unfairness left on the mind of any unprejudiced person reading the report - I read it carefully with a prejudice against Madame Blavatsky in my mind, and at the end tossed it aside as worthless - there is one crucial instance of Mr. Hodgsons lack of honesty; he publishes a "plan of OccultRoom, with shrine and surroundings (from measurements taken by R. Hodgson, assisted by the statements of Theosophic witnesses.)" On p. 220 Mr. Hodgson says that "the accompanying rough sketch made from measurements of my own shows the positions." As a matter of fact, the place, when Mr. Hodgson saw it, had been so altered that "measurements" were impossible; the holes he shows in the plan did not exist when he saw the rooms; but it will be better for me to let the author of the plan speak for himself, only saying that he is Mr. William Judge, a New York lawyer of standing and repute, with a character to lose, and that Mr. Judge went from New York to Adyar with authority from Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, to look into the conduct of the Coulombs and the management of the place, and arrived the day after the Coulombs had been dismissed. He says: "I made a plan of how it had been left by Coulomb, and that plan it is that Hodgson pirated in his report, and desires people to think his, and to be that which he made on the spot, while looking at that which he thus pretends to have drawn. He never could have seen it as Coulomb had left it." I venture to suggest that the pirating of another persons plan, with "measurements" of things that no longer existed when Mr. Hodgson visited Adyar, is not consistent with good faith. Yet the whole terrible charge against Madame Blavatsky rests on this mans testimony. The Society of Psychical Research, which has taken the

responsibility of the report, has no knowledge of the facts, other than that afforded by Mr. Hodgson. Everything turns on his veracity. And he issues another mans plan as his own, and makes imaginary measurements of vanished objects! And now to his report: it occupies 200 closely printed pages, and I must content myself with merely taking the main points and answering them. (As Mr. Podmore has chosen to revive the slander, I trust the report may be subjected to a searching analysis, at a length which is impossible in a magazine.) These main points are: (1) The presence of trap-doors and other arrangements for frauds in the rooms occupied by Madame Blavatsky at Adyar; (2) The letters alleged to have been written by her to Madame Coulomb; (3) The letters from the Mahatmas, alleged to have been written by Madame Blavatsky. The only explanation needed to make the answers intelligible is as to the Coulombs, and it should be further borne in mind by the reader that Mr. Hodgson, by his own admission (p. 208), "was treated with perfect courtesy" during his investigation, and "had every opportunity" given him for examining witnesses and the hand-writing of Madame Blavatsky. Never were cheats so ready to assist in their own exposure. Monsieur and Madame Coulomb were persons who had appealed to Madame Blavatskys charity in Bombay. Madame Coulomb was practising as a medium in Cairo in 1871; after all her eastern experiences, Madame Blavatsky was curious to see some western mediums, and came across Madame Coulomb among others. The Coulombs appear to have gone from place to place, finally turning up penniless, shoeless, and ragged in Bombay, and hearing of Madame Blavatskys presence there, they appealed to her generosity. She helped them, and after a while Monsieur Coulomb was employed as librarian, and his wife as housekeeper and caretaker. When Madame Blavatsky left Adyar for Europe in February, 1884, the Coulombs were left in charge of her rooms; soon after this the missionaries of the Scottish Free Church began a vigorous attack on Theosophical teachings, by letters in the press and by lectures; and while this was proceeding strong suspicions arose against the Coulombs, and they were threatened with dismissal. Then was conceived the ingenious plot of which Mr. Hodgson was the willing victim. Without hopes of further gain from the Theosophical Society, charged with endeavouring to extort money from members, and with serious breaches of trust, Madame Coulomb went to the missionaries and offered to sell them some letters of Madame Blavatsky, that would show she had been guilty of fraud. Mr. Patterson, of the Christian College, in answer to a question by Dr. Hartmann, said that they had agreed to pay Madame Coulomb a sum of money (in all 1000 rupees), but had only so far given her 75 rupees: this statement was made in the presence of Mr. Judge, who published it the following day in the Madras Mail. To bear out the letters, Monsieur Coulomb, who was a clever builder and carpenter, made certain trap-doors in the rooms of Madame Blavatsky, and would have doubtless completed his task to the satisfaction of the missionaries, who were to be brought to see them, had not the Board of Control peremptorily turned his wife and himself off the premises. The general value of Madame Coulombs word may, perhaps, be estimated from the fact that by her confession she made herself the partner in fraud of Madame Blavatsky; she continued the fraud until she found there was no more to be got out of the Theosophical Society, but money was to be made out of the missionaries by "exposing" the fraud; and when Mr. Lane-Fox, Dr. Hartmann, and Mr. Damodar wrote to Madame Blavatsky telling her the facts, Madame Coulomb wrote: -

"I may have said something in my rage, but I swear on all that is sacred for me that I never said fraud, secret passages, traps, nor that my husband had helped you in any way. If my mouth has uttered these words, I pray to the Almighty to shower on my head the worst maledictions in nature." This is the tainted source from which Mr. Hodgson drew his information. (1.) The presence of trap-doors, etc. Madame Blavatskys bedroom was curtained off from a large sitting-room, and separated from the adjoining "occult-room" by a party-wall. In this wall originally existed a door, but this (see below) was bricked up at Madame Blavatskys order. On this wall, in the occult-room, was hung the "shrine" - a wooden cupboard with back - in which were found letters from the Mahatmas. Mr. Hodgson alleges that by an elaborate arrangement a communication was made between Madame Blavatskys bedroom and the inside of the cupboard in the occult-room. The top half of the panel at the back of the cupboard was made to slide, and a mirror was hung in the cupboard to hide the line of separation; then a hole was made through the wall; next a panel in the blocked-up door was made to slide; lastly, a sliding panel was made in the back of the wardrobe. If any one went into the wardrobe, opened the back of the wardrobe and the panel of the door, he could slip into the space between the door and the brickwork, and then through the hole in the brickwork slide up the top of the panel of the cupboard, and come on the back of the mirror and push it aside. All this Mr. Hodgson learned from the veracious M. Coulomb, and nobody else. "Mr. Coulomb states," a ""statement of M. Coulomb," "according to M. Coulomb;" such is all the evidence - evidence of a dismissed subordinate, partner in fraud, if fraud there were, and getting money for the statements! Now let us look at the other side. Madame Blavatsky, as I said, left Adyar in February, 1884; rather reckless of her to go away, leaving such damning evidence behind her. The recklessness, however, is explained by the fact that previous to her leaving there were no trap-doors. Major-General Morgan writes: "I first saw the occult-room in August, 1883. Since then I have frequently examined the shrine, and the wall at the back of the shrine, up to January, 1884, when I left the headquarters, and I can safely affirm that any trickery was impossible. Mrs. Morgan was engaged in new papering the back wall of the shrine, and I frequently saw the work in progress in December last. Mrs. Morgan says: "I can state for a fact, that during my stay at Adyar during December, 1883, Madame Blavatsky took Mr. C. and myself and showed us the back of the shrine, and the wall she had built behind it, where there had been a door, and the people were welcome to inspect this and see it was barred and bolted; yet she thought it would remove the least occasion for suspicion were it bricked up, and so had it done. The wall then presented a fine, highlypolished, white surface. This wall I shortly afterwards saw papered, as I superintended the hanging of the paper." Dr. Hartmann says:

