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MADAME BLAVATSKY

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

THE INFLUENCE OF BUDDHISM ON
PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY.

Crown Svo, Cloth^ 2s. 6d.

" Mr. Lillie's contentions are set forth with much ability and ingenuity, and in
a compact form that enables them to be weighed and examined by the popular
mind, to which, more than to the learned, they are addressed."— ^^^/j-waw.

" The learning which Mr. Lillie arrays in support of this conclusion is imposing
and ingenious." — The Times.

"The astonishing points of contact (ressemblances etonnantes) between the
popular legend of Buddha and that of Christ, the almost absolute similarity of the
moral lessons given to the world, at five centuries' interval, by these two peerless
teachers of the human race, the striking affinities between the customs of the
Buddhists and of the Essenes, of whom Christ must have been a disciple, . . ,
suggest at once an Indian origin to Primitive Christianity." — (Professor Leon de
Rosny, in a digest of Mr. Lillie's work in the XXe Siecle.)

ALSO,

MODERN MYSTICS AND MODERN MAGIC.

Crozun Svo, Cloth, 6s.

Containing a full Biography of the Rev. W. Stainton Moses, together with Sketches
of Swedenborg, Boehme, Madame Guyon, the Illuminati, the Kabalists,
the Theosophists, the French Spiritists, the Society of Psychical Research.

" An interesting biographical notice of Stainton Moses, whose acquaintance Mr.
Lillie had the good fortune to make very early in his career. Mr. Lillie has
gathered pretty much all that has at present transpired in relation to his life and
experience, and has put the whole together in a very readable form." — Light,

" Covers a very wide field." — Borderland.

"Will serve as a most convenient book of reference to some of the chief schools
of occult thought." — Shafts.

SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LONDON.

MADAME BLAVATSKY

AND

HER "THEOSOPHY"

A STUDY

BY

ARTHUR J^LLIE

Author of ''Modern Mystics and Modern Ma^ic," " Tlie Influence
of Buddhism on Primitive Christianity," etc.

If there are no Mahatmas, the Theosophical Society is an absurdity."— Mrs.
Besant [Ltccifer, December 15th, 1890)

LONDON

SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO.

1895

PREFACE

In the Revue des Deux Mondes for July, 1888, Mr. Emile Burnouf, the
eminent Sanskrit scholar, has an article entitled Le Boudd/usme en
Oeczde?tt, which deals in flattering terms with Madame Blavatsky's
"theosophy."

" This creed," he says, " has grown with astounding rapidity. In
1876, the Theosophical Society had but one branch. It had 104 in
1884, 121 in 1885, 134 in 1886, to-day it has 158. The branch in Paris
dates from last year. Of the 134 centres, 96 are in India. The others
are spread over the globe, in Ceylon, in Burmah, Australia, Africa^ in
the United States, in England, Scotland, Ireland, in Greece, in Ger-
many, in France. The French ' Society of Isis,' though recent,
possesses many distinguished names (p. 368)."

But since this article appeared in the leading review of Europe the
progress of the society has been still more remarkable if we may trust
the list of " charters " published in the Theosophist for December,
1891. In 1888 the society had 179 centres. In 1890 it had 241 centres.
In 1891 it had 279 branch societies.

This is a great success ; and it is to be confessed that in other coun-
tries besides France " distinguished names" are quoted in connection
with the society. Messrs. Crookes, Myers, and Gurney took an in-
terest in it. Mr. Edward Mainland, a man of genius, the author of
the *' Pilgrim and the Shrine," joined it, together with Mr. Sinnett
and Dr. Hartmann, able writers. Professor Max Miiller has given
advice to Colonel Olcott on the subject of Oriental translations, and
borne testimony to the good work that in that direction "theosophy"
has accomplished. And Mr. Gladstone has done this " substitute for
a religion " the signal honour of giving it and Mrs. Besant, its chief, a
long theological article in the Nmeteentk Century, that waxwork
gallery of the notabilities of the hour.

vi Preface.

But a more important conquest was made. Mrs. Besant is a woman
of singular integrity and ability. She has brought to the rescue of the
society her unrivalled platform eloquence. To show how important
theosophy is growing, I think I cannot do better than quote from the
Daily Chronicle of April 7th, 1894, an account of an intendew with
this lady on her return from India.

" Late on Thursday evening Mrs. Besant reached her home at Avenue
Road, Regent's Park, after nearly five months' lecturing tour in India
and Ceylon, where she has been expounding to the Buddhists their
own faith. The gift of lucid speech, which has placed Mrs. Besant in
the front rank of women orators, has made her reception amongst all
classes of people in India one of enthusiastic appreciation. Triumphal
arches, unceasing garlanding, and incessant rose-sprinkling have
attended her journeyings about. The people have heard her gladly,
and priests and philosophers have literally sat at her feet. At Adyar,
for many days in succession, she sat in the hall receiving and answer-
ing questions. She has aroused the leaders of Indian society to
an interest in their ancient institutions and religion never before
manifested.

" Shortly after her arrival yesterday morning she was kind enough/'
says a Chronicle interviewer, " to give me an audience. I found her
seated in her study, looking very picturesque in a simple Tussore
dress, with an Indian shawl arranged gracefully over one shoulder and
around her waist. An Indian servant, in native head-dress, was in
attendance. Mrs. Besant's hair is now silvery white, and her face has
a fuller contour than of yore, and a deeper and more introspective
expression.
" ' Would you explain the object of your Indian tour, Mrs. Besant ? '
" ' I have travelled on behalf of the Theosophical Society, and in
company with its president, Colonel Olcott. All the arrangements
were made by the Indian section of the society. My object has been
to show to the Hindus that theosophy is identical with the teachings
of their own scriptures, and that Madame Blavatsky had the special
mission of bringing back to India the knowledge which it had itself
lost, and then of spreading that knowledge through the world. Her
claim, which I have supported, was that theosophy was the underlying

Preface. vil

truth of every religion, and that the ancient Hindu scriptures contained
the fullest presentment ever made public. I have endeavoured to
justify that position in India by proving every point of theosophical
teaching by quotations from the Hindu scriptures.

" ' In towns where the population was mixed in faith, I used the
scriptures of the Parsees, Christians, and Mohammedans, and in
Ceylon, where the population was Buddhist, I used the Buddhist
scriptures. The enormous majority of my lectures were delivered to
almost entirely Hindu audiences. I confined myself to the Hindu
scriptures, and in all cases I stated that I regarded those scriptures
and the Hindu religion as the origin of all other scriptures and all
other religions. This was the position learned from Madame Blavat-
sky, and which I have held since I joined the Theosophical Society.'

" ' How was your teaching received by the people of India ? '

" ' Everywhere I met with enthusiastic receptions. The Pundits, or
spiritual teachers, gave me the warmest welcome, and continually ex-
pressed their extreme pleasure at this justification of Hinduism before
the world, as the source of all great religions and philosophies.'

" ' Did they not seek to test your knowledge, Mrs. Besant ?'

" ' Yes ; the learned Brahmins would come to me with obscure pas-
sages and allegories from the sacred writings, asking for interpretation.
My answers were based upon the teachings which I have myself
received from my Master, one of the great Eastern teachers, to whom
I was led by Madame Blavatsky. It is this teaching which enabled
me to deal with the learned and spiritual questioners who came to me
with their problems. I was able to show them that there really was
attainable a secret knowledge which threw light upon the obscurities
of their own scriptures. I found no one who was inclined to deny the
existence of such knowledge, but I found many who feared that it was
entirely lost, and who rejoiced at this definite proof that it was still
within reach.'

" But Anglo-Indian society had diverted itself with many funny
stories about Mrs. Besant. One was that on board the steamer com-
ing home she had dined apart for fear of losing caste.

" ' What truth is there, Mrs. Besant, in the statement that you have
embraced Hinduism ?'

" ' There is no truth in the statement as made, but it is true, as I

viii Preface.

have already explained, that I regard Hinduism as the most ancient
of all religions, and as containing more fully than any other the
spiritual truths named theosophy, in modern times. Theosophy is
the ancient Brahma Vidya of India. Of this, Hinduism is the earliest
and best exoteric presentment. Exoterically, therefore, I am a Hindu
in my religion and in my philosophy, but this was as true when I went
to India as it is true now. There is absolutely no change in my
position. It was just because I was Hindu in religion and philosophy
that I was given the mission of recalling to the modern Hindus the
real grandeur and sublimity of their religion. This could not have
been done as effectively by any one who was not at one with them in
the broad outlines of religious faith. To the occultist the ceremonials
of the Hindu religion are full of significance, for they are all based on
the experimental knowledge of the existence and of the powers of
spiritual intelligences. As a philosophy intellectually accepted,
theosophy may remain apart from all religious faiths, but regarded
from the spiritual side — if devotion is to form any part of the life —
the theosophist will use the religion most adapted to his own nature.
In my own case that religion is Hinduism in its ancient and pure
form.'"

I will make one other quotation, for some of the music by and by
may be in a different key. The following eloquent tribute is from
Borderland (October 1 5 th).

" If everything be true that Dr. Hodgson and the Psychical Research
Society say about her, it only heightens the mystery, and adds to the
marvel of the influence which Madame Blavatsky undoubtedly has
exercised, and is exercising, at the present moment. For the most
irate of the sceptics cannot den}-, and will not dispute, the fact that
the Theosophical Society exists, that it is far and away the most influ-
ential of all the associations which have endeavoured to popularise
occultism, and that its influence is, at the present time, felt far and
wide in many lands, and in many churches. The number of pledged
theosophists may be few, although it is probably greater than most
people imagine. But the theosophical ideas are subtly penetrating
the minds of multitudes who know nothing about theosophy, and are

p7'eface. ix

profoundly ignorant of all the controversies which have raged round
Madame Blavatsky.

" This is eminently the case with the doctrine of reincarnation, and
with the altered estimate which the average man is beginning to form
of the mystic teachers and seers of India. Reincarnation may or may
not be true. Whether true or false, it has, until the last decade, been
almost unthinkable by the average Western. This is no longer the
case. Multitudes who still reject it as unproved have learned to re-
cognise its value as a hypothesis explaining many of the mysteries of
human life. A few admit that there is nothing in reincarnation antag-
onistic to the doctrine of Christ, and that it is quite possible to hold
firmly all the great verities of the Christian revelation, without reject-
ing the belief that the life of the individual, upon which judgment will
be passed at the Great Assize, is not necessarily confined to the acts
done between the cradle and the grave, but may be an existence of
which such a period is but one chapter in the book of life. Altogether
apart from the question of the actual truth of the doctrine, it is indis-
putable that the sympathetic recognition of the possibility of reincar-
nation has widened the range of popular thought, and infused into
religious speculation some much-needed charity. And this, which is
unquestionably a great achievement, will ever be associated with the
name of Madame Blavatsky.

" Still more remarkable has been the success with which this remark-
able woman has succeeded in driving into the somewhat wooden head
of the Anglo-Saxon the conviction— long ago arrived at by a select
circle of students and Orientalists, of whom Professor Max Miiller
may be said to be the most distinguished living representative — that
the East is, in matters of religious and metaphysical speculation, at
least entitled to claim as much respect as the West. That indeed is
stating it very mildly. ' The snub-nosed Saxons,' as Disraeli used
to love to describe the race which made him Prime Minister, are
learning somewhat of humility and self-abasement before the races
whom, by use of material force, they have reduced to vassalage.

" Down to quite recent times the average idea of the average English-
man— notwithstanding all the books of all our pundits — has been that
the Hindoos were benighted and ignorant pagans, whom it was charity
to subdue, and a Christian duty to attempt to convert. To-day, even

Preface.

the man in the street has some faint glimmerings of the truth that
these Asiatics whom he despises are, in some respects, able to give
him points, and still leave him far behind. The Eastern sage who
told Professor Hensoldt that the West studied the stomach, whereas
the East studied the soul, expressed strongly a truth which our people
are only beginning to assimilate. We are learning at last to respect
the Asiatics, and in many things to sit at their feet. And in this
great transformation, Madame Blavatsky again figures as the leading
thaumaturgist. She and those whom she trained have bridged the
chasm between the materialism of the West and the occultism and
metaphysics of the East. They have extended the pale of human
brotherhood, and have compelled us to think at least of a conception
of an all-embracing religion, with wider bases than those of which the
reunionists of Christendom have hitherto dreamed."

It seems to me that the most successful creed-maker of the last
three hundred years deserves some serious notice. I propose to sketch
Madame Blavatsky and her work, using chiefly the testimony of her
enthusiasts. I shall have to inquire —

1. Whether there are any Mahatmas ?

2. Whether we have their teaching, and, if so^ what is that
teaching t

In this task I propose to leave out as much as possible the private
character of the lady as far as regards sex relations. The authenticity,
or non-authenticity, of her "miracles" is plainly too vital to be
passed over.

But in its ultimate the real inquiry before us is not so much why
Madame Blavatsky failed at times, but how it was she achieved her
astonishing success. With the theosophists, the 8th May, the day of
her decease, is now called " White Lotus Day," and, according to the
terms of her will, a reading takes place at each of the 279 " centres."
The works thus honoured are the " Bhagavad Gita " and Sir Edwin
Arnold's "Light of Asia."

CONTENTS

PREFACE ..--...
I. TIBET .......

II. WHAT MADAME BLAVATSKY LEARNT IN TIBET

III. societ:^ spirite --...-

IV. THE "miracle CLUB " - . - - -
V. THE BROTHERS OF LUXOR . . . -

VI. THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY - . . .

VII. ^RYA SAM.^J ......

VIII. THE "PIONEER" ......

IX. "THE SHRINE" -...-.
X. ANNA KINGSFORD - . - _ .

XI. PROFESSOR KIDDLE . . . . .

XII. BUDDHISM, "ESOTERIC" AND GENUINE
XIII. A CHANGE OF FRONT .....
XIV. THEOSOPHY TRUE AND FALSE - . . -

XV. CEREMONIAL MAGIC - - - - .

XVI. A LAST CHAPTER ----..

APPENDIX NO. I.— The Mahatma and the " Westminster
Gazette ......

APPENDIX NO. 2.~Blavatskyana

PAGE
V

I

15
19

22

38
48
58
70
96
118

163
178

200
210

221
225

MADAME BLAVATSKY.

CHAPTER I.

TIBET.

Mademoiselle Helena Petrovxa Hahn was born at
Ekaterinoslow, in the south of Russia, in 1831. She is
described as being what is called mediumistic from her
earliest youth. She was more in the company of phantom
" hunchbacks " and Roussalkas (water sprites) than of flesh
and blood pla^/mates. Mr. Sinnett argues from this tliat the
Mahatmas of Tibet put themselves in communication with
the young girl from her very earliest childhood. But an
alternative theory, of course, would be that the " Masters "
(Sinnett, " Life of Madame Blavatsky," p. 24) were never
anything more than the spooks or spirit guides of a
medium.

On the 7th July, 1848, Mademoiselle Hahn married
General Blavatsky, a gentleman " nearer seventy than
sixty." With a humour that developed early she called
her husband a " plumeless raven." For three months they
lived together, but not as husband and wife, and then she
left him, Mr. Sinnett tells us.

If we wish to study a given religion, say Islam, we must
begin with a picture of the Founder as he appeared to his
disciples. We must study his biography, his teachings.
We must examine the text of his Bible and see what the
" apologists " have to say before we allow the " critical
school " to cut in. From October, 1848, to May, 1857,
comes a gap in the Russian lady's existence. During these
years she is said to have visited Tibet and learnt the
secrets of the Mahatmas.

Madame Blavatsky,

''After a course of occult study, carried on for seven
years in a Himalayan retreat, Madame Blavatsky," saj^s
Mr. Sinnett C Occult World," p. 24), " returned to the
world." A seven years' probation, be also tells us, is con-
sidered quite necessary before any secrets are divulged to
the chela. (" Occult World," p. 17.) Madame Blavatsky
confirms him here. In the journal called Light (August
9th, 1884) she wrote thus : — " I will tell him (a correspon-
dent) also that I have lived in different periods in Little
Tibet and Great Tibet, and these combined periods form
more than seven years."

But if this gap of eight years is very important, it is a
little unfortunate that the school of the apologists have not
given us very clear details about it. She went to " Egypt,
Greece, and other parts of Eastern Europe." At Paris " a'
famous mesmerist, still living as I write," says Mr, Sinnett,
" though an old man now, discovered her wonderful psychic
gifts, and was very eager to retain her under his control as
a sensitive. But the chains had not yet been forged that
could make her a prisoner. And she quitted Paris pre-
cipitately to escape this influence. She went over to
London and passed some time in company with an old

Kussian lady of her acquaintance, the Countess B , at

Mivart's Hotel."

The visit to Paris is dated, according to conjecture, at
about a year after her leaving her husband's house, but she
kept no diary, and " at this distance of time can give no
very connected story of her complicated wanderings "
(p. 60). Mr. Sinnett more than once apologises for his
vagueness, but this is unfortunate, as it gives an opening to
the critical school. She went to New Orleans and studied
black magic with the Voodoos. In the year 1851 she was
in Paris (p. 62), but this is giving her very little time for
her " Course of occult study carried on for seven years in
a Himalayan retreat."

In the same year (Olcott, " People from the Other World,"
p. 320) she passed the summer at Daratschi Tchag, an
Armenian place of summer resort in the plain of Mount
" Ararat." Her husband, being Vice-Governor of Erivan,
had a bodyguard of 50 Khourd warriors, amongst whom
one of the strongest and bravest, named Safar Ali Bek

Tibet. 3

was detailed as the lady's personal escort. In 1875 this
Khonrd, having died, came to her at a seance in America,
but this little anecdote scarcely harmonises with the state-
ment made by Mr. Sinnett, that she fled from her husband
for good and all in the month of October, 1848.

And in a short time the dates given to us by Mr. Sinnett
b'.\gin to perplex us still more. It is recorded that in 1855
Madame Blavatsky v/ent to India, and in the month of
September, 185("), she passed into Tibet for the first time,
being smuggled in " in an appropriate disguise" by a solitary
Shaman, her " sole protector in those dreary wastes." It is
added that she came out again, and left India a short time
before the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857. This makes
at most seven months instead of seven years.

For her trip to Tibet she started from Kashmir with

" the Brothers N ," and an ex-Lutheran minister, Mr.

K . The Brothers N were promptly sent back at

the frontier, and the ex-Lutheran clergyman was arrested
b}^ fever, but not before he had witnessed a striking
miracle.

Travellers from Tibet have told us that certain Lamas,
to benefit humanit}', abstain from Nirvana, and on their
deathbed announce to their disciples that they will be re-
born in such and such a spot. " At the death of one of
these, the disciples repair to the place he has indicated and
search for a newly-born child which bears the sacred marks,
and is for other reasons the most probable incarnation of
the departed saint. Having found the child, they leave
him with his mother till he is four years old. Then they
return, bringing with them a quantity of praying books,
rosaries, praying wheels, bells, and other priestly articles,
amongst which are those which belonged to the late incar-
nation. Then the child has to prove that he is the new
incarnation by recognising the property that was his, and
by relating reminiscences of his past " ('^ Where Three Em-
pires meet," E. F. Knight, c. viii.).

It is further added that this incarnating Lama is called a
" skooshok," and that only four of them exist in Ladak. Bat
if we are to believe Madame Blavatsky, ordinary travellers
can see these and greater miracles, even where no Lama
has died.

Madame Blavatsky.

" About four days' journey from Islamabad, at an insigni-
ficant mud village, whose only redeeming feature was its
magnificent lake, we stopped for a few days' rest." A
native of Russia, a Shaman of Siberia, was of the party,
and he told them that a large party of "Lamaic saints"
on pilgrimage to various shrines, had taken up their abode
in a cave temple near." The Buddhist Trinity (Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha) were travelling with the party, a fact
that gave the Bhikshus the power of working " miracles."
The Lutheran minister had plainly a little of the old Adam
in him, for this statement seemed to have fired his old
Protestant hatred of miracles. He determined to expose
these cheats, and in consequence paid a visit to the Pase
Budhu, the chief of these Lamaic saints, and demanded to
see the process of a "re-incarnation " of " Buddha "' in the
body of a little child. This demand was naturally refused,
as it is not stated that any oM Lama had died, or that, in
fact, ajiy old Lama was within an hundred miles of the
place. But Madame Blavatsky produced an A-yu from
her pocket, and the Lamaic saints at once became her de-
voted servants. An A-yu is a talisman of cornelian with a
triangle engraved upon it. "An infant of three or four
months was procured from its mother, a poor woman
of the neighbourhood," and the magical processes
began : —

" Suddenly we saw the child not raise itself, but violently
jerked, as it were, into a sitting posture. A few more jerks,
and then like an automaton sot in motion by concealed
wires, the four months' baby stood upon its feet. Not a
hand had been outstretched, not a motion made, nor a word
spoken, and yet here was a baby in arms standing as firm
as a man."

Here the testimony of the sceptical Mr. K is cited : —

" The baby turned his head and looked at me with an
expression of intelligence that was simply awful. It sent
a chill through me. The miraculous creature, as \ fancied ^
making two steps towards me, resumed his sitting posture,
and without removing his eyes from mine, repeated sentence
by sentence, in what I supposed to be Tibetan language,
the very words which I had been told in advance are
commonly spoken at the incarnations of Buddha, beginning

Tibet. 5

with, I am Buddha ! I am the old Lama ! I am his spirit
in a new body, etc." (" Isis Unveiled," ii., p. 602).

But if Mr. K knew no Tibetan language, how did he

know that this is what the baby said ? Also, to what " old
Lama " was the infant alluding ? Islamabad is in Kashmir,
which is peopled chiefly by Hindoos. There are no " skoo-
shoks " within at least a six weeks' journey. We \vill make
some more quotations : —

" Many of the lamaseries contain schools of magic, but
the most celebrated is the collegiate monastery of the Shu-
tukt, where there are over 30,000 monks attached to it, the
lamasery forming quite a little city. Some of the female
nuns possess marvellous psychological powers " (" Isis,"
vol. ii., p. 609).

She says also that the real religion of Buddha is not
to be judged by the fetishism of some of his followers in
Siam and Burmah : —

" It is in the chief lamaseries of Mongolia and Tibet that
it has taken refuge, and here Shamanism, if so we may call
it, is practised to the utmost limits of intercourse allowed
between man and ' spirit.' The religion of the Lamas has
faithfully preserved the primitive science of magic, and
produces as great feats now as in the days of Kublai Khan.
... At Buddha-lla, or rather Foht-lla (Buddha's mount), in
the most important of the many tb.ousand lamaseries of that
country, the sceptre of tlie Bodhhisgat (sic) is seen floating
unsupported in the air, and its motions regulate the actions
of the community. Whenever a Lama is called to account
in the presence of the superior of the monastery, he knows
beforehand it is useless for him to tell an untruth. The
' regulator of justice ' (the sceptre) is there, and its waving
motion, either approbatory or otherwise, decides instan-
taneously and unerringly the question of his guilt " (" Isis,"
vol. ii., p. 616).

"The lives of these holy men, miscalled idle vagrants, cheat-
ing beggars, who are supposed to pass their existence in prey-
ing upon the easy credulity of their victims, are miracles in
themselves. Miracles because they show^ what a determined
will and a perfect purity of life and purpose are able to
accomplish, and to what degree of preternatuial asceticism
a human body can be subjected, and yet live and reach a

Madame Blavatsky.

ripe old age. At Bras-ss-Pungs, the Mongolian college,
where over three hundred magicians (somers, as the French
missionaries call them) teach about twice as many pupils,
from twelve to twenty, the latter have many years to wait
for their final initiation. Not one in a hundred reaches the
highest goal" (" Isis," vol. ii.,p. 617).

The Buddhist priests dance at times : —

" As in the instances of Corybantic and Bacchantic fury
among the ancient Greeks, the spiritual crisis of the Shaman
exhibits itself in violent dances and wild gestures. Little
by little the lookers-on feel the spirit of imitation aroused
in them. Seized with an irresistible impulse, they dance
and become in their turn ecstatics " (" Isis," vol. ii., p. 625).

Here is another marvel : —

" If our scientists are unable to imitate the mummy em-
balming of the Egyptians, how much greater would be their
surprise to see, as we have, dead bodies preserved by al-
chemical art, so that after the lapse of centuries they seem
as though the individuals were sleeping ? The complexions
were as fresh, the skin as elastic, the eyes as natural and
sparkling as though they were in the full flush of health.
The bodies of certain very eminent personages are laid upon
catafalques in rich mausoleums."

We now come to more important matters, the cave
libraries : —

" Moreover, in all the large and wealthy lamaseries there
are subterranean crypts and cave libraries cut in the rock
wherever the gonpa and Ihahhang are situated in the
mountains. Beyond the Western Tsaydam, in the solitary
passes of Kuen-lun, there are several such hiding-places.
Along the ridge of Altyn Toga, whose soil no European foot
has ever trodden so far, there exists a certain hamlet, lost
in a deep gorge. It is a small cluster of houses, a hamlet
rather than a monastery, with a poor-looking temple in it,
with one old Lama, a hermit, living near to watch it. Pil-
grims say that the subterranean galleries and halls under it
contain a collection of books, the number of which, accord-
ing to the accounts given, is too large to find room even in
the British Museum " (" Secret Doctrine," i., xxiv.).

But this is not the end of these wonders. It appears
that the Brahmins and Buddhists are in league (p. xxviii.)

Tibet, 7

to hide their genuine sacred literature from the Mlechchhas.
This was the term applied by the ancient Aryans to the
black savages that they tried to displace, and according to
Madame Blavatsky, it is applied to white-faced Sanskrit
professors and other white-faced respectabilities now. The
Brahmins in giving us the Rig Vecla, the Upanishads, the
Mahabha!-ata, etc., have foisted upon us " bits of rejected
copies of some passages" only (p. xxx.). The large litera-
ture of Buddhism is a blind. It is given to conceal, not
convey, the real teaching. The real books are hidden away.
It is hinted that the Japanese followers of Lao Tse use the
same places of concealment.

" The Japanese, among whom are now to be found the
most learned of the priests and followers of Lao Tse, simply
laugh at the blunders and h3'potheses of European Chinese
scholars, and tradition affirms that the commentaries to
which our Western sinologues have access are not the real
occult records, but intentional veils, and that the true com-
mentaries, as well as almost all the texts, have long disap-
2^ eared from the eyes of the profane " (p. xxv.).

These occult libraries are vv^ell guarded : " Built deep in
the bowels of the earth, the subterranean stores are secure ;
and as their entrances are concealed in such oases, there is
little fear that any one should discover them, even should
several armies invade the sandy wastes where —

" Not a pool, not a bush, not a house is seen,
And the mountain range forms a rugged screen."

(P. xxxiii.)

But there is another great name to be added to this vast
fraternity of concealment. Our best available authorities
tell us that Confucius was not a religious teacher at all,
and certainly not a mystic. He was a politician and an
atheist, and he has enmeshed China in a vast network of
ceremonialism that binds her hand and foot. This is
erroneous. He too seems to have his real doctrine concealed
in some underground crypt (p. xxv.) in some of these " im-
mense libraries reclaimed from the sand," the "secret crypts
of libraries belonging to the occult fraternity " (p. xxxiv.).

But fortunately these great secrets are to be complete

8 Madame Blavatsky.

secrets no longer. In one of these concealed crypts (which
one, perhaps, she is not allowed to state), Madame Blavatsky
was allowed to peruse the Book of Dzyan or Dzan. It was
" an archaic manuscript, a collection of palm leaves made
impermeable to water, fire, and air, by some specific, un-
known process " (p. i.). It is written " in a tongue absent
from the nomenclature of languages and dialects with which
philology is acquainted." It is needless to say that it
"ante-dates the Vedas" (p. xxxvii.).

We will quote a few verses of this great book : —

The eternal parent wrapped in her ever invisible robes Lad slum-
bered once again for Seven Eternities.

Time was not, for it lay asleep in the infinite bosom of duration.

Universal mind was not, for there was no AH-Hi to contain it.

The seven ways to bliss were not.

The great causes of misery were not, for there was no one to pro-
duce and get ensnared by them.

Darkness alone filled the boundless all, for Father, Mother, and
Son were once more one, and the Son had not awakened yet for the
New Wheel and his pilgrimage thereon.

The causes of existence had been done away with. The visible that
was, and the invisible that is, rested on eternal non-being, the one
being.

Alone, the one form of existence stretched boundless, infinite,
causeless, in dreamless sleep, and life pulsated unconscious in uni-
versal space, throughout that all-presence which is sensed by that
opened eye cf the Dangma.

But where was the Dangma when the Alaya of the Universe was in
Paramartha, and the great wheel was Arupadaka ?

Where was the silence ? Where the ears to sense it ? No, there
was neither silence nor sound. Naught save ceaseless eternal breath,
which knows itself not. The hour had not yet struck.

Behold, oh, Lanoo, the radiant child of the two ! It is Oeaohoo I
He is the blazing divine Dragon of Wisdom.

The One is Four I And Four takes to itself Three, and the union
is Sapta (seven).

The Dzyu becomes Fohat, the swift son of the divine sons, whose
sons are the Lipika.

The eternity of the Pilgrim is like a wink in the eye of self-existence.

Madame Blavatsky does not explain how it is that if this
poem is in the archaic unknown tongue, it bristles all over

Tibet. 9

with Sanskrit and other L^n<:^uagcs. Foliat is not Sanskrit.
In *•' Isis Unveiled," she announced that " Foht " was the
Tibetan for Buddlia. How does Buddha turn up in these
very earlj^ MSS. ?

I wdll give bore Colebrooke's translation of a celebrated
passage in the Rig Veda : —

1. There was then neither nonentity nor entity ; there
was no atmosphere nor sky beyond it. What covered (all) ?
Where ^vas the receptacle of each thing ? Was it w^atcr,
the deep abyss ?

2. Death was not then, nor immortalit}^ ; there Avas no
distinction of day or night. That one breathed calmly, with
svaddJia (nature) ; there was nothing different from It (that
One) or beyond It.

3. Darkness there was ; originally enveloped in darkness,
this universe Avas undi.stingaishable water ; the empty
(mass), v/hich was concealed by a husk (or by nothingness),
was produced singly by the power of austerity (or heat).

4. Desire first arose in It, which was the first germ of
mind. This the wise, seeking in their heart, have dis-
covered by the intellect to be the bond between nonentity
and entity.

5. The ray wdiich shot across these things, — was it from
above, or vras it below ? There were productive energies
and mighty powers ; Nature (svaddha) beneath, and Enei'gy
(prayati) above.

6. Who knows, who here can declare whence has sprung,
whence this creatioii ? The gods are subsequent to its
formation ; who then knows from what it arose ?

7. From what source this creation arose, and whether
(any one) created it or not. He who in the highest heaven
is its ruler, lie knows, or He does not know.

If the Book of Dzyan w^as first in the field the Vedic
author seems to have [)lagiarised from it.

Already we are met with a puzzle. When Mr. Sinnett's
narrative first appeared the misbelievers pointed out that if
Madame Blavatsky had only been seven months in Tibet
they did not see how she could have gone through a seven
years' training. To one of these Madame Blavatsky in a

lo Madame Blavatsky,

letter addressed to Licjld (July 27th, 1889) thus re-
plied : —

" Sir, — It is perhaps hardly worth while to take up your
space in exposing the careless and ignorant blundering of
' Colenso ' — a singularly inappropriate signature, by the
way, for one so reckless about his facts. But, for this once,
I will make a statement that may put an end to the inces-
sant carping over trifles that can serve but to needlessly
embitter controversy.

" There is no such thinof known to occultists as a ' seven
years initiation.' The probations, which ' Colenso ' confuses
with initiation, can be lived out anywhere, and this 'Colenso'
would have known if he had read Mr. Sinnett's paragraph
with even ordinary care, since he says that anj^ English
gentleman can pass through it without observation. ' Col-
enso's ' inexorable arithmetic is thus wasted trouble, and
his careful calculations on Himalayan ranges are wholly
beside the mark ; since the seven years' initiation in one
place is an absurdity, and a seven years' probation attached
to the skirts of the Masters is another. All this is a creation
of his own imagination, and while I regret that my life
does not fit into the framework made for it by him, and by
other similar critics, the misfit is scarcely my fault. Bishop
Colenso's work would have fallen very flat if he had been
as careless of his facts as the writer who now uses his name.

" But, apart from this latest attack, why should spiritual-
ists feel so interested in my travels, studies, and their
supposed dates ? AYhy should they be so eager to unravel
imagined mysteries, denounce alleged (or even possible)
mistakes, in order to pick holes in everything theosophical ?
To even my best friends I have never given but very frag-
mentary and superficial accounts of the said travels, nor do I
propose to gratify anyone's curiosity, least of all that of my
enemies. The latter are quite welcome to believe in and
spread as many cock-and-bull stories about me as they
choose, and to invent new ones as time rolls on and the old
stories wear out."

But does this quite meet "Colenso's" arithmetical difli-
culties ? In Licjlit (August 9th, 1884) Madame Blavatsky

Tibet. I T

herself had distinctly announced that "she had lived in
different periods in Little Tibet and in Great Tibet, and
that these combined periods form more than seven years.''