"The so-called shrine was a simple cupboard, hung loosely to a wall in Madame Blavatskys room. I examined it on this occasion(December 4th, 1883), and more carefully afterwards, and found it like any other cupboard, provided with shelves and a solid unmovable back hung upon an apparently solid and plastered wall." Mr. Pillai, inspector of police, Nellore, states that during January, 1883, he went into the occult-room five or six times, and he twice saw the shrine and walls examined: "These persons, after very careful examination, found nothing suspicious. The shrine was found attached to a solid wall behind, and there were no wires or other contrivances which could escape the trained eye of a police officer like myself, who was standing close by." I might continue to cite testimonies, but these may suffice as samples of the bulk. Now it is beyond doubt that in the late spring of 1884 there was an aperture partly made in the wall behind the shrine, but M. Coulomb appears to have been cleared out of Adyar before he had finished his piece de conviction, and the hole was quite inadequate for its purpose, while the sliding panels were all new, and could only be made to move by blows of a mallet - a most awkward arrangement where secrecy was a necessity. Mr. Judge - who saw the hole describes it as "a rough, unfinished hole in the wall, opening into the space left when the old door had been bricked up. . . . This hole began at the floor, and extended up about 22 inches. From each edge projected pieces of lath, some three inches, others five inches long, so that the opening was thus further curtailed . . . the plaster was newly broken off, the ends of the laths presented the appearance of freshly broken wood, and the wall-paper had been freshly torn off." These facts were seen and signed to by over 30 gentlemen, sent for by Mr. Judge as witnesses. Mr. Judge further tells us that, at his request, Mr. Damodar tried to get into the recess through the hole, but could not; Mr. Judge himself tried and failed, as did a "thin coolie"; finally, "a small boy about ten years of age" squeezed in, but found that he could not stand upright, for there were large pieces of hard mortar projecting from the sides. Mr. Judge then sent for a man, who "in my presence bricked up the aperture, replastered it, and then repapered the whole space." What, then, becomes of Mr. Hodgsons "measurements" and his statement that the space was sufficient for a person to stand in? As to the mirror, no one seems to have seen it - except M. Coulomb - and Mr. Judge could find no trace of its presence when he examined the shrine - no marks such as are always left by a hanging object. (2) The letters to Madame Coulomb. It has always been a mystery to me how any one could read these letters, and believe them to have been written by Madame Blavatsky. The French, to begin with, is clumsy and "English," while Madame Blavatsky speaks and writes French with the purity characteristic of educated Russians. Then there is the absurdity of supposing that a person who is alleged to be entitled to "permanent remembrance as one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting impostors in history" (p. 207), would be such a fool as to place herself at the mercy of a woman of the type of Madame Coulomb, putting the whole of her elaborately constructed system of deception into the hands of one who is described as being "tolerated as a person hardly responsible for her actions." Mr. Allan Hume, a gentleman by no means friendly to Madame Blavatsky, put this very well in a letter written to the Calcutta Statesman. He said:

"All that I desire to point out is this: Madame Blavatsky is no fool; on the contrary, as all who know her, be they friends or foes, will admit, she is an exceptionally clever and farsighted woman, with a remarkably keen perception of character. Would such a woman ever give a person like Madame Coulomb the entire power over her future that the writing of such letters involves? Or again, say she had, in some mad mood, written such letters, would she have come to an open rupture with the holder of them? . . . Believe me, Madame Blavatsky is far too shrewd a woman to have ever written to any one anything that could convict her of fraud." Judge Sreenevas Row, a "judicial officer of 25 years standing," examined the letters very carefully, and came to the conclusion that the letters were forgeries. So with many others to whom they were submitted. On the other hand, Mr. Netherclift and Mr. Sims came to the conclusion, as experts, that the letters were written by Madame Blavatsky. Their opinion is somewhat discounted by the facts, (a) that experts disagree so much that you can always get two to swear in an opposite sense in an important case; (b) that Mr. Netherclift and Mr. Sims came to the opinion, as Mr. Hodgson was "surprised to find" that some writing, believed by him to be hers, was not hers at all, and subsequently, when the same writing was "re-submitted to him" (Mr. Netherclift) with some other Mr. Netherclift thought that "without doubt" it was hers, the complaisant Mr. Sims also changing his opinion - a variation casting much doubt on the value on Mr. Netherclifts and Mr. Sims judgment. To condemn a woman for a scandalous fraud on such a variable opinion as that of Mr. Netherclift is, in itself, a scandal. (3.) The letters from the Mahatmas. Mr. Hodgson avers that certain letters, alleged to be from Koot Hoomi, are written by Madame Blavatsky, or in some cases by Mr. Damodar. It was on these letters that Messrs. Netherclift and Sims so curiously varied together. Against their opinion may be put that of Herr Ernst Schutze, the Court expert in caligraphy at Berlin, who gave evidence on oath that the letter of Koot Hoomi "has not the remotest resemblance with the letter of Madame Blavatsky," and who wrote: "I must assure you most positively that if you have believed that both letters came from one and the same hand, you have laboured under a most complete mistake." Expert for expert, or rather Herr Schutze and half Messrs. Netherclift and Sims against the other half of Messrs. Netherclift and Sims. Secondly, a very large number of letters have been received hundreds and thousands of miles away from Madame Blavatskys place of residence, sometimes enclosed in private letters from far-away correspondents: has she confederates everywhere, this most surprising impostor, so that letters in the Koot Hoomi writing turn up in this extraordinary way? Thus Mr. Judge writes that he has seen in America over 40 letters "all written in the same hand as is found in the so-called adept letters sampled by Hodgson, and yet none of them arrived in letters that H. P. Blavatsky had even seen or heard of." Judge Sreenevas Row wrote a letter, which he showed to no one, took it himself to Adyar, placed it himself in the shrine, closed the door, opened it a few minutes after, and received a reply in the challenged writing, answering "every single point in my letter which I had just deposited and had shown to nobody else." Madame Blavatsky was then at Ootacamund, so could scarcely have written the letter. Dr. Hartmann states that he received such letters at headquarters when she was not living there. In a statement signed by fifteen Hindus, it is said that one letter thus received was in Sanskrit, another in the Mahrathi language, in the Modi characters, although she does not know Mahrathi, nor can write in Modi. Of course,

all these people, and many others of character and good repute, may be lying, even though the wherefore of their thus disgracing themselves is inexplicable. Mr. Hodgson has made a minute examination of the writings attributed to Koot Hoomi and to Madame Blavatsky, and has come to the conclusion that they are from the same hand. My own judgment on his specimens differs, but there are certain likenesses. It would be strange if there were not, when we consider the admittedly close connexion between the two persons. Nothing is more common than similarities between the writings of persons attached to each other by ties either of affection or of work. I know at the present time some most striking likenesses between the handwritings of tutor and grown-up pupils, those of two friends, and so on, likenesses far closer than that suggested between those of Koot Hoomi and of Madame Blavatsky. Where letters were "precipitated" the resemblance would be very much closer, as students will understand, but no argument based on this can be addressed to the general reader with any hope of acceptation. It may not be irrelevant to remind the public of the great exposure of the value of "expert" evidence on handwritings, which took place before the Parnell Commission. There a great newspaper was wholly duped by a clever forger, and paid heavily for its trust in experts of the Netherclift type. Their evidence was proved worthless, and the forger, convicted of fraud, made the public apology of suicide. Yet the Times took much more care to substantiate its case than did the slanderers of Madame Blavatsky. Speaking generally, Mr. Hodgsons whole report is vitiated by the absence of direct testimony, save from the Coulombs. All his arguments are based on unproved assumptions: "it may have been thus," "it is probable that," " it may be suggested," so and so "may have done" such a thing. Quite so: it may, but it also may not, and one craves for facts to support so grave an accusation, not assumptions. Nor can Mr. Hodgson suggest any rational motive for the extraordinary antics he ascribes to Madame Blavatsky. Here is a Russian lady, of admittedly high birth and social position, playing the fool in Europe, America and India to her own financial and social ruin, gaining nothing but abuse and slander, when she might be living luxuriously in high dignity in her own land. Mr. Hodgson rejects the idea that she is a religious monomaniac; he admits that pecuniary gain was not her object and discards the theory of a "morbid yearning for notoriety." A casual conversation opened "his eyes at last, and he discovered the secret of her strange career: she was a Russian agent, and "her ultimate object has been the furtherance of Russian interest"!! This sapient conclusion is, perhaps, the best criterion of Mr. Hodgsons ability, the more so as it is partly based on a "fragmentary script which forms one of the Blavatsky-Coulomb documents" - in plain English, a torn scrap picked out of Madame Blavatskys waste-paper basket by Madame Coulomb! This portentous script is - I regret to thus shatter a fond illusion - a discarded scrap of a translation, by Madame Blavatsky, of a Russian work, translated for and published in the Pioneer, ordered and paid for by its editor, and to be read there by anyone who cares to do so. O sapient Mr. Hodgson! and O unlucky Psychical Research Society, to have fathered a report based on the sole investigations of so easily deluded an emissary. Let me say in conclusion that, as everybody who knows her is aware, Madame Blavatsky is constitutionally incapable - apart from all questions of morality - of carrying out an elaborate and prolonged system of fraud. She is hasty, impulsive, unconventional, frank to

unwisdom (as the world estimates wisdom), careless of appearances, of a quite childlike openness. I live in the house with her, I know her extremely intimately, and she is the most transparently honesty person with whom I have ever had to deal. And this I say: that with this intimate knowledge of her, I bear my testimony to her moral worth, as to her extraordinary knowledge and intellectual strength. I never met her equal in courage, in unselfishness, in charity, and in generosity. Some day, it may be, the world will recognise her value. Meanwhile, we, who KNOW, can wait. (1) Annie Besant, Fellow of the Theosophical Society.

Note
(1) The quotations given in Madame Blavatsky's defence are: "Reply to a Report of an Examination," by H.R. Morgan, Major-General, Ootacamund, 1884. "Report of the Result of an Investigation," by a Committee of the Council of the Theosophical Society, Madras, 1885. "Official Report of the 9th Session of the General Convention," Madras, 1885. A written statement, signed by W.Q. Judge.

[For background on Annie Besant's 4-page Reply (reproduced below) to W. Q. Judge's Nov. 1894 E.S.T. circular, see: The Theosophical Movement 1875-1950, Chapter XVI, especially pp. 241-246; and Henry S. Olcott's Old Diary Leaves, Volume V, Chapter XIX, "Mr. Judge Denounces Mrs. Besant," especially pp. 252-260. --- BAO Editor.] I received yesterday, December 18th, from Mr. W. Q. Judge, a circular dated from New York, 3rd November, 1894. I had previously received, on November 14th, in Australia, a curt telegram from Mr. Judge informing me that he had notified the School that he was sole Head of the E.S.T. with control of everything by "Masters Orders." I did not reply to the telegram, as it said the notification to the School was made, and there was nothing for me to

do until I knew what notification had been issued. All the further information I had was contained in telegrams to the Australian papers, stating that I was expelled by Mr. Judge from the Theosophical Society in consequence of the exposures in The Westminster Gazette. The public disgrace seriously interfered with the end of my Australian work, but it fortunately came nearly at the end of the tour; fortunately also it came ere I left Australia; and there reached me telegrams and letters from our Lodges promising fullest support and unanimous loyalty. I make the following comments on the circular sent to me, and I add certain statements that the members may judge with both circulars before them. I deeply regret the delay in communicating with you, but Mr. Judge issued the circular when I was in New Zealand, and it only reached my hands yesterday afternoon. I post this to-day to catch the London mail. That the time chosen gave Mr. Judge three months for action while my mouth was closed, is therefore no fault of mine. 1. I do not know if the statements as to Mr. Judges part in the foundation of the E.S.T. are or are not true. H.P.B. never mentioned to me the alleged facts, except the one that Mr. Judge had not taken the ordinary pledge, he being already pledged. 2. The statements as to the I.G. and myself are misleading, because incomplete. I complete them. H.P.B. did, when I left her, give me a sealed statement, constituting me Chief Secretary of the I.G. and Recorder of the Teachings. She also wrote to Mr. Judge stating that I was her "Successor," when she had to leave us, and Mr. Judge read that extract to our little group at Avenue Road when he came over after her death, as constituting --- with her statements as to himself --- the basis for the future arrangements. (On this matter of H.P.B.s wishes as to the work I may be able to tell you more presently, but I cannot delay this circular.) Her dying gift to me was the ring she always wore --- of which she had given me a duplicate in 1889. Ere leaving for America I asked her if I might discuss the I.G. Instructions with Mr. Judge; she answered: No, not unless he took the I.G. pledge. When he came to London after her death I told him this, and the first of the spurious "messages" was the assent to his question if he might enter the I.G. without taking the pledge. It seemed to all of us natural and right that he should come in, and we joyfully welcomed him. The Instructions of H.P.B. to the I.G. were written down by each member, and these notes were handed to George Mead and myself, we always writing them down promptly, and H.P.B. often looking over the completed version, so as to ensure accuracy. There are other papers of teaching left in my hands by H.P.B. and in her own writing. 3. On my own value or worthlessness (pp 3, 4) I have naught to say, beyond what I was bidden by H.P.B. to assert (else would I be silent) that I am a disciple of her Master, and know him independently of her, I add, without her permission, that her blessed hand opened to me the path to His Feet. 4. pp. 5-9. The "plot," so far as I know, is the purest delusion. What is said of Mr. Chakravati I know to be false, and I can but feel the profoundest pity and sorrow for him who uses the holy name of the Master to cover such a charge. Believing in Karma as I do, compassion renders anger impossible. The statements about myself are untrue, but they matter but little.