Mr. Sinnett is equally explicit : —

" Never, I believe, is less than seven years from the time
at which a candidate for initiation is accepted as a proba-
tioner, is he ever admitted to the very first of the ordeals."
These ordeals are very severe, Mr. Sinnett tells us ; indeed,
I remember in the old days hearing that Madame Blavatsky's
ordeals had been by earth, air, and fire and water. But if
no Brothers are by to inspect, how could these ordeals be
quite satisfactory ? A " probationer " might take a bath at
Ostend and announce a " trial by water."

A suspicion had formed itself in my mind, and a passage
from Colonel Olcott has rather confirmed it, otherwise I
should not have liked to have brought it forward. This
is, that when Madame Blavatsky talks about the " Blazing
Divine Dragon of Wisdom" and similar matters her pen
is sometimes guided by her spooks or her " master.s."

" She wrote me," says Colonel Olcott, " that it (' Isis Un-
veiled ') was a book on the history and philosophy of the
Eastern schools, and their relations with those of our own
times. She said she was writing about things she had
never studied, and making quotations from books she had
never read in all her life " {Theosopliist, April, 1893).

The colonel goes on : —

" Whence did H. P. B. draw the materials which compose
' Isis ? ' From the Astral light — and by her soul senses from
her teachers — the ' Brothers,' ' Adepts,' ' Sages,' ' Masters.' "

He quotes her as saying : —

"At such times it is no more / who write, but my
'luminous self,' who thinks and writes for me" (Thco-
sophist, April, 1893).

Professor Max MuUer and several native scholars have
attacked the Sanskrit of this good lady's " luminous self,"
and it is difficult to guess from what other source she has
got much of her philology. Many prominent words in her
system are nonsense. " Koot Hoomi Lai Singh " is said by
Mr. Sinnett to be the "Tibetan baptismal name" of the
great Adept. This statement was at once turned into
ridicule b}^ the editor of a native newspaper.

12 Madame Blavatsky.

" Lai Singh " is Hindastani, and an expert at the British
Museum assured me that the words " Koot" and " Hoomi "
were not to be found in the language of Tibet. Then
Dhj^ani Chohans is a made-up word. " Chohan " is not to be
found in any Sanskrit dictionary nor in the admirable
glossary of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese Buddhist words
drawn up by Mr. Eitel. " Devachan " is a Tibetan word,
but instead of being an abode of probation as Madame
Blavatsky announces, it contains spirits that cannot return
to earth. (Schlagintweifc, ''Buddhism in Tibet," p. 102).

In " Isis Unveiled " (vol. ii., p. 290) she says that
Buddha in Tibet is called " Ferho," or " Faho," or " Fo." He
is really called Bchom-dan-hdas Sangs-r-gyas.

In the same work (v^ol. ii., p. 599) she sa^^s that Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha are called in Tibet " Fo, fa, and
Sengh." Our dictionaries, on the contrary, tell us that
Dharma is called T. Tch'os and Sangha d Ge hdun. We
learn, too, that a monk is called a Shaman, the good lady
being evidently under an impression that Chinese is the
language of Tibet.

" Fohat " is another nonsensical word. In " Isis Unveiled"
(vol. ii., p. 61G) she says that Buddha-lla and Foht-lla are
Tibetan words for "Buddha's Mount."

On February 20th, 1893, a paper was read by Captain
Bower before the Geographical Society describing a trip
into Tibet from Sri Nagar in Kashmir, the point of de-
parture of the Russian lady.

He started on the 17th April, and took six weeks to get
to Leh, a distance of some 130 miles from Sri Nagar as the
crow flies. Between India and Tibet is the most formid-
able mountain wall in the world. It is everywhere from 70
to 120 miles thick — rock and glacier and precipice.

Captain Bovver had baggage ponies, but so steep is the
Zoji La Pass that an armj^ of coolies had to carry his bag-
gage as far as Leh, and the ponies had to be led without
burdens. The trip from Kashmir to Lha Sa occupied seven
months. Before reaching that capital, he was stopped and
forced to branch off to Ciiina. For five of these months he
never encamped below 15,000 feet elevation. The thermo-
meter registered minus 15°. Also the officials everywliere
confessed that thej^ had strict orders from the Chinese to

Tibet. 1 3

murder all " Pelings " who tried to enter Tibet from
Hindusttan. Nothing but the good English breech-loaders
of Captain Bovver's little army saved him. China gets
annually a })rofifc of eight millions sterling for her brick-tea,
and she knows that the English could sell the same amount
of tea at the quarter of the price.

Thus, when we read that Madame Blavatsky was
smuggled into Tibet " in a suitable disguise," and that her
" sole protector in those dreary deserts " (" Isis," vol. ii., p.
662) was a solitary Shaman, we must ask if this means
that she succeeded in traversing the formidable glials with-
out baggage ponies, without tents, without an army of
coolies, a store of food ? It certainly does seem so on the
surface, for she tells us that this Shaman was a Russian
subject, who had quite as much need of being smuggled in
as the Russian lady. He wanted to work round to his
home in Siberia. ("Isis Unveiled," vol. ii., p. 599.) Then
Captain Bower, starting in April, had the suinmer months
before him, whereas Madame Blavatsky, starting in Sep-
tember, and returning to India just in time to leave that
country "shortly before the Mutiny troubles began," must
have travelled all the time in the middle of ivinter, when
the ghats are choked willi ice and snow. And yet she tells
us in a letter to Light (August 9th, 1884) that she had
" penetrated further than any traveller had penetrated be-
fore."

One or two other passages are noteworthy : —

In " Isis Unveiled," vol. ii., p. 609, is this statement : —
" We met a great many nuns travelling from Lha Sa to
Kandi They take refuge in caves or viharas pre-
pared by their co-religionists at calculated distances."

What would be thought of a modern traveller who
announced that along the roads of Sussex he had met
numbers of the " Valas " or prophetesses of Woden, and
that at the stone circles, where they stopped for the night,
mead and the flesh of the boar SEohrimmer were doled out
to them. Buddhist viharas and Buddhist nuns have disap-
peared from Hindustan quite as long as the priests of
Woden from England.

Besides, as Mr. Spence Hardy tells us, there are no
female recluses in Ceylon. (" Eastern Monachism," p. 61.)

14 Madame Blavatsky,

But there is more beyond. In the sharp controversies
that Madame Blavatsky 's statements provoked in 1884, she
was challenged to give at any rate the date of her trip, the
name of the ship she went out in, or the name of some
three or four Anglo-Indian officials that she had come
across during her passage through India. Her reply (Light,
August 9th, 1884) was a refusal. "As to the names of
three or four English (or rather Anglo-Indians) who could
certify to having seen me when I passed, I am afraid their
vigilance would not be found at the height of their trust-
worthiness," and then she went on to say that she evaded
the Anglo-Indian officials. This is all very well, but in
steering clear of one difficulty Ave sometimes run into an-
other. She says now that in 1856 she entered Tibet
through Kashmir, not knowing that the Maharajah at that
date allowed no Feringhy in his dominions without a pass-
port duly signed by an English official.

CHAPTER II.

WHAT MADAME BLAVATSKY LEAENT IN TIBET.

According to Mr. Sinnett, Madame Blavatsky, during this
trip into Tibet, was instructed by the Mahatmas in the
great gospel of " Theosophy." But this teaching was not
made public until October. 1881, that is some twenty-four
years afterwards. But we must anticipate matters, and
give a short sketch of this gospel here, and then see if the
utterances of Madame Blavatsky were always quite in har-
mony with this gospel. Mr. Sinnett tells us that for the
first time a " block of absolute truth regarding spiritual
things was given to the world" ("Esoteric Buddhism," p. 6).
" Theosophy " proclaims that at death the individual be-
comes practically two individuals ; one of which takes off
all the good qualities to the " rosy slumber " of Devachan
or Paradise. The second, with all the bad qualities, remains
on the earth plane for a time, attends seances, deceives
spiritualists, and is by and by annihilated. The only com-
munications that mortals can receive from the unseen
world are from these semi-fiends. Occultism should, in
consequence, never be attempted, except under the super-
vision of the Mahatmas of Tibet. To this has been added
the Indian doctrine of Karma. It is proclaimed that the
good half of the individual must remain in Devachan for
1500 years. It is then reborn on earth ; and Karma, or the
causation of its previous acts, will force this process to be
repeated, "at least 800 times." Then perfection will be
gained, and with it annihilation.

It will be seen at once that we have here two distinct
schemes for gaining perfection.

By the first, perfection, even with an atrocious murder-
er, is obtained at the second of death, a perfection
greater than that of the angel Gabriel, for the smallest

15

1 6 Madame Blavatsky.

blemish will be removed. By the second, even St. Paul
will be 1,280,000 j^ears obtaining perfection.

Now this may be thought a little extravagant, but in
Madame Blavatsky's first sketch of her doctrines {Theoso-
phist, Oct., 1881) each point is to be found. " At death or
before," the division of the individual into a good and a
bad half takes place. The good half " can never again span
the abyss that separates its state from ours." All that can
come to the " seance room of the spiritualists are certain re-
liquiae of deceased human beings,'' " elementaries," "shells,''
the bad half of the dead individual which recovers life for
a time, and by and by dies out.

" In truth," say the article, " mediumship is a dangerous,
too often a fatal capacit}^, and if we oppose spiritualism as
we have ever consiytently done, it is not because we question
the reality of their phenomena . . . but because of the ir-
reparable sj)iritual injury which the pursuit of spiritualism
inevitably enta,ils on nine-tenths of the mediums."

A letter that she wrote when she came to England in
1884, goes further than this. {Pall Mall Gazette, April 26th.)
She says that the main object of theosophy was : —

1. To put down spiritualism.

2. To convert the materialists.

3. To prove the existence of the " Brothers.'*

In the year 1858, Madame Blavatsky having left Tibet,
returned to Europe. She Vvas fully impressed " with the
magnitude of her mission," as Mr. Sinuett tells us. She
now em.erged from " apprenticeship to duty " (" Incidents,
etc.," p. 157). In 1858, Madame Blavatsky returned to
Russia, rier sister, Madame de Jelihowsky, now gives a
picture of her.

This picture is a little astonishing, for the diary kept by
Madame de Jelihowsky, at least the portions quoted by
Mr. Sinnett in his " Incidents, etc.," describes the sister as
nothing more or less than a " medium," and by this name
the sister tells us that she was then called. Raps came and
questions were answered. " One of the guests would be
reciting the alphabet, another putting down the answers
received."

What Madame Blavatsky Learnt in Tibet. 1 7

Furniture was moved about without contact. Heavy-
tables were moved, and then rendered immovable. Change
of v/eight in furniture and persons occurred at will. Pre-
scriptions for different diseases were given in Latin.

" She was," says Madame de Jelihowsky, " what would
be called in our days a * good writing medium,' that is to
say, she could write out the answers herself while talking
to those around her." But the lady adds that the answers
given were "not always in perfect accord with the facts."

The spirits were called " Helen's spirits," and also her
'* post-mortem visitors."

Madame de Jelihowsky says a little quaintly —

" From letters received by me from my sister I found
that she had been dissatisfied with much that I had said
01 her in my ' Truth about H. P. Blavatsky.' "

This seems very natural, for it is now announced that
the " post-mortem visitors " were no " ghosts of the de-
ceased, but only the manifestations of her powerful friends
in their astral envelopes " (" Incidents, etc.," p. 81).

On one occasion the alleged ghost of Pushkin, the poet,
came and laboriously rapped out a dreary poem, stating
that " he had one desire, and that was to rest on the bosom
of Death, instead of which he was suffering in great dark-
ness for his sins, tortured by devils, and had lost all hope
of ever reaching the bliss of becoming a winged cherub."

Mr. Sinnett describes all this as a subtle comed}^ Madame
Blavatsky, full of the secrets of Tibet, pretended to be a
medium, and the table-rapping and table-turning were the
ordinary properties of the play. He fails to see how
damaging all this is to the Russian lady. What were the
tremendous secrets of the Mahatmas ? Simply that all the
appearances from ghostland, the Samuels, the Moseses, the
E liases of scripture, the Pitri of the Rig Veda, the " spirits "
of Swedenborg and Mr. Stainton Moses were deceptions.
Instead of proving a hereafter to man these spirits were
malignant fiends, and intercourse with them the crucial
danger of humanity. And yet she goes at once to her own
home, and makes her father and her sister dabble with
them day and night. Was there no danger in this of her
sister becoming a medium ?

But the danger with Madame Blavatsky seems to be that

B

Madame Blavatsky,

she upsets the plea of her counsel before he has done speak-
ing from his brief. Colonel Olcott lets out that she con-
tessed in America in a letter which he quotes, that she
knew nothina of spiritualism until she met Home the
medium m Paris in 1858. " Home converted me to spiritu-
alism {Theosophist, August, 1892, p. 649). But if she
knew nothing of spiritualism until 1858, how did she set a
mission to put it down in 1856 ?

CHAPTER III.

THE SOCIETE SPIRITE.

In 1871, Madame Blavatsky set up a spiritualistic society
in Cairo. Mr. Sinnett calls it a "quasi spiritualistic"
society, but Madame Blavatsky calls it a Societe Spivite.
Attached to one of tlie hotels, at this time, was an Enolisli-
woman who afterwards married a M. Coulomb. Tlte Times
newspaper by and by published a number of letters pro-
fessing to come from Madame Blavatsk}^ to this lady. Of
course any lady that betrays her fjiend is not the best of
witnesses, but such as it is we give her account of this
spiritualistic society. She was on intimate terms with
Madame Blavatsky, and lent her money.

" In the year 1872, one day as I was walking through the
street called ' Sekke el Ghamma el harmar ' — ' the street
of the red mosque ' — in Cairo, Egypt, I was roused from
my pensive mood by something that brushed by me very
swiftly. I looked up and saw a lady. 'Who is that lady?'
I asked a passer-by. ' She is that Russian spiritist who
calls the dead and makes them answer your questions.'
This news was to me tidings of great joy, as 1 was just
mourning for the death of my dear and only brother, whom
I had recently lost. The idea of being able to hear his voice
was for me heavenly delight. I was told that if I asked the
secretary of her spiritualistic society to introduce me to her
he would do so (he was a Greek gentleman of my acquaint-
ance). I was introduced, and found her very interesting
and very clever. My first essay at the spirits was not
successful ; I neither saw nor heard anything but a few raps.
Having shown my disappointment to the secretary of the
society, I was told that the spirits did not like to appear in
a room which had not been purified and not exclusively
used for the purpose, but if I would return in a few days I

19

20 Madame Btavatsky.

would see wonders, as they were preparing a closet where
nothing else but seances were to be done. I went to see the
closet, and saw thafc it was lined with red cloth, all over the
four sides and also the ceiling, with a space between the
wall and the cloth of about three inches. I was so ignorant
of these things at the time that I formed no malicious idea
of it. I called again when the closet was ready, but what
was my surprise when, instead of finding the kind spirits
there to answer our questions, I found a room full of people,
all cdive, and using most offensive language towards the
founder of the society, saying that she had taken their
money and had left them only with this, pointing at the
space between the wall and the cloth, where several pieces
of twine were still hanging which had served to pull through
the ceiling a long glove stuffed with cotton, which was to
represent the materialized hand and arm of some spirit. I
went away, leaving the crowd as red as tire, ready to knock
her down when she came back. Later on I met her again,
and I asked her how she came to do such a thing ; to which
she answered that it was Madame Sebire's doings (this was
a lady who lived with Madame Blavatsky), so I let tliis
matter drop. I saw that she looked very unhappy. I called
on her the next day, and on hearing that she was really in
want I gave her pecuniary help, and continued doing so for
some time. As she could not repay me, she granted me re-
ceipts, which I left in my boxes in Egypt when I came away.
Our acquaintance continued all the while she remained in
the country.

" This money was lent cash, no bill, no account, nothing
but cash. To my knowledge Madame Blavatsky while in
Cairo never lived in an hotel. I have known her in three
different apartments. The first was in ' Sekke el Ghamma
el harmar,' the second at ' Abdeen,' and the third at
" Kantara el dick.' In ' Abdeen ' she had opened her
apartment to the public, who went there to consult her
spirits, and where the fiasco of the materialized hand and
arm took place as I have already said, and this in the year
1872.

" She left Cairo for Russia, and I did not hear anything
more about her until I traced her name in an article repro-
duced from an American newspaper, in which I learned that

The Societd Spirite. 21

she had started a society of a new kind ; this was not a
spiritualistic society, but a theosophical one."

We will now give Madame Blavatsky's story cited by Mr.
Sinnett : —

" The SocietS Spirite has not lasted a fortnight. It is a
heap of ruins, majestic, but as suggestive as those of the
Pharaoh's tombs.

" To wind up this comedy with a drama, I got nearly shot
by a madman, who had been present at the onl^^ two public
seances we held, and got possessed, I suppose, by some vile
spook " (Sinnett, " Incidents, etc.," p. 159).

Mr. Sinnett tells us that in consequence of all this
"slanders and scandals were set on foot." People "even
went the length of maintaining that instead of paying the
mediums and the expenses of the society, it was Madame
Blavatsky, who had herself been paid and had attempted
to pass off juggler tricks as genuine phenomena" ("Inci-
dents, etc.," p. 161).

Into this great question we cannot enter. Oar main
inquiry is this — Is there any evidence that in these days
Madame Blavatsky knew anything of the Brothers of Tibet
and their crusade against the spiritualists ? When a lady
gets up even a " quasi spiritualistic " society, we should say
that the evidence is rather the other way.

One small gleam of light falls on the period which precedes
the foundation of the Cairo society. Professor Coues has
a letter from Mr. Hodgson, announcing that Madame
Coulomb had a secret against Madame Blavatsky which
was in some way connected with one Metrovitch, whom
Madame Blavatsky eventually married. They a])peared, I
believe, on platforms together, in a sort of " variety
entertainment," to use the language of the music halls.

CHAPTER lY.

THE "MIRACLE CLUB."

In the month of July, 1874, a literary gentleman was sent
by the editor of the New York Sun to write articles upon
some strange spiritualistic phenomena that were occurring
at Chittenden, under the mediumship of the brothers
Eddy. This gentleman, whose name was Olcott, had
served during the great war in the detective department ot
the military police, and had been rewarded with the honor-
ary rank of colonel. His articles attracted attention, and
in the month of September he went to Chittenden once
more, this time with an artist, Mr. Kappes. There he met
a strange lady : —

" I rememlDcr our first day's acquaintance as if it were
yesterday ; besides which, I have recorded the main facts
in my Eddy book (" People from the Other World," pp. 293
et seq.). It was a sunny day, and even the gloomy old
farm-house looked cheerful. It stands amid a lovely land-
scape, in a valley bounded by grassy slopes that rise into
mountains covered to their very crests with leafy groves.
This was the time of the ' Indian summer,' when the whole
country is covered with a faint bluish haze, like that which
has given the ' Nilgiri ' mountains their name, and the
foliage of the beeches, elms and maples, touched by earl}^
frosts, has been turned from green into a mottling of gold
and crimson that gives the landscape the appearance of
being hung all over with royal tapestries. One must go to
America to see this autumnal splendour in its full per-
fection.

" The dinner hour at Eddy's was noon, and it was from
the entrance door of the bare and comfortless dining-room
that Kappes and I first saw H. P. B. She had arrived shortly
before noon with a French Canadian lady, and they were
at table as we entered. My eye was fiist attracted by a

22

The ''Miracle Clubr 23

scarlet Garibaldian shirt the former wore, as beinfy in vivid
contrast with the dull colours around. Her hair was then
a thick blonde mop, worn shorter than the shoulders, and
it stood out from her head, silken, soft, and crinkled to the
roots, like the fleece of a Cotswold ewe. This and the red
shirt were what struck my attention before I took in the
picture of her features. It was a massive Calmuck face,
contrasting in its suggestion of power, culture and im-
periousness, as strangely with the commonplace visages
about the room, as her red garment did with the grey and
white tones of the walls and woodwork, and the dull
costumes of the rest of the guests. All sorts of cranky
people were continually coming and going at Eddy's, to see
the mediumistic phenomena, and it only struck me on see-
ing this eccentric lady that this was but one more of the
sort. Pausing on the door-sill, I whispered to Kappes,
' Good gracious ! look at tlw.i specimen, will you.' I went
straight across and took a seat opposite her to indulge ray
favourite habit of character-study.^ The two ladies con-
versed in French, making remarks of no consequence, but I
saw at once from her accent and fluency of speech that, if
not a Parisian, she must at least be a finished French
scholar. Dinner over, the two went outside the house, and
Madame Blavatsky rolled herself a cigarette, for which I
gave her a light as a pretext to enter into conversation. My
remai'k having been made in French, we fell at once into
talk in that language. She asked me how long I had been
there, and what I thought of the phenomena; saying that she
herself was greatly interested in such things, and had been
drawn to Cliittenden by reading the letters in the Daily
GrapJcic : the public were growing so interested in these
that it was sometimes impossible to find a copy of the paper
on the bookstalls an hour after publication, and she had
paid a dollar (about 3 rupees) for a copy of the last issue.

^ In a chain-shot crack at an American vituperator, she draws the
folio whig amusing portrait of herself : ' ' An old woman — whether forty,
fifty, sixty or ninety years old, it matters not ; an old woman whose
Kalmuco-Buddhisto-Tartaric features, even in youth, never made her
appear pretty ; a woman ^vhose ungainly garb, uncouth manners and
masculine habits are enough to frighten any bustled and corseted fine
lady of fashionable society oat of her wits" {vide her letter, "The
Knout," to the Eeligio-Philosojjhical Journal of March 16, 1878).

24 Madame B lav at sky.

' I hesitated before coming here,' she said, ' because I was
afraid of meeting that Colonel Olcott.' ' Why should you
be afraid of him, madame ? ' I rejoined. ' Oh ! Ijecause I fear
he mifi^ht write about me in his paper.' I told her that she
might make herself perfectly easy on that score, for I felt
quite sure Colonel Olcott would not put her in his letters
unless she wished it. And I introduced myself. We be-
came friends at once. Each of us felt as if we were of the
same social world, cosmopolitans, freethinkers, and not in
close touch with the rest of the company, intelligent and
very worthy as some of them were. It was the voice of
common sympathy with the higher occult side of man and
nature ; the attraction of soul to soul, not that of sex to sex.
Neither then, at the commencement, nor ever afterwards,
had either of us the sense of the other being of the opposite
sex. We were simplj'- chums ; so regarded each other, so
called each other. Some base people from time to time
dared to suggest that a closer tie bound us together, as they
had heard that poor, malformed, persecuted H. P. B. had been
the mistress of various other men, but no pure person could
hold to such an opinion after passing any time in her
company, and seeing how her every look, word, and action,
proclaimed her sexlessness.

"Strolling along with my new acquaintance, we talked
together about the Eddy phenomena and those of other
lands. I found she had been a great traveller and had seen
many occult things and adepts in occult science, but at first
she did not give me any hint as to the existence of the
Himalayan sages or of her own powers. She spoke of the
materialistic tendency of American spiritualism, which was
a sort of debauch of phenomena accompanied by compara-
tive indifference to philosoph}^ Her manner was gracious
and captivating, her criticisms upon men and things original
and witty. She was particularly interested in drawing me
out as to my own ideas about spiritual things, and ex-
pressed pleasure in finding that I had instinctively thought
along the occult lines which she herself had pursued. It
was not as an Eastern mystic, but rather as a refined
spiritualist, she talked. For my part I knew nothing, or
next to nothing, about Eastern philosophy, and at first she
kept silent on that subject.

The ''Miracle Chcbr 25

*' The seances of William Eddy, the chief medium of the
family, were held every evening in a large upstairs hall, in
a wing of the house, over the dining-room and kitchen. He
and a brother, Horatio, were hard-working farmers, Horatio
attending to the out-door duties, and William, since visitors
came pouring in upon them from all parts of the United
States, doing the cooking for the household. They were
poor, ill-educated, and prejudiced — sometimes surly to their
unbidden guests. At the further end of the seance hall the
deep chimney from the kitchen below passed through to
the roof. Between it and the north wall was a narrow
closet of the same width as the depth of the chimney, two
feet seven inches, in which William Eddy would seat him-
self to wait for the phenomena. He had no seeming conti'ol
over them, but merely sat and waited for them to sporadi-
cally occur. A blanket being hung across the doorway, the
closet would be in perfect darkness. Shortly after William
had entered the cabinet, the blanket would be pulled aside,
and forth would step some figure of a dead man, woman, or
child — an animate statue, so to say — temporarily solid and
substantial, but the next minute resolved back into nothing-
ness or invisibility. They would occasionally dissolve
away while in full view of the spectators.

" Up to the time of H. P. B.'s appearance on the scene,
the figures which had siiown themselves were either Red
Indians or Americans or Europeans akin to visitors. But
on the first evening of her stay spooks of other nation-
alities came before us."

All this is from the Theosojohist of March, 1892 (pp. 324-
7). We will now turn to Colonel Olcott's " People from
the Other World." For soon some of Madame Blavatsky's
own " post-mortem visitors " appeared : —

"On the 14th of October Mademoiselle de Blavatsky
reached Chittenden, and attended the seance that evening.
Honto, as if to give the amplest opportunity for the artist
and myself to test the correctness of the theory of ' per-
sonation,' that the ' investigator ' previously alluded to had
expounded to us, stood at the right of the cabinet, motion-
ing us to observe her height, her feet, the bead trimming on
her dress, and then unplaited her hair and shook it out
over her shoulders. Santum came, too, and ' Wando ' and

26 Madame Blavatsky.

' Wasso ' ; and then the first of the Russian lady's spint
visitors made his appearance.

" He was a person of middle height, well shaped, dressed
in a Georgian (Caucasian) jacket, with loose sleeves and
long pointed oversleeves, an outer long coat, baggy trousers,
leggings of yellow leather, and white skull-cap or fez, with
tassel. She recognised him at once as Michalko Guegidze,
late of Kutais, Georgia, a servant of Madame Witte, a rela-
tive, and who waited upon Mademoiselle de Blavatsky in
Kutais.

" He was followed by the spirit of Abraham Alsbach, who
spoke some sentences in German to his sister ; and he, in
turn, by M. Zephirin Boudreau, late of Canada, the father of
a lady who accompanied Mademoiselle de Blavatsky to
Chittenden, and who, of course, was attending her first
seance. She addressed her questions to him in French, he
responding by rapping with his hand against the door-
frame, except in one instance, when he uttered the word
' Oui.' This gentleman stood so that I saw him in profile
against the white wall. He had an aquiline nose, rather
hollow cheeks, prominent cheek-bones, and an iron-grey
beard upon his chin. It was a marked face, in short, of the
pure Gallic type, one of the kind that Vergne calls 'numis-
matic faces,' for they seem as if made expressly for repro-
duction upon coins and medals. In stature he was tall, and
in figure slim, and altogether had the air of a gentleman.

"A little girl spirit came after him, and conversed by
raps with her mother, who spoke in the German language ;
and this brought William's circle to a close.

" After that we had a light circle — one of the kind in
which, as the reader will remember, certain persons assert
that the phenomena are all done by the hand of the medium.
Among other things that occurred was the writing of
Mademoiselle de Blavatsky's name upon a card by a spirit-
hand in Russian script, which it will scarcely be said that
Horatio could write with both hands free. Various de-
tached hands were shown through the aperture in the
shawls, and among the number that of the boy Michalko
himself, which the lady recognised by some peculiarity, as
well as hy a string of amher heads luouncl around the
wrist Recollect that she had only arrived that afternoon,

The ''Miracle Clubr 27

had barely become acquainted with the medium, had had
no conversation whatever with anybody about her former
life, and then say how this Vermont farmer could have
known :

"(1) Of the existence of Michalko Guegidze; (2) that he
had any relations of any kind with his visitor ; (3) that it
is a custom among the Georgian peasants to wear a string
of amber beads upon their arms ; and then the sceptic will
have to account for the possession of so unusual a thing as
this kind of a rosary, by a family working a Green Moun-
tain farm " (pp. 297-301).

In the same work Colonel Olcott gives further details
about his new acquaintance : —

" This lady — Madame Helen P. de Blavatsky — has led a
very eventful life, travelling in most of the lands of the
Orient, searching for antiquities at the base of the Pyramids,
witnessing the mysteries of Hindoo temples, and pushing
with an armed escort far into the interior of Africa. The
adventures she has encountered, the strange people she has
seen, the perils by sea and land she has passed through,
would make one of the most romantic stories ever told by a
biographer. In the whole course of my experience, I never
met with so interesting and, if I may say it without offence,
eccentric a character.''

Who paid for the armed escort ? If it was Madame
Blavatsky, why was she obliged to borrow money from a
woman who, according to Mr. Sinnett, was a mere servant in
a Cairo hotel ? Colonel Olcott in the Theosojphist (March,
1892) adds wonder to wonder: —

" While she was at Chittenden she told me many incidents
of her past life, among others, her having been present, along
with a number of other European ladies, with Garibaldi
at the bloody battle at Mentana. In proof of her story she
showed me where her left arm had been broken in tv/o
places by an Austrian sabrestroke, and made me feel in her
right shoulder a musket bullet, still embedded in the muscle,
and another in her leg. She also showed me a scar just
below the heart where she had been stabbed with a stiletto.
This wound re-opened a little while she was at Chittenden,
and it was to consult me about it that she was led to show
it to me. She told me many most curious tales of peril and

28 Madame B lav at sky.

adventure, among them the story of the phantom African
sorcerer with the oryx- horn coronet, whom she had seen in
life doing phenomena in Upper Egypt, many years before."

But when the "Eddy Boys" are present we must not
forget that we have come to see marvels : —

" The next evening, a new spirit, ' Hassan Agha,' came to
Madame de Blavatsky. He was a wealthy merchant of
Tiflis, whom she knew well. He had a sneaking fancy for
the Black Art, as well as our own mediums, and sometimes
obliged his acquaintance by divining for them with a set of
conjuring stones, procured from Arabia at a great price.
His method was to throw them upon the floor, beside his
mat, and then, by the way they fell into groups, prophesy
the future and read the past for his wondering visitors.
He claimed that the stones possessed some magic property,
by which and the muttering of certain Arabic sentences, the
inner sight of the conjurer was opened, and all things bidden
became clear. Hassan's dress was a long j^ellowish coat,
Turkish trousers, a hishonet, or vest, and a black Astrakhan
cap, 'pappalia, covered with the national hashlik or hood,
with its long tasselled ends thrown over each shoulder"
(" People from the Other World," p. 310).

The friendship thickens : —

" We became greater friends day by day, and by the time
she was ready to leave Chittenden she had accepted from
me the nick-name ' Jack,' and so signed herself in her letters
to me from New York. Yet not a word was spoken at that
time that could suggest the idea that she had any mission
in America of a spiritual character in which / might or
migl}t not have a part to perform. When we parted it was
simply as good friends likely to continue the acquaintance
thus pleasantly begun " (p. 328).

But one event puzzled the good colonel, and he even
" noted it as a suspicious circumstance." He wanted to hold
the medium's hands, but the medium preferred Madame
Blavatsky : —

" It is fair that I should say that the lady reported that
he had not removed either hand from the gentleman's arm.
Moreover, I must add that Madame de Blavatsky, who sat at
the gentleman's right, declared that she felt one hand on
her right shoulder (the one farthest from the medium) at

The ''Miracle Club:' 29

the same instant that the gentleman reported one on each of
his shoulders. The guitar, two bells, and tambourine were
played simultaneously, and hands of various sizes were
shown. Among these, one was too peculiar to be passed
over. It was a left hand, and upon the lower bone of the
thumb a bony excrescence was growing, which Mme. de
Blavatsky recognized, and said was caused by a gun-shot
wound in one of Garibaldi's battles. The hand grasped a
broken sword that had been lying upon a table behind
the shawl. It was the hand of a Hungarian officer, an old
friend of the madame's, named Dgiano Nallus " (page 317).

Then came a black spirit. This account is from " People
from the Other World " (p. 328-331) :—

" Madame de Blavatsky did not recognize liim at first, but
he stepped forward a pace or two, and she then saw before
her the chief of a party of African jugglers whom she en-
countered once in Upper Egypt, at a celebration of the feast
of 'The Ramazan.' The magical performances of his party
upon that occasion make one of the most incredible stories
in the history of either magic or spiritualism, and one feat
deserves place in such a book of weird experiences as this.
Madame says that, in full sight of a multitude, comprising
several hundred Europeans and many thousand Egyptians
and Africans, the juggler came out on a bare space of
ground, leading a small boy, stark naked, by tlie hand, and
carrying a huge roll of tape, that might be twelve or
eighteen inches wide.

" After certain ceremonies, he whirled the roll about his
head several times, and then flung it straight up into the
air. Instead of falling back to earth after it had ascended a
short distance, it kept on upward, unwinding and unwind-
ing interminably from the stick, until it grew to be a mere
speck, and finally passed out of sight. The juggler drove
the pointed end of the stick into the ground, and then
beckoned the boy to approach. Pointing upward, and talk-
ing in a strange jargon, he seemed to be ordering the little
fellow to ascend the self-suspended tape, which by this time
stood straight and stifi", as if it were a board whose end
rested against some solid support up in mid-air. The boy
bowed compliance, and began climbing, using his hands and
feet as little ' All Right ' does when climbing Satsuma's

30 Madame Blavatsky.

balance-pole. The boy went higher and higher until he,
too, seemed to pass into the clouds and disappear.