5. The statement on p. 9 as to "inside facts" is to me a little surprising. At the beginning of February, 1894, Mr. Judge wrote to me, saying the time had come for me to be the sole head of the E.S.T. and rejoicing in my closer touch with the Masters; a little later, on the 12th February, I had a peremptory telegram from Mr. Judge, sent to me through Mr. Chakravati, bidding me issue notice to the School that I took it over. I did not act on either letter or telegram, and shortly after Mr. Judge, having meanwhile received my letter telling him that I knew he had deceived me, telegraphed again, cancelling the telegram I had received on February 12th. 6. As to East and West, I follow H.P.B. Her Master is an Indian, Master K.H. is an Indian, her writings show her love for India, she named her School the Eastern School. Ere she died, she approved my seeking in India the help of which I was to be deprived by her approaching death, and that help came to me as she said. The importance put by the Masters on India may be seen in what Master K.H. writes on it in the letters quoted in The Occult World. The Eastern Occultism that was good enough for her is good enough for me. But I will be no party to setting West against East, nor East against West; the Great Lodge works for Humanity; IT seeks to bind men together, not to stir up racial passions; IT includes Masters of different nationalities. What to us are these battle cries of divided hosts? From the Supreme Self flow all human souls; the Egos are embodied wherever their Karma leads them; not for us the heresy of separateness; from the Diamond Soul all colours flash. The "E.S.T. Order" on page 12 I reject. I shall pursue my work quietly, with such of the council left by H.P.B. as think it right to work with me. Mr. Judge thinks it right to rend the School in twain, and I can only go on steadily as I have learned. We have come to the parting of the ways. I recognize no authority in Mr. Judge. Not from his hands did I receive my work; not into his hands may I surrender it. And, now, brothers and sisters, you must choose your road, grievous as the choice must be to you. Mr. Judge casts me aside, breaks the last tie between us that remained. Read carefully his circular, and if your intuition tells you that it breathes the compassion which judges not a brother, the all-embracing love that draws all men together, the chivalrous honour that seeks no advantage over the absent; then follow your intuition, and obey what to you is the Masters holy voice; to such I say: "Brothers, go in peace, and may the infinite mercy of the Great Lodge guide into the path of Truth all who seek to tread it through the Maya of the physical and psychic planes." To you who will stand where H.P.B. left us together and work with me, I have also a word to say: "Remember the ancient rule: Hatred ceaseth not by hatred at any time: hatred ceaseth by love." Follow peace and charity; attack none; blame none; impute no evil motives; cast not back reproaches. There are now two Schools not one in outer organization; but what if our love, that is not bounded by outer organization, should nourish a seed of unity and preserve it alive for happier times? Let us put all our energy into the work, let us love and serve the Masters and pray Them that if we blunder in our service the involuntary fault may speedily be shown to us by pain. The Good Law sweeps on unerringly; let us rest on Them in whom it is embodied.

ANNIE BESANT.

BUSINESS NOTICE. This circular is sent to all members of the E.S.T. in both Divisions. Members in Europe must, within a week of their receipt of it, notify the Corresponding Secretary, 19, Avenue Road, London, N.W., whether they remain with me or go after Mr. Judge. Members in India and Australia must, posting their letters within one week of their receipt of it, notify me, addressing Mrs. Annie Besant, Benares City, India, N.W.P. Those who do not answer will be struck off the register, but will be restored, if they write within one month of receipt of this circular. Members in America must notify the Corresponding Secretary as above, if they wish to work with me; otherwise it will be taken for granted that they follow Mr. Judge. No member can belong to both Schools. ANNIE BESANT. Colombo, Ceylon, December 19th, 1894.

[For background on William Q. Judge's 12-page E.S.T. circular reproduced below as well as Mrs. Besant's reply, see: The Theosophical Movement 1875-1950, Chapter XVI, especially pp. 241-246; and Henry S. Olcott's Old Diary Leaves, Volume V, Chapter XIX, "Mr. Judge Denounces Mrs. Besant," especially pp. 252-260.]

I now send you this, all of it being either direct quotations from the messages to me, or else in substance what I am directed to say to you, the different details and elaborations being my own. I had hoped that no such statement would be necessary, but the hope was vain. I have put off writing it since March, 1894, when I issued a circular to the Theosophical Society regarding certain charges which were made against me; but now I am obliged to send this or else to fail in the performance of my duty to you and to the whole T.S. movement, of which the E.S.T. is the real heart. In March this letter seemed to me to be as necessary as it is now, but I was then directed to wait for the conclusion of the matter of the charges made against me, as those had to be first settled and disposed of for the benefit of the constitutional organization. I have since seen the wisdom of this direction, for had I said then what I say now the whole matter would have been mixed up in every way. We have now to deal with the E.S.T. and with our duty to it and to each other; and among those others, to Mrs. Besant. This is issued in the E.S.T. under the protection of the pledges made by all its members. It is impossible to see them and converse with them, and I have to take the risk of print. If the matter becomes public it will be the fault of those who are not able to keep their pledges, and not my fault nor Karma. First let me tell you briefly of the E.S.T. foundation and history, and of the Inner Group. I am not a pledged member of the E.S.T. and never made a pledge in it, as my pledges were long before to the Master direct; I was one of its founders, with H.P.B. , and she at the beginning made me manager and teacher in it from the first, under her, for the American part especially. You can remember all she said of that. I wrote the rules of the E.S.T. myself in London in 1888 at H.P.B.s request and under the direction of the Master. Those were not altered by her, but after reading them and further consulting the Master she added some general paragraphs. I am the only one standing in that position. Mrs. Besant and all other members are pledged and certified in the ordinary way. The E.S. was started in November, 1888. In May, 1887, I sent the following to H.P.B. from New York: 18th May. Dear H.P.B. --- Please reply to this. So many people are beginning to ask me to be Chelas that I must do something, so I have drawn up the enclosed paper which you can send me with some formalities on it as you think right to do so --- or whatever I ought to have. If you do not think so, then please tell me in what way I had best proceed. I know a good many good ones who will do well and who will form a rock on which the enemy will founder, and this plan would encourage them. So fiat something. As ever, WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. Enclosed paper:

To WILLIAM Q. JUDGE: --- You are directed to draw together all those persons, members of the Theosophical Society in the U.S., who have or express the desire to serve the cause of the Blessed Masters. This you are to do with the understanding in writing in every case that the persons taken are not thereby made Chelas of the Masters, but simply that they are thus given a chance to make a preliminary trial of themselves, and in each case you will take from the applicant an expression in writing, before making your private register of the names, that they well understand the basis on which you thus take them. Nothing is promised; each will have just what he or she deserves --- no more, no less. And all must be faithful to the Cause, to Masters, and to the founders of the Theosophical Society. Given [etc.] H.P.B. replied that I might go ahead without the paper and soon she would do something else. Later, at the time she was explaining in London the plan of the E.S.T., I telegraphed her asking her to "make public the Inner Section". That telegram was received in the presence of Dr. Keightley and others. She then told me to come to London and help, which I did. The E.S. was founded on the exact lines of the above papers. I do not wish to place myself on the high level of H.P.B. , but in Occultism of Masters Lodge a lower Chela is often used as the instrument for pointing out even to such a great character as H.P.B. the times and seasons and sometimes the plan. That I did in this case, and by the direction of the Master. H.P.B.s promulgations followed the ideas and also the words in part of my paper. An Inner Group was later on formed by H.P.B. at London, so that she might give out teachings to be recorded by the members, and, if possible, teach them practical occultism. Of this Mrs. Besant, with George Mead to help her, was made the Secretary, because she had great ability in a literary way, was wholly devoted, and perfectly fit for the task. But this did not make her a Teacher. And even when she bid adieu to H.P.B. on her leaving Europe for America in April, 1891, the very last thing H.P.B. put into her hands as she left her presence, into which she never again entered, was the sealed statement that made her Recorder of the teachings. H.P.B. knew that she would not live to see Annie Besant again, and if she were to have been constituted a "Teacher", that would have been the time to give her the position. But she did not. The death of H.P.B. destroyed of course any further value in the office of "Recorder." I am a member of the Inner Group, and have been since 1891. It was needless to speak of this before now. The conversations of H.P.B. with the Inner Group were taken down in a more or less fragmentary form by the different members in notes, and later Mrs. Besant and George Mead wrote them out as Secretaries. I have a complete copy of these, and so has each member of the Inner Group, and those copies comprise all the "Instructions" left in the possession of Mrs. Besant or the Inner Group. In my possession and within my control is a large body of Instructions given to me all the time from 1875, which I shall give out and have given out, as far as I am directed. Read page xix of Secret Doctrine (Introduction to vol. I), where H.P.B. says she taught Colonel Olcott and two Europeans. I am one of the

latter. Colonel Olcott is the old standard-bearer, and has been the medium for teaching, himself having Chelas whom he has instructed, but always on the lines laid down by the Master through H.P.B. He was selected by the Master to do a certain and valuable work not possible for anyone else, and he was never taken into the E.S. by a pledge, for, like myself, he was in the very beginning pledged directly to the Master. His main work has been that great and far-reaching work in the world, among not only ordinary people, but with kings and rulers, for the sake of this cause which the Masters knew he was to do for them. Mrs. Annie Besant has been but five years in this work, and not all of that time engaged in occult study and practice. Her abilities as a writer and speaker are rare and high for either man or woman, her devotion and sincerity of purpose cannot be doubted. She gave many years of her life to the cause of the oppressed as she understood it: against the dread blight of materialistic belief in herself, she worked thus without hope in a future life and in every way proved her altruistic purpose and aim. Since 1889 she has done great service to the T.S. and devoted herself to it. But all this does not prevent a sincere person from making errors in Occultism, especially when he, as Mrs. Besant did, tries to force himself along the path of practical work in that field. Sincerity does not confer of itself knowledge, much less wisdom. H.P.B. and all the history of occultism say that seven years of training and trial at the very least are needed. Mrs. Besant has had but five. Mistakes made by such a disciple will ultimately be turned to the advantage of the movement, and their immediate results will be mitigated to the person making them, provided they are not inspired by an evil intention on the persons part. And I wish it to be clearly understood that Mrs. Besant has had herself no conscious evil intention; she has simply gone for awhile outside the line of her Guru (H.P.B. ), begun work with others, and fallen under their influence. We should not push her further down, but neither will the true sympathy we have blind our eyes so as to let her go on, to the detriment of the movement. I could easily retire from the whole T.S., but my conceptions of duty are different, although the personal cost to myself in this work is heavy, and as I am ordered to stay I will stay and try my best to aid her and everyone else as much as possible. And the same authority tells me that "could she open her eyes and see her real line of work, and correct the present condition in herself as well as the one she has helped to make in the T.S. and E.S.T., she would find herself in mental, physical and spiritual conditions of a kind much better than ever before, for her present state is due to the attacks of the dark powers, unconsciously to her." And now it becomes necessary under instructions received to give the members of the School some account of the things behind the scenes in connection with the recent investigation attempted at London upon the charges against me. The two persons around whom its noise arose are Mrs. Besant and myself. Prior to that in 1891, after the death of H.P.B., Col. H. S. Olcott, the President, was the center of a disturbance due to his resignation, and that disturbance was due to the same forces working from behind to try and disintegrate the T.S. by causing its old-time President to leave office before his death. The recent troubles centered around us because I was made the object of an attack in the guise of an attempt to purify the Society, and Mrs. Besant was thrown forward as the official accuser of myself --- a friend who was certified to her by H.P.B. ,

her teacher, and well known as working for the T.S. for many years. All this needs light, and the best interests of Mrs. Besant and of the E.S.T. demand that some of the secret history shall be given out, however disagreeable it may be, in order that the very purgation which was improperly directed to the wrong quarter shall take place now. The difficulty arose when in January or February Annie Besant finally lent herself unconsciously to the plot which I detail herein; but prior to that (from August, 1893), those managing that plot had begun to work upon her. The plot exists among the Black Magicians, who ever war against the White, and against those Black ones we are constantly warned by H.P.B. This is no fiction, but a very substantial fact. I have seen and also been shown the chief entity among those who thus work against us and who desire to destroy the whole movement and especially to nullify the great work which H.P.B. began for the Western nations. These Black Magicians have succeeded in influencing certain Brahmans in India through race-pride and ambition, so that these, for their own advantage, desire to control and manage the T.S. through some agent and also through the E.S.T. They of course have sought, if possible, to use one of our body, and have picked out Mrs. Besant as a possible vehicle. One object of the plot is to stop the current of information and influence started by H.P.B. by deflecting thought back to modern India. To accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to tear down the tradition clustering around the work of H.P.B. ; her powers and knowledge have to be derogated from; her right to speak for the Masters has to be impugned; those Masters have to be made a cold abstraction; her staunch friends who wish to see the real work and objects carried on have to be put in such a position as to be tied hand and foot so as not to be able to interfere with the plans of the plotters; it has to be shown that H.P.B. was a fraud and forger also. These men are not the Chelas of our Masters. The name of the person who was worked upon so as to, if possible, use him as a minor agent of the Black Magicians and for the influencing of Mrs. Besant is Gyanendra N. Chakravarti, a Brahman of Allahabad, India, who came to America on our invitation to the Religious Parliament in 1893. At the first sincerely desirous of helping the race by bringing to the American people the old truths of his forefathers, he nevertheless, like so many before him, permitted ambition to take subtle root in his heart. Fired with the ambition of taking position in the world as a Guru, though doubtless believing himself still a follower of the White Brotherhood, he is no longer in our lines; on the contrary, his mediumship and weakness leave him a vehicle for other influences also. He was then a Chela of a minor Indian Guru and was directed to come to America by that Guru who had been impressed to so direct him by our Master. That he was not a Chela of our Master he distinctly admitted to several persons, among others to me. While in that relation he was telepathically impressed in Chicago with some of the contents of a message received by me from the Master. It corroborated outwardly what I had myself received. It was however but a part and was moreover deficient in matter, Chakravarti himself being only aware of it as a mental impression, and I am informed that at the time he was not fully aware of what he was doing. His ability to be used as an unconscious vehicle was made known to me when he was made to receive the message. Although he was not fully aware

of it, not only was the whole of his tour here well guarded and arranged, but he was personally watched by agents of the Masters scattered through the country unknown to him, who reported to me. On several occasions he has taken people into his confidence, believing that he was instructing them, when in fact they were observing him closely for the Lodge, helping him where right, and noting him fully, though they did not tell him so. This was also so in those parts of his tour when he believed himself alone or only with Mrs. Besant. His report of the message is as follows: "You should tell Judge that we are satisfied with his work in America. He has our best thanks for his exertions in the field of Theosophy. He should try his best to keep always in the light of his higher nature, and thus alone he will be able to find out truth from its shadow. Thus alone he will be able to shut out the powers of darkness that every now and again try to smother his true and noble self which is pure and sincerely devoted to us." I informed Mrs. Besant in September, 1893, of the message. But afterwards, when Mr. Chakravartis work under me was finished, and when ambition, aroused through that visit, had grown strong, he tried to destroy the effect of that message on Mrs. Besants mind by cunningly construing it to mean that, although I was thus in all things commended, yet the last part of it contradicted the first and supported the charge of forgery and lying. This is madness when not deliberate. The psychological delusion of Mrs. Besant is also here shown: for she said that perhaps I would rely on that message to refute the charges, and if I should, the last paragraph of it was the part that would go to show that the Masters knew I was guilty. She accepted the cunning construction, permitting herself to think that the Master could commend me for all the work I had done, of which the pretended acts of forgery would be a part, and at the same time send me a delusive message, part of which was to be immediately used as condemnation if brought forward by me. If I was guilty of what I was accused, then Master would be shown as conniving at forgery and lying --- a most impossible thing. The only other possibility is that Mr. Chakravarti and I "got up" the message. But he and Mrs. Besant have admitted its genuineness, although she is perfectly unable herself to decide on its genuineness or falsity. But further, Mrs. Besant admitted to several that she had seen the Master himself come and speak through my body while I was perfectly conscious. And still further, H.P.B. gave me in 1889 the Masters picture on which he put this message: "To my dear and loyal colleague, W. Q. Judge". Now, then, either I am bringing you a true message from the Master, or the whole T.S. and E.S.T. is a lie, in the ruins of which must be buried the names of H.P.B. and the Masters. All these stand together or they fall together. Let it be proved that H.P.B. is a liar and a fraud, and I will abandon the T.S. and all its belongings; but until so proved I will remain where I was put. Lastly, as final proof of the delusions worked through this man and his friends I will mention this: Many years ago (in 1881) the Masters sent to the Allahabad Brahmans (the Prayag T.S.) a letter which was delivered by H.P.B. to Mr. A. P. Sinnett, who handed a copy over to them, keeping the original. It dealt very plainly with the Brahmans. This letter the Brahmans do not like, and Mr. Chakravarti tried to make me think it was a pious fraud by H.P.B. He succeeded with Mrs. Besant in this, so that since she met him she has on various occasions said she thought it was a fraud by H.P.B.