"The juggler waited five or ten minutes, and then,
pretending to be impatient, shouted up to his assistant as it*
to order him down. No answer was heard, and no boy ap-
peared ; so, finally, as if carried away with rage, the juggler
thrust a naked sword into his breech-cloth (the only gar-
ment upon his person), and climbed after the boy. Up and
up and, hand over hand, and step by step, he ascended,
until the straining eyes of the multitude saw him no more.
There was a moment's pause, and then a wild shriek came
down from the sky, and a bleeding arm, as if freshly cut
from the boy's body, fell with a horrid thud upon the
ground. Then came another, then the two legs, one after
the other, then the dismembered trunk, and, last of all, the
ghastly head, every part streaming with gore and covering
the ground,"

This astounding marvel was witnessed by Marco Polo, and
also by the Emperor Jehangir. But until Madame Blavatsky
saw this strange sight no one else had seen it in modern
times. But greater marvels are coming. At one seance
Madame Blavatsky saw her dead uncle : —

" He came to visit Madame de Blavatsky, and made her a
profound obeisance ; but she failed to recognize him.
Nevertheless, she showed no such hesitancy about another
of her visitors. The curtain was lifted, and out stepped a
gentleman of so marked an appearance as to make it absurd
to imagine that William Eddy could be attempting to
personate a character in this instance. He was a portly
personage, with an unmistakable air of high breeding,
dressed in an evening suit of black cloth, with a frilled
white shirt and frilled wristbands. About his neck he
wore the Greek cross of St. Anne, attached to its appropriate
ribbon. At first Madame de Blavatsky thought that her
father stood before her, but, as the figure advanced another
step or two towards her, thus bringing himself to within
five or six feet of where she sat, the spirit greeted her in the
Kussian language, and said 'Djadja' (uncle). She then
recognized the familiar features of her father's brother, to
whom he bore a very strong resemblance in life. This was
M. Grustave H. Hahn, late President of the Criminal Court

The ''Miracle Clubr 31

at Grodno, Russia, which dignified oflSce he held for twelve
years. This gentleman, who died in 1861, must not be con-
founded with his namesake and cousin, Count Gustave
Halm, the Senator, who is livinix in St. Petersburg at the
present moment " (p. 360).

Greater marvels j^et were coming : —

" The evening of October 24th was as bright as day with
the light of the moon, and, while there was a good deal of
moisture in the air, the atmospheric conditions would, I
suppose, have been regarded as favourable for manifesta-
tions. In the dark circle, as soon as the light was ex-
tinguished, * George Dix,' addressing Madame de Blavatsky,
said : ' Madame, I am now about to give you a test of the
genuineness of the manifestations in this circle, which I
think will satisfy not only you, but a sceptical world be-
side. I shall place in your hands the buckle of a medal of
honour worn in life by your brave father, and buried with
his body in Russia. This has been brought to you by your
uncle, whom you have seen materialised this evening.'
Presently I heard the lady utter an exclamation, and a
light being struck, we all saw Madame de Blavatsky hold-
ing in her hand a silver buckle of a most curious shape,
which she regarded with speechless wonder.

" When she recovered herself a little, she announced that
this buckle had, indeed, been worn by her father, with
many other decorations, that she identified this particular
article by the fact that the point of the pin had been care-
lessly broken off" by herself many years ago ; and that ac-
cording to universal custom, this, with all his other medals
and crosses, must have been buried with her father's body.
The medal to which this buckle belongs was one granted
by the late Czar to his officers, after the Turkish campaign
of 1828. The medals were distributed at Bucharest, and a
number of the officers had buckles similar to this made by
the rude silversmiths of that city. Her father died July
loth, 187o, and she, being in this country, could not attend
his obsequies. As to the authenticity of this present so
mysteriously received, she possessed ample proof, in a
photographic copy of her father's oil portrait, in which this
very buckle appears, attached to its own ribbon and medal "
(pp. 835, 336).

32 Madame Blavatsky.

Colonel Olcott is very angry with Madame Coulomb for
damaging the society with her false evidence. But it seems
to me his own revelations are far more damaging. He
makes it quite impossible that we can believe in the
Mahatmas of Tibet.

Madame Blavatsky comes to America a steerage pas-
senger without any funds. He, be tells us, supported her
during the whole of her American visit. (Theosophist, vol.
xiii., p. 49.) What was her proposed means of livelihood
when she crossed the Atlantic ?

But one answer seems possible. She proposed to figure
as an ordinary professional " medium."

At starting she sees that a Colonel Olcott is the great
authority in spiritualism in the American newspapers. She
flies off to Chittenden where he is investigating the pheno-
mena of the " Eddy Boys." She throws herself in his path-
w^ay with a little affected coyness.

" I hesitated before coming here because I was afraid of
meeting that Colonel Olcott. He might put me in the
papers.'

But why should she be afraid of being put in an article
about spiritualistic mediums, unless she was a spiritualistic
medium herself ?

Were the "Eddy Boys" cheats ? Mr. Stainton Moses told
me that they had since confessed their rogueries on public
platforms. Mr. Coleman confirms this.

" That I am far from satisfied with the results attained
at Chittenden is already known," says Colonel Olcott signi-
ficantly. " The ' Boys,' ho adds, refused him a ' fair chance '
to apply tests." (" People from the Other World,' p. 415.)

But this raises a delicate question. If " Wando," and
" Wasso " were cheats dressed up, what about " Dgiano
Nallus," and " Michalko Guegidze ? " Madame Coulomb
boldy affirms that they were dressed-up mortals likewise.
She points significantly to the Russian dresses, medals of
honour, the Tchicharda and the Zourna, that figured directly
the Russian lady arrived. Familiar with certain similar
dressings up in India, that good lady is perhaps over-
suspicious.

Colonel Olcott lets out one very grave fact indeed.
Madame Blavatsky told him that she had had for a familiar

The ''Miracle Chtbr i^

John King for fourteen years. Fourteen from 1875 -^rives
1861.

Mr. Sinnett views all this pretence of being a medium as
a pleasant comedy. One difficulty in this interpretation is
the question of ways and means. Man, and woman also,
must eat, drink, and sleep. More than that, they must pay
for their food, drink, and lo Iging. A woman with private
means might indulge in this rather thin comedy. A woman
entirely without means could not. Then, too, if she actu-
ally knew all this time that none but fiends could com-
municate with mortals, it seems stretching a joke a little
far to say that she recognised her father and uncle amongst
these fiends. Why, too, did she send these filthy hob-
goblins to profane the tomb of her father, and tear the
medal of honour from his corpse ?

But the question shortly will become much more compli-
cated. In the year 1855 a thunderbolt fell from the blue.
The celebrated Robert Dale Owen had taken up spiritual-
ism, and had been much interested in the phenomena
produced by Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Holmes. But suddenly
American spiritualists were aghast. Mr. Robert Dale Owen
produced one Eliza White who confessed that at the Holmes'
seances she had personated the spirit "Katie King" in a
"trick cabinet" (Olcott, "People from the Other World," p.
437). Spiritualism, as the colonel tells us, seemed to have
received a death-blow.

What was the action of Madame Blavatsky when she
found that the dream of the Mahatmas of Tibet had, it is
true without much exertion on her side, come on earth.
Will it be believed that she immediately wrote to the
papers trying to set up the reputation of the Holmeses once
more ? Colonel Olcott gives extracts from her letter : —

"As it is, I have only done my duty: first towards spirit-
ualism, that I have defended as well as I could from the
attacks of imposture under the too transparent mask of
science; then towards two helpless, slandered mediums. . . .
But I am obliged to confess that I really do not believe in
having done any good to spiritualism itself. ... It is with
a profound sadness in my heart that I acknowledge this
fact, for I begin to think there is no help for it. For over
fifteen years have I fought my battle for the blessed truth ;

34 Madame Blavatsky,

have travelled and preached it — though I never was born
for a lecturer — from the snow-covered tops of the Cauca-
sian Mountains, as well as from the sandy valleys of the
Nile. I have proved the truth of it practically and by per-
suasion. For the sake of spirituahsm I have left my home,
an easy life amongst a civilised society, and have become a
wanderer upon the face of the earth. I had already seen
my hopes realised, beyond my most sanguine expectations,
when my unlucky star brought me to America. Knowing
this country to be the cradle of modern spiritualism I came
over here from France with feelings not unlike those of a
Mohammedan approaching the birthplace of his prophet,"
etc., etc. (Letter of H. P. B. to the Spirihicdist of Dec. 13th,
1874).

This is strange language from a lady who had received
from the Brothers of Tibet a mighty ''mission," to put down
spiritualism.

Then with Colonel Olcott she posted off to the seances of
the Holmeses, and " John King " and " Katie King " came
out of the cabinet time after time. Mr. Coleman at the
Chicago Conference read a paper, since published in the
Religio-Philosophical Jovbrnal (Sept. 16th, 1893), of w^hich
this is an extract : —

" It is evident that Madame Blavatsky and the Holmeses
were in collusion in the production of spurious phenomena
palmed off on Olcott as genuine. K. B. Westbrook, LL.D.,
one of the original officers of the Theosophical Society,
stated in the Religio-Philosophical Journal, Chicago, Sept.
14th, 1889, that Mrs. Holmes had admitted as much, and
had stated that Madame Blavatsky proposed to her a
partnership in the ' materialisation show business,' with
Colonel Olcott as manager, claiming that she had already
so ' psychologised him that he did not know his head from
his heels.' "

Here is Colonel Olcott's account of it : —

" The first evening I spent in Philadelphia, I had a very
long conversation through rappings with what purported
to be the spirit who calls himself ' John King.' Whoever
this person may be, whether he was the Buccaneer Morgan
or Pontius Pilate, Columbus or Zoroaster, he has been the
busiest and most powerful spirit, or what you please to call

The ''Miracle Club:' 35

it, connected with this whole modern spiritualism. In this
country and Europe we read of his pliysical feats, l)is
audible speaking, his legerdemain, his direct writing, his
materialisations. He was with the Koons family in Ohio,
the Davenports in New York, tlie Williams in London,
and the mediums in France and Germany. Madame de
Blavatsky encountered lihn fourteen years ago in Russia
and Circassia, talked with and saw him in Egypt and India.
I met him in London in 1870, and he seems able to converse
in any language with equal ease. I have talked with him
in English, French, German, Spanish, and Latin, and have
heard others do the same in Greek, Russian, Italian, Georgian
(Caucasus), and Turkish ; his replies being always pertinent
and satisfactory. His rap is peculiar and easily recognis-
able from others — a loud, sharp, crackling report. He
objects to the application of tests, but after refusing them,
will, at the most unexpected times, give such as are much
more startling and conclusive than the ones proposed. He
has done this with me, not once merely but dozens of times ;
and, really, it became the most difficult thing in the world
for me to hesitate a moment longer in giving up all reserve
and acknowledging myself a spiritualist _2:>^t sang.

" I went to Philadelphia without a theory as to the
Holmes imbroglio ; the newspaper accounts had been so
confusing that I dismissed the whole subject from my
mind, and determined to start at the very bottom and build
up my belief by degrees. But at my first interview with
' John King,' he rapped out the whole secret history of th.e
aflfair, telling me the parties concerned in the pretended
exposure, their names, the agents they employed, the sums
of money subscribed, who carried the purse, who disbursed
the funds, and who received the spoils. I was amazed
bej^ond description, for the information given was the
farthest possible from what seemed credible " (" People
from the Other World," pp. 454, 455).

Now let us listen to Madame Blavatsky, quoted by Colonel
Olcott in his "Diary Leaves" {Theosophist, pp. 329, 330):—

"Yes, I am sorry to say that I had to identify myself,
during that shameful exposure of the Holmes mediums,
with the spiritualists. I had to save the situation, iov I loas
sent from Paris to America on purpose to prove the pheno-

36 Madame B lav at sky,

w^ena and their reality, and show the fallacy of the spiritual-
istic theory of spirits. But how could I do it best ? I did
not want people at large to know that I could produce the
same things AT WILL. I had received orders to the con-
trary, and yet I had to keep alive the reality, the genuineness
and possibility of such phenomena, in the hearts of those
who, from materialists, had turned spiritualists, but now,
owing to the exposure of several mediums, fell back again
and returned to their scepticism. This is why, selecting a few
of the faithful, I Avent to the Holmeses, and, helped by M.
and his poiver, brought out the faces of John King and
Katie King from the astral light, produced the phenomena
of materialization, and allowed the spiritualists at large to
believe it was done through the mediumship of Mrs. Holmes.
She was terribly frightened herself, for she knew that this
once the apparition Avas real. Did I do wrong ? The
world is not prepared yet to understand the philosophy of
occult science ; let them first assure themselves that there
are beings in an invisible world, whether 'spirits' of the
dead or elementals ; and that there are hidden powers in
man which are capable of making a god of him on
earth.

" When I am dead and gone people will, perhaps, appreci-
ate my disinterested motives. I have pledged my word to
help people on to Truth while living, and I will keep my
word. Let them abuse and revile me ; let some call me a
medium and a spiritualist, others an impostor. The day
will come when posterity will learn to know me better.
Oh, poor, foolish, credulous, wicked world ! "

These seances must have been certainly very curious. At
one moment an astral form of a " Brother " would issue
from the " trick cabinet " and call himself " John King,"
hustling on his wa}^ back another "John King," in the per-
son of Mr. Holmes, with black beard and white turban.
But can we quite believe in the boasted transcendental
wisdom and truth of these Mahatmas, if they resorted to
these puerilities ? " John King " and " Katie King " being
imaginary persons, an astral presentment of these is as
much a cheat as a dressed-up presentment. The Mahatmas
propose, according to Mr. Sinnett, to give to the world
for the first time a " block of absolute truth," and yet they

The ''Miracle Club:' 37

choose for their spokeswoman a lady who for nearly twenty
years delivers the great messaf]je turned topsy-turvy.

But in Li(jld (August 9th, 1884) the Russian lady pub-
lished an explanation. I must say at once that her theory
of these years and Mr. Sinnett's theory are diametrically
opposed. He has exhausted his eloquence to show that
on leaving the " Masters " in Tibet she had emerged from
" Apprenticeship to Duty," that a solemn and transcendental
" Mission " was now hers to overthrow spiritualism in the
cause of " absolute truth."

She, on the other hand, boldly announces that absolute
truth was at this time not quite her most prominent mind
target, but merry comedy : —

" True it is I had told Colonel Olcott and many others
that the form of a man, with a dark pale face, black beard,
and white flowing garments and fettah, that some of them
had met about the house and my room, was that of a John
King, and I laughed heartily at the easy way tlie actual
body of a living man could be mistaken for and accepted
as a spirit."

Fourteen j^ears is rather a long time to keep up the
merriest little jest.

This ends the first period of Madame Blavatsky's stay in
America.

CHAPTER V.

THE BROTHERS OF LUXOR.

Madame Blavatsky's attempt to get up what she called a
*' Miracle Club " and preach pure spiritualism proved a
miserable failure. Colonel Olcott confesses this. {Theo-
sophist, 1892, p. 335.) And so in the view of her hostile
critics she had to attempt something else, and started the
gospel of the Brothers of Luxor.

This secret doctrine is diametrically opposed to the
secret doctrine of the Brothers of Tibet.

1. The Brothers of Luxor announced that all the pheno-
mena of spiritualism w^ere due not to " post-mortem
visitors " but living visitors in their astral forms, super-
excellent people, who personated the dead to spread
spiritualism.

2. The Brothers of Tibet announced, on the contrary, that
these phenomena were due to the bad halves of dead people,
and that the great aim of the Brotherhood was to suppress
these supremely wicked beings, and root up spiritualism.

Let us listen to Colonel Olcott (" People from the Other
World," p. 452-4):—

" I reached Philadelphia, as before observed, on the 4th
of January, and called upon Mr. Leslie, Dr. Child, Mr.
Owen, Dr. Fellger and others. I took rooms at the private
hotel of Mrs. Martin in Girard Street, where our friend
Madame de Blavatsky w^as also quartered. My acquaint-
ance with Madame de Blavatsky, begun under such
interesting circumstances at Chittenden, has continued, and
recently become more intimate in consequence of her having
accepted the offer of M. Aksakow, the eminent St. Peters-
burg publisher, former tutor to the Czaro witch, to trans-
late my Chittenden letters into the Russian language for
republication in the capital of the Czar.

" I gradually discovered that this lady, whose brilliant

38

The Brothers of Luxor, 39

accomplishments and eminent virtues of character, no less
than her exalted social position, entitle her to the highest
respect, is one of the most remarkable mediums in the
world. At the same time, her mediumship is totally
different from that of any other person I ever met ; for,
instead of being controlled by spirits to do their will, it is
she who seems to control them to do her bidding. What-
ever may be the secret by which this power has been
attained I cannot say, but that she possesses it I have had
too many proofs to permit me to doubt the fact. Many
years of her life have been passed in Oriental lands, where
what we recognise as spiritualism has for years been
regarded as the mere rudimental developments of a system
which seems to have established such relations between
mortals and the immortals as to enable certain of the
former to have dominion over many of the latter. I pass
by such of the mysteries of the Egyptian, Hindoo, and
other priestly orders as may be ascribed to a knowledge of
the natural sciences, and refer to those higher branches of
that so-called white magic, which has been practised for
countless centuries by the initiated.

" Whether Madame de Blavatsky has been admitted
behind the veil or not can only be surmised, for she is very
reticent upon the subject, but her startling gifts seem im-
possible of explanation upon any other hypothesis. She
wears upon her bosom the mystic jew^elled emblem of an
Eastern Brotherhood, and is probably the only representa-
tive in this country of this fraternity, ' who/ as Bulwer
remarks, ' in an earlier age boasted of secrets of which the
philosopher's stone was but the least ; who considered
themselves the heirs of all that the Chaldeans, the Magi,
the Gymnosophists, and the Platonists had taught ; and
who differed from all the darker sons of magic in the
virtue of their lives, the purity of their doctrines and their
insisting, as the foundation of all wisdom, on the subjuga-
tion of the senses, and the intensity of religious faith.'

" After knowing this remarkable lady, and seeing the
wonders that occur in her presence so constantly that they
actually excited at length but a passing emotion of sur-
prise, I am almost tempted to believe that the stories of
Eastern fables are but simple narratives of fact ; and that

40 Madame Blavatsky.

this very American outbreak of spiritualistic phenomena
is under the control of an Order, which, wldle depending
for its results upon unseen agents, has its existence upon
Earth among men"

It seems very plain from this last paragraph that the
idea of the " Order '' came in the first instance from Colonel
Olcott himself. Here is another passage from his (" Diary
Leaves ") p. 647-9 :—

" As already explained, the self-advertising attack of the
late Dr. George M. Beard — an electropathic ph3\sician of
New York City — upon the Eddys, and his wild and false
assertion that he could imitate the form-apparitions with
•three dollars worth of drapery,' lashed H. P. B. into the
Berserker writing-rage, and made her send the Graphic
that caustic reply, covering a bet of 500 dollars that he
could not make good his boast, which first acquainted the
American public with her existence and name. Naturally,
people took sides ; the friends of spiritualism and the
mediums siding with H. P. B., while the opponents, especially
the materialistically inclined scientists, ranged themselves
in the cohort of Dr. Beard's supporters. The one who pro-
fited by the dispute was Beard, whose ruse — worthy of Pears,
Beecham, or Siegel — advertised him and his electricity be-
yond his expectations. Profiting by the chance, he gave a
thoroughly well-advertised lecture on this subject, and
another, if I remember aright, upon mesmerism and
thought-reading, at the New York Academy of Music.
The Banner of Light, the R. P. Journcd, and other papers,
commenting upon H. P. B.'s anti-Beard letter, she replied, and
so very speedily found herself with her hands full of con-
troversy. As I said before, she took up the attitude of an
out-and-out spiritualist, who not only believed, but hneio,
tliat the powers behind the mediums, which wrote, produced
piiysical phenomena, talked in air-formed voices, and even
showed their entire forms or disconnected faces, hands, feet,
or other members, were the earth-haunting spirits of the
dead ; neither more nor less. In a previous chapter I
quoted passages from her published letters, and in articles
going to prove this, and in her very first letter to me,
written from New York within a week after she left me at
Chittenden (October, 1874) addressing me as 'Dear Friend/

The Brothers of Luxor. 41

and signing herself 'Jack,' and in her second one, dated six
days later, and signed ' Jack Blavatsky/ she entreats me
not to praise the mediumistic musical performance of one
Jesse Sheppard, whose pretence to having sung before the
Czar, and other boasts, she had discovered to be absolutely
false; as such a course on my part would 'injure spiritual-
ism more than anything else in the world.' 'I speak to
you,' she tells me, 'as a true friend to yourself and (as a)
spiritualist anxious to save spiritualism from a danger.'
In the same letter, referring to a promise given her by
' Mayflower ' and ' George Dix,' two of the alleged spirit-
controls of Horatio Eddy, that they would help her by in-
fluencing the judge before whom was pending her lawsuit
to recover the money put into the Long Island market-
garden co-partnership, slie says : ' Mayflower was right,
judge . . . came in with another decision in my favour.'
Did she believe, then, that medium-controlling spirits could
and would influence justices ? If not, what does her
language imply ? Either she was a spiritualist, or so repre-
sented herself for the time being, with the ulterior design
of gradually shifting spiritualists from the Western to the
Eastern platform of belief in regard to the mediumistic
phenomena. In her anti-Beard letter {N. Y. Daily Graphic,
Nov. 13th, 1874), she says, — speaking of the incident of the
bringing to her by the ' spirits ' of Horatio Eddy, of a de-
ccration-buckle that had been buried with her father's body
at Stavropol — 'I deem it my duty as a spiritualist to,' etc.,
etc. Later on, she told me that the outburst of medium-
istic phenomena had been caused by the Brotherhood of
Adepts as an evolutionary agency, and I embodied this idea
in a phrase in my book (" P. O. W.," p. 454, top), suggesting
the thinkable hypothesis that such might be the fact. But
then, in that case, the spiritualistic outbreak could not be
regarded as absolutely maleficent, as some extremists have
depicted it ; for it is inconceivable — at least to me, who
know them — that those elder brothers of humanity Avould
ever employ, even for the ultimate good of the race, an
agency in itself absolutely bad. The Jesuit motto, Finis
coronal opus, is not written on the temple walls of the
Fraternity.

" In the same number of the Daily Graphic to which she

42 Madame B lav at sky,

contributed her anti-Beard letter was published her bio-
graph}^, from notes furnished b}^ herself. She sa3'S, ' In
1858, I returned to Paris and made the acquaintance of
Daniel Home, the spiritualist . . . Home converted me to
spiritualism . . . After this I went to Russia. I converted
my father to spiritualism.' In an article defending the
Holmes mediums from the treacherous attack of their
ex-partner and show-manager, Dr. Child, she speaks of
spiritualism as 'our belief and '■our cause'; and again,
'the whole belief of us spiritualists'; still further, 'If we
spiritualists are to be laughed at, and scoffed, and ridiculed,
and sneered at, we ought to know, at least, the reason why.'
Certainly ; and some of her surviving colleagues might pro-
fitably keep it in mind. In the Spiritual Scientist of March
8th, 1875, she says that a certain thing would 'go towards
showing that notwithstanding the divine truth of our faith
(spiritualism), and the teachings of our invisible guardians
(the spirits of the circles), some spiritualists have not profited
by them, to learn impartiality and justice.' "

Colonel Olcott becomes a Chela : —

" Little by little H. P. B. let me know of the existence of
Eastern adepts and their powers, and gave me, as above
stated, the proofs of her own control over the occult forces
of nature by a multitude of phenomena. At first, as I have
remarked, she ascribed them to ' John King,' and it was
through his alleged friendliness that I first came into per-
sonal correspondence with the Masters. Most of their
letters I have preserved with my own endorsement of the
dates of their reception. For j^ears, and until shortly' be-
fore I left New York for India, i was connected in pupilage
with the African section of the Occult Brotherhood ; but
later, when a certain wonderful thing of a psycho-physio-
logical nature happened to H. P. B., that I am not at liberty
to speak about, and that nobody has up to the present sus-
pected, although enjoying her intimacy and confidence, as
they fancy, I was transferred to the Indian section and a
different group of masters " (" Diary Leaves," p. 331).

The initiation was by " precipitated ' letters, as in the
case of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Sinnett. But at this point we
are met with a difiiculty. Here is one of the letters : —

" The time is come to let you know who I am. I am not

The Brothers of Luxor. 43

a disembodied spirit, Brother ; I am a living man, gifted
with such powers by our Lodge as are in store for yourself
some day. I cannot be with you otherwise than in spirit,
for thousands of miles separate us at present. Be patient,
of good cheer, untiring labourer of the Sacred Brotherhood.
Work on and toil too for yourself, for self-reliance is the
most powerful factor of success. Help your needy brother
and you will be helped yourself in virtue of the never-
failing and ever-active Law of Compensation."

Does it not seem from this that the " Committee of Seven
— the Brothers of Luxor " at first preached open spiritual-
ism. " The time has come to let you know^ that I am a
living man." Plainly the first precipitated letters professed
to come from dead men.

" And yet," says the bewildered colonel, " in spite of the
above, I was made to believe that we w^orked in collabora-
tion with at least one disincarnate entity. He was a great
Piatonist." Plainly the '' Committee of Seven" w^ere not
very clear in their own minds about the " Secret Doctrine."
But a still more strange event occurred. The bad half of
Paracelsus came across the ages to greet the colonel.

" While we lived in West Thirty"-fourth Street, H. P. B.
and I were standing in the passage between the front and
back rooms, when her manner and voice suddenly changed.
She took my hand, as if to express friendship, and asked :
" Will you have Theophrastus for a friend, Henry ? "
This shows, at any rate, that dead ghosts are not too
ceremonious.

I now come to the first miracle of the Brothers of Luxor,
the famous " Committee of Seven." It is given by Colonel
Olcott in his " Diary Leaves " in the Tlteosoiihist (pp. 330,
331) :—

" I wish I could recall to memory the first phenomenon
done by her confessedly as by an exercise of her own will
power, but I cannot. It must have been just after she
began writing ' Isis Unveiled,' and possibly it was the follow-
ing : After leaving 16 Irving Place and making a visit to
friends in the country, she occupied rooms for a time in
another house in Irving Place, a few doors from the Lotus
Club, and on the same side of the street. It was there that
later the informal gathering of friends was held, at which I

44 Madame B lav at sky.

proposed the formation of what afterwards became the
Theosophical Society. Among her callers was an Italian
artist, a Signor B,, formerly a Carbonaro. I was sitting
alone with her in her drawing-room when he made his first
visit. They talked of Italian affairs, and he suddenly pro-
nounced the name of one of the greatest of the adepts.
She started as if she had received an electric shock, looked
him straight in the eyes, and said (in Italian), ' What is it ?
I am ready.' He passed it off carelessly, but thenceforward
the talk was all about magic, magicians, and adepts. It was
a cold, snowy winter evening, but Signor B. went and
opened one of the French windows, made some beckoning
passes towards the outer air, and presently a pure white
butterfly came into the room and went flying about near
the ceiling. H. P. B. laughed in a cheerful way, and said,
' That is pretty, but I can also do it ! ' She, too, opened the
window, made similar beckoning passes, and presently a
second white butterfly came fluttering in. It mounted to
tlie ceiling, chased the other around the room, played with
it now and then, with it flew to a corner, and, presto ! both
disappeared at once while we were looking at them.
' What does that mean ? ' I asked. ' Only this, that Signor
B. can make an elemental turn itself into a butterfly, and
so can I.' "

But here comes a puzzle. A very conscientious man, an
English barrister, Mr. Massey, read this, and at once sent
the following letter to Light (July 16th, 1892).

"Madame Blavatsky and the Butterflies.

" Sir, — As I was (on another occasion) witness of the
butterfly phenomenon described by Colonel Olcott in his
notes on Madame Blavatsky, it occurs to me that a contem-
porary record of an independent observation may not be
without interest in point of evidence. I extract from a
diary I began on arrival at New York, September 6th, 1875,
so much as relates to the incident in question : — ' Called on
Colonel Olcott, and was taken by him in the evening to
Madame Blavatsky's. Present : Mr. S. [I suppress names
as Colonel Olcott does so], an Englishman (editor of the
American BihliopJiilist), Signor B. (an Italian artist,

The Brothers of Ltixor. 45

formerly secretary to Mazzini), Colonel 0., Madame Blavat-
sky, and myself. . . . Signor B. asked me if I thought
spirits could materialise themselves into butterflies. There
were none visible to me in the room then, but the windows
were wide open. About a quarter of an hour after, in came
a butterfly fluttering about the room. "Let us have another,"
said Madame B., and looked towards the window as if
summoning one. Almost directly another one came in.
Then they were required to disappear. One of them did,
but not the other for some time, when it got behind the
valence of the curtain. I thought little of this, though
it impressed Olcott, because they did not fly to the candles,
after the nature of moths (and they were nothing but large
moths).'

" However, I find it added that on the next night I saw
one of these large moths there, which did go to the candle,
' so I think they must be frequent visitors, and that no
magic is required to account for them.' Then further :
' Olcofct told me he had seen [Signor] B. bring clouds over
the moon on a clear, cloudless night — but twenty minutes
intervened between the summons and the appearance — time
enough for a light cloud to arise naturally, and in a city the
horizon is not seen.' This gentleman favoured me with
another slight display o£ his powers of mystification, but I
seem to have subjected the performance to a very sceptical
criticism."

This again makes a complication, because if a number of
butterflies are flying about, it is difficult to tell which is a
" Brother of Luxor," and which only an ordinary butterfly.
It is sad to think that after all the new society had reason
to be dissatisfied with the Italian " Signor B."

" I had seen him on the best of terms with H. P. B.,
talking in the most friendly and unreserved way about
Italy, Garibaldi, Mazzini, the Carbonari, the Eastern and
Western adepts, etc., and matching phenomena, like the
trick of the white butterflies, and I certainly had reason to
be amazed when, putting on an air of mystery, he warned
me to break off* my intimacy with her. He said she was a
very wicked and dangerous woman, and would bring some
terrible calamity upon me if I allowed myself to fall under

46 Madame Blavatsky.

her malign spell. This, he said, he was ordered by the
great master whose name I had heard him pronounce to FI.
P. B., to tell me. I looked at the man to see if I could
detect the concealed meaning of this preposterous speech,
and finally said, ' Well, signor, I know that the personage
you mention exists ; I have every reason, after seeing your
phenomena, to suspect that you have relations with him or
with the Brotherhood ; I am ready, even to the sacrifice of
my life, to obey his behests ; and now I demand that you
give me a certain sign by which I shall know, positively
and without room for the least doubt, that Madame Blavat-
sky is the devil you depict, and that the Master's will is
that my acquaintance with her shall cease.' The Italian
hesitated, stammered out something incoherent, and turned
the conversation. Though he could draw inky clouds out
of the moon, he could not throw black doubt into my heart
about my new friend and guide through the mazy intri-
cacies of occult science. The next time I saw H. P. B. I
told her about B.'s warning, whereupon she smiled, said I
had nicely passed through that little test, and wrote a note
to Signor B. to ' forget the way to her door,' which he did "
("Diary Leaves," p.'589).

Another miracle of these Brothers was called in ques-
tion : —

" H. P. B. (at a signal, I suppose, received by her privately
from ' John King ' or some other invisible co-worker) would
cease painting the fiower she was at v/ork upon, lay down
her brush, cover the picture with a cloth, and step back
with me to the other side of the room or go out ; presently
she would return, remove the cloth, and there w^e would
find one of these exquisite, sylph-like forms or some other
detail of drawing that was not there the moment before.
These sylphs were not drawn in outline as an artist, like
Retsch, say, who was a master in this branch of art, would
have sketched them, but they were formed by simply
omitting the blue background and letting the white satin
cloth under the painting show through. Does the reader
understand ? No brush or pencil tracing formed the figure's
outlines, it was an objectivated thought, the visible pro-
jection of a painter's thought image : outside the boundary
lines of the body rolled blue clouds and masses of vapour,

The Brothers of Luxor, 47

inside them existed the graceful shape of an air-born sylph,
the articulation of her lovely limbs indicated, in the style
of Retsch, by single lines. To my somewhat trained
artistic eye it was but too evident that the same hand which
drew and painted the cabbage-sized roses and mammoth
rosebuds at the foot of the balustrade, could not have in-
troduced those floating sprites, the artistic embodiments of
grace and of true anatomical proportion. And even now,
after reading my letter, which gives the facts, I cannot
understand how the misproportioned human figure, the
balustrade, and wreaths could have been done by thought
precipitation : it looks more as if H. P. B.'s hand had di'awn
them and she had forgotten the fact when writing to
General Lippitt. Still, it may be the bad drawing was in
her mind, not in her hand " (" Diary Leaves," p, 522).

But here Mr. Coleman, in the lecture already cited, chimes
in : —

" Early in 1875 Madame Blavatsky sent to General F. J.
Lippitt a picture which she said had been painted for the
General by the spirit John King himself. In Mind and
Matter, Philadelphia, November 27th, 1880, was published
conclusive evidence, found in Madame Blavatsky's room in
Philadelphia, that she had herself painted this picture ex-
cept certain flowers, etc., which were already on the satin
when she procured it. Madame Blavatsky is known to
have had fair skill as a painter. Further, Mrs. Hannah
M. Wolff, of Washington, D.C., in a published account of
her experience with Madame Blavatsky in 1874, has stated
that Madame Blavatsky having claimed that certain pictures
were painted by spiritual power direct, she was watched
by three journalists residing in the same house, and they
saw Madame Blavatsky get up in the night and paint them
herself."