, made up entirely, and not from the Master. I say now on Masters authority that it was from the Master, and is a right letter. Only delusion would make Mrs. Besant take this position; deliberate intention makes the others do it. It is an issue that may not be evaded, for if that letter be a fraud then all the rest sent through our old teacher, and on which Esoteric Buddhism was made, are the same. I shall rest on that issue; we all rest on it. Mrs. Besant was then made to agree with these people under the delusion that it was approved by the Masters. She regarded herself as their servant. It was against the E.S.T. rules. When the rule is broken it is ones duty to leave the E.S.T.; and when I got the charges from her I asked her to leave it if it did not suit her. The depth of the plot was not shown to Mrs. Besant at all, for if it had been she would have refused. Nor was Col. Olcott aware of it. Mrs. Besant was put in such a frightful position that while she was writing me most kindly and working with me she was all the time thinking that I was a forger and that I had blasphemed the Master. She was made to conceal from me, when here, her thoughts about the intended charges, but was made to tell Mr. B. Keightley in London and possibly few others. Not until the time was ripe did she tell me, in her letter in January, from India, asking me to resign from the E.S.T. and the T.S. offices, saying that if I did and would confess guilt all would be forgiven and everyone would work with me as usual. But I was directed differently and fully informed. She was induced to believe that the Master was endorsing the persecution, that he was ordering her to do what she did. At the same time, I knew and told her that it was the plan there to have Col. Olcott resign when I had been cut off, the presidency to be then offered to her. It was offered to her, and she was made to believe it was the Masters wish for her "not to oppose". She then waited. I did not resign, and the plot so far was spoiled for the time. The delusion was so complete that she did not take the pains to contradict the rumor sent out by others, attached to her name, that Master ordered her to do as she did. Why? Because the Brahmans and their agents had made her silent. Showing the delusion further, note this: She wrote me that I must "resign the office of successor to the President", the hint being that this was one of the things Master wanted me to do. The fact was I had no such office and there was no such thing to resign. The Master knew it, and hence he never ordered it. She felt and expressed to me the greatest pain to have to do such things to me. I knew she so felt, and wrote her that it was the black magicians. She replied, being still under the delusion, that I was failing to do Masters will. Her influencers also made her try psychic experiments on me and on two others in Europe. They failed. On me they had but a passing effect, as I was cognizant of them; on one of the others they reacted on health, although she did not desire any harm at all; she was made to think it best and for my good. She then sent word to these people that she had not succeeded. This is all the effect of pure delusion; the variance between such things and her usual character is shown in her all the time writing me the most kind letters. In all this Mr. Chakravarti was her guide, with others. She was writing him all the time about it. He went so far as to write me on a matter he was supposed to know nothing of: "No matter what Annie may do to you as Co-Head of the E.S., she means you no harm". He must have known what she was doing from her. It was quite true, and I knew why it was true that she meant no harm --- she was deluded. Informed as I was of all these inside facts, I drew up under Masters direction my circular on the charges in March, 1894, and there outlined what would be done. It was all done as I

said and as the Master in March told me would be the case. The London investigation ended as Master predicted through me in my circular, and for the benefit of the T.S. But all that time the conspirators used all means against me. They had all sorts of letters sent me from India with pretended messages from the Masters asking me to resign and confess. One of those was anonymous and signed "A Brahman who loves you". I know the author. The object of these things was to confuse my mind if possible and render me unfit to act at all, while they went on with the plot and the influencing of Mrs. Besant. But Master kept me informed and told me what steps to take. He even told me that, much as it might seem the contrary from the official papers, Col. Olcott would be the central figure and the one through whom the adjustment of the matter would come. This also turned out true. The Master says that the T.S. movement was begun by Them in the West by western people, and that it is not Their desire to turn it into a solely eastern movement nor to have us run after the present East and its exoteric teachers; they confirm the statement so often made by H.P.B. that there are not to-day in modern India any true Initiates teaching the people; that cyclic law requires the work in the West for the benefit of the world; that They do not live in India, and that They find it very hard to break down the walls of theological and other prejudices in the East; that the Egos of the West include many who helped to make the religion, the philosophy, and the civilization of the ancient East; that the new race is being prepared for in the West, and to divert thought back to the teachers of to-day in the East would be dangerous; that many Initiates have remained with the West as Nirmanakayas for its help in its destiny, and that through the great work in the West the whole East as well as West will be benefited. And They say that if the task of raising up the almost suffocated spirituality of India could have been done by working wholly there and thus benefiting the West, the time spent by the Messengers of the Lodge in the West was wasted. They also say that Natures laws have set apart woe for those who spit back in the face of their teacher, for those who try to belittle her work and make her out to be part good and part fraud; those who have started on the path through her must not try to belittle her work and aim. They do not ask for slavish idolatry of a person, but loyalty is required. They say that the Ego of that body she used was and is a great and brave servant of the Lodge, sent to the West for a mission with full knowledge of the insult and the obloquy to be surely heaped upon that devoted head; and they add: "Those who cannot understand her had best not try to explain her; those who do not find themselves strong enough for the task she outlined from the very first had best not attempt it". The T.S. and its devoted members should so pursue the aim that the great work may at last be accomplished, so that when the next great Messenger shall arrive the obstacles that were found in 1875 will not be there, to be again overcome only through long years of effort. A distinct object H.P.B. had in view I will now on the authority of the Master tell you. The work of the dark powers and their conscious and unconscious agents is against this object. They wish to defeat it. It is an object of the highest value and of the greatest scope, unrevealed before by H.P.B. to anyone else that I know of, though possibly there are those to whom she hinted it. All her vast work in the West, with western people, upon western religions and modern science, was toward this end, so that when she comes again as Messenger --- as hinted at in the Key to Theosophy --- much of the preparatory work should have been done by us and our successors. It is, the establishment in the West of a

great seat of learning where shall be taught and explained and demonstrated the great theories of man and nature which she brought forward to us, where western occultism, as the essence combined out of all others, shall be taught. This stupendous object the Black Lodge would prevent. And even the exoteric theological Brahman would also prevent it, because it will in the end obliterate that form of caste which depends alone on birth, for there will be developed those whose inner vision will see the real caste of the inner man and put him down in a lower one for his discipline if he is not truly in his place. To-day the four natural castes are all confused, and those who are black within strut about as keepers of the key to the shrine of truth, when in fact they should be lower down, as learners. Shall her great object be worked against by us and its foundations overthrown? Never, if the vast powers of the Masters can be drawn to its support; never, if we are faithful to our pledges and to our trust. I also state, on the same authority, that H.P.B. has not reincarnated. That Ego is quite conscious and working toward the final accomplishment of the end in view, which depends very largely upon the members of the Theosophical Society, and on their loyalty. If the plotters succeed, the Black Lodge will win by turning our thoughts to the modern East with its Yogis and Fakirs, its hide-bound castes, its subtle and magnificently intellectual theology, its Hatha Yoga and all the dangers attending that. In some minds this question has arisen: "Why does not the Master objectively communicate directly at one and the same time with Col. Olcott and all these others, so as to stop all trouble, and by bringing about a clear understanding smooth out all difficulties?" To do this would be contrary to the rule and dangerous for us. The force given out by doing it would allow --- through the law of equal reaction --- a similar amount of force to the Black Lodge, who also would be thus shown those who were involved. Greater trouble would follow. This law is well known. How often has H.P.B. said that, while such exercise of power cannot hurt the Adept, it arouses the sentinels at the threshold, who then precipitate themselves on the unprotected neophyte. Were it now done, then all the hundreds connected with us would be targets for assaults, on this plane of desires and passions, by the dark powers. The Masters protect us while we are still without our own weapons, by keeping themselves on the spiritual plane --- save to those who have obtained the means for self-protection. And in this is much information as well as warning. It is not well to vibrate a string that you want to raise up to a high note, unless you are strong enough to stand the consequences of its inevitable vibration to one equally low. At that low point lie the dark forces, and the vibrations rouse them up. We must be sure of the below before we try to go to the above. Practices, such as the Indian books are full of, lead to unwise vibrations, before we are ready. When we are encased in the steel of true devotion it will be time to try those experiments. We are all therefore face to face with the question whether we will abide by Masters and their Messenger on the one hand, or by the disrupting forces that stand on the other, willing to destroy our great mission if we will but give them the opportunity. WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.

I, having read the foregoing and the order below, declare that it agrees with my knowledge of the facts (except that I know nothing about Mr. Chakravarti) and with the design of H.P.B. and the basis of the organization, and I therefore endorse it all. J.D. Buck, F.T.S. Member of the Judicial Committee.

November 3, 1894

E.S.T. ORDER.
I now proceed a step further than the E.S.T. decisions of 1894, and, solely for the good of the E.S.T., I resume in the E.S.T. in full all the functions and powers given to me by H.P.B. and that came to me by orderly succession after her passing from this life, and declare myself the sole head of the E.S.T. This has been already done in America. So far as concerns the rest of the E.S.T. I may have to await the action of the members, but I stand ready to exercise those functions in every part of it. Hence, under the authority given me by the Master and H.P.B. , and under Masters direction, I declare Mrs. Annie Besants headship in the E.S.T. at an end. But in order to preserve our solidarity as much as possible, I hereby, for the present until need for other arrangement shall arise, continue in existence under my direction for the Eastern Division of the E.S.T., the Council which was composed by Mrs. Besant in London at the time of her departure for Australia and India in August, 1894. WILLIAM Q. JUDGE.

[See Annie Besant's reply to Mr. Judge's above 12-page circular. For some background on Mr. Judge's circular as well as Mrs. Besant's reply, see: The Theosophical Movement 18751950, Chapter XVI, especially pp. 241-246; and Henry S. Olcott's Old Diary Leaves, Volume V, Chapter XIX, "Mr. Judge Denounces Mrs. Besant," especially pp. 252-260.]

In The Twilight
[by Annie Besant]
[Reprinted from The Theosophist (Adyar, Madras, India), May 1910, pp. 1098-1100.]

The Vagrant said: "I am going to begin this evening. I will tell you about the first occasion on which I saw my Master. I wrote an account of the event once in a pamphlet, but it never appeared in any publication that has lasted. Soon after I had joined the Society, it happened that I was in England at a time when H. P. B. was in Fontainebleau, France, where The Voice of the Silence was written. She wrote me to go over and join her, which I did with joy. She was living in a delightful old house out in the country, and I was put in a bed-room near hers, a door connecting the two. One night I awoke suddenly owing to an extraordinary feeling that there was in the room. The air was all throbbing, and it seemed as if an electric machine was playing there; the whole room was electric. I was so astonished (for it was my first experience of the kind) that I sat up in bed, wondering what on earth could be happening. It was quite dark, and in those days I was not a bit clairvoyant. At the foot of the bed a luminous figure appeared, and stood there from half a minute to a minute. It was the figure of a very tall man, and I thought, from pictures I had seen, it was H. P. B.s Master. Near him was another figure, more faintly luminous, which I could not clearly distinguish. The brilliant figure stood quite still, looking at me, and I was so utterly astounded that I sat perfectly still, simply looking at Him; I did not even think of saluting Him. So I remained motionless and then gradually the figure vanished. Next day I told H. P. B. what had happened, and she replied: Yes, Master came to see me in the night, and went into your room to have a look at you. This was my first experience of seeing a Master; it must have been clearly a case of materialisation, for as I have said, I was not in the least clairvoyant at the time." "That was a phenomenon on the physical plane," said the Magian; "Tell us your earliest psychic experience." "One of my earliest psychic experiences occurred at Brighton," the Vagrant smilingly replied, "when Mrs. Cooper-Oakley and I went down there to stay with H. P. B. a few days. She was not well at the time. There was not much room in the house, so Mrs. Oakley and I shared a large attic-like room. After we had retired, a great grey eye appeared to us in turn; it came, floated over the beds and glared at us, first to my bed, then to hers, and then vanished. After it had gone, one leg of Mrs. Oakleys bed lifted up in the air and went down with a bang, twice. I heard a voice calling me: Annie, my bed is banging. Then the leg of my bed did the same thing, and I said: Isabel, my bed is banging too. We spoke to H. P. B. next morning about these rather disconcerting experiences, but could get no explanation from her. She was only playing little tricks on us with her favorite elemental. She also used to keep a little elemental under her writing-table to guard her papers in her absence, and she always knew if any one had been there looking at them. On one occasion it hemmed some towels for her, as the President-Founder has related in the Old Diary Leaves. It took very long stitches, but it sewed better than she could at any rate." "Tell us something more of H. P. B.," cried a voice. "In the days at Lansdowne Road, there was a young man of about seventeen, a relative of the Master K. H., who used to come to visit H. P. B. in his astral body. She was very fond of him. He was nick-named the Rice King, because once when there was a famine in India,

and he was suffering intensely because of the misery he saw around him, he tried to materialise some rice in a storehouse. But not being an expert at this kind of thing, or knowing how to use the forces, he dematerialised it instead, to his great sorrow and dismay. He took an interest in Europeans, and in H. P. B. in particular. She was very fond of him, but he used to exasperate her exceedingly by going to her writing-desk, and fumbling over all her papers, to her intense disgust, asking what those European things were. One night, I remember, he asked her permission to stump up and down the stairs and frighten the chelas." "Well, go on, we want more of H. P. B." "I dare say you know that at seances where apports take place the guides have frequently been asked to bring a newspaper from some distant place, which could not be there at the time of the seance by any ordinary means of transit, train or boat. This is one of the tests which it seems to be impossible to give. There is always some difficulty about it, though the spooks themselves do not seem to know in what the difficulty consists. H. P. B. once handed me some papers she had just been writing, to look over, in which there was a long quotation from a paper printed in India, about what had happened at a garden party. I noted the date and saw it could not possibly have arrived yet from India; I pointed this out to her, and said: H. P. B. how did you get this? She said: I copied it. But I told her it was out of a paper that had not arrived; it could not have been copied. She said: Oh, nonsense, it could. I noted the date of the paper and, when the time came for Indian mail to arrive, I went down to the India Office the next day and asked to look at the Indian papers. I turned to the page from which she had quoted, but found nothing there. Then remembering that when reading astrally, sometimes figures are apt to be inverted, I turned over to another page which it would have been if read upside down, and there was the paragraph, word for word as she had given it. I went back and said to her in a mischievous way: H. P. B. I saw that paragraph of yours in the paper to-day, and it is quite correct. Yes, here it is, she replied, tossing the paper over to me, a copy she had just received, thinking effectually to silence me. I said: Oh yes, but you had not received it at the time you made the quotation, whereupon she only muttered some impolite expression."