CHAPTER VI.

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

We now come to the " Theosopliical Society." Madame
Blavatsky in her " Caves and Jungles of Hindustan," p. 21,
calls it " La Societe des Malcontents du Spiritisme." Will
it be believed that this was in the first instance as much a
spiritualistic society as the Societe Sinrite at Cairo ! The
first paper read before the society went to show that in
ancient Egypt communion with the dead was " reduced to
a positive science," This paper was read by a Mr. Felt in
the " parlours of Madame Blavatsky." Colonel Olcott in
the Banner of Light announced that " Occultism does not rob
spiritualism of one of its comforting features, nor abate one
jot of its importance as an argument for immortality^ It
denies the identity of no real human spirit that ever has or
ever will approach an inquirer."

Mrs. Hardinge Britten, an original member of the society,
gives these details in her work, " Nineteenth Century
Miracles " (p. 440). The society was started September 7th,
1875.

But this great Theosophical Society in its early stages
was nothing at all like the society that we know so well.
It still had an eye on the " Secret Doctrine " of the Brothers
of Luxor, or perha])s really called these imaginary Brothers
into being. Its moving spirit was a Mr. Felt, who had
visited Egypt and studied its antiquities. He was a student
also of the Kabala; and he had a somewhat eccentric theory
that the dog-headed and hawk-headed figures painted on the
Egyptian monuments were not mere symbols, but accurate
portraits of the " Elementals." He professed to be able to
evoke and control them. He announced that he had dis-
covered the secret " formularies " of the old Egyptian
magicians. Plainly the Theosophical Society at starting
was an Egyptian school of occultism. Indeed Colonel

48

The TJieosophical Society. 49

Oicott, who furnishes tliese details (" Diary Leaves " in the
Theoso'phid, November to December, 1892), lets out that
the first title suggested was the " Egyptological Society."

In point of fact it is quite plain from the "Diary Leaves "
of the somewhat too candid colonel that theosophy, instead
of springing at once like Minerva from Jove's head, was a
growth, an evolution. Madame Blavatsky (or her spooks)
was very quick to take hints. Colonel Oicott, as we have
seen, suggested an "Order "of Secret Brothers. She im-
mediately assimilated it. Mr. Felt announced that he knew
the formularies which could evoke and control the " Ele-
mentals." Madame Blavatsky soon announced a similar
power, though at this time, according to the colonel, she had
read little, and had a very vague idea what an " Elemental "
meant.

" In point of fact both of us used to call the spirits of the
elements ' elementaries,' thus causing much confusion, but
when ' Isis ' was being written I suggested that we should
employ the distinctive terms ' elemental,' ' elementary,' in
the connection they have ever since had " {Theosophistf
August, 1892).

After writing all this I have suddenly come across a
chapter of the " Diary Leaves " that has fairly taken my
breath away. Colonel Oicott himself is much exercised
with the amazing ditterences between the Secret Doctrine
of the " Brothers of Luxor " and the Secret Doctrine of the
Brothers of Tibet. He gives some of the differences. Thus
re-incarnation, the " strong foundation stone of the ancient
occult philosophy," is announced in " Isis Unveiled " to be
" as rare as the teratological phenomenon of a two-headed
infant " ('' Isis," vol. i., p. 351).

" This," says Colonel Oicott justly, " was the sum and
substance of our teaching at that time, and shows how
infinitely far away from believing in re-incarnation H. P. B.
and I were then " {TheosoiMst, August, 1893).

But a still " stronger foundation stone " was kept out of
the early building, namely the " Seven Principles of Man."
All know the importance attached to this great revelation
in the " Secret Doctrine," and other theosophical treatises.
Folks write of them as if a cabman or a policeman in
Piccadilly, if he had these seven principles read out to him,

D

50

Madame Blavatsky.

could at once transmute metals. It seems quite certain that
Madame Blavatsky copied them out of a life o£ Paracelsus :

The "Seven Principles of IMan "
(Paracelsus).

The " Seven Principles of Man"
(Blavatsky).

1.

2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

7.

The animal body.

The archoeus (vital force).

The sidereal body.

The animal soul.

The rational soul.

The spiritual soul.

The man of the new Olympus.

1. The animal body (Rupa).

2. Vitality (Jiva).

3. The astral body (linga sarira).

4. The animal soul (kama rupa).

5. Intellect (manas).

6. The spiritual soul (Buddhi).

7. Spirit (Atma).

But if once more we get her power of assimilation we get
also her confusion of ideas. Paracelsus was a Kabalist, and
he was hampered with the doctrine of the resurrection of
the body at the day of judgment: —

"The natural man possesses the elements of the Earth,
and the Earth is his mother, and he re-enters into her and
loses his natural flesh, but the real man will be re-born
at the day of the resurrection into another spiritual and
glorified body " (Hartmann, " Paracelsus," p. 68).

Thus he held that only four out of the seven principles
were immortal. Madame Blavatsky had to adapt her seven
principles to quite a different teaching, namely the Indian
doctrine of the metempsychosis. In consequence she con-
fuses all through two distinct ideas, seven principles (that
which man has a pri7icipio), and seven stages of spiritual
progress.

But here again the Brothers of Luxor differ from the
Brothers of Tibet. Colonel Olcott quotes a letter from
Madame Blavatsky to the Revue, Spirite of Paris (June 1st,
1879), in which she announces that man ho.^ four principles,
not seven.

"Yes, for the theosophists of New York man is a trinity
and not a duality, for by adding the physical body, man is
a TetraJdis or quaternary."

When Mahatmas give two secret doctrines, diametrically
opposed the one to the other, what is to be said ?

The Theosophical Society. 51

Colonel Olcott is plainly puzzled. He gives three theories,
but seems little enamoured of any one of them.

1. The Mahatmas and Madame Blavatsky knew all about
re-incarnation and the "Seven Principles" as earl}^ as 1857,
but the laws of occult obscurantism required that these
great truths should be not only obscured but falsely stated
for some twenty-one years. " She used constantly to write
and say that it was not permissible to prematurely give out
the details of Eastern occultism, and that is very reasonable
and easily grasped. But I have never been able to formulate
any theory of ethics or honourable policy which required
the opposite of the truth to be taught as true. Silence I
can cheerfully concede, but not misrepresentation " (p. 642).

The colonel emphasises the fact that the wrong doctrine
of re-incarnation was given as distinctly coming from a
" Brother:'

2. Not liking his first theory, the colonel goes off to a
second, which was that the Mahatma himself was misin-
formed at first, in fact that he got for transmission what
Mr. Sinnefct calls the " block of absolute truth " after 1856.
But if a Mahatma can give us an absolute truth turned
topsy-turvy, whom can we trust ?

3. The third theory of Colonel Olcott seems so astounding
that I think that we ought to hand it over to Mr. Myers
and the Society for Psychical Research. They have gone
into the subject of " multiplex personality." " I have," says
the colonel, " sometimes been tempted to suspect that none
of us, her colleagues, know the normal H. P. B. at all."

The Russian lady, he thinks, was killed at the battle of
Mentana, and a mighty Mahatma who wanted to give a
block of absolute truth to the world revived it by a magical
process.

This " suspicion " of liis in a later chapter seems to have
become more definite in his mind. The Mahatmas distinctly
told him at last that the body of H. P. B. was a " shell "
occupied by one of themselves {Theosopltist, Aug., 1893).

This feat, called Avesa, is often done in India, the colonel
tells us, and he goes on to quote from the " Pancharatra
Padmasamhita Charyapada " (c. xxiv., vv. 131-140) full in-
structions for performing this rite : —

" I now tell thee, 0 Lotus-born, the method by which to

52 Madame B lav at sky.

enter another's body. The corpse to be occupied should be
fresh, pure, of middle age, endued with all good qualities
and free from the awful diseases resulting from sin (m^.,
syphilis, leprosy, etc.). The body should be that of a
Brahmin or even of a Kshatriya. It should be laid out in
some secluded place (where there is no risk of interruption
during the ceremonial process), with its face turned towards
the sky and its legs straightened out. Beside its legs,
shouldst thou seat thyself in a posture of yoga, but previously,
O four-faced one, shouldst thou with hxed mental concen-
tration, have long exercised this yoga power. The jiva is
located in the solar plexus, is of itself radiant as the sun and
of tlie form of hamsa (a bird), and it moves along the Ida
and Pingala nadis (two alleged channels of psychic circula-
tion). Having been concentrated as hamsa (by yoga), it
will pass out through the nostrils, and, like a bird, dart
through space. Thou shouldst accustom thj^self to this
exercise, sending out the Prana to the height of a palm-tree,
and causing it to travel a mile, or live miles or more, and
then re-attracting it into thy body, which it must re-enter
as it left it, through the nostrils, and restore it to its natural
centre in the solar plexus. Tiiis must be practised daily
until perfection be reached.

" Then, having acquired the requisite skill, the Yogi may
attempt the experiment of psychical transfer, and, seated as
above described, he will be able to withdraw his Prdna-jiva
from his own body, and introduce it into the chosen corpse,
by the path of the nostrils, until it reaches the empty solar-
plexus, there establishes its residence, re-animates the de-
ceased person, and causes him to be seen as though ' risen
from the dead.' "

But this arrangement created difficulties that could not
have been quite anticipated. The body of the dead Russian
lady was still a power. It appears that when this lady was
alive she had a blemish — she did not always speak the truth.
This blemish stuck to her "shell." In spite of all the trans-
cendental power of the Mahatma, the fibbing could not be
quenched. The colonel proves this : —

" I have heard her tell the most conflicting stories about
herself," he says in one passage.

Here is another :—

The Theosophical Society, 53

" So as to her age she told all sorts of stories, making her-
self twenty, forty, and even sixty years older than she really
was. We have in our scrap-books certain of these tales re-
ported by successive interviewers.'' But when a lady's age
is concerned the Rwpa might be expected to be too strong
for the Atmna.

Here is a graver fib.

Just before she arrived in India she announced that the
Theosophical Society " counts some thousands of Europeans
and Americans in its ranks." " At this time," says Colonel
Olcott, " it was composed of perhaps a hundred members,"
(p. 645).

" No more difficult work," says Mrs. Besant (" Theosophy,"
p. 2), could be proposed, perhaps, to any body of people,
than the understanding of theosophy."

If Colonel Olcott's authoritative statement, backed up as
it is by the Mahatmas, be true, I quite agree with this ; and
a small table of dates will make clear its astounding com-
plications : —

Blavatsky born 1831

Married 1848

First trip to India ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1855

Initiated by Mahatmas in Tibet, and commissioned to over-
throw spiritualism, ... ... ... ... ... ... 1857

Learns what spiritualism is from Home the medium ... ... 3858

First has John King for a control 1861

Battle of Mextana, November 3rd 1867

Societe Spirite, Cairo 1871-2

America 1875

Bombay 1879

Publishes the great revelation of the Mahatmas 1881

1. If any Tibetan initiate did not come across the Russian
lady until November 3rd, 1867, it is plain that all her
previous occult history, the seven years' initiation in Tibet,
the visit to the underground crypts, the copying out of the
Book of Dzyan, her mighty " Mission " to overthrow spirit-
ualism, all these things are simple specimens of her genius
for fibs.

2. But how does the truthful Mahatma come out of it
all ? In " Isis " and " The Secret Doctrine," he gravely
recounts all these matters as if they were true. He an-

54 Madame Blavatsky.

nounces in America that he has a mission to support spirit-
ualism. He announces in India that he has a mission to
overthrow it. He announces that the dead return, and that
he himself is a dead man. He announces that the dead can
never return. He croes through the difficult process of
Avesa to overthrow the doctrine of re-incarnation, then
makes it the keystone of his " Theosophy."

When a report got abroad that Mr. Felt was going to
evoke a quantity of dog-headed and hawk-headed *' Ele-
mental " at a certain meeting of the Theosophical Society,
folks crowded to enrol their names. But Mr. Felt made
himself scarce ; and Madame Blavatsky, although she also
could evoke and control elementals (which at this date were
dog-headed) refused to do so. Ordinary spiritualistic
"mediums" had to be chartered, as the new society was
rapidly dying.

To this dearth of marvels there is an exception recorded
by Mr. Coleman in the paper already noticed that he read
at Chicago.

" A woman, strangely attired, and veiled, came into the
doctor's (Dr. Westbrook's) house during a meeting there,
at which the Rev. W. R, Algar, Olcott, and H. P. Blavatsky
were present, and handed the latter a letter purporting to
come from the ' Brothers,' the messenger being presumed to
be an ' Elementary.' A few months after vvards Dr. West-
brook discovered that the presumed elementary was an
Irish servant girl to whom Madame Blavatsky had promised
to pay five dollars for the personation of the messenger of
the ' Brothers.' Having failed to get her pay, she confessed
the fraud."

But the dying society suddenly made a brilliant rally.
An eccentric Baron de Palm, who had joined it, sickened
and died. He was " the seignior of the castles of Old and
New Wartensee on Lake Constance," the " presumable
owner of 20,000 acres of land in Wisconsin, forty town lots
in Chicago," etc. He was a Knio^ht Grand Cross, Com-
mander of the Sovereign Order of the Holy Sepulchre,
Prince of the Roman Empire, Chamberlain to H. M. the
King of Bavaria. By will he left all his property to
Colonel Olcott in trust for the exclusive benefit of the
•Theosophical Society,

The Theosophical Society, 55

Here was a windfall, £20,000 at least. So said the
sym])athisers who crowded round to congratulate the
" President Founder." Madame Blavatsky, rich in the
knowledge of variety entertainments, at once projected a
magnificent " pagan funeral." A " masonic temple " was
prepared. The "casket was of rosewood, trimmed with
silver." On it, and on " each side of it were placed Oriental
symbols of the faith o£ the dead man." Seven candles of
different colours burned upon the coffin, and these, with a
brazier of incense, signified fire worship. Upon the right
stood a cross with a serpent about it, the cross typifying the
creative principle of nature, the serpent the principle of
evolution. Triangular black tickets of admission were pre-
pared, also "Orphic hymns." Seven members of the Theo-
sophical Society, clad in black robes, carried in their hands
" twigs of palm " to ward off evil spirits, (E. Hardinge
Britten, " Nineteenth Century Miracles," p. 442.)

A journal of the day, the Neiv Yorh World, gives further
details, I do not know whether the Orphic hymns are quite
authentic : —

"'All right,' said the colonel, * go ahead and make out
your programme, but leave everybody out but the members
of the society, for the Masons won't have anything to do
with it.'

" Two hours were then spent in making out an order of
march, and a programme of exercises after the procession
reaches the temple, and the following is the result. The
procession will move in the following order —

" Colonel Olcott as high priest, wearing a leopard skin,
and carrying a roll of papyrus (brown card-board).

" Mr. Cobb as sacred scribe, with style and tablet.

" Egyptian mummy-case, borne upon a sledge drawn by
four oxen. (Also a slave bearing a pot of lubricating oil.)

" Madame Blavatsky as chief mourner, and also bearer of
the sistrum. (She will wear a long linen garment extend-
ing to the feet, and a girdle about the waist.)

" Coloured boy, carrying three Abyssinian geese (Phila-
delphia chickens) to place upon the bier.

" Yice-President Felt, with the eye of Osiris painted on
his left breast, and carrying an asp (bought at a toy store
on Eighth Avenue).

56 Madame Blavatsky.

" Dr. Pancoast, singing an ancient Theban dirge,

'^ Isis and Nepthys, beginning and end ;
One more victim to Amenti we send,
Pay we the fare, and let us not tarry,
Cross the Styx by the Roosevelt Street ferry.

" Slaves in mourning gowns, carrying the offerings and
libations, to consist of early potatoes, asparagus, roast beef,
French pancakes, bock beer, and New Jersey cider.

*' Treasurer Newton as chief of the musicians, playing the
double pipe.

" Other musicians, performing on eiglit-stringed harps,
tom-toms, etc.

" Boys carrying a large lotus (sun-flower).

'' Librarian Fassit, who will alternate with music by
repeating the lines beginning :

"Here Horus comes, I see the boat,
Friends, stay your flowing tears ;
The soul of man goes through a goat
In just three thousand years.

" At the temple the ceremony will be short and simple.
The oxen will be left standing on the side-walk, with a boy
near by to prevent them goring the passers-by. Besides
the Theurgic hymn, printed above in full, the Coptic
national anthem will be sung, translated and adapted to the
occasion as follows :

" Sitting Cynocephalus, up in a tree,
I see you, and you see me.
River full of crocodile, see his long snout !
Hoist up the shadoof and pull him right out."

Colonel Olcott made a splendid speech on the occasion,
but, as he says,it cost him £2000 a j^ear. The "pagan funeral"
attracted a great deal of attention, and all his clients deserted
him. He was a solicitor as well as a journalist, and the
vast fortune of the Baron de Palm turned out to be quite
imaginarj^

" Our first shock came when we opened his trunk at the

The Theosophical Society, 57

hospital. It contained two of my own shirts, from which
the stitched name-mark had been picked out."

It is asserted by some tliat one portion of the baron's
legacy was more valuable. Professor Coues and ^I. Papus,
the leader of the French occultists, declare that " Isis Un-
veiled " was fabricated out of the MSS. left by the eccentric
but impecunious baron. Mrs. Hardinire Britten, who was
an original member of tlie Theosophical Society, supports
this view. Colonel Olcott, on the other band, tells us that
that great work was due partly to coUaborateurs and
partly to automatic writing with Madame Blavatsky for
the prophetess. I do not see that tlie question at issue is
very important.

The " Miracle Club " having failed, and the " Brothers of
Luxor" having missed fire, the wonderful Russian lad}^ con-
ceived new projects. She wrote to India proposing to
come there with Colonel Olcott. The wreck of the Theo-
sophical Society was to be joined to the Arya Samaj.

CHAPTER VII.
Arya sam^j.

In 1 Chronicles xvii. 16, we read "And David sat before the
Lord."

The Old and New Testaments are studied very carefully in
England, and the Indian religions are scarcely studied at
all, and yet the latter throw much light on the former.
Palestine was an Asiatic civilisation. India is an Asiatic
civilisation. All traces of the Palestine of Ezra and Moses
have passed away, but in India, as in the days of Aaron,
the priest of Siva throws ashes in the air to bring a male-
diction on his foemen, the maidens of Krishna weep for
the Indian Tammuz, the departed god of summer. In
India the robbers still dig into the walls of houses as in the
days of Job. In India the long-haired man of god sits
under the juniper tree of Elias. The oak of enchantments
(see Stanley, " Sinai and Palestine," p. 141) has not yet
been cut down.

The early stone-using man many thousand 3^ears ago
conceived an unseen being. Like the Tsui Goab of the
modern Australians, his first god was an ancestor, and as
the ancestor in life loved human flesh, bull's flesh, a superior
wigwam, much flattery and much homage, religion began
to consist of meat-oflferings and drink-oflferings, a palace for
the god and an elaborate system of court ceremonial.

But by and by, on the banks of the Ganges, a great
advance was made. It was judged that instead of trying
to conceive God from the externals of humanity, it would
be more wise to look for hints of Him into man's soul. And
as some men seemed more spiritual than others, and as this
state of spirituality seemed to advance as the entanglements
of the lower life diminished, it began to be judged that by
deadening or "mortifying" the flesli, the spirit would be-

58

Arya Samaj, 59

come lucid. Hence yoga in India, and eremites (from erema,
the desert) in Christianity.

As early as the date of the Atharva Veda, or say, roughly,
a thousand years before Christ, the Kishi Angiras informed
the wealthy householder, Saunaka, that there were two
sorts of knowledge, the "superior knowledge" and the
" inferior knowledge."

" Know Brahma alone ! " was the motto of the superior
I;nowledge.

An extract from the "Muntlaka Upanisliad" of the Atharva
Veda may here throw light on Brahma and union with him :

"He is great and incom])rehensible by the senses, and
consequently his nature is beyond human conception. He,
though more subtle than vacuum itself, shines in various
ways. From those who do not know him he is at a greater
distance than the limits of space, and to those \vho acquire
a knowledge of him he is near. Whilst residing in animate
creatures he is perceived, although obscurely, by those who
apply their thoughts to him. He is not perceptible by the
human sight, nor is he describable by means of speech,
neither can he be the object of any of the organs of sense,
nor can he be conceived by the lielp of austerities and re-
ligious rites. But one whose mind is purified by the light
of true knowledge, through incessant contemplation, per-
ceives him, the most pure god. Such is the invisible
Supreme Being. He should be seen in the heart wherein
breath, consisting of five species, rests. The mind being
perfectly freed from impurity, god, who spreads over the
mind and all the senses, imparts a knowledge of himself to
the heart."

The mystics of all lands sought this union, by extasia, by
contemplation. Yoga, the word for Indian magic, means
simply "union." Sangha, the third person of the Buddhist
Trinity, also means " union.'' The divine man Purusha was
the result of an union between Buddha, spirit, and Dharma,
matter. Thomas a Kempis, in his " Soliloquy of the Soul,"
has a chapter headed, " On the Union of the Soul with
God " (chap. xiii.). St. Theresa had her oraison d' union.
St. Augustine based all his mysticism on the text (John
xiv. 23), " Jesus answered and said unto him. If a man love
me he will keep my words ; and my Father will love him,

6o Madame B lav at sky,

and we will come unto him and make our abode with him."
Clement of Alexandria sketches the end to be kept in view
by the " Christian Gnostic": "Dwelling with the Lord he
will continue his familiar friend, sharing the same hearth
according to the spirit " (" Miscellany," p. 60). Dr. Vaughan,
in his ''Hours with the Mystics," shows that the motto of
the Neo-Platonist was: "Withdraw into thyself; and the
adj^tum of thine own soul will reveal to thee profounder
secrets than the cave of Mithras " (vol. i., p. 22).

In the India to which Madame Blavatsky and Colonel
Olcott are now hastening, there was at this date a Hindoo,
the leader of a movement to which the Theosophical Society
proposed a junction. Dayananda Sarasvati seemed an old
Vedic Rishi dropped down through thirty centuries on to
the India of Mr. Rudyard Kipling. He had travelled every-
where, and read all the Sanskrit books. He had gone
through all the rigours of the genuine yoga. He was a
mystic, a religious enthusiast. He believed the Vedas to
be the one inspired scripture, and his aim was to bring
back the Hindoo religion to that simpler faith. His
disciples he called the Arya Samaj.

But can oil and water mingle ? The true " Secret Doc-
trine " of the Theosophists, according to Mr. Sinnett, was
known to Madame Blavatsky as early as 1857. The main
teaching was that all intercourse with the world of ghosts
was confined to the bad halves of mortals, who, at death,
were cut in two. There was another prominent doctrine,
atheism. Dr. Wyld, at one time President of the London
Lodge, has published a book, " Theosophy, or Spiritual
Dynamics," in which he announces that he left the society
when Madame Blavatsky proclaimed that " there is no god
personal or impersonal.'' Says Mr. Sinnett, " They (the
Mahatmas) never occupy themselves with any conception
remotely resembling the god of churches and creeds "
(" Esoteric Buddhism," p. 177).

Since the days of Henry Colebrooke it is scarcely neces-
sary to descant upon the fine deism of the Rig Veda, the
oldest book in the world. At a bound it sprang from the
rude worship of storms, and fire, and thunder, to the con-
ception of the philosophical Indian trinity.

" The deities invoked appear, on a cursory inspection of

Arya Samaj. 6i

the Veda, to be as various as the authors of the prayers
addressed to them, but according to the most ancient
annotations of the Indian scripture, those numerous names
of persons and things are all resolvable into different titles
of three deities and ultimately of one god " (Colebrooke,
" Essays," vol. i., p. 25).

This trinity might be accepted by Professor Huxley or
Mr. Herbert Spencer. It consists of an inconceivable god,
THAT ONE (Tad) of the hymn already quoted, and which
may be paraphrased thus : —

There was no breath, no sky, but water only,
Death was not yet unwoinbed nor day nor night,
The unimagined THAT ONE, veiled and lonely,
Sate through the centuries devoid of light.

Then from his impulse Love came into being,
And through the ebon darkness flung his gleams,
That Love which, say our men of mystic seeing.
Bridges the world of fact and world of dreams.

Oh tell us how this universe was fashioned,

Ere shining gods appeared to man below,

He knows that shrouded THAT ONE, unimpassioned,

Or even he perchance can never know.

This hymn finely states the crucial mystery that per-
plexes man, without the rashness to attempt to solve it. He
dwells in a world encircled by millions of stars, and
M^ armed by the great orb that gives light and life. Using
these as symbols he advances a step. The inconceivable
god may be partly thought out. Let us imagine that by
the aid of Aditi, the Mother, the Infinite, as Max Muller
puts it, matter (matra Sansk.) he parented an active con-
ceivable god, Yama, Mitra, the Godman, the sun, and we
have the triad.

This is a version by Sir Monier Williams of a passage in
the " Isa Upanishad " : —

*' Whate'er exists within this universe
Is all to be regarded as enveloped
By the great Lord, as if wrapped with a vesture.
There is one only Being who exists
Unmoved, yet moving swifter than the wind ;

62 Madame B lav at sky.

Who far outstrips the senses, though as gods
They strive to reach him ; who himself at rest
Transcends the fleetest flight of other beings ;
Who, like the air, supports all the vital action.
He moves, yet moves not ; he is far, yet near ;
He is within the universe. Whoe'er beholds
All living creatures as in him and him —
The universal Spirit — as in all.
Henceforth regards no creature with contempt."

This does not look like atheism.

We will now see if Vedism proclaimed that none but
wicked " shells " could span the abyss that separates their
state from ours." To ignore Colebrooke, Max Muller,
Burnouf, and to call this the "Indian Teaching," the "Eastern
Wisdom," must appear amusing to all who have dipped into
the subject. From an early date to modern times India has
had a religion singularlj^ like modern spiritualism, the
8'vaddha or intercourse with ghosts. Creed-maker after
creed-maker has appeared and told the Hindoo tliat his
dead relations are whirling about in the metemps^^chosis,
or in Moksha, or in Nirvana. He has been assured that
they are annihilated. He has been told that they are in
Christian or Mussulman hells, but as in Yedic days he still
offers his food to them, and believes they are near.

Here is a sketch of these rites : —

"The ancestors having attended and taken their seats,
they are furnished with water to drink, with water for puri-
fication, with water for bathing. They are also clothed.
The food is then presented (through the fire), and they are
thus addressed —

" ' Ancestors, rejoice ! take your respective shares, and be
strong as bulls.'

'•' Nor was it from any portion of the hand that they
would accept their food ; it had to be presented by the part
between the thumb and the forefinger, which afterwards, in
Cheiromancy, was known as ' the line of life,' and which,
consequently, was designated Pitrya.

" After they have fed, the performer of the sacrifices dis-
misses them with the same honours with which they had
been received, and thus addresses them —

" * Fathers, to whom food belongs, guard our food, and the
other things offered by us ; venerable and immortal as ye

Arya Samaj. 63

are, and conversant with holy truths ; quafi the sweet
essence, be cheerful, and depart contented by the paths
which gods travel.'

" The ceremony, however, did not solely consist in feeding
the ancestors ; their honour required the distribution of food
to the living, and chiefly to the indigent and destitute ; it
was equally furnished to animals and men : thus the con-
nexion of the living child with the dead parent was used
to inculcate practices of charity. In process of time the
Brahmans were not neglected, and this seems to have con-
stituted a chief source of their sustenance ; arrogating to
themselves the office of fire, what was given to them, satis-
fied the ancestors.

" The Pitris had, however, effectual means of control over
their descendants. If they could blast and curse, they
could also bless and cause to fructify. To them imploration
was made for success in every enterprise, and acknowledg-
ments offered in return for good fortune. Vows were paid
to them for fame, wealth, power, length of days, or increase
of happiness. They are applied to as intercessors, both for
men on earth and for departed spirits, and they stood in
the relation to men, of saints and of gods, linked to them
by the ties of blood, so that each race of mortals on earth
became part of a dynasty in heaven ; the gods were not
brought down to the level of the Pitris, but these were
raised to the rank of divinities. As fire was worshipped as
their messenger, so was the moon as their abode.

" ' May this oblation to fire, which conveys offerings to
the manes, be efficacious.' "

I am aware that Madame Blavatsky has tried to get rid of
these awkward Pitri by asserting that they were Kosmic
artificers that had not been on earth for millions of years.

A hymn of the Rig Veda quite disproves this : —

*' Honour by our sacrifice the son of Vivaswan, the Royal
Yama, who passes the mighty spaces. He is the pathway
of the nations and their goal.

" Yama was the first to show us the road which we all
must follow. Our fathers have gone before. We are born
to leave our footprints upon it.

" Yama, come to the altar of sacrifice with the Pitris, the

64 Madame Blavatsky,

sons of Angiras. 0 King, may the prayers of the Rishis
attract thee.

" We have amongst ns the sons of Angiras (Angirases) the
Navagwas (a section of the Angirases) the Atharwans, the
Bhrigus. Ma}' we obtain their kind thoughts, their happy
protection.

" 0 dead man (the corpse), come hither. Come by the
ancient pathways that our fathers have traversed. See
these two Kings Yama and the divine Yarnna, who rejoice
in our sacrifice. Come with the Pitris, come with Yama to
the seat that our worship has set up. Thou has cast off all
impurit}^ Enter and don a body of brilliance."

It is plain here that amongst the Pitris was a man whose
funeral obsequies were not yet performed.

Here is another passage : —

" Burn not this corpse, 0 Agni. Tear not his skin, his body,
0 Jatavedas. If thou delightest in our offerings with the
Pitri, help him.

" If thou lovest our offerings, 0 Jatavedas, surround him
with the fathers. He comes to obtain the body that shall
transport his soul. . .

" Give to heaven and earth that which belongs to them ;
give to the waters and plants those portions of his body that
are their due.

*' But there is in him an immortal portion. Warm it with
thy rays. Kindle it with thy fire. O Jatavedas, in the
blessed body formed by thee transport him to the world of
the saints" (" Rig Yeda," vii., 6. 11).

I have gone at some length into the religion of the Yedas,
because when Madame Biavatsky and Colonel Olcott became
disciples of Dayananda Sarasvati, it is difficult to conceive
that the Russian lady had in her mind a teaching that was
diametrically opposed to it. Here was the actual religion of
the Mahatma. Angiras was a Mahatma. Bhrigu was a
Mahatma. It will be seen from our scanty quotations that
this religion knew nothing of the metempsychosis, annihila-
tion as the reward of the just man made perfect, or atheism
and " shells." Here is an extract from Madame Biavatsky 's
" Caves and Jungles of Hindustan " : —

" For more than two years before we left America we were
in constant correspondence with a certain learned Brahman,

Aiya Samaj. 65

whose glory is great at present (1879) all over India. We
came to India to study, under his guidance, the ancient
country of the Aryas, the Yedas, and their difficult language.
His name is Dayanand Saraswati Swami. Swami is the
name of the learned anchorites who are initiated into many
mysteries unattainable by common mortals. They are
monks who never marry, but are quite difFerent from other
mendicant brotherhoods, the so-called Sannyasi and Hossein.
This Pandit is considered the greatest Sanskritist of modern
India, and is an absolute enigma to everyone" (p. 15).

It is to be remarked that the Theosophical Society came
to India to study not to teach.

On the 16th February, 1879, Madame Blavatsky, Colonel
Olcott, and two other members of the Theosophical Society,
landed in Bombay, and repaired to the bungalow that had
been prepared for their reception.

" The first thing that we were struck with," says Madame
Blavatsky, " was the millions of crows and vultures. The
first are, so to speak, the county council of the town, whose
duty it is to clean the streets, and to kill one of them is not
only forbidden by the police, but would be very dangerous.
By killing one you would rouse the vengeance of every
Hindu."

Here is another passage : —

" When, some time ago, the wife of the Madras governor
thought of passing a law that should induce native women
to cover their breasts, the place was actually threatened
with a revolution. A kind of jacket is worn only by danc-
ing girls. The Government recognised that it would be
unreasonable to irritate women, who, very often, are more
dangerous than their husbands and brothers, and the custom,
based on the law of Manu, and sanctified by three thousand
years' observance, remained unchanged."

This fact must be new to most Anglo-Indians. The wives
of Madras governors do not generally think of passing
laws.

The Swami being at the other end of India, the "Ameri-
can Mission," as it was called, made tourist trips, escorted
by the natives.

" We were living in India, unlike English people, who are
only surrounded by India at a certain distance. We were

E

66 Madmne Blavatsky.

enabled to study her character and customs, her religion,
superstitions and rites, to learn her legends — in fact, live
among Hindus " (p. 13).

But this " study " was not without its difficulties. They
were invited to dine with a Hindu gentleman : —

"At last, having examined the family chapel, full of
idols, flowers, rich vases with burning incense, lamps hang-
ing from its ceiling, and aromatic herbs covering its floor,
we decided to get ready for dinner. We carefully washed
ourselves, but this was not enough, v/e were requested to
take off" our shoes. This was a somewhat disagreeable
surprise, but a real Brahmanical supper was worth the
trouble.

" However, a truly amazing surprise was still in store for
us.

" On entering the dining-room we stopped short at the
entrance — both our European companions were dressed, or
rather undressed, exactly like Hindus ! For the sake of
decency they kept on a kind of sleeveless knitted vest, but
they were barefooted, wore the snow-white Hindu clliutis
(sic) (a piece of muslin wrapped round to the waist and
forming a petticoat), and looked like something between
white Hindus and Constantinople gargons de hains. Both
were undescribably funny ; I never saw anything funnier.
To the great discomfiture of the men, and the scandal of the
grave ladies of the house, I could not restrain mj^self, but

burst out laughing. Miss X blushed violently and

followed my example " (p. 149).

"Having entered the 'refectory,' we immediately noticed
what were the Hindu precautions against their being pol-
luted by our presence. The stone floor of the hall was
divided into two equal parts. This division consisted of a
line traced in chalk, with Kabalistic signs at either end.
One part v^as destined for the host's party and the guests
belonging to the same caste, the other for ourselves. On
our side of the hall there was yet a third square to contain
Hindus of a diflerent caste. The furniture of the two
bigger squares was exactly similar" (p. 151).

" We all sat down, the Hindus calm and stately, as if pre-
paring for some mystic celebration, we ourselves feeling
awkward and uneasy, fearing to prove guilty of some un-

Arya Samaj. 67

pardonable blunder. An invisible choir of women's voices
chanted a monotonous hymn, celebrating the glory of the
gods. These were half-a-dozen nautch-girls from a neigh-
bouring pagoda. To this accompaniment we began satis-
fying our appetites. Thanks to the Babu's instructions, we
took great care to eat only with our right hands. This was
somewhat difficult, because we were hungry and hasty, but
quite necessary. Had we only so much as touched the rice
with our left hands whole hosts of Raksha.sas (demons)
would have been attracted to take part in the festivity that
very moment, which, of course, would send all the Hindus
out of the room. It is hardly necessary to say that there
were no traces of forks, knives, or spoons. That I might
run no risk of breaking the rule I put my left hand in my
pocket and held on to my pocket-handkerchief all the time
the dinner lasted " (p. 153).

" Thanks to this solemn silence, I was at libert}^ to notice
everything that was going on with great attention. Now
and again, whenever I caught sight of the colonel or Mr.

Y , I had all the difficulty in the world to preserve my

gravity. Fits of foolish laughter would take possession of
me when I observed them sitting erect with such comical
solemnity and working so awkwardlj^ with their elbows
and hands. The long beard of the one was white wdth
grains of rice, as if silvered with hoar-frost, the chin of the
other was yellow with liquid saffron. But unsatisfied
curiosity happily came to my rescue, and I went on watch-
ing the quaint proceedings of the Hindus.

"Each of them, having sat downwith his legstwisted under
him, poured some water with his left hand out of the jug
brought by the servant, first into his cup, then into the palm
of his right hand. Then he slowly and carefully sprinkled
the water round the dish with all kinds of dainties, which
stood by itself, and was destined, as we learned afterwards,
for the gods. During this procedure each Hindu repeated
a Vedic mantram. Filling his right hand with rice, he pro-
nounced a new series of couplets, then, having stored five
pinches of rice on the right side of his own plate, he once
more washed his hands to avert the evil eye, sprinkled
more water, and pouring a few drops of it into his right
palm, slowly drank it. After this he swallowed six pinches

68 Madame B lav at sky.

of rice, one after the other, murmuring prayers all the
while, and wetted both his e^^es with the middle finger of
his left hand. All this done, he finally hid his left hand
behind his back, and began eating with the right hand.
All this took only a few minutes, but was performed very
solemnly " (p. 154).

The costume of the European branch of Arya Samaj
seems to have excited attention at the railwa}^ stations dur-
ing their travels : —

" This evening we dined at the refreshment rooms of the
railway station. Our arrival caused an evident sensation.
Our party occupied the whole end of a table, at which were
dining many first-class passengers, who all stared at us with
undisguised astonishment. Europeans on an equal footing
with Hindus ! Hindus who condescended to dine with
Europeans ! These two were rare and wonderful sights
indeed. The subdued whispers grew into loud exclama-
tions. Two officers who happened to know the Thakur took
him aside, and having shaken hands with him, began a very
animated conversation, as if discussing some matter of busi-
ness ; but as we learned afterwards, they simply wanted to
gratify their curiosity about us.

" Here we learned, for the first time, that we were under
police supervision, the police being represented by an in-
dividual clad in a suit of white clothes, and possessing a
very fresh complexion, and a pair of long moustaches. He
was an agent of the secret police, and had followed us from
Bombay. On learning this flattering piece of news, the
colonel burst into a loud laugh ; which only made us still
more suspicious in the eyes of all these Anglo-Indians, en-
joying a quiet and dignified meal. As to me, I was very
disagreeably impressed by this bit of news, I must confess,
and wished this unpleasant dinner was over" (p. 311).

I purposely pass over this incident. Mr. Hodgson and
Professor Coues regard Madame Blavatsky as a Russian
agent who used her ''Theosophy" as a simple blind. This
seems to me going too far, but as to the general question
nothing but surmise is possible.

The union between the Theosophical Society and the
^rya Samaj did not last n^vj long. Colonel Olcott calls
the Indian teacher a "humbug." Mr. Coieman at the

Ayra Samaj. 69

Chicago Conference (Religio-Pliilosopliical Journal, Sept.
16tli, i893) announced that on his side, Dayananda Sarasvati
"denounced Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcotfc as
tricksters, saying that the phenomena produced by them
in India were due to mesmerism, pre-arrangement and
clever conjuring."

Professor Max MuUer gives one curious fact ("Biographi-
cal Essa^^s," p. 177). Dayananda Sarasvati once tried to find
the i^lahatmas in Upper India but failed. Madame Blavat-
sky took a hint. Her mind, as we have shov/n, was adapta-
tive rather than original. She took spiritualism from
Home, the Brothers of Luxor from Colonel Olcott, the notion
of controlling " Elementals " from Mr. Felt. And hearing
for the first time about these Mahatmas from Dayananda
Sarasvati she promptly assimilated them likewise.

CHAPTER YIII.

THE " PIONEER."

One more of Madame Blavatsky's projects seemed to have
failed. " Theosopliy " was to all appearances as dead as
the " Miracle Club." And yet it was on the eve of an as-
tounding success. The deliverer was at hand.

For at this time there was published at Allahabad a news-
paper called the Pioneer. It was the organ of the Bengal
Civil Service, and in point of fact the leading journal af
India. Its editor was Mr. Sinnett, a gentleman who had
dabbled a little in spiritualism. There was also living at
Allahabad a gentleman who had an appointment in the
Board of Revenue, N. W. Provinces. This was Mr. A. O.
Hume, son of the famous reformer, Joseph Hume. The theo-
sophists got into correspondence with the Pioneer, and in
due course Madame Blavatsky received an invitation to come
and stay with the Sinnetts.

Evidently they were a little astonished when she did
come, and a "rough old hippopotamus of a woman" waddled in,
wearing a red flannel dressing-gown, and smoking perpetual
cigarettes. Her tantrums at times were awful, " and if
anything annoyed her she would vent her impatience by
vehement tirade, directed in a loud voice against Col. Olcott."
Her language also at times was awful, including " words
that we should all have preferred her not to make use of."

"I will nob say," writes Mr. Sinnett, "that our new friends
made a favourable impression all round." But it was plain
to the lenient editor of the Pioneer that her disregard of
conventionalities was the result of a deliberate rebellion
against, not ignorance of, the customs of refined society.
Some folks took her up, and Mr. Hume presided at a theo-
sophical meeting and made a clever speech. This gentleman
was perhaps the most able of all the converts that theosophy
ever made. His abilities earned for him the distinguished

70

The '' Pioneer y yi

post of Secretary to the Government of India. It was ar-
ranp^etl at one time that he was to write "Esoteric Buddhism."
But he, by and by, o'ot disgusted with the obscurantism and
direct fraud conspicuous in the movement, and retired.
Says Mr. Coleman, in the article already cited : —

" Mr. Hume, in a letter in 1883 to Madame Blavatsky, the
original of which is in my possession, told her that be knew
she wrote all the Morya letters, and some, at least, of these
signed ' K. H.' "

Mr. Sinnetb alludes to this visit in his " Occult World ' :
"It lias been through my connection with the Theosophical
Societ}^ and my acquaintance with Madame Blavatsky that
I have obtained experiences in connection with occultism,
which have prompted me to undei'take my present task.
The first problem I had to solve was whether Madame
Biavatsk}^ i-eally did, as I heard, possess the power of pro-
ducing abnormal phenomena. And it may be imagined
that, on the assumption of the reality of her phenomena,
nothing would have been simpler than to obtain such satis-
faction wlien once I had formed her acquaintance. It is,
however, an illustration of the embarrassments which sur-
round all inquiries of this nature — embarrassments with
which so many people grow impatient, to the end that they
cast inquiry altogether aside and remain wholly ignorant of
tlie truth for the rest of their lives — that although on the
first occasion of my making Madame Blavatsky 's acquaint-
ance she became a guest at my house at Allahabad, and
remained there for six weeks, the harvest of satisfaction I
was enabled to obtain during this time was exceedingly
small. Of course I heard a great deal from her during the
time mentioned about occultism and the Brothers, but
while she was most anxiour, that I should understand the
situation thoroughly, and I was most anxious to get at the
truth, the difficulties to be overcome were almost insuper-
able, For the Brothers, as already described, have an
unconquerable objection to showing off. That the person
who wishes them to show off is an earnest seeker of truth,
and not governed by mere idle curiosity, is nothing to the
purpose. They do not want to attract candidates for
initiation by an exhibition of wonders. Wonders have a
very spirit-stirring effect on the history of every religion

72 Madame Blavatsky.

founded on miracles, bat occultism is not a pursuit which
people can safely take up in obedience to the impulse of
enthusiasm created by witnessing a display cf extraordinary
power. There is no absolute rule to forbid the exhibition
of powers in presence of the outsider ; but it is clearly dis-
approved of by the higher authorities of occultism on
principle, and it is practically impossible for less exalted
proficients to go against this disapproval. It was only the
very slightest of all imaginable phenomena that, during her
first visit to my house, Madame Blavatsky was thus per-
mitted to exhibit freely. She was allowed to show that
' raps ' like those which spiritualists attribute to spirit
agency could be produced at will. This was something,
and faide de mieux we paid great attention to raps."

As Madame Blavatsky was an " Adept," according to Mr.
Sinnett, these " raps " were certainly disappointing. They
often come after a day or two to the merest tyro in table-
turning.

But greater marvels are preparing, for Madame Blavatsky
has been joined by her old friend Madame Coulomb. We
will let that lady tell her story. She wrote to Madame
Blavatsky from Ceylon and got an answer : —

" Madame Blavatsky said that she lived in Odessa one
year, and thence went to India, where she remained for
over eight months, then returning by Odessa to Europe,
went to Paris, and from there proceeded to America. ' My
lodge in India,' she says, ' of which I may have spoken to
you, had decided that, as the society established by myself
and old Sebire was a failure, I had to go to America and
establish one on a larger scale.' (I know nothing about
her lodge in India ; nor did she ever mention it to me ; all
I can affirm is that the society she tried to establish in
Egypt was nothing else but a spiritualistic society.) ' This,
as you see, is far from being a failure.' She concludes her
letter with speaking of her ' Isis Unveiled ' and the society
she had founded, and of its progress, giving the names of
some of the members of it, such as Mr. Wyld, Mr. Crookes,
Mr. Wallace, and other Eellows of the Royal Societ}^, who
had joined it, and of Mr. Herbert Spencer and Mr. Varley,
who, she says, had applied also. This was all very fine, but
did not open my way to get out of trouble. So, some time

The '' Pioneer r 73

after, I wrote to lier again, and explained to her clearly our
situation, and asked her to send us some money. To this
letter she answered as follows : That she was as poor as a
cluirch rat, and had incurred many expenses in travelling,
building a library, and starting a journal, etc., etc. She
goes on to say that the whole of her income from a sum of
money (or rather the remainder of it) left to her by lier
father gives her something not exceeding 100 rupees a month,
and that with the exception of President Olcott, ' who could
be rich, if he is not,' none of them are overflowing with
money. 'Knowing this we joined,' she says, 'our capital
together, and placing it in New York in a secure house, de-
rive from it each of us about 100 rupees monthly. This
belongs to the community, money which none of us can
touch, for it is for the expenses of the house, and it is not
much, I can assure you.' Then she goes on to say that her
name as conducting the paper appears, to be sure ! ' but it
is only a figure-head, as I am so well known in Europe and
America ; but the property is not mine, nor the control. I
sincerely think that it will be to your advantage in more ways
than one to identify yourselves as fellows. Now it so happens
that President Olcott, Vvho is the best of men, is a fanatic
in matters upon the Theosophical Society. He will take
off his skin for a fellow, but do nothing for an outsider.'

" Having thus been invited to join the society, and hoping
by this means to be able to settle down and get a quiet
living, I immediately set to work to raise the money neces-
sary for our journey from Galle (Ceylon) to Bombay. This
took a very long time, and we were not able to leave before
the 24th March, 1880, arriving at Bombay by a P. and O.
steamer on the 28th of the same month, that is, after four
days' sail. In the evening, as soon as we ariived, we landed,
and, after having taken a room and our dinner in the hotel,
we drove in a tram-cart up to the terminus of Girgaum,
where we asked a gentleman who was in the same cart with
us to show us the way to Girgaum Back Road, to the head-
quarters of the Theosophical Society. He did so, and we
went. As soon as Madame Blavatsky saw nie she gave a
loud cry of joy, and instantly asked us to take up our abode
at the headquarters. I need not here say how this offer
consoled my afflicted heart. I really thanked Providence

74 Madame B lav at sky.

for having given me the opportunity of doing her some good
when in Egypt, which caused me to form an acquaintance
which now was so useful to me. That evening we slept at
the hotel, and the next day at noon we moved into the
headquarters of the Theosophical Society, The first few
days we were very happy indeed ; the company was very
agreeable, and we thought ourselves in heaven. On the 5th
of April of the same year, that is, seven days after our
arrival at the headquarters, Colonel Olcott came into my
room and asked me if I Vvould undertake to direct the
domestic affairs, as the lady who looked after them did not
wish to do so any more, I accepted with great pleasure
this charge, as it gave me the chance of making myself use-
ful. We had already been initiated and had joined the
society. The pleasure we had of being in company with a
person whom we had known in better days, the gentlemanly
and kind behaviour of Colonel Olcott towards us, made us
really desirous to do all that lay in our power to show our
gratitude and contentment. There was not a thing that we
were asked to do that we did not do with the greatest
pleasure.

" Madame Blavatsky, seeing our earnest desire to please
her in everything, one evening, taking hold of m}^ arm and
walking up and down in the library compound, all of a
sudden said : ' Look here, run and tell the colonel that you
have seen a figure in the garden.' — ' Where is the figure ? "
I asked. ' Never mind,' she said, ' run and tell him so ; we
shall have some fun.' Thinking this to be a joke, I ran to
him and told him. As the colonel came up madame began
to laugh, saying : ' See, she has been afraid of an appari-
tion,' and so they both went on laughing, and going up to
the other bungalow, related the story to the rest of the
people who were there. I must conscientiously say that I
did not know what they meant by this joke. A little later
on, one day she asked me to embroider some names on some
handkerchiefs. I embroidered three names. One handker-
chief had the name of H. P. Blavatsky, the second Wijerat-
nee, and the third Dies ; in this last I made a mistake ;
instead of Dias, the real way of spelling, I put Dies ; at this
madame said, ' It is all the better.' These names were
worked in silk of several colours, red, yellow, blue, etc.

The "- Pioiieer'' 75

Perhaps Mr. Dias, Inspector of Police, and Mr. Wijeratnee,
Deputy Coroner, both of Galle (Ceylon), whom \ know well,
could say whether it is true or not that they received through
Madame Blavatsky these handerchiefs in an occult manner.
On anotlier occasion, after we removed from the room we
occupied in the library compound to a room above Colonel
Olcott's bedroom, Madame Blavatsky came upstairs and
asked me to try and make a hole, pointing to the pkce
where it was to bo made. From this hole, by stretching
the arm full length into it, one could touch the ceiling
cloth of Colonel Olcott's office, which was adjoining to his
bedroom. She gave me an envelope containing a portrait.
I made a slit inthe ceiling cloth with a penknife and after-
wards slipped it through.

" Here I report the phenomenon as described by Colonel
Olcott in ' Hints on Esoteric Theosophy,' No. 1, second
edition, page 83, which runs as follows : —

"'I had still another picture, that remarkable portrait of
a Yogi about which so much was said in the papers. It,
too, disappeared in New York, but one evening tumbled
down through the air before our very eyes, as H. P. B.,
Damodar and I were conversing in my office at Bombay
with (if I remember aright) the Dewan Sankariah of
Cochin.'

" As Colonel Olcott mentions this gentleman, here I must
say that a little later on, a visiting card of Madame Blavat-
sky was sent through the same hole and in the same occult
maimer as the portrait ; as will be seen by referring to page
107 of the above-mentioned book.

" My readers will think that I did not show much grati-
tude to the colonel for his kindness to me by helping madame
to perform such tricks and thus impose on his bona fides.
In order to justify my apparent bad behaviour, I must say
that madame had told me that she did all these things to
divert the colonel's mind from certain painful occurrences
that he had experienced while in America, and that if she
had not got over him by these means he certainly would
have destroyed himself, and also she added that she had
prevented him from doing so by climbing through a window
into his room when she found him with a revolver in his
hands, ready to commit suicide."

76 Madame B lav at sky.

"About the beginning of September, 1880," says Mr.
Sinnett, " Madame Blavatsky came to Simla as our guest,
and in the course of the following six weeks various pheno-
mena occurred which became the talk of all Anglo-India for
a time."

Here is one of them : —

" On Sunday, the Srd of October, at Mr. Hume's house at
Simla, there wxre present at dinner T'lr. and Mrs. Hume, Mr.
and Mrs. Sinnett, Mrs. Gordon, Mr. F. Hogg, Captain P. J.
Mai tl and, Mr. Beatson, Mr. Davidson, Colonel Olcott, and
Madame Blavatsky. I\lost of the persons present having
recently seen many remarkable occurrences in Madame
Blavatsky 's presence, conversation turned on occult pheno-
mena, and in the course of this Madame Blava^tsky asked
Mrs. Hume if there was anything she particularly wished
for ; Mrs. Hume at first hesitated, but in a short time said
that there was something she would particularly like to
have brought to her, namely, a small article of jewellery
that she had formerly possessed, but had given away to a
person who had allowed it to pass out of her possession.
Madame Blavatsky then said if she would fix the image
of the article in question very definitely in her mind,
she, Madame Blavatsky, would endeavour to procure
it. Mrs. Hume then said that she vividly remembered
the article, and described it as an old-fashioned breast-
brooch set round with pearls, with glass at the front,
and the back made to contain hair. She then, on being
asked, drew a rough sketch of the brooch. Madame Bla-
vatsky then wrapped up a coin attached to her watch-
chain in two cigarette-papers, and put it in her dress,
and said that she hoped the brooch might be obtained in
the course of the evening. At the close of dinner she said
to Mr. Hume that the paper in which the coin had been
wrapped was gone. A little later in the drawing-room she
said that the brooch would not be brought into the house,
but that it must be looked for in the garden ; and then, as
the party went out, accompanying her, she said she had
clairvoyantly seen the brooch fall into a star-shaped bed of
flowers. Mr. Hume led the way to such a bed in a distant
part of the garden. A prolonged and careful search was
made with lanterns,, and eventually a small paper packet,

The ' ' Pioneer. " "]"]

consisting o£ two cigarette-papers, was found amongst the
leaves by Mrs. Sinnctt. This being opened on the spot was
found to contain a brooch exactly corresponding to the pre-
vious description, and which Mrs. Hume identified as that
which she had originally lost. None of the party, except
Mr. and Mrs. Hume had ever seen or heard of the brooch.
Mr. Hume had not thought of it for years. Mrs. Hume had
never spoken of it to any one since she parted with it, nor
had she for long even thought of it. She herself stated,
after it was found, that it was only when Madame asked
her whether there was anytliing she would like to have,
that the remembrance of this brooch, the gift of her mother,
flashed across her mind.

" Mrs. Hume is not a spiritualist, and up to the time of the
occurrence described was no believer either in occult pheno-
mena or in Madame Blavatsky's powers. The conviction of
all present was that the occurrence was of an absolutely
unimpeachable character as an evidence of the truth of tlie
possibility of occult phenomena. The brooch is unquestion-
ably the one which Mrs. Hume lost. Even supposing, which
is practically impossible, that the article, lost months before
Mrs. Hume ever heard of Madame Blavatsky, and bearing
no letters or other indication of original ownership, could
have passed in a natural v/ay into Madame Blavatsky's
possession, even then she could not possibly have foreseen
that it would be asked for, as Mrs. Hume lierself had not
given it a tliought for months.''

This narrative, read over to the party, is signed by —

A. 0. Hume. Alice Gordon.

M. A. Hume. P. G. Maitland.

Fred Hogg. Wm. Davidson.

A. P. Sinnett. Stuart Beatson.
Patience Sinnett.

In Mr. Hodgson's Report (vol. iii., " Proceedings of the
Society for Psychical Research," p. 267) we learn that Mr.
Hume is now convinced that this phenomenon was due to
mental suggestion and cheating. The brooch was amongst
some presents of jewellery, some of which are admitted by
Colonel Olcott to have passed through his hands. Mr.
Hormusji, a jeweller, deposes that he received, from the

yS Madame Blavatsky.

hands of Madame Blavatsky, a brooch very like this brooch
for repairs. The first recipient of the brouch was encamped
in the compound of Madame Blavatsky's bungalow for some
weeks before he left for England.

I will give two other marvels. Tliey are cited with
comments from Madame Coulomb in " My Intercourse with
Madame Blavatsky " (p. 25>

" Let me begin by an insignificant phenomenon, the first
of the three mentioned in the article. Here is what the
Pioneer says concerning it : —

" ' About ten days or a fortnight ago my wife accompanied
our theosophists one afternoon to the top of Prospect Hill.
When there, Madame Blavatsky asked her in a joking way
what was her heart's desire. She said at random, and on
the spur of the moment, " to get a note from one of the
'Brothers.'" "The Brothers," I should explain, are the
superior adepts. Madame Blavatsk}^ took from her pocket
a piece of blank pink paper that had been torn off a note
she had received that day. Folding this up into a small
compass, she took it to the edge of the hill, held it up for a
moment or two between her hands, and returned, saying
that it had gone. She presently, after communicating
mentally by her own occult methods with the distant
" Brother," said he asked where my wife would have the
letter. After some conversation it was decided that she
should search for the note in a particular tree. Getting up
a little way into this, she looked all about for a time and
could not find any note, but presently, turning back her face
to a branch right before her, at which she had looked a few
moments before, she perceived a pink three-cornered note
stuck on a stalk of a leaf where no such note had previously
been. The leaf, that must have belonged to the stalk, must
have been freshly torn oft', because the stalk was still green
and moist — not v/ithered, as it would naturally have become
if its leaf had been removed for any length of time. The
note was found to contain these few words : " I have been
asked to have a note here for you. What can I do for you ? "
signed by some Tibetan cliaracters. Neither Madame
Blavatsky nor Colonel Olcott had approached during my
wife's search for the note. The pink paper, on which it
was written, appeared to be the same that ray wife had

The ^'' Pioneer r 79

seen, blank, in Madame Blavatsky's hand shortly be-
fore.'

" I shall not review this," says Madame Coulomb, " but
will only say how I would perform this phenomenon if I had
the misfortune of having to entertain the public by these
tricks for the sake of obtaining fame and renown. First of
all, it would be necessary that I should have under my
orders a faithful person (even a servant properly trained
would do) ; when this was secured, I would proceed to take
a bit of pink paper from the store of tlie many coloured
papers I have, and would write my note upon it as follows :
' I have been asked to have a note here for you. What can
I do for you ? ' This done, I would give it to my servant,
telling him to be attentive to what particular tree they
wished the note to be placed ; and giving him all instructions
beforehand, I would accompany the party to the top of a
hill. When there, I v/ould play the comedy of drawing the
conversation to the point by asking what was the lady's
heart's desire, and on receiving the answer, I would take
out of my pocket a piece of paper of the exact quality, size,
and colour of the one on which the note was written. 1
would fold it up in a small compass, as the other was folded,
and in order to give the thing an occult appearance, I wouLl
go to the edge of the bill, showing mental communication
with the Brothers. This is the way in which I would do it,
but I am no adept.

" It is not surprising that Mrs. Sinnett did not find the
note on first inspecting the tree; the leaves might have
covered the small -sized note, and on her turning back she
may have perceived it ; but this does not make the
phenomenon real, and indeed I think Mr, Sinnett himself
was not quite sure that the paper was the same, because at
the end of this narrative we find these words : ' The pink
paper on which it was written appeared to be the same.'

" Now let me tell you about the second phenomenon,
known under the name of the cup phenomenon. This, I
am glad to say, is already explained in the article, and in
order that my readers may understand it I shall have to
report the whole of the proceedings as given in the same
issue of the Pioneer.

" ' A few days after this, Madame Blavatsky accompanied

8o Madame Blavatsky.

a few friends one morning on a little pic-nic in the direc-
tion of the waterfalls. There were originally to have been
six persons present, incUiding mj^self, but a seventh joined
the party just as it was starting. When a place had been
chosen in the wood near the upper v/aterfall for the break-
fast, the things brought were spread oat on the ground. It
turned out that there were only six cups and saucers for
seven people. Through some joking about this deficiency,
or through someone professing to be very thirsty, and to
think the cups would be too small — I cannot feel sure how
the idea arose, but it does not matter— one of the party
laughingly asked Madame Blavatsky to create another cup.
There was no serious idea in the proposal at first, but when
Madame Blavatsky said it would be very difficult, but that,
if we liked, she would try, the notion was taken up in
earnest, Madame Blavatsky, as usual, held mental con-
versation with " the Brother," and then wandered a little
about in the immediate neighbourhood of where we were
sitting, and asked one of the gentlemen with us to bring a
knife. She marked a spot on the ground, and asked him
to dig with the knife. Tlie place so chosen was the edge of
a little slope covered with thick weeds and grass, and
shrubby undergrowth. The gentleman with the knife tore
up these in the first instance with some difficulty, as their
roots were tough and closely interlaced. Cutting, then,
into the matted roots and earth with the knife, and pulling
away the debris with his hand, he came at last on the edge
of something white, which turned out, as it was completely
excavated, to be the required cup. The saucer was also
found after a little more digging. The cup and saucer both
corresponded exactly, as regards their pattern, with those
that bad been brought to the pic-nic, and constituted a
seventh cup and saucer when brought back to the place
where we were to have breakfast. At first all the party
appeared to be entirely satisfied with the bona fides of this
phenomenon, and were greatly struck by it ; but in the
course of the morning someone conceived that it was not
scientifically perfect, because it was theoretically possible
that by means of some excavation below the place where
the cups and saucers were exhumed, the}^ might have been
thrust up into the place where we found them by ordinary

The ^'Pioneer'' 8i

means. Everyone knew that the surface of the ground
where we dug had certainly not been disturbed, nor were
any signs of excavation discoverable anywhere in the
neighbourhood ; but it was contended that the earth we
had ourselves thrown about in digging for the cup might
have obliterated the traces of these. I mention the objec-
tion raised, not because it is otherwise than preposterous
as an hypothesis, but because three of the persons wdio were
at the pic-nic have since considered that the flaw described
spoilt the phenomenon as a test phenomenon.' "

Now for Madame Coulomb.

" As I said, the explanation was already given. I must
here draw your attention to the wording of this paragraph.
'At lirst all the party appeared to be entirely satisfied with
the bona fides of this phenomenon, and were greatly struck
by it ; but in the course of the morning someone conceived
that it was not scientifically perfect, because it was theoreti-
cally possible that by means of some excavation below the
'place luhere the cup and saucer were exhumed, they might
have been thrust up into the place where we found them by
ordinary means,' etc.

" The opinion of these gentlemen with regard to the possi-
bility of the cup and saucer being thrust up into the hole
made for the purpose is perfectly correct, because this is
exactly the way in which he who put the cup and the
saucer there explained it to me''

Madame Coulomb alludes to a boy named Baboula, who
had been the confederate of a professional conjurer before
he entered the Russian lady's service.

Here is another marvel recorded by Mr. Sinnett : —

" We were bound on another pic-nic to the top of Pro-
spect Hill. Just before starting, I received a short note
from my correspondent. It told me that something would
be given to my wife on the hill as a sign from him. While
we were having our lunch, Madame Blavatsky said the
Brother directed her to ask what was the most unlikely
place we could think of in which we would like to find a
note from him, and the object which he proposed to send
us. After a little talk on the subject, I and my wife
selected the inside of her jampan cushion, against which
she was then leaning. This is a strong cushion of velvet

F

82 Madame Blavatsky.

and worsted ^YO^k that we have had some years. We were
shortly told that the cushion would do. My wife was
directed to put it under her rug for a little wdiile. This
she did inside her jampan for perhaps half a minute, and
then we w^ere directed to cut the cushion open. This we
found a task of some difficulty, as the edges were all very
tightly sewn ; but a penknife conquered them in a little
while. I should add that while I was ripping at the
cushion Madame Blavatsky said there was no hurry, that
the letter w^as only then being written and was not quite
finished. When "we got the velvet and the worsted-work
cover cut open, we found the inner cushion containing the
feathers sewn up in a case of its own. This, in turn, had to
be cut open ; and then, buried in the feathers, my wife found
a note addressed to me and a brooch — an old familiar brooch,
which she had had for many years, and which, she tells
me, she remembers having picked up off her dressing-table
that morning wdiile getting ready to go out, though she
afterwards put it do\vn again, and chose another instead.
The note to me ran as follows : — ' My dear Brother, — This
brooch, No. 2, is placed in the very strange place, simply to
show to you how very easily a real phenomenon is pro-
duced, and how still easier it is to suspect its genuineness.
Make of it what you like, even to classing me with con-
federates. The difficulty you spoke of last night with
respect to the interchange of our letters, I will try to
remove .... An address wall be sent to you, which you
can always use — unless, indeed, you really would prefer
corresponding through pillows. Please to remark that the
present is not dated from a * Lodge,' but from a Kashmir
Valley.' The allusions in this note have reference to various
remarks I made in the course of conversation during dinner
the preceding evening.

" Madame Blavatsky, you wall observe, claims no more in
connection wath this phenomenon than having been the
occult messenger between ourselves and the Brother in
Kashmir, w^ho, you will observe, appears to have w^ritten
the letter in Kashmir within a few moments of the time at
which w^e found it inside our cushion. That persons hav-
ing these extraordinary powers could produce even more
sensational effects if they chose, you will naturally argue.

The ''Pioneer:' '^i

Why, then, play tricks which, however conclusive for the
one or two people who may define their conditions, can
hardly be so re^i^arded by others, while the public generally
will be apt to suppose the persons who relate them liars or
lunatics, rather than believe that anything can take place
in nature except with the permission and approval of the
Iioyal Society ? Well, I think I perceive some of the
reasons why they refrain, but these would take too long to
toll. Still longer would it take to answer by serious argu-
ment the nonsense which the publication of the brooch
incident No. 1 has evoked all over India."

"I have reported this supposed phenomenon," saj's Madame
Coulomb, " in order that my readers may judge for them-
selves ; as for me, I see no science in it. All I find is the
theoretical possibility of some one sewing it in the cushion
beforehand. I do not agree with the opinion of the writer
of this article as to the distance of the Brother — viz.^ Kash-
mir; I think the Brother, through whom Madame Blavatsky
performed the phenomenon, must have been quite close by."

One point has not been noticed either by Madame Cou-
lomb or Mr. Hodgson, and that is that Madame Blavatsky
had again made a change of front. Inspired by Colonel
Olcott, as we have seen, she announced that all her miracles
were due to the Brothers of Luxor. Then seduced by the
fascinating theories of Mr. Felt, she proclaimed that all
these miracles were performed by the dog-headed and
hawk-headed architects of the universe, the mighty " Ele-
mentals," whom by proper incantations she could bend to
her will. One of these statements might be true, but not
both. How was it that Madame Blavatsky now returned
to the theories of Colonel Olcott ?

This I believe to be the solution : —

Madame Coulomb asserts that at starting Madame Bla-
vatsky, far from being flush of cash, as Mr. Sinnett always
describes her to be, was badly off when she came to India.
In a letter quoted she says she is as " poor as a church rat,"
her sole income being derived from the remainder of a sum of
money left to her by her father. She states further that she
and Colonel Olcott "joined our capital together, and placing it
in New York in a secure house, derive from it each of us about
100 Rs. monthly " (£6 10s. now, but more at that date).

84 Madame Blavatsky.

Madame Coulomb shows that from the first the great
Theosophical Society had to pinch. The cost of printing
its organ, the Theosophist, pressed upon it ; and it soon had
a largish staff of dupes and confederates all of whom had
to be fed and lodged, and it was found that the Rajahs and
wealthy natives were very tepid about " Buddhism," though
a Rajah in India has spent as much as ten thousand pounds
in presents to the Brahmins during a holy pilgrimage to
cure a crooked joint in his son, or an abscess in the liver of
his favourite wife. And even with the aid of the mighty
dog-headed architects of the universe the Russian lady
found it difficult to compete with the Indian performers of
basket and mango tricks. Thus, the theory of Colonel
Olcott was re-gilt and re-christened, and the Mahatmas
emerged from the Brothers of Luxor. Tlie atheism was,
perhaps, also a necessity, for the gods of Baal had to be
taken away from the priests of Baal.

An adventure with the Rajah of Wudhwan throws a
light on all this: — "We arrived safe at Wudhwan," says
Madame Coulomb, " and found His Highness the Rajah,
escorted by his bodyguard, at the station. He gave Madame
a very cordial welcome ; and, indeed, he was very kind to
us all — I mean Dr. Hartmann, Mr. Mohini, and myself.
We drove to a palace, which had been fitted up and decor-
ated for the occasion. I must say that His Highness w^as
really liberal ; he gave orders that we should be provided
with everything we might require, and indeed we had more
than we wanted. Many details of this visit, which would
not interest the public, I shall not describe. But what I
must not omit is the phenomenon performed on this occa-
sion. His Highness received a small note, which was found
inside a miniature metal needle (Cleopatra's needle), which
stood on a corner shelf ; this note contained half a silver
coin in the shape of a crescent. This phenomenon was
very simple indeed. Madame wrote a note, wa^apped the
silver coin in it, and put the small packet inside the needle,
which was hollow, and then set tbe needle again in its
place. When His Highness came, we all sat in the room,
and Madame Blavatsky began, as usual, to say that she felt
that the Brother was near, and finally assured the company
that she could see a paper flutter in the space. 'Oh, there,

The '-' Pioneery 85

there ! I am sure it is on that corner-shelf.' She got up
and looked on it, opened every box that was on it, and
finally came back to her seat, pretending that she did not
know in which of these objects that were on the what-not
the desired message could be. A gentleman of the company
rose, went to the corner, and said, ' I think I know where
it can be.' So saying, he took the needle in his hand, and
gave it to niadame, who passed it on to His Highness, who
looked inside it, but could not find the slip of paper.
'Break it! break it ! Never mind we can find another,'
said the gentleman to Madame Blavatsky, who now had it
in her hands; she broke the top of it, and drew out the
note. She was obliged to do so, because she had introduced
it through the pedestal up to the narrow part of the needle
so tightly that, even by knocking it, it could not slip down.

" I am happy to say that news came that His Highness
had not lent laith to the occurrence above described. I say
happy, because this shows me that he is a man of sense.
But whether this information was the direct cause of
madame's change of temper, or something else, I cannot say;
but what is certain, she did change, and began soliloquising
as follows : — ' What did he want me here for ? I shall go
away to Bombay to-morrow. Here is a lot of money gone
for nothing. I shall not have enough to go to Europe.'
And so she went on for a long time ; at last, after this storm
came a calm ; slie, breaking into one of those ch.arming
moods, which oblige one to do anything for her, said, ' Try,
my dear, and speak with Mr, Unwala, and tell him that you
know that I have not enough moneys to go to Europe, and
ask him if he can get me 1,000 Rs. from His Highness.' I
did as I was told, and Mr. Unwala obtained 500 Rs. ; this
money His Highness gave himself to madame through the
carriage-window as the train was leaving for Varel, where
we were going on a visit to Mr. Hurrisinjee Rupsinjee."

It is plain here that Madame Blavatsky, sans mecaniqiie,
found herself unable to compete in Hindoo estimation with
the Indian jugglers. She had another disappointment with
the celebrated Holkar.

" PooNA, Mercredi.

" Ma ch^re Marquise,— Holkar— fiasco. Tant mieux, il
m' envoie 200 rupees pour mes depenses ; aura eu peur do
(][uel(jue sacie official bigot. Damn hini,"

S6 Madame Blavatsky,

Here is another letter : —

*' Now dear, let us change the programme. Whether some-
tiling succeeds or not, I must try. Jacob Sassoon, the
happy proprietor of a crore of rupees, with whose family I
dined last night, is anxious to become a Theosophist. He is
ready to give 10,000 rupees, to buy and repair the head-
quarters, he said to Colonel (Ezekiel, his cousin, arranged all
this), if only he sa\v a little phenomenon, got the assurance
that the Mahatmas could hear what was said, or gave him
some other sign of their existence (? !!). Well, this letter
will reach you the 26th (Friday) ; will you go up to the
shrine and ask K. H. to send me a telegram that would
reach me about four or five in the afternoon, same day,
worded thus : —

" ' Your conversation with Mr. Jacob Sassoon reached
Master just now. Were the latter even to satisfy him, still
the doubter would hardly find the moral courage to connect
himself with the society. Ramalinga Deb.'

" If this reaches me on the 2Gth, even in the evening, it
will still produce a tremendous impression. Address, care
of N. Kandalawala, Judge, PooNA. Je ferai le eeste.
Cela coutera quatre ou cinq roupies. Cela ne fait rien.

" H. P. B."

" K. H." is of course Koot Hoomi, and Ramalinga Deb
another Mahatma. We have anticipated a bit to show why
Mahatmas were necessary.

We continue the narrative of Madame Coulomb : —
'' While the elite of the society at Simla was thus amused,
orders from there were sent to headquarters that a new
bungalow should be chosen. The orders were, of course,
given by letter. Here is the letter written by madame to
me : —

" ' Ma chere Mad. Coulomb, " ' My dear Mad. Coulomb,

"' Je vous prie de veiller a " ' I beg you to take care of

tout dans notre demenage- everything in the removal,

ment, Choisissez bien la Choose a good house. Let it

maison. Qu'elle soit utile; he useful Let your room be

que la vostra camera si trova above that of a certain Mr.

sopra la testa d'un certo President. — "Edaltraroba."

Sisrnore Pres, a — altra roba.' You know the rest,'

The '' Pioneerr 87

"I am obliged to mention these seeming trifles, because
later on in my story they will be very important. After a
great deal of trouble, we finally found a nice bungalow on
the range of hills called Cumballah. The bungalow is
known under the name of Crow's Nest. We removed into
it in Madame Blavatsky's absence, and when she came back
she said that it was quite to her taste, and considered it
very well adapted for the performing of phenomena.

" For a few months from this time w^e were engaged in
getting the house ready, and here I can say for the truth
that we worked incessantly, and very often we used to go
to bed so tired that we could not sleep. But this, although
considered necessary and right, yet it did not fully satisfy
madame's theosopbical object ; she wanted work of another
kind, but did not dare to express her wish in so many words.
So she used to get cross, despise everything, and hate every-
body ; and as we could not understand what she really
wanted, she vented her rage on us by forbidding that a
sufficient quantity of bread should be brought into the
house, saying that if we wanted more we were to buy it
with our own money — and this, after we had worked like
slaves for her !

" Sometimes when awake in bed, I used to torture my
brain to find out what I could do to please her — for, bad as
the place was, yet it was better than none; and although she
was unjust, yet at times she used to have a good fit for two
or three days, at which times she was more tractable, which
made up for the past, and we pushed on. In one of these
good moods she called me up and told me : ' See if you can
make a head of human size and place it on that divan,'
pointing to a sofa in her room, * and merely put a sheet
round it ; it would have a magic eftect by moonlight.'
What can this mean ? I wondered. But knowing how dis-
agreeable she could make herself if she was stroked on the
wrong side, I complied with her wish. She cut a paper
pattern of the face I was to make, which I still have ; on
this I cut the precious lineaments of the beloved Master, but,
to my shame, I must say that, after all my trouble of cut-
ting, sewing, and staffing, madame said that it looked like
an old Jew — I suppose she meant Shylock. Madame, with
a graceful touch here and there of her painting brush, gave

Madame B lav at sky.

it a little better appearance. But this was only a head,
without bust, and could not very well be used, so I made a
jacket, which I doubled, and between the two cloths I
placed stuffing, to form the shoulders and chest; the arms
were only to the elbow, because, when the thing was tried
on, we found the long arm would be in the way of him who
had to carry it. This beauty finished, made madame quite
another person. Now the philosopher's stone was found !
Let us see what I can do with it, thought I to myself, and,
if it is only this she wants, and this is to assure us a home,
she shall certainly have as many as she likes.

" However, this was not all. A trap was the next thing
madame desired to have ; it was made, fixed, and ready for
use. Oh ! a trap this time, what can she mean ? This is
no saloon trick ! And the glove business in Cairo came
vividly to my mind again. Can this be a new attempt at
spiritualism ? Let us watch and see what it is before wo
speak ; with this decision I went on. To this I must add
that my thorough ignorance in everything of this kind
kept back every conclusion I might have arrived at. And
again my curiosity was excited ; I wanted to know, to
learn, to understand. I learned and vinderstood more than
I cared fox-.

"Now let us see for what purpose trap and doll had been
made. The arrival of Mr. A. P. Sinnett, ex-editor of the
Pioneer, at the headquarters of the Theosophical Societ}^
made the trap very useful, and it was instrumental in aid-
ing to spread the theosophical fame in Bombay. This
occurrence I report here from the Theosopliist for August,
1881 (see supplement:) —

" ' Mr. Sinnett was then requested by some of the fellows
present to give the society some particulars about his new
book — '' The Occult World," which many of the Mofussil
members would not perhaps have a chance to read. To this
he ansv/ered that it would take a long time to recapitulate
the contents of the book ; but he v/ould explain how he
was led into writing it, and gave a general idea of its
purport. He then gave an account of the manner in which
his correspondence with one of the Brothers of the First
Section sprang up, how it grew and developed, and how he
was at last struck with the idea of publishing extracts from

The ''Pioneer. 89

liis correspondent's letters for the benefit of the world at
lari^e. He also stated his reasons for affirming most 'posi-
tively tliat these letters were written by a person quite
different from Madame Blavatsky — a foolish suspicion
entertained by some sceptics. It was 2')]iysically impos-
sible, he said, that this could be the case ; and there were
other valid reasons for asserting that not only was she not
their author, but even most of the time knew nothing of the
contents. Foremost among these stood the fact that their
style was absolutely different from that in wliich Madame
Blavatsky wrote, and for anyone who could appreciate the
niceties of literary style, there is as much individuality in
style as in handwriting. Apart from this consideration,
however, Mr. Sinnett drew attention to some incidents
more fully described in the book itself, wliich showed that
a telegram for him was handed into the telegraph office at
Jhelum for transmission to him at Allahabad, in the hand-
writing of tlie celebrated letters. This telegram was an
answer to a letter from him to the " Brother," which he had
enclosed to Madame Biavatsky, then at Amritsur. It was
despatched within an hour or two of the time at which the
letter was delivered at Amritsur (as the post-mark on the
envelope, which was afterwards returned to him, conclu-
sively showed). A complete chain of proof was thus
afforded to show that the handwriting in which all the
Brother's letters were written was certainly the production
of some person who ivas not Madame Blavatsky. He went
on to explain that a final and absolutely convincing proof,
not only of the fact that the letters were the work of a
person other than Madame Blavatsky, but also of the
wonderful control of generally unknown natural laws
which that person exercised, had been afforded to him on
the very morning of the day in which he was speaking.
He had been expecting a reply to a recent letter to his
illustrious friend Koot Hoomi, and after breakfast, while
he was sitting at a table in the full light of day, the ex-
pected answer was suddenly dropped, out of nothing, on the
table before him. He explained all the circumstances
under which this had occurred, circumstances wliich not
only precluded the idea that Madame Blavatsky — and no
other person was present in the flesh at the time — could

90 Madame Blavatsky,

have been instrumental in causing the letter to appear, but
made the mere liypothesis of any fraud in the matter con-
temptibly absurd.

" ' Mr. Sinnett then concluded by saying that he would
leave further proofs to those who would read his book.' "

Now for Mr. Sinnett's critic : —

" This phenomenon is so much more important because,
according to Mr. Sinnett's declaration, it leaves no room for
doubt, and because lie does not admit the possibility of anj^-
one but his illustrious friend having written the said letter.
To this I shall say for the truth that Madame Blavatsky
wrote before me the latter part of the letter, that I saw it
addressed and given into the hands of Mr. Coulomb, telling
him to put it in Astral Post Office. Concerning the way in
which the letter reached Mr. Sinnett, which he assumes to
have dropped out of nothing, I must say that he is mis-
taken there, because it was done in the following manner :
An ingeniously and well-combined trap was fixed on the
floor of the garret above Mr. Sinnett's room ; the floor was
a boarded one, and between the boards was a space suffici-
ently wide to permit a thick letter to slip through easily.
The aperture of the tixip met with that of the boards, so
that once the letter was freed from the arrangement which
retained it, it slipped down, and, being heavy, did not
flutter in the space, but fell right on the table before him.

"In order that you may easily understand how the letter
slipped through, I shall have to tell you that the opening
of the trap was performed by the pulling of a string, which,
after running from the trap, where it was fastened, all
along the garret above Mr. Sinnett's room to that part of the
garret above Madame Blavatsky's bedroom, passed through
a hole and hung down behind the door and the curtain of
her room, which was adjoining to that of Mr. Sinnett.

" If Mr. Sinnett had investigated first, and believed after
— if he had considered the probabilities and the improba-
bilities— if he had inspected the rooms, he would not have
been taken in so easily. I really think that we ought to
consider it our duty to make sure of things before we give
them out to the world as truth ; and this in a special manner
with regard to a new doctrine, for, if it is worth our while
accepting it, it is certainly worth our while to look into it

The ''''Pioneer,'' 91

minutely. And in this case, nothing must come in the way
to stop our investigations ; we must have no regard to
persons or anything else ; we must practically go to work
until we find the truth. And I am sure that these pre-
cautions were not taken by Mr. Sinnett, or he would have
found out that the letter did not drop out of nothing, but
out of a trap through the ceiling above his head.

" As to writing in a style absolutely different to that of
Madame Blavatsky, it is not likely that the said lady would
make use of her own epistolary style for a subject which
had as object the reformation of the human mind, the
destruction of a long-established belief, and the edification
of a doctrine which was founded on a mysterious basis as
yet unknown to the greater part of the w^orld ; the style
must be adapted to what it treated of. But I think the
illustration given to Mr. C. C. Massey ought to open the
eyes of all blind believers, and from that I'act they should
arrive at the conclusion that similar practices have often
been repeated before, and that it is very plausible that such
correspondence as mentioned in the article may have had
the same origin.

" Now that the use of the trap has been explained, let us
see for what purpose the doll was made. This was to give
a convincing and material proof of the existence of the
Brothers, as their (said) invisible presence did not fully
satisfy the truth-seekers.

"Among the many apparitions to which this doll has been
instrumental, I will choose one seen by Mr. Ramaswamier,
in December, 1881, for of this I can bring personal evidence,
and also, because it is doubly interesting, inasmuch as it
bears a manifest proof of the power of deception ; but, as
an important part of it is recorded in connection with an-
other instance, I shall make only one narrative of the tw^o.
In the Theosophist for December, 1882, page 67, is reported
an article, under the heading, 'How a Chela found his Guru,'
In order to be able to make my readers thoroughly under-
stand, I ought to report the v.hole of this article, comment-
ing as I go along, but that truly would be too tiresome, and
perhaps not interesting in its details. So I shall begin at
page 68, second column, last paragraph, and continue to
page 69, to the end of the same paragraph.

92 Madame B lav at sky,

" ' It was, I think, between 8 and 9 a.m., and I was follow-
ing the road to the town of Sikkim, whence I was assured
by the people I met on the road I could cross over to Tibet
easily in my pilgrim's garb, when I suddenly saw a solitary
horseman galloping tow^ards me from the opposite direction.
From his tall stature, and the expert way he managed the
animal, I thought he w^as some military officer of the Sikkim
Rajah. Now, I thought., am I caught ! He will ask me for
my pass, and what business I have on the independent
territory of Sikkim, and, perhaps, have me arrested and
sent back, if not worse, but, as he recognised me, he reined
the steed. I looked at and approached him instantly. . . .
I was in the awful presence of him, of the same Mahatma,
my own revered Guru whom I had seen before in his astral
bod}^, on the balcony of the Theosophical headquarters !
It was he, the " Himalayan Brother "of the ever-memorable
night of December last, who had so kindly dropped a letter
in answer to one I had given in a sealed envelope to
Madame Blavatsky, whom I had never for a moment during
the interval lost sight of — but an hour or so before.'

" Here we have a most distinct evidence of what these
apparitions are. The happy 'Chela,' Mr. Ramaswamier,
sa3's that he looked up and recognised the very Mahatma,
his own revered ' Guru,' whom he had seen in the astral
body on the balcony, etc. If Mr. Ramasv\^amier really saw
the very identical Mahatma, then indeed we must say for
the truth that this phenomenon is a real one. Because the
Mahatma he saw" in his astral body on the balcony at the
headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Bombay, on
the memorable night of December, 1881, was no one else
than Monsieur Coulomb, w^ith the doll's head on his own.
It was he who dropped the letter in answer to the one sent
through Madame Blavatsky to the Mahatma, as already
mentioned, and which letter in answer had been handed to
Mr. Coulomb by Madame Blavatsky, with instructions to
drop it as the carriage drove back under the portico.

"Now please hear Vvhat Mr. Ramaswamier says in the
article under the heading of ' A Chela's Reply,' page 76 of
the same number, second column, last paragraph of the
article, which runs as follows : he says, ' After this, it
would seem but natural that whenever I hear a doubter or

The ''Pioneer.'' 93

a scoffer denying the existence of our Himalayan Mahatmas,
I should simply smile in pity, and regard the doubter as a
poor deluded sceptic indeed.'

" So Mr. Ramaswamier was convinced. But what con-
vinced him ? Was it the appearance of the same Mahatma
whom he had recognised to be the one he had seen in his
astral body at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society,
Bombay ? But this was Mr. Coulomb, as I said. Then,
after sifting this famous phenomenon, what truth is there
left of it ? That Mr. Ramaswamier met a man on horse-
back, who spoke to him in his mother-tongue. Is this all
we have ? If so, I think it is a very poor foundation
whereupon to edify such a colossal enterprise as the forma-
tion of a new belief."

Of Mr. Ramaswamier and of these appearances of the
Mahatmas Madame Coulomb has more to tell. She intro-
duces a new character, Mr. Deb, who by and by changed
his name in a mysterious manner to " Babajee."

" On the 16th June, 1882, Madame Blavatsky left the
Crow's Nest to go to Baroda. About this time Mr. Dhar-
bagiri Nath (another title for Mr. Babajee or Deb) was sent
on a 'mission' to the Northern Provinces. He was to
make his first appearance dressed in an elegant Thibetan
costume — it consisted of a pair of blue trousers, a blue
figured silk jacket, lined and bordered with deerskin fur, a
waistcoat of blue satin, almond checked, with little flowers
in the middle, and all ornamented with little buttons, a
yellow cotton satin blouse, with very wide sleeves all but-
toned up, which he wore under the jacket, a small round
cap of figured orange silk, bordered with the same fur, and
a pair of boots, Hungarian fashion, all laced up. In this
attire Mr. Deb started for his mission to the Northern
Provinces ; here I leave him, and will pick him up again
by and by.

"Now Madame Blavatsky, considering it necessary (I
suppose) to revive the sinking faith of her votaries, decided
upon leaving for Darjeeling, there to try 'to make the world
talk,' as she expresses herself sometimes ; so after some
preparations she started, accompanied by Mr. R. Casava
Pillai, of Nellore. This gentleman was employed in the
police of Nellore (I think he was an inspector). Before he

94 Madame B la vat sky.

left he had his costume made, consisting of a yellow cotton
satin blouse, a cap of the same shape as that of Mr. Deb, a
pair of top-boots, and a pair of very thick cloth trousers —
when all was ready they started very quietly, and Madame
begged us not to sa}^ to anj^one that she had left ; this w^as
to give the thing a mysterious appearance as usual.

" Shortly after Madame had left Bombay, Mr. Ramaswa-
mier, the happy Chela who found his Guru, and of whom
we have already spoken at length, arrived at headquarters ;
he also had his pilgrim's garb made by the same tailor, and
started to join madame. There is nothing interesting in all
these details, but I have given them for the sake of exacti-
tude, and because some one in the Northern Provinces may
at that very date have received some mysterious visitor
dressed in blue silk, etc., according to the description, and
giving himself as a Chela come from the Masters. I mention
Mr. K. Casava Pillai, because he is to be traced later, and
Mr. Ramaswamier I mention, because I hope to be soon able
to smell the aura of the Mahatn^a he met on horseback on
the territory of Sikkim. Both on the way, and on her
arrival at Darjeeling, Madame Blavatsk}^ had to meet with
difficulties and trouble, and the greatest of all was the ill-
ness of her faithful servant Baboula ; had it not been so we
w^ould have heard more astounding feats from there ; how-
ever, Mr. Ramaswamier's finding his Guru was no small
thing.

" Here I think we may pick up Mr. Deb, wdiom after liis
mission w^as over, the blessed Maliatmas transformed into
somebody else; he stayed at Darjeeling with the company
of pilgrims, and used to go with Mr. Casava Pillai to drink
the water of the stream at the foot of the mountain. So
Mr. Deb and Mr. Casava Pillai were friends ; I^Ir. Deb soon
left the party and came to headquarters. When I saw him,
I cheerfully went to shake hands, as I had always done,
and he withdrew, pretending that he did not know who I
was. What this meant I need not say ; necessity obliged
him to be somebody else, so from Deb he has since been
called Babajee, and the comedy which he had played me of
being somebody else, he played with others afterwards —
both natives and Europeans.

"The band of pilgrims left Darjeeling, accompanying

The ^ '■ Pioneer, " 95

Madame Blavatsky home, and the new orders fresh from
the Himalayan Brothers were, that those who had been of
the party were not to shake hands with anybody except
madame. All these foolish eccentricities disgusted us so
much that we decided to remain in Bombay, where we had
some very good friends, who kindly offered to help us and
give us a home — but Madame Blavatsky and colonel insisted
that we should go to Madras. Madame told me: 'Come,
do not be foolish, come to Madras, there you will be very
well ; you can have dogs, chickens, ducks, horses — all the
animals in creation if you like ; there is a beautiful river,
Mr. Coulomb can fish and amuse himself — you will not be

well at ; I am sure you would soon wish to leave, and

then another thing, I am in want of you.' So with all this
we allowed ourselves to be persuaded, and started with them
for Madras."

CHAPTER IX.

The proposed change of quarters from the Crow's Nest in
Bombay to the bungalow of Adyar was duly carried out.
A certain preparation of the house is necessary on these
occasions, as Colonel Olcott (" Hints on Esoteric Theosophy "
No. 1, p. 96) assures us : —

" The Brothers mainly appear where we are, simply
because there they have the necessary conditions. Our
houses, wherever we make a headquarters, are certainly
prepared not with machinery, but w^ith a special magnetism.
The first thing the Brothers do when we take up a new
residence is to prepare it thus, and we never take a new
house without their approval ; they examine all we think
of taking, and pick out the one most favourable. Some-
times they send every one of us out of the house if they
desire to especially magnetise the place."

Madame Coulomb gives an account of this magnetism : —

"We left Bombay on the 17th December, 1882, and
arrived here in Madras on the 19bh. The bungalow answered
madame's description, the river was there, and the fish too ;
animals were granted me, to my great satisfaction, and I
thought I might try and be happy. But there is no peace
for the wicked, says Isaiah, no more there was any for the
Coulombs !

" Although the main bungalow was very spacious, yet
the apartment that madame had chosen on the upper storey
had only one large room, a bathroom, and the rest above
the bungalow was left as terrace.

" As madame found this accommodation too small for her,
she asked Mr. Muttuswamy Chettier's sons to get masons to
build a small room, which is at present known as the occult
room ; this was built on part of the terrace, which faced

96

*' The Shrine'^ 97

Baboula's- sleeping-place ; and while this work was going
on, madame thought of all the contrivances that mi^ht
prove useful for the occultism, such as how to utilise the
windows, now rendered useless by the new arrangement.
The one which gave light to Baboula's sleeping-place and
passage was to be turned into a bookshelf, which is the
present one with the looking-glass door. One of the two
windows of the large room, which before looked on the
terrace, was bricked up ; the other was turned into the door
through which they now go from madame's dining-room
into the occult one. I beg my readers to take notice of the
v/indow which had been bricked up in the large room
because it is from this that the Mahatmas were pleased to
show a great many instances of their power. This done,
madame's energetic and never-resting mind began to think
what might be done to establish a permanent apparatus for
the transmission of the occult correspondence, more expedi-
tious and less troublesome than the ladder and the trap.
At first she thought of utilising a cabinet made by Mr.
Wimbridge ; and indeed for a short time she did use it.
She lined it with yellow satin, put the two pictures of the
alleged Mahatmas inside it, with some other ornaments ; but
as at the back of this there was no possibility of making a
hole, and the panels were not made to slide, but fixed,
madame decided upon making a new one, and to have it
placed in the new room at the back of the window which
had been bricked up. To carry out her plans, she asked
me if I would drive into town to Mr. Deschamps and order
a nice cabinet made of black wood, or at least black var-
nished. She gave me a plan of it, which had been drawn
by her and Mr. Coulomb. I went to Mr. Deschamps and
ordered the cabinet, which took about eighteen days to
make. This was not of black wood [i.e., ebony), but cedar-
wood black-lacked.

" Madame was in this great hurry because Mr. Sinnett was
expected to come and spend a short time at headquarters,
in company with his wife and child, on their way to Enghxnd.

''As soon as Mr. Deschamps sent the cabinet, which is
known under the name of 'shrine,' it was measured on the
spot where it was intended to remain. Now this shrine
had three sliding panels at the back, made on purpose to be

98 Madame Blavatsky.

taken out and slid back when necessity demanded it ; the
middle one of these panels was pulled out of its groove and
sawn into two, because by pulling the panel up all one
piece it would have shown, notwithstanding the many folds
of muslin which hung in festoons over the shrine. After
sawing this panel as I said, the lower part was put back
into its groove, and to the top piece was nailed a bit of
leather, by which the servant could have a strong hold to
pull it up easily. This done, it was placed against the wall
once more, the half-panel was lifted up, and the measure of
the hole into the wall was taken ; a few knocks with a
hammer and chisel made a small breach of about seven or
eight inches in length and five or six in breadth, quite suffi-
cient to permit an arm to pass ; this done, the shrine was
finally fixed. At the back of this cabinet, against the wall
of the bricked window already mentioned, was placed the
armmre a glace (glass almirah) which madame brought
with her from Bombay. In this almirah sliding-panels
were made corresponding with the hole, so that when the
panel of the shrine and that of the almirah were both
pulled open, one could see from madame's present dining-
room through the hole into the occult room — the doors of
the shrine being, of course, opened.

'' I shall not tire my readers by mentioning what kind of
correspondence was transmitted through this channel at the
time of Mr. Sinnett's stay at the headquarters, because
neither myself nor my husband lent a hand in such trans-
mission on that occasion ; but I shall have to speak of the
apparition which Mr. Sinnett saw on the terrace of Colonel
Olcott's bungalow, and for precision's sake it behoves me to
give here a short description of what took place on the
arrival of Mr. Sinnett at headquarters. I do not know
what the previous conversation can have been between this
gentleman and Madame Blavatsky, but the result was that
madame told me : ' What are we to do now ? Mr. Sinnett
wants to go and sleep in colonel's bungalow.' To this I
answered that I was very sorry, because I knew that
colonel did not like anyone to occupy his rooms ; but
madame said, ' He wants to go there because he expects a
visit from the Mahatma.' I shrugged my shoulders, and
told the servant to remove the trunks in the said bungalow.

*' The Shrine'' 99

A little later in the day she asked me to go upstairs. I
went. 'Come here,' she said. 'See, Mr. Sinnett would
go into the colonel's bungalow to sleep, because, as I told
you, he expects a visit from the Mahatma. Do you think
it would be possible for Mr. Coulomb to go quietly in the
night, and through the window close to his berl pass a letter
and go away, or even show himself at a distance ? Mr.
Sinnett would never dare to move if I tell him not.' I
answered that T would ask my husband, but that I was
sure he would not do it, because Mr. Sinnett was not a
simpleton : he might go after the apparition and find out
what it was, and then what would become of her ? I told
my husband, and he refused point-blank, saying that he
would not do it. Whether anyone else did it, instead, or
not, this I could not say ; but what I can affirm is, that Mr.
Sinnett did not stay very long in the bungalow, and I
heard him say that it was no use staying there any longer.
A few days after this, madame asked to have Koot Hoomi
shown on colonel's bungalow. Baboula, madame's servant,
took the Christofolo, all wrapped up in a shawl, and with
Mr. Coulomb went all along the compound on the side of
the swimming-bath to the end of the jpasture, returning in
a straight line back to colonel's bungalow up to the terrace,
where it was lifted up and lowered down to give it a
vapoury appearance. I went up to madame to say that all
was ready, and found her at the window, in company with
Mr. and Mrs. Sinnett, looking through an opera-glass ; I
was very much annoyed that she should be so imprudent,
but this is her nature. Another day, she asked that the
Mahatma should be taken on the island in the middle of the
river opposite the main bungalow. It was found impossible
to oblige her this time, because the tide was high and the
moonlight as bright as day, so that the servant, who had to
carry the bundle, could not cross the river : consequently,
the apparition did not take place, to madame's great annoy-
ance, because she had already invited Mr. and Mrs. Sinnett
to go up and see. Some time after they had left for England,
Madame Blavatsky, with a view to remove any suspicion
that might have arisen in her visitors at seeing letters,
flowers, foliage, etc., appear always through the same
channel, namely, the shrine — ordered other sliding panels to

lOO Madame B lav at sky.

be made in the same occult room. The window in the
passage was now turned into a cupboard, the glass door of
the almirah was taken away and placed as door to it,
as it can be still seen, I suppose, and is the very identical
one through which Colonel Olcott received the two Chinese
vases in the way explained later on. I must here say that
this cupboard has a double back. The one which is seen in
the passage immediately at the top of the stairs faciiig
Baboula's sleeping-place, which is simple shutters painted
grey. The inner back, or double one, inside the cupboard
in the occult room, is of teak-wood, not painted and not
varnished, but planed. In this are the sliding panels, which
admit not only a hand but even a person to go througli if
opened wide. It is very complicated, because, besides slid-
ing a little in the frame, it works on hinges, thus leaving a
larger aperture.

" Now, returning to the shrine where so much occult cor-
respondence was going on, I shall say that a little later on
Madame Blavatsky, fearing to be asked b}^ some one to have
the almirah removed to inspect the back of it, devised means
which she said would do away with all danger of being dis-
covered. So she asked my husband to give orders to the
carpenters to make a sham door of solid boards of teak-
wood, composed of four panels, one of which, when un-
fastened, could be slid off about ten inches, through which
the hand and arm could easily pass, and this was of course
in a straight line with the hole in the wall and the sliding
panel at the back of the shrine. This apparatus of the sham
door served very well for some time, and many astounding
phenomena were performed through it.

"About this epoch. General and Mrs. Morgan had given
madame an invitation to go to Ooty, as she was suffering
very much from the heat in Madras. Before leaving, slie
devised the plan that a phenomenon should take place in
her absence. This was that in presence of Mr. R. R. D. B.
a saucer should fall from the shrine and break, and that a
second one should appear through the occult channel already
described. She took also the precaution to say, * that if I
wrote to her on the subject, I was to be careful of what I
said.' She started for Ooty, and when there she sent the
following letter : —

" The Shrine y

lOI

" ' \Wi July.
" ' Dear Marquis,

" 'Show or send him [Dam o-
dar] the paper, i.e., the slip
(the small one, not the large
one, for this latter must go
and lie near its author in the
mural temple), with order to
supply you with them. I
have received a letter which
has obliged our dear master
K. H. to write his orders also
to Mr. Damodarandtheothers.
Let the Marquise read them.
That will be enough I assure
you. Ah, if I could only have
my dear Christofolo here !

'' ' Dear Marquis — I leave the
fate of 7)iy children in your
hands. Take care of them
and make them work mir-
acles. Perhaps it would be
better to make this one fall
on his head ? H. P. B.

" ' Gachetez I'enfant apres '''Seal the child after read-

Vavoir lu. ing it.

" ' Enregistrez vos lettres " ' Register your letters if

s'il s'y trouve quelquechose there is anything within —

— autrement non.' otherwise, never mind.'

" After the perusal of this letter my readers will, I am sure,
consider any comment on its contents quite useless, for by
this it is clearly seen how the occult letters, which were her
children, were wont to be transmitted, and how she missed
her dear Christofolo — alias K. H.

"I shall produce several letters, all of which are chiefly to
prove how the phenomena were performed, and the corre-
spondence transmitted. There is one which refers to the
projected phenomenon of the saucer.

"'ISJuillet
" ' Cher Marquis,

'"Montrez ou envoy ezlui le
papier ou le slip (le petit sac-
risti pas le gran d, car ce dernier
doit aller se coucher pres de
son auteur dans le temple
mural) avec I'ordre de vous les
fournir. J'ai re^u une lettre
qui a force notre maitre cheri
K. H. d'ecrire ses ordres aussi
k Mr. Damodar et autres.
Que la Marquise les lise. Cela
suffira je vous I'assure. Ah,
si je pouvais avoir ici mon
Christofolo cheri !

" * Cher Marquis — Je vous
livre le destin de mes enfants.
Prenez en soin et faites leur
faire des miracles. Pent ^tre
il serait mieux de faire
tomber celui-ci sur la tete ?
" ' H. P. B.

I02

Madame Blavatsky.

" ' Ma bien ch^re Amie,

"'Vous n'avez pas besoin
d'attendre I'liomme " Punch."
Pourvu que cela soit fait en
presence de personnes qui
sont respectables besides our
own familiar Wiuffs. Je vous
supplie de le faire a la pre-
miere occasion.

" ' Tell Damoclar please, the
"Holy" whistle breeches, and
St. Poultice that they do not
perfume enouo^h with incense
the inner shrine. It is very
damp, and it ought to be well
incensed.

" ' ii. P. Blavatsky.'

" ' My very dear Friend,

" ' You need not wait for the
man " Punch." Provided the
thing takes place in the pre-
sence of respectable persons
besides our own familiar
muffs. I beg you to do it
the first opportunity."

"This also speaks for itself, and it is a distinct proof that
the phenomena did not take place in an occult way, but by
the help of friends.

"The following is with reference to a slip of paper which
was to be placed in the saucer which was to appear as if
repaired by the Mahatma : —

" ' Cher Monsieur Coulomb,
"'C'estjecrois cela que vous
devez avoir. Tachez done si
vous croyez que cela va reus-
sir d'avoir plus d'audience
que nos imbeciles domesti-
ques seulement. Cela merite
la peine, car la soucoupe
d'Adyar pourrait devenir his-
torique, comme la tasse de
Simla. Soubaya ici et je
n'ai guere le temps decrire a
mon aise. A vous mes hon-
neurs et remerciments.

" ' (Signed) H. P. B.'

"'Dear Monsieur Coulomb,
"'This is what I think you
ought to have. Try if you
think that it is going to be a
success to have a larger audi-
ence than our domestic im-
beciles only. It is well worth
the trouble, for the Adyar
saucer might become histori-
cal, like the Simla cup.
Soubaya is present, and I
have hardly time to write at
my ease. My Salaams and
thanks to you.

"'H. P. B.'

The Shrined

103

" In order to be exact, let me report the contents of the
slip of paper above-mentioned, which is worded as follows ;

" ' To the small audience present as witness. Now Madame
Coulomb has occasion to assure herself that the devil is
neither as black nor as wicked as he is generally represented.
The mischief is easily repaired. — K. H,'

"The phenomenon Madame Blavatsky so anxiously desired
to be performed, the beloved Master seems to have reserved
for the very earnest theosophist, General Morgan of Ooty ;
because really no one came to headquarters before this
gentleman's visit was announced by the following letter, so
it was done for his edification ; here is the letter : —

" ' Yendredi.
'"Mes ch^re Madame Cou-
lomb ET Maequis,

'* Voici le moment de nous
montrer ne nous cachons pas.
Le general part pour affaires
a Madras et y sera lundi et
y passera deux jours. II est
President de la Societe ici et
veut voir le shrine. C'est
probable qu'il fasse une ques-
tion quelconque et pent etre
se bornera-t-il a regarder.
Mais il est sur qu'il s'attend
a un phenomene car il me I'a
dit. Dans le premier cas sup-
pliez K. H. que vous voyez
tons les jours ou Cristofolo de
soutenir I'honneur de famille.
Dites lui done qu'une fleur
suffirait, et que si le 'pot de
chamhre cassait sous le poids
de la curiosity il serait bon de
le rem placer en ce moment
Damn les autres celui la vaut
son pesant d'or. Per I'amor
del Dio^-ou de qui vousvoud-
rez — ne manquez pas cette

" ' Friday.
" ' M YJDEAR Mad AM e Coulomb
AND Marquis.
"'This is the moment for us
to come out — do not let us
hide ourselves. The General
is leaving this for Madras on
business. He will be there on
Monday, and will remain
there two days. He is Presi-
dent of the Society here, and
wishes to see the shrine. It
is probable that he will put
some question, or perhaps he
may be contented with look-
ing. But it is certain that he
expects a phenomenon, for he
told me so. In the first case
beg K. H, whom you see
every day, or Christofolo, to
keep up the honour of the
family. Tell him that a
flower will be sufficient, and
that if the pot breaks under
its load of curiosity it would
be well to replace it at once.
The others he damned ; this
is worth its

weio-ht

in

gold.

I04

Madame Blavatsky.

occasion, car elle ne se repe-
tera plus. Je ne suis pas la,
et c'est cela qui est beau. Je
me fie a vous, et je vous sup-
plie de ne pas me desap-
pointer, car tous mes projets
et mon avenir avec vous tous
— (car je vais avoir une
maison ici pour passer les six
mois de I'annee et elle sera a
moi a la societe et vous ne
souffrirez plus de la chaleur
comme vous le faites, si j'y
reussis).

" ' Voici le moment de f aire
quelque-chose. Tournez lui
ta tete au general et il fera
tout pour vous surtout si vous
etes avec lui au moment du
Christophe. Je vous envoie
tin en cas — e vi saluto. Le
colonel vient ici du 20 au 25.
Je reviendrai vers le milieu
de Septembre.

" ' A vous de coeur,
" ' Luna Melanconica.

" ' J'ai dine chez le Gouver-
neur et son P Aide-de-Camp.
Je dine ce soir cliez les Carmi-
chaels. Elle est folic pour
moi. Que le ciel m'aide ! '

For the love of God — or of
anyone you please — do not
miss this opportunity, for we
shall never have another. I
am not there, and that is the
beauty of the thing. I rely
on you, and beg you not to
disappoint me, for all my pro-
jects and my future depend
on you — (for I am going to
have a house here, where I
can spend six months of the
yeai", and it shall be "ininc for
the society, and you shall no
longer suffer from the heat,
as you do now, but this if I
succeed).

'•' 'This is the proper time to
do something. Turn the Gen-
eral's head and he will do
anything for you, especially
if you are with him at the
same time as Christophe. I
send you a possible requisite
[Lit an " in case of " — a letter
from the Mahatma, in case
the General should want a
reply]. I wush you good-bye.
The Colonel will be here from
the 20th to the 25th. I shall
return about the middle of
September.

" ' Heartily yours,
" ' Luna Melanconica.

"'I have dined with the Go-
vernor and his principal Aide-
de-Camp. This evening I
shall dine with the Carmi-
chaels. She is viad after me.
May heaven help me I '

'* The Shrine'' 105

" Here I report the ' en cas ' mentioned at the end of this
lettei", which was meant to be put in the shrine in answer
to any letter the General might have placed in it : —

" ' I can say nothini^ noio — and will let you know at Ooty.

'' (Signed) K. H.
" ' General Morgan.' "

"As soon as the phenomenon took place, General Morgan
signed his name, as witness, on the slip of paper which was
found in the saucer which had been replaced through ^ the
hole ; then I followed the advice which madame had given
to me before leaving — that is, to be prudent as to what I
wrote concerning the matter. Here is what my letter con-
tained : —

" ' Adyar, 12>th August, 1883.

" ' My DEAii Friend,

" ' I verily believe I shall go silly if I stop with you.
Now let me tell you what has happened. On my arrival
home I found General Morgan sitting down in that beauti-
ful office of ours, talking with Damodar and Mr. Coulomb.
After exchanging a fev/ words I asked whether he would
wish to see the " Shrine," and, on his answering in the
affirmative, we went upstairs, pausing, on the outside, on
account of the furniture of your sitting-room being heaped
up to block the doors and prevent thieves breaking in. The
General found the portraits admirable, but I wished I had
never gone up, because, on my opening the " Shrine," I,
Madame Coulomb, who never care either to see or to have
anything to do in these matters, as you well know, must
needs go and open the " Shrine,'' and see before my eyes, and
through my fingers pass, the pretty saucer you so much
cared for. It fell down and broke in twenty pieces. Dam-
odar looked at me, as much as to say, " Well, you are a fine
guardian." I, trying to conceal my sorrow, on account of
General Morgan's presence, took the debris of the cup and
put them in a piece of cloth, which I tied up, and placed it
behind the silver bowl. On second consideration, I thought
I had better take it down again, and reduce it in powder
this time. So I asked Damodar to reach it for me, and, to
our unutterable surprise, the cup was as perfect as though

io6 Madame Blavatsky.

it had never been broken, and more, there was the enclosed
note : —

" ' " To the small audience present as witnesses. Now
Madame Coulomb has occasion to assure herself that the
devil is neither as black nor as wicked as he is generally
represented. The mischief is easily repaired. — K. H."

' 'J

Round this group of facts there has raged a fierce con-
troversy between the " Theosophists " and the " Society for
Psychical Research," who sent out to India a gentleman,
named Hodgson, who has since published a report accusing
Madame Blavatsky of cheating.

I will deal first of all with the facts that are conceded by
both disputants : —

1. Madame Blavatsky took a large house in Adyar, with
a flat roof, on which was an airy bedchamber,

2. Adjoining this she had an " occult room " constructed
on the roof.

3. A window connecting the two was bricked up.

4. A handsome shrine of cedar wood was bought and
placed against the bricked-up window.

5. Exactly on the other side of this bricked-up window
an armoire a glace was placed.

Now, here we have at least five-sixths of the apparatus
of fraud confessed. What was denied is that the back of
the shrine was pierced until Madame Blavatsky went to
England.

But how injudicious seem the proceedings of the Russian
lady if she is innocent.

The society was hard up. Why did she go to the expense
of an " occult room ? " If such a room was wanted surely
the isolated bedroom on the top of the house would have
done admirably, and Madame Blavatsky would have been
far more comfortable in a sleeping apartment below.
Bricked-up windows and constantly closed curtains are con-
sidered oppressive by most Europeans in an Indian climate.
Some may ask, too, why the " shrine " and the wardrobe
were so accurately dos d dos ?

Mr. Hodgson's report is given in the " Proceedings of the
Society for Psychical Research," vol. iii., pp. 219 et seq. He
arrived in Madras, December 18th, 1884. He applied to see

The Shrined 107

the shrine, and Damoclar refused to let him see it. Two
days later Madame Blavatsky arrived at Adyar, and she
professed a complete ignorance of the matter, saying " she
had been unable to discover what had been done with the
shrine." Mr. Damodar and Dr. Hartmann both denied
having any knowledge of it, and " it was only after repeated
and urgent requests to to be told what had happened that I
learned from the halting account given by Mr. Damodar and
Dr. Hartmann that the shrine had been moved from the
' occult room ' into Mr. Damodar 's room about mid-day of
September 20th, that on the following morning at nine
o'clock they found the shrine had been taken away, and
they had not seen it since. They threw out suggestions
that the Coulombs or the missionaries might have stolen
it."

Mr. Hodgson practically confirms all that Madame
Coulomb has said about the occult room. A recess capable
of admitting a boy as small as Baboula allowed the latter to
pass letters and objects from Madame Blavatsky 's close-
curtained bedroom into the shrine. Mr. Hodgson examined
the books of the general dealer who sold Madame Coulomb
the two saucers, and found them duly registered.

" The theosophists contended that the structures for
trickery revealed by the Coulombs, who had had exclusive
charge of Madame Blavatsky's rooms during her absence,
had been made after she had left ; that they never had
been and could not be used in the production of pheno-
mena, that the hollow space and the aperture leading to it
were too small to be utilised in any connection with the
shrine ; and, moreover, that Mr. Coulomb's work was inter-
rupted before he had time to make a hole through the
wall." But Mr. Hodgson points out one damaging fact,
and that is that with the exception of Madame Blavatsky
and the Coulombs and the boy Baboula and Colonel Olcott
(whose statement on this point Mr. Hodgson gives "reasons
for distrusting"), none of the witnesses who testified to the
unpierced wall " ever removed the shrine from the wall or
saw it removed alter it was placed there ; further, that no
such examination was ever made on the east side of the
party wall as would have sufficed to discover the sliding
panels and apertures.'' Mr. Hodgson found out at last that

io8 Madame Blavatsky,

the shrine was destroyed because Mr. Judge was too curious
about it. Dr. Hartinann admitted to Mr. Hodgson that he
had discovered that the back of the shrine could be re-
moved, and that he kept back the " discovery " for fear of
injuring Madame Blavatsky. "Everywhere," says Mr.
Hodgson, " was malobservation, equivocation, absolute dis-
honesty."

A word here. Mrs. Besant in her Autobiography
alludes to these Indian exposures. She contrasts the
" frank and free nature " of Madame Blavatsky with the
" foul and loathsome deceiver " her accuser. "Everything,"
she says, " turns upon the veracity of the Coulombs."

But does this state the complete case? Madame Coulomb
has produced several dozen letters in support of her charges.
This is the real evidence. They are pronounced to be in
Madame Blavatsky's handwriting, by the experts Sims and
Netherclift, and no attempt has been made on the part of
the theosophists to prove them forgeries. It is difficult to
produce one letter which will stand the test of a scientific
examination. To produce say two dozen forged letters
would be quite impossible.

Another point strikes one. The meaning of a forged
document is generally quite on the surface, " Pay to the
bearer thirty-seven pounds." This tells its story. But in
the Blavatsky letters, all is hint — innuendo — nickname.
Mons. Coulomb is " The Marquis," Madame Blavatsky is
" Luna Melanconica." Madame Coulomb " The Marquise,"
Colonel Olcott " Pres," and the members of the Theosophi-
cal Society " our own familiar muffs." Scarcely any letter
tells its story without an interpreter.

This is generally considered the most compromising docu-
ment of all : —

" Oh, mon pauvre Christofolo ! II est done mort, et vous
I'avez tue ? Oh, ma chere amie, si vous saviez comme je
voudrais le voir revi vre 1

" Ma benediction a mon pauvre Christofolo. Toujours
a vous, H. P. B."

" Christofolo " was the nickname behind the scenes for
the doll that represented Koot Hoomi. Mr. Coulomb first

'' The Shrined 109

worked this dummy for the edification of Mr. Sinnett.
Hence perhaps " Coulomb," by a play of fancy, would be
changed to " Christophe Coloinb," and eventually into
" Cristofolo/' in Madame Blavatsky's polyglot tongue. The
meaning of the letter is that Madame Coulomb in a fit of
anger had destroyed the dummy Mahatma.

But singularly enough a very important argument has
been overlooked by both disputants. The theory of the
theosophists is that there is a real Koot Hoomi and that
his miracles were genuine. But if so, Madame Coulomb
must have thoroughly believed in his powers. Would she
have dared to brave the might of this astounding personage,
especially as without miracle he might have come forward
as a witness and had her locked up in an Indian jail as a
perjurer.

One letter, it seems to me, could not possibly be a forgery,
but a few words of explanation are necessary : —

Early in 1884 Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott,
with Baboula and another native named Mohini, sailed for
England. This last gentleman was being brought home to
testify, as an eye-witness, to the existence of the Mahatmas.
He has since left the society and announced that the
Mahatmas are a myth.

It was a hazardous step on the part of the Russian lady
this English trip, but she left orders in writing that her
bedroom and the shrine were to be left in the sole charge of
the Coulombs ; and an effort was made to close up the
passage between the arinoire a glace and the shrine in part.
A " Board of Control " was pompously constituted. It con-
sisted of an English traveller, and some natives. It was
evidently intended to be a dummy board. But the Russian
lady here was a little too clever. Natives of the lower class
when invested with a little authority like to use it. Money
was short, owing to the sum taken by the travellers in the
steamer ; and, perhaps, some of these natives had a grudge
against their old housekeeper. Soon they cavilled at her
small expenses, sold her pet dogs, and by-and-by made her
and her husband eat off plantain leaves like native servants.
Imagine a lady, vexed with prickly heat, mosquitoes, and
other Eastern irritations, and then treated thus. No wonder
that a great question of revenge soon surged up.

no Madame Blavatsky.

But a greater trial was in store. Madame Coulomb seems
to have nourished a special animosity against the masked
dummy, Koot Hoomi, which she made herself. Colonel
Olcott was always prosing about this Mahatma, and his
prosing used to drive her quite wild. But Madame Blavat-
sky had rather foolishly left the " astral post oiSce," as it
was called, in charge of one of the Board of Control. In
consequence, at every crisis letters were produced from the
" Mahatma on duty," and it was natural that these letters
sliould decide each small turn of the squabble against the
Coulombs. The worthy lady who knew accurately who
had written them, now began to use threats of strange dis-
closures. Madame Blavatsky, in Europe, was in consterna-
tion. Either the following letter is by her, or Madame
Coulomb is the greatest master of refined mockery that has
appeared since Voltaire.

" Paris, \si Ajml, 1884,
" 46 Rue Notre Dame des Champs.

" My dear Monsieur and Madame Coulomb,

" I address this letter to you both, because I think it
well that you should lay your heads together and think
seriously about it. I have not been able to write to you
before — I have been too ill for that. I will first transcribe
certain passages from several letters which I have just
received from the Adyar. These extracts will be lengthy.
I will not dwell upon what is there said respecting Madame
Coulomb and Mr. Brown, ' who (Madame Coulomb), in his

case, as she did in that of , tries her best to undermine

the power of the Society by talking to him as she does against
it! All that may or may not be serious. Neither is what
Mr. Lane-Fox says in his letter ; but see what is added !
' She opposes everything that is intended for the benefit of
the Society. But these are perhaps trifling things which
might be counteracted. More serious is the fact that she
says she lent you money in Egypt.' (That 1 have never
hidden, I have told it to everybody ; and at the time of the
Wimbridge-Bates tragedy, I announced publicly that I was
under obligation to you, since, when no one would aid me —
me, a stranger in Cairo — you alone and M. Coulomb helped

The Shrined iii

me, gave me hospitality, loans of money, etc. ; I have
always said "inore even than you really did. Well, I con-
tinue my copying) — ' she says the money was never repaid ;
that if. Coulomib has been constructing secret traj^doors
Jot the producing of occult phenomena, that she could tell
— the Lord knows what — if she wanted to ; and, lastly, her
foolish assertion that the Theosophical Society was founded

to overthrow British rule in India Madame Coulomb,

ever since I knew her, expressed it to be her highest wish
to get sufficient money to go to some other place, and for
this object she begged 2,000 Rupees from Hurrusingjee.
She has told me many times that if she had only 2,000
Rupees she would go like a shot. Mr. Lane-Fox has offered
to give her the 2,000 Rupees, or provide for her in any way
she wishes ; but now she suddenly changes her attitude, and
insists on staying ; saying that she has a paper from Colonel
Olcott, in which he offers her a home for life in Adyar, and
that she has positive orders from you (orders ! ! ?) not only
to remain here during your absence, but also to help herself
from the funds of the Society whenever she should want
any money to buy dresses, etc' Is it, then, because I have
really said and repeated to you, before Olcott and others,
that you both, being Theosophists and friends, had a right
to spend the money of the Society for your dress and
necessary expenses, that you are saying to them that M.
Coulomb has constructed secret trap-doors, etc. ! ! Oh,
Madame Coulomb ! what, then, have I done to you, that you
should try to ruin me in this way ? Is it because for four
years we lived together, helping each other to meet the
troubles of life, and because I have left ever}^ thing in the
house in your hands, saying to you continually, ' Take what
money you need,' that you seek to ruin me for life in the
minds of those who, when they turn their back on me, will
turn their back on you hrst, and although you will gain
nothing but the loss of friends, who would otherwise always
have aided you ? How can I believe that Madame Coulomb
will so dishonour her husband and herself ? Those who
write to me and the Colonel also say as follows : — ' Her
object in doing so looks as though she wanted to get money
from Mr. Fox and remain here, and ' — but I am unwilling
to transcribe more. I am keeping the letters, and if ever we

112 Madame Blavatsky.

Tiled again you shall see them. They add : — ' Furthermore,
we have sufficient evidence, through herself, that she is made
use of by black magicians, not only to interfere with the
welfare of the Societ}^, but especially to exert a poisonous
and detrimental influence on Damodar. As to her being an
enemy of the Society, she does not even attempt to deny it.'
Further on it is said that Ivl. Coulomb says the same things
as his luife. I do not believe it. You are too honest a
a man, too proud, to do such a thing. You are ready to kill
a man when you are in a rage. You ivill never lay an ac-
cusation against him ! You would not accuse him in secret
before his friends. And if Madame Coulomb, who would not
do an injury to a fly — who has so much love for the very
beasts — has done so, it is because she is sick, and does not
know what she says, and does not think of the frightful
harm she is doing to those who have never done anything
to her, and the harm that she does to herself and to all.
Why does she hate me ? What have I done to her ? I
know that I am bad-tempered, violent, that without intend-
ing it I have perhaps ottended her more than once. But
what evil have I ever done to her ? Since our arrival at
Adyar I have truly and sincerely loved her, and since my
departure I have thought only of buying her something at
Paris which she needed, and of how I could put you in the
possession of 2,000 or 3,000 Rs. in order that she might go
and reside for the summer at Ootacamund, or settle else-
whei-e and keep a boarding-house, or indeed do anything
for herself and you. I have never been ungrateful, never a
traitor, my dear M. Coulomb. And you, Madame Coulomb,
do not say that you have never said this, as in the case of
Hurrusingjee, for see again what that poor boy, Damodar,
says, who has written a despairing letter. I copy again : —

' I am between the horns of a dilemma, Master tells me

that Madame Coulomb must be treated with consideration
and respect, and on the other hand she tells me, and has
been saying to everyone, that you are a fraud — performing
phenomena by means of secret spring trap-doors, probably
constructed by M. Coulomb. This she did not assert to me,

but only insinuated,' etc. And further on : — ' I

entirely agree with the facts introduced in 's letters

to you. Madame C. has been, according to her confession,

The Shrined 113

exercising an influence prejudicial to the interests of the
Society.'

" Well now, what do you say to all that ? What end do
you expect to gain, Madame Coulomb, by allowing people
to believe of you that luhicli you are incapable of doing, i.e.,
of (employing) black magic against a Society which pro-
tects you, which works for you, if you have worked for it
(and God knows the obligations which we owe entirely to
you, M. Coulomb, for all that you have done for us since we
came to Adyar). That you have worked for us I say aloud,
and that, working, you have aright to our gratitude, and to
your clothing and food, and to live at the cost of the Society
as far as its funds allow — I say it again. But what purpose
have you in going and vilifying me secretly to those who
love me, and who believe in me ? What (cause of) venge-
ance have you against me ? What have I done to you, I ask
again ? What you do will never ruin the Society, only me
alone, at the most, in the estimation of my friends. The pub-
lic has always looked upon me as a fraud and, an impostor.
By talking and acting as you do you will only gain one end,
that is, people will say that you are also 'a fraud'; and worse
than that, that you have done for your otvn interests what T
have not done for myself, since I give all that I have to the
Society, for I spend my life for it. They will say that you
and M. Coulomb have helped me, not for the sake of
friendship (for you prove by your accusations and denuncia-
tions that for some reason unknown to me you hate me),
but in the hope of ' hlachmailing,' as one of the letters to
Olcott puts it. But that is dreadful I You are truly sick ;
you must be so to do as foolishly as you are doing ! Un-
derstand, then, that you cannot at this hour of day injure
anyone. That it is too late. That similar phenomena, and
more marvellous still (letters from the Mahatma Koot
Hoomi and from our Master), have happened when I was a
thousand leagues away. That Mr. Hume at Simla, Col.
Strange in Kashmir, Sinnett in London, Queensbury in
New York, and Gilbert in Australia, have received the
same day and the same hour a circular letter in the writing
of the Mahatma when all ivere alone in their rooms. Where
then were the trap-doors constructed by M. Coulomb ?
Find one out really, and it will reflect at most on you, the

114 Madame Blavatsky.

principal actors, and on poor me. People who have seen
the Mahatma before them in Australia and London as at
the Adyar, who have received from him letters in Ids
handivriting in reply to their letters written two hours
before, ivill not believe you, nor could they believe you; and
remember that if I was twenty thousand times exposed,
detected, and convicted of imposture, like the mediums, all
that would indeed be nothing to the cause, to truth. So
then if by accusing myself publicly, and proclaiming myself
a fraud in all the papers, I can thus do good to the Society
and make the veneration for the Mahatmas still greater — I
shall do it without a moment's hesitation. I will spend
myself for that cause which 3^ou hate so much. And who
then has been the fraud when (I being a thousand leagues
away) Hurrusingjee has a reply to his letter which he had
put into the shrine, and Srinavas Rao also, as they have
written to me from the Adyar? Is it you who have
written in the handwriting of the Mahatma, and you also
who have taken advantage of a tixqo-door 'i All the evil
proved will be that you have never wished to believe that
there were true ' Mahatmas ' behind the curtain. That you
do not believe the phenomena real, and that is wh}^ you see
tricks in everything. Ah, well! (I commit myself) to the
gra.ce of God. Accuse me, denounce me, ruin H. P.
Blavatsky, who has never hated or betrayed you, who
almost ruined the Society at its first appearance in Bombay,
in order to sustain and protect you in opposition to all —
even the Colonel ; and that when she was [not] able to do
it without danger to herself. Do it, my good friend. But
remember, you who speak so much of God and of Christ,
that if there be a God, He will assuredly not reward you
for the evil which you try to do to those who have never
done anything to you. You may say what you please, but
a living person is always more than a dog or a beast in
the economy of nature. Mr. Lane-Fox and the Board of
Trustees appear to have made changes in the house — send-
ing away the coolies and the dogs, too ! And it seems to
me that Madame Coulomb attributes all that to me ! Ah
well! you are altogether wrong. All that, the Board of
Trustees arranged the last day at Bombay, when, having
received the news of the death of my uncle, I took no part.

'^ The Shrine r 115

I did not even know what they had done. It was the
Colonel, Dr. Hartmann, and Mr. Lane-Fox who arranged
and carried out everything. It is only to-day that I have
made the Colonel explain the thing to me. I have even
asked that they should nominate M. Coulomb as one of the
trustees, so much do I need him to build a room. The
Colonel has not answered me either yes or no. And to-day
he reproached me again with having, along with M.
Coulomb, spent all the money for my rooms, etc. Do yo\x
know what he said respecting the letters from which I have
copied extracts ? If Madame Coulomb — who has ' un-
deniably helped you in some phenomena, for she told this
to me herself — were to proclaim it on the top of the roof, it
would change nothing in "my knoiuledge and that of Dr.
Hartmann, Brown, Sinnett, Hume, and so many others in
the appreciation of Theosophy and their veneration for the
Brothers. You alone would suffer. For if even you your-
self were to tell me that the Mahatmas do not exist, and
that you have tricked in every i^henonienon produced by
you, I would answei' you that you lie ; for lue Jcnoiu the
Mahatmas, and know that you could not — no more than
fly on the moon — have produced certain of the best of your
phenomena.' See there ! Conclude from this what the
truth is, and what he thinks.

" If I have not done more for you than I have, it is be-
cause I had not the means. Absorbed altogether in the
cause as I was, and still am, I think of nobody. May /
perish, but may the cause flourish ! If you compromise me
before Lane- Fox, Hartmann, and the others — all well ! I
shall never return to the Adyar, but will remain here or
in London, where I will prove by phenomena more mar-
vellous still that they are true, and that our Mahatmas
exist, for there is one here at Paris, and there will he also
in London. And when I shall have proved this, where
will the trap-doors be then? Who will make them? Why
do you wish to make the Colonel hate you, and set him
against you, as you have put all at Adyar against you ?
Why not quietly remain friends and wait for better days,
helping us to put the Society on a Arm basis, having large
funds, of which all theosophists who have need of protec-
tion and help in money would reap the benefit ? Why not

ii6 Madaiiie Blavatsky.

accept the 2,000 Rs. which Mr. Lane-Fox offered you, and
spend the hot months at Ooty, and the cool months with
us, as in the past ? It appears that Damodar has not a cash
left. He asks money from us — from us ! And we who spend,
spend, and shall soon have no more, for it is no longer com-
ing in ; and you — you wish to alienate from the cause the
only man who is able to help it, the only one who is rich.
Instead of becoming friends with him you are setting him
horribly against you. Ah, my dear friend, how miserable
and foolish is all this ! Come, I have no ill-will against
you. I am so much accustomed to terror and suttering
that nothing astonishes me. But what truly astonishes
me is to see you, who are such an intelligent woman, doing
evil for its own sake, and running the risk of being
swallowed up in the pit which 5^ou have digged — yourself
the first (victim) ! Pshaw ! Believe, both of j^ou, that it
is a friend who speaks. I love M. Coulomb well, and until
he himself says to me that I am mistaken respecting him,
that he has left you to speak and talk of trap-doors without
contradicting you, I will never believe such tales respecting
him. He is incapable of it. Undo then the evil which
you have unwittingly done. I am sure of this — (you are)
carried away by your nerves, your sickness, your sufferings,
and the anger which you have roused in the Board of
Trustees, who annoy me more than they annoy you. But
if you choose to go on disgracing me for no good to your-
self— do it ; and may your Christ and God repay you !

" After all, I sign myself, with anguish of heart which
you can never comprehend — for ever your friend,

'' H. P. Blavatsky."

Now it seems to me that Thackeray or Daudet could not
have imagined this splendid, wheedling, menacing, puzzle-
headed, pathetic, contradictory letter. " I am innocent," it
sajs. "I am guilty. You can ruin me ! I laugh at you !
There are trap-doors ! There are no trap-doors ! " And
then in the middle of this grotesque inconsequence suddenly
shines out the seeress ! Who else, in 1884, would have
dared prophesy that four years after the Coulomb dis-
closures the Theosophical Society would be more flourish-
ing than ever !

'' The Shrine!'' 117

Some of this letter Madame Coulomb could not have
written. The most reckless forger would scarcely sit down
and write, out of her own head, long imaginary extracts
from the letters of known people like Mr. Lane-Fox, who
could at once come forward and convict her. And the
letter defends Madame Biavatsky instead of incriminating
her, which is rather against the theosophical theory.

I will conclude this chapter with an extract from a
strange letter which has been published by Professor
Coues of America. He announces that he possesses the
original : —

" My Dear

" What I mean was to keep the details of
phenomena, and everything coming from and connected
with the Master, very secret, yet to make no secret of the
phenomena as before going on (else the public would say
that since the exj)ose by the Psychic R. S. we were tamed,
and that the humbug has ceased, which would be fatal to
us).

" We are surrounded by pitfalls, whirlpools, and traitors.
We have to fight tbem fearlessly and openly with the
weapons of philosophy, not those of phenomena, as we
would soon get worsted again. Let it be known that
phenomena (sic) goes on as before, but do not let anyone
know what it is, and the great secrecy will be the best
punishment for the howling, doubting, and profane public.
If Olcott had not courted exposure and scandal by his
stupid invitation of the S. P. R. to come and see, there
would be nothing of all that happened, but now we are in,
and have to do the best we can.

" H. P. Blavatsky."

CHAPTER X.

ANNA KINGSFORD.

I THINK we have now established that the Mahatmas of the
Tibetan mountains are as unsubstantial as the mist-spectres
of the Brocken. My task seems done ; in reality it now
begins. For we have to account not for the failure of
Madame Blavatsky, but for her conspicuous success. How
is it that a fibbing, cheating, variety performer, with her
dressed-up dolls and gummed envelopes, obtained subjec-
tion over minds like those of Mr. Maitland, Mr. Hume, Dr.
Wyld, Mr. Sinnett, Mr. Myers ? How could third-rate con-
juring tricks vanquish Dr. Anna Kingsford and Mrs.
Besant ?

Progress, it has been well observed, proceeds more by
reaction than by action. The eighteenth century, vrithoiit
much evidence, believed in a spirit world. In the nir.e-
teenth century, the full swing of the pendulum has carried
us far away from this idea. Our God is Darwin and
evolution. But suddenly, on the top of this full-flavoured
materialism, came the tapping tables ; and folks of the
highest fashion wildly consulted dead grandmammas and
dead sporting uncles about their matrimonial or their Derby
projects. But of these investigators, all were not equally
frivolous. To souie minds the new spiritualism presented
the gravest problems, some scientific, some religious.

This gives us the two groups that Madame Blavatsky
was able to influence — the mystics and the scientists. It
must be remembered that at first very exaggerated accounts
were in circulation regarding the Blavatsky miracles.
Some of these stories were very astounding indeed, and when
folks learnt that the chaos of the seance rooms had been
reduced to order, and that a mighty adept was in existence
who could control the turbulent spirits, they were natur-
ally inclined to learn something of her methods. Dr. Wyld,

ii8

Anna Kingsford. 119

the first President of the London Lodge, has assured me
that all the theosophists that joined the society in his
time, did so in the hope of mastering the secrets of magic.
Each wished to be an Apollonius of Tyana. Then her
theory that the phenomena were not due to spirits at all
found much favour with the Society for Psychical Ke-
search, as they were trying to establish the same conclusion.
But a vulgar love of marvel, although it be dignified with
the name of science, will never spread Europe, Asia, Africa,
and America with " lodges " and " branch associations."
The Magus is of two patterns. There is the Cagliastro
Magus, and the Saint Martin. By and by Dr. Anna Kings-
ford joined the society, and was elected president of the
London lodge. A sketch of this lady and her work may
let us into some of the secrets of Madame Blavatsky's in-
fluence.

Anna Bonus was born in 1846. In youth she had the
misfortune, or fortune, to have unsympathetic surroundings.
This caused all soul growth to sprout inwardly rather than
in the conventional channels. Also like St. Theresa from
an early age she was of those who see visions and dream
dreams. She married a gentleman named Kingsford, wlio
subsequently took orders. She grew dissatisfied with
Anglicanism, and sought a refuge in the Roman Catholic
Church. But she soon found that the career of a new
Madame Guyon was impossible in that petrified establish-
ment. Then, lo and behold, one day a mighty " gospel "
was revealed to her. Among her heavenly visitants ap-
peared an old gentleman in the costume of the last century.
Consulting old prints, she came upon the same face. It was
Swedenborg. Certainly, in one sense at least, it was the
spirit of Swedenborg, for it promptly announced that the
literal interpretation of the Bible was irrational. The
Christ was without doubt born of the "Virgin" and the
" Father," but the " Christ " was not the man Jesus, but
the new Adam that can be born in each of us according to
the express statement of St. Paul : —

" My little children of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you." {Qal. iv. 19.)

Also the Virgin Mary was not the literal mundane
mother.

I20 Madame B lav at sky.

Her gospel was thus summed up by Mr. Maifcland : —

"There is no enlightenment from without. The secret
of things is revealed from within.

" From without cometli no divine revelation, but the spirit
within beareth witness."

Mr. Maitland is the author of " The Pilgrim and the
Shrine." This work attracted the attention of Mrs. Kings-
ford, and she wrote to the author. In consequence a warm
friendship sprang up, and they wrote an elaborate treatise
in collaboration, the " Perfect Way." Each had trials in
life, transcending as each believed the trials of others. Mr.
Maitland considers that this ministry of pain is the secret
of spirit growth.

"By the bruising of the outer the inner is set free."

" Man is alive only so far as he has felt."

For a lucid account of Anna Kingsford, and her visions
and projects, see Mr. Maitland's " Story of the New Gospel
of Interpretation." That little volume gives a portrait of
a very remarkable woman indeed. She had as many visions
as St. Theresa, and a force of character transcending that
of the Spanish saint. I have heard Mrs. Besant on the
platform, and I have heard Anna Kingsford as chairman of
a meeting of the Hermetic Society. She was analytical,
subtle, ready, if she lacked (or avoided) the eloquent but
somewhat artificial outbursts of Mrs. Besant. It is to be
remarked, too, that when Mrs. Kingsford died, a writer in
the Illustrated London News announced that at the age of
twenty-two she was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen.

One day she read a.n account of a cruel vivisection. She
was fired with indignation. It was suggested to her that
medical science alone could judge how far such operations
were necessary. To neutralise such a plea for the future,
she determined to take a medical degree herself.

Many obstacles were in the way, including her feeble
health. But a French writer has justly remarked — "Ob-
stacles are the touchstone of capacity." In 1873 she passed
her matriculation examination at the Apothecaries' Hall,
and this " with a success so great as to fill her with high
hopes of a triumphant passage through the course of her
student life." But immediately after this the English

Anna Kingsford. 121

medical authorities closed tlieir schools to women alto-
gether.

Paris was open to her. Should she go and study there ?
Did she dare to brave a viva voce examination in French
before the sniggering youns^ Gandins of the French classes.
Nothing daunted Anna Kingsford. She went to Paris.
She worked hard, so hard that she permanently wrecked her
health. But she came out triumphantly through the ordeal.

This allows us to understand the influence brought to
bear by Madame Blavatsky on minds like Anna Kingsford.
This lady was a mystic. From the date of Buddha, or
indeed the Rishi Angiras, to the date of Saint Martin and
the Illuminati of the nascent French Revolution, certain
select minds have held that by sublimating the soul alone,
can worthy dreams of God be vouchsafed. This list includes
St. Paul, Origen, St. Clement of Alexandria, the Catholic
mystics, the mediaeval Kabalists, the Sufis, the Spinozas,
the Agrippas, the Boehmes. Anna Kingsford had studied
these, and had observed the close similarity of the Oriental
and the best Western mysticism, and learning that a
foreign lady was in contact with a lofty school of Buddhist
mystics, and that they wished to found a Universal
Brotherhood, she was naturally anxious to learn more. It
is to be confessed that in reality this gifted lady was more
a Buddhist than a Christian. She based all progress upon
the metempsychosis. She considered the use of wine and
flesh meat, morally as well as physically, deleterious. She
believed with the Buddhists that all Bibles are simply
parables, the folk-lore of the people, to be explained away,
mystically. x\ll these were points of contact between her
and the imaginary Mahatmas of Tibet. And she had one
more strong sympathy. Like Madame Blavatsky she
hated spiritualism ; not, however, for the same motive.
Madame Blavatsky detested it because it pronounced her
miracles untrustworthy ; Anna Kingsford contemned it
because she thought it made a mere plaything of man's
supernal treasure.

It must be pointed out that Madame Blavatsky had an
eminent cleverness. She could exhibit a few sequins, and
gain credit for untold treasures. With a " Hush ! " and
the whisper of a mystic word such as " Fourth Principle ! "

122 Madame B lav at sky.

or " Para Brahma ! " she could make you believe that she
had all the secrets of Cornelius Agrippa. We now come to
her Mahatma letters, to see what light they shed in the con-
version of mj^stics like Anna Kings ford.

Without doubt these show much ability. She contrived
to change in them her literary style and handwriting, and
if Colonel Olcott's fibbing Russian lady is not altogether
absent, the Mahatma-half at times seems really there.

Can a person have invention and no originality ? The
extravagant idea of an " astral post office '' seems to have
come from Mr. Sinnett. Madame Blavatsky was fond of
borrowing ideas.

'* One day, therefore, I asked Madame Blavatsky whetlier
if I wrote a letter to one of the Brothers explaining my
views, she could get it delivered for me. I hardly thought
this was probable, as I knew how very unapproachable the
Brothers generally are ; but as she said that at any rate
she would try, I wrote a letter, addressing it ' to the Un-
known Brother,' and gave it her to see if any result would
ensue. It was a happy inspiration that induced me to do
this, for out of that small beginning has arisen the most
interesting correspondence in which I have ever been privi-
leged to engage — a correspondence which, I am happy to
say, still promises to continue, and the existence of which,
more than any experiences of phenomena which I have had,
though the most wonderful of these are yet to be described,
is the raison d'etre of this little book.

" The idea I had specially in my mind when I wrote the
letter above referred to, was that of all test phenomena one
could wish for, the best would be the production in our
presence in India of a copy of the London Times of that
day's date. With such a piece of evidence in my hand, I
argued, I would undertake to convert everybody in Simla
who was capable of linking two ideas together, to a belief
in the possibility of obtaining by occult agency physical
results which were beyond the control of ordinary science.
I am sorry that I have not kept copies of the letter itself
nor of my own subsequent letters, as they would have
helped to elucidate the replies in a convenient way ; but I
did not at the time foresee the developments to which they
would give rise, and, after all, the interest of the correspon-

Anna Kingsford. 123

dence turns almost entirely on the letters I received : only
in a very small degree on those I sent.

"A day or two elapsed before I heard anything of the
fate of my letter, but Madame Blavatsky then informed me
that I was to have an answer. I afterwards learned that
she had not been able at first to find a Brother willing to
receive the communication. Those whom she first applied
to declined to be troubled with the matter. At last her
psychological telegraph brought her a favourable answer
from one of the Brothers with whom she had not for some
time been in communication. He would take the letter and
reply to it.

"Hearing this, I at once regretted that I had not written
at greater length, arguing my view of the required conces-
sion more fully. I wrote again, therefore, without waiting
for the actual receipt of the expected letter.

"A day or two after I found one evening on my writing-
table the first letter sent me hj my new coi respondent. I
may here explain, what I learned afterwards, that he was a
native of the Punjab who was attracted to occult studies
from his earliest boyhood. He was sent to Europe whilst
still a youth at the intervention of a relative — himself an
occultist — to be educated in Western knowledge, and since
then has been fully initiated in the greater knowledge of
the East. From the self-complacent point of view of the
ordinary European this will seem a strange reversal of the
proper order of things, but I need not stop to examine
that consideration now.

" My correspondent is known to me as Koot Hoomi Lai
Sing. This is his * Tibetan mystic name ' — occultists, it
would seem, taking new names on initiation — a practice
which has no doubt given rise to similar customs which we
find perpetuated here and there in ceremonies of the Roman
Catholic church.

" The letter I received began in onedias res, about the
phenomenon I had proposed. ' Precisely,' Koot Hoomi
wrote, ' because the test of the London newspaper would
close the mouths of the sceptics,' it was inadmissible. ' See
it in what light you will, the world is yet in its first stage
of disenthralment .... hence unprepared. Very true, we
work by natural, not supernatural, means and laws. But,

124 Madame B lav at sky.

as on the one hand science would find itself unable, in its
present state, to account for the wonders given in its
name, and on the other the ignorant masses would still be
left to view the phenomenon in the light of a miracle, every
one who would thus be made a witness to the occurrence
would be thrown off* his balance, and the result would be
deplorable. Believe me it would be so especially for your-
self, who originated the idea, and for the devoted women
who so foolishly rushes into the wide open door leading to
notoriety. This door, though opened by so friendly a hand
as yours, would prove very soon a trap — and a fatal one,
indeed, for her. And such is not surely your object. . . .
Were we to accede to your desires, know you really what
consequences would follow in the trail of success ? The in-
exorable shadow which follows all human innovations,
moves on, yet few are they who are ever conscious of its
approach and dangers. What are, then, they to expect who
would offer the world an innovation which, owing to human
ignorance, if believed in, will surely be attributed to those
dark agencies the two-thirds of humanity believe in and
dread as yet ? . . . The success of an attempt of such a kind
as the one you propose must be calculated and based upon
a thorough knowledge of the people around you. It depends
entirely upon the social and moral conditions of the people
in their bearing on these deepest and most mysterious
questions which can stir the human mind — the deific powers
in man and the possibilities contained in Nature. How
many even of your best friends, of those who surround you,
are more than superficially interested in these abstruse pro-
blems ? You could count them upon the fingers of your right
hand. Your race boasts of having liberated in this
century the genius so long imprisoned in the narrov/ vase
of dogmatism and intolerance — the genius of knowledge,
wisdom, and free thought. It says that, in their turn,
ignorant prejudice and religious bigotry, bottled up like
the wicked djin of old, and sealed by the Solomons of
science, rest at the bottom of the sea, and can never, escap-
ing to the surface again, reign over the world as in the days
of old : that the public mind is quite free, in short, and
ready to accept any demonstrated truth. Ay, but is it
verily so, my respected friend ? Experimental knowledge

Anna Kings ford. 125

does not quite date from 1662, when Bacon, Robert Boyle,
and the Bishop of Chester transformed under the royal
charter their " invisible college " into a society for the pro-
motion of experimental science. Ages before the Royal
Society found itself becoming a reality upon the plan of
the " Prophetic Scheme," an innate longing for the hidden, a
passionate love for, and the study of, Nature, had led men
in every generation to try and fathom her secrets deeper
than their neighbours did. Roma ante Roviulum fuit is

an axiom taught us in your English schools The

Vril of the Coming Race was the common property of races
now extinct. And as the very existence of those gigantic
ancestors of ours is now questioned — though in the Hima-
vats, on the very territory belonging to you, we have a cave
full of the skeletons of these giants — and their huge frames,
when found, are invariably regarded as isolated freaks of
Nature — so the vril, or akas as we call it, is looked upon as
an impossibility — a myth. And without a thorough know-
ledge of akas — its combinations and properties, how can
science hope to account for such phenomena ? We doubt
not but the men of your science are open to conviction ;
yet facts must be first demonstrated to them ; they must
first have become their own property, have proved amen-
able to their modes of investigation, before you find them
ready to admit them as facts. If you but look into the
preface to the Micrograpliia you will find, in Hookes' sug-
gestions, that the intimate relations of objects were of less
account in his eyes than their external operation on the
senses, and Newton's fine discoveries found in him their
greatest opponent. The modern Hookeses are many. Like
this learned but ignorant man of old, your modern men of
science are less anxious to suggest a physical connection of
facts which might unlock for them many an occult force in
Nature, than to provide a convenient classification of
scientific experiments, so that the most essential quality of
a hypothesis is, not that it should be true, but only ]}lausihle,
in their opinion.

*' ' So far for science — as much as we know of it. As for
human nature in general it is the same now as it was a
million of years ago. Prejudice, based upon selfishness, a
general unwillingness to give up an established order of

126 Madame B lav at sky,

things for new modes of life and thought — and occult study-
requires all that and much more — pride and stubborn resist-
ance to truth, if it but upsets their previous notions of

things — such are the characteristics of your age

What, then, would be the results of the most astounding
phenomena supposing we consented to have them produced ?
However successful, danger would be growing proportion-
ately with success. No choice would soon remain but to
go on, ever crescendo, or to fall in this endless struggle with
prejudice and ignorance, killed by your own weapons.
Test after test would be required, and would have to be
furnished ; every subsequent phenomenon expected to be
more marvellous than the preceding one. Your daily
remark is, that one cannot be expected to believe unless he
becomes an eye-witness. Would the lifetime of a man
suffice to satisfy the whole world of sceptics? It may be an
easy matter to increase the original number of believers at
Simla to hundreds and thousands. But what of the hun-
dreds of millions of those who could not be made eye-wit-
nesses? The ignorant, unable to grapple with the invisible
operators, might some day vent their rage on the visible agents
at work ; the higher and educated classes would go on dis-
believing, as ever, tearing you to shreds as before. In com-
mon with many, you blame us for our great secrecy. Yet
we know something of human nature, for the experience of
long centuries — ay, ages, has taught us. And we know that
so long as science has anything to learn, and a shadow of
religious dogmatism lingers in the hearts of the multitudes,
the world's prejudices have to be conquered step by step, not
at a rush. As hoary antiquity had more than one Socrates,
so the dim future will give birth to more than one martyr.
Enfranchised Science contemptuously turned away her face
from the Copernican opinion renewing the theories of Aris-
tpa^chus Samius, who " affirmeth that the earth moveth cir-
cularly about her own centre," years before the Church
sought to sacrifice Galileo as a holocaust to the Bible. The
ablest mathematician at the Court of Edward VI., Robert
Recorde, was left to starve in jail by his colleagues, who
laughed at his Castle of Knowledge, declaring his discoveries

vain phantasies All this is old history, you will think.

Verily so, but the chronicles of our modern days do not

Anna Kings ford, 127

differ very essentially from their predecessors. And we
have but to bear in mind the recent persecutions of mediums
in England, the burning of supposed witches and sorcerers
in South America, Russia, and the frontiers of Spain, to
assure ourselves that the only salvation of the genuine pro-
ficients in occult sciences lies in the scepticism of the public;
the charlatans and the jugglers are the natural shields of
the adepts. The public safety is only ensured by our keep-
ing secret the terrible weapons which might otherwise be
used against it, and which, as you have been told, become
deadly in the hands of the wicked and selfish.'"

The letter of Mr. Sinnett contained, without doubt, a
business-like suggestion. But the reply of Madame Blavat-
sky was equally business-like. There were very sound
reasons why a copy of the Tiraes should not be ''precipitated"
half across the globe. Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume now de-
manded that an independent lodge should be established at
Simla for English inquirers. This occasioned a second
letter : —

" We will be at cross purposes in our correspondence
until it has been made entirely plain that occult science has
its own methods of researcli, as fixed and arbitrary as the
methods of its antithesis, physical science, are in their wa^^
If the latter has its dicta, so also have the former ; and he
who would cross the boundary of the unseen world can no
more prescribe how he will proceed, than the traveller who
tries to penetrate to the inner subterranean recesses of
L'Hassa the Blessed could show the way to his guide. The
mysteries never were, never can be, put within the reach of
the general public, not, at least, until the longed-for day
when our religious philosophy becomes universal. At no
time have more than a scarcely appreciable minority of men
possessed Nature's secrets, though multitudes have witnessed
the practical evidences of the possibility of their possession.
The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of
inquirers ; and to become one, he must obey the inward
impulse of his soul, irrespective of the prudential considera-
tions of worldly science or sagacity. Your desire is to be
brought to communicate with one of us directly, without
the ag-ency of either Madame Blavatsky or any medium.
Your idea would be, as I understand it, to obtain such

128 Madame Blavatsky,

communications, either by letters, as the present one, or by-
audible words, so as to be guided by one of us in the
management, and principally in the instruction of the
Society. You seek all this, and yet, as you say yourself,
hitherto you have not found sufficient reasons to even give
up your modes of life, directly hostile to such modes of
communication. This is hardly reasonable. He who would
lift up high the banner of mysticism and proclaim its reign
near at hand must give the example to others. He must
be the first to change his modes of life, and, regarding the
study of the occult mysteries as the upper step in the ladder
of knowledge, must loudly proclaim it such, despite exact
science and the opposition of society. ' The kingdom of
Heaven is obtained by force,' say the Christian mystics. It
is but with armed hand, and ready to either conquer or
perish, that the modern mystic can hope to achieve his
object.

"My first answer covered, I believe, most of the questions
contained in j^our second and even third letter. Having,
then, expressed therein my opinion that the world in general
was unripe for any too staggering proof of occult power,
there but remains to deal with the isolated individuals who
seek, like yourself, to penetrate behind the veil of matter
into the world of primal causes — i.e., we need only consider
now the cases of yourself and Mr. "

" I should here explain," " says Mr. Sinnett," " that one of
my friends at Simla, deeply interested with me in the progress
of this investigation, had, on reading Koot Hoomi's first letter
to me, addressed my correspondent himself. More favourably
circumstanced than I, for such an enterprise, he had even
proposed to make a complete sacrifice of his other pursuits,
to pass away into any distant seclusion which might be
appointed for the purpose, where he might, if accepted as
a pupil in occultism, learn enough to return to the world
armed with powers which would enable him to demonstrate
the realities of spiritual development and the errors of
modern materialism, and then devote his life to the task of
combating modern incredulity and leading men to a practical
comprehension of a better life. I resume Koot Hoomi's
letter : —

" ' This gentleman also has done me the great honour to

Anna Kingsford. 129

address me by name, offering to me a few questions, and
stating the conditions upon which he would be willing to
work for us seriously. But your motives and aspirations
being of diametrically opposite character, and hence leading
to different results, I must reply to each of you separately.

" ' The first and chief consideration in determining us to
accept or reject your ofler lies in the inner motive which
propels you to seek our instruction and, in a certain sense,
our guidance; the latter in all cases under reserve, as I
understand it, and therefore remaining a question inde-
pendent of aught else. Now, what are your motives ? I
may try to define them in their general aspects, leaving
details for further consideration. They are — (1) The desire
to see positive and unimpeachable proofs that there really
are forces in Nature of which science knows nothing ; (2)
the hope to appropriate them some day — the sooner the
better, for you do not like to wait — so as to enable yourself
(iC) to demonstrate their existence to a few chosen Western
minds ; (h) to contemplate future life as an objective reality
built upon the rock of knowledge, not of faith ; and (cj to
finally learn — most important this, among all your motives,
perhaps, though the most occult and the best guarded — the
whole truth about our lodges and ourselves ; to get, in
short, the positive assurance that the " Brothers," of whom
every one hears so much and sees so little, are real entities,
not fictions of a disordered, huUucinated brain. Such,
viewed in their best light, appear to us your motives for
addressing me. And in the same spirit do I answer them,
hoping that my sincerity will not be interpreted in a
wrong way, or attributed to anything like an unfriendly
spirit.

" ' To our minds, then, these motives, sincere and worthy
of every serious consideration from the worldly standpoint,
appear selfish. (You have to pardon me what you might
view as crudeness of language, if your desire is that which
you really profess — to learn truth and get instruction from,
us who belong to quite a different world from the one you
move in.) They are selfish, because you must be aware that
the chief object of the Theosophical Society is not so much
to gratify individual aspirations as to serve our fellow-men,
and the real value of this term '' selfish," which may jar upon

I

130 Madame Blavatsky.

your ear, has a peculiar significance with us which it cannot
have with you ; therefore, to begin with, you must not
accept it otherwise than in the former sense. Perhaps 3^ou
will better appreciate our meaning when told that in our
view the highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity
become tainted with selfishness, if, in the mind of the
philanthropist, there lurks the shadow of a desire for self-
benefit, or a tendency to do injustice, even where these
exist unconsciously to himself. Yet you have ever dis-
cussed, but to put down, the idea of a Universal Brother-
hood, questioned its usefulness, and advised to remodel the
Theosophical Society on the principle of a college for the
special study of occultism

"'Having disposed of personal motives, let us analyse
your terms for helping us to do public good. Broadly
stated, these terms are — first, that an independent Anglo-
Indian Theosophical Society shall be founded through your
kind services, in the management of which neither of our
present representatives shall have any voice ; ^ and, second,
that one of us shall take the new body '' under his patron-
age," be " in free and direct communication with its leaders,''
and afford them " direct proof that he really possessed that
superior knowledge of the forces of Nature and the attri-
butes of the human soul which would inspire them with
proper confidence in his leadership." I have copied your
own words so as to avoid inaccuracy in defining the
position.

" * From your point of view, therefore, those terms may
seem so very reasonable as to provoke no dissent, and, in-
deed, a majority of your countrymen — if not of Europeans
—might share that opinion. What, will you say, can be

^ " In the absence of my own letter, to which this is a reply, the reader
might think from this sentence that I had been animated by some un-
friendly feeling for the representatives referred to — Madame Blavatsky
and Colonel Olcott. This is far from having been the case ; but, keenly
alive to mistakes wdiich had been made up to the time of which I am

writing, in the management of the Theosophical Society, Mr. and

myself were under the impression that better public results might be
obtained by commencing operations de novo, and taking, ourselves, the
direction of the measures which might be employed to recommend the
study of occultism to the modern world. This belief on our part was
co-existent in both cases with a warm friendship based on the purest
esteem for both the persons mentioned."

Anna Kingsford, 131

more reasonable than to ask that that teacher anxious to
disseminate his knowledge, and pupil offering him to do so,
should be brought face to face, and the one give the ex-
perimental proof to the other that his instructions were
correct ? Man of the world, living in, and in full sympa-
thy with it, you are undoubtedly right. But the men of
this other world of ours, untutored in your modes of
thought, and who find it very hard at times to follow and
appreciate the latter, can hardly be blamed for not respond-
ing as heartily to your suggestions as in your opinion they
deserve. The first and most important of our objections is
to be found in our Yides. True, we have our schools and
teachers, our neophytes and " shaberons " (superior adepts),
and the door is always open to the right man who knocks —
And we invariably welcome the new-comer — only, instead
of going over to him, he has to come to us. More than that,
unless he has reached that point in the path of occultism
from which return is impossible by his having irrevocably
pledged himself to our Association, we never — except in
cases of utmost moment — visit him or even cross the thres-
hold of his door in visible appearance.

" ' Is any of you so eager for knowledge and the beneficent
powers it confers, as to be ready to leave your world and
come into ours ? Then let him come, but he must not
think to return until the seal of the mysteries has locked
his lips even against the chances of his own weakness or
indiscretion. Let him come by all means as the pupil to
the master, and without conditions, or let him wait, as so
many others have, and be satisfied with such crumbs of
knowledge as may fall in his way.

" * And supposing you were thus to come, as two of your
own countrymen have already — as Madame B. did and Mr.
O. will — supposing you were to abandon ail for the truth ;
to toil wearily for years up the hard, steep road, not daunted
by obstacles, firm under every temptation; were to faith-
fully keep within your heart the secrets entrusted to you
as a trial ; had worked with all your energies and unselfishly
to spread the truth and provoke men to correct thinking
and a correct life — would you consider it just, if, after all
your efforts, we were to grant to Madame B. or Mr. O. as
"outsiders " the terms you now ask for yourselves. Of these

132 Madame Blavatsky,

two persons, one has already o^iven three-fourths of a life,
the other six 3^ears of manhood's prime to us, and both will
so klDOur to the close of their days ; though ever working
for their merited reward, yet never demanding it, nor mur-
muring when disappointed. Even though they respectively
could accomplish far less than they do, would it not be a
palpable injustice to ignore them in an important field of
Theosophical efibrt ? Ingratitude is not among our vices,
nor do we imagine you would wish to advise it.

'' * Neither of them has the least inclination to interfere
with the management of the contemplated Anglo-Indian
Branch, nor dictate its office. But the new Society, if
formed at all, must, though bearing a distinctive title of its
own, be, in fact, a branch of the parent body, as is the
British Theosophical Society at London, and contribute to
its vitality and usefulness b}^ promoting its leading idea of
a Universal Brotherhood, and in other practicable ways.

" ' Badly as the phenomena may have been shown, there
have still been, as j^ourself admit, certain ones that are un-
impeachable. The " raps on the table when no one touches
it," and the " bell sounds in the air," have, you say, always
been regarded as satisfactory, etc., etc. From this, you
reason that good test phenomena " may easily be multiplied
ad hifiiiitwin." So they can — in any place where our mag-
netic and other conditions are constantly offered, and where
we do not have to act with and through an enfeebled
female body, in which, as we might say, a vital cyclone is
rao'ing much of the time. But imperfect as may be our
visible agent, yet she is the best available at present, and
her phenomena have for about half a century astonished
and baffled some of the cleverest minds of the age ' "

All this should make us cr}^ as well as laugh. A gallant
gentleman announces himself as ready to throw off the gold-
embroidered coat of the secretary to the Government of
India and to don the dirt and the leopard's skin of the Yogi.
And yet Madame Metrovitch, the variety performer, tells
him coolly that he is not morally worthy of such a career
although she is.

I must draw attention to one or two other points.

There is much in these letters that might influence a mind
like Anna Kinsfsford or Mr. Hume. As a historical fact we

Anna Kingsfoi'd, 133

know that both were so influenced. But this would be
effected not by what they state, but what they suggest. If
you tell a Swedenborg that a band of workers are "raising
the banner of mysticism " in a certain locality, he would at
once draw a flattering mind-picture of these workers, a
picture that one whose " interior man " (to use the Sweden-
borg language) was not developed could not draw. This
gives us the secret of Madame Blavatsky's influence over
genuine mystics like Anna Kingsford. But these letters,
instead of really " raising the banner of m3^sticism," pull it
down. Mr. Hume and Mr. Sinnett make a very reasonable
request. They ask to have a branch lodge at Simla to
" raise the banner of mysticism " amongst the English.
Now, if there had been any real Mahatmas this request
would certainly not have been refused, for those astute
persons would have seen that by such means the suspicions
aroused in the English mind by Madame Blavatsky and
Colonel Olcott would have been allayed. But it did not
suit the Russian adventuress to tell the world what real
yoga was, namely, an inner growth independent of any
Mahatmas and certainly independent of any Blavatskys,
Therefore she dances on thin ice all through the corre-
spondence, and dances very cleverly.

It appears that Mr. Sinnett and Mr. Hume thought
Simla the best headquarters for a lodge, whether indepen-
dent of Madame Blavatsky or under her supervision. But
there are wheels within wheels : —

' Simla.

" My dear Mme. Coulolib,

'' I am obliged to remain till the 25th of
October, as I can make 200 rupees, offered me by the
Foreign Office for translating a book of Russian statistics.
Say so to Damodar.

"Don't give yourself the trouble of setting the house.
When I leave here, I will have to stop at various places, as
I promised to pay visits to several persons, and have to see
some fellows on my way back. I may be detained till end
of November. I cannot go to Ceylon now. In January, I
will go to Calcutta — to Mrs. Gordon— to establish a branch,
and I want Olcott to come back, and go together to Bom-

134 Madame Blavatsky,

bay again from Calcutta. I may not go to Ceylon before
the spring.

" Say to Damoclar his idea of establishing headquarters
at Simla is absurd. He must have been influenced by Mr.
Hume (magnetically), as it is Mr. Hume's hobby. If I
change my headquarters — and we have to do it, for I hate
Bombay — I will have headquarters at Calcutta and Ceylon,
going to Simla every summer for two or three months.
The rent here for a cottage of three rooms is 2,000 rupees,
and everything dear in proportion. Hume and Damodar
are both crazy.

" 01), mon pauvre Christo- '' Oh, my poor Christofolo I

folo! II est done more, et He is dead then, and you

vous I'avez tue ? Oh, ma have killed him ? Oh, my

cheie amie, si vous saviez dear friend, if you only knew

comme je voudrais le voir how I would like to see him

revivre ! revive !

" Ma benediction a mon " My blessing on my poor
pauvre Christofolo. Toujours Christofolo. Ever yours,
a vous, H. P. B." H. P. B."

Here is another letter from a Mahatma. They do not
all seem to be up to the same lofty moral plane : —

" My ' DEAR Brother,' — This brooch, No. 2, is placed in
this very strange place, simply to show you how very
easil}^ a real phenomenon is produced, and how still easier
it is to suspect its genuineness. Make of it what you like,
even to classing me with confederates.

" The difficulty you spoke of last night with respect to
the interchange of our letters, I will try to remove. One
of our pupils will shortly visit Lahore and the N.-W. P. ;
and an address will be sent to you which you can always
use ; unless, indeed, you really would prefer corresponding
through — pillows ? Please to remark that the present is
not dated from a * Lodge,' but from a Kashmere valley."

This next is better. It is a decided stroke of genius to
make the Mahatma speak of her as " the old lady," but I

Anna Kingsford. 135

think she might have remembered that when he met her
in 1857, she was not an old lady. One can't think of
everything : —

"You see, then, that we have weightier matters than
small societies to think about ; yet the Theosophical Society
must not be neglected. The affair has taken an impulse
which, if not well guided, might beget very evil issues.
Recall to mind the avalanches of your admired Alps, and
remember that at first their mass is small, and their
momentum little. A trite comparison, you may say, but I
cannot think of a better illustration when viewing the
gradual aggregation of trifling events growing into a
menacing destiny for the Theosophical Society.' It came
quite forcibly upon me the other day as I was coming down
the detiles of Konelum — Karakorum you call them — and
saw an avalanche tumble. I had gone personally to our
chief .... and was crossing over to Lhadak on my way
home. What other speculations might have followed I
cannot say. But just as I was taking advantage of the
awful stillness which usually follows such cataclysms, to
get a clearer view of the present situation, and the disposi-
tion of the ' mystics ' at Simla, I was rudely recalled to my
senses. A familiar voice, as shrill as the one attributed to
Saraswati's peacock — which, if we may credit tradition,
frightened off the King of the Nagas — shouted along the
currents — ' .... Koot Hoomi, come quicker and help me ! '
and, in her excitement, forgot she was speaking English.
I must say that the ' old lady's ' telegrams do strike one
like stones from a catapult.

" What could I do but come. Argument through space
with one who was in cold despair and in a state of moral
chaos was useless. So I determined to emerge from a
seclusion of many years, and spend some time with her to
comfort her as well as I could. But our friend is not one
to cause her mind to reflect the philosophical resignation of
Marcus Aurelius. The Fates never wrote that she could
say : — ' It is a royal thing when one is doing good to hear
evil spoken of himself.' I had come for a few days, but
now find that I m3^self cannot endure for any length of
time the stifling magnetism even of my own countrymen.
I have seen some of our proud old Sikhs drunk and stagger-

136 Madame B lav at sky,

ing over the marble pavement of their sacred temple. I
have heard an English-speaking Vakil declaim against Yocj
Viclya and Theosophy as a delusion and a lie, declaring that
English science had emancipated them from such degrading
superstitions, and saying that it was an insult to India to
maintain that the dirty Yogees and Sunnyasis knew any-
thing about the mj^steries of Nature, or that any living
man can, or ever could, perform any phenomena. I turn
my face homeward to-morrow.

" .... I have telegraphed you my thanks for your
obliging compliance with my wishes in the matter you allude

to in 3''our letter of the 24th Received at Amritsur,

on the 27th, at 2 P.M. I got your letter about thirty miles
beyond Rawul Pindee, five minutes later, and had an
acknowledgment wired to you from Jiielum at 4 P.M. on the
same afternoon. Our modes of accelerated delivery and
quick communications are not, then, as you will see, to be
despised by the Western world, or even the Aryan English-
speaking and sceptical Vakils.

" I could not ask a more judicial frame of mind in an
ally than that in which you are beginning to find yourself.
My brother, you have already changed your attitude to-
wards us in a distinct degree. What is to prevent a perfect
mutual understanding one day ? .... It is not possible
that there sliould be much more at best than a benevolent
neutrality shown by your people towards ours. There is so
very minute a point of contact between the two civilisa-
tions they respectively represent, that one might almost say
they could not touch at all. Nor would they, but for the
few — shall I say eccentrics ? — who, like j^ou, dream better
and bolder dreams than the rest, and, provoking thought,
bring the two together by their own admirable audacity."

" The letter before me," says Mr. Sinnett, " is occupied
so much with matters personal to myself, that I can
only make quotations here and there ; but these are
specially interesting, as investing with an air of reality
subjects which are generally treated in vague and pompous
language. Koot Hoomi was anxious to guard me from
idealising the Brothers too much on the strength of my
admiration for their marvellous powers.

" ' Are you certain/ he writes, ' that the pleasant impres-

Anna Kingsford. 137

sion you now may have from our correspondence would not
instantly be destroyed upon seeing me ? And which of our
holy shaherons has had the benefit of even the little uni-
versity education and inkling of European manners that has
fallen to my share?'

" In a guarded way, Koot Hoomi said that as often as it
was practicable to communicate with me, ' whether by
.... letters (in or out of pillows) or personal visits in
astral form, it will be done.' "

How did these letters come ? Mr. Sinnett shall tell us : —

. " I have hitherto said nothing of the circumstances under
which these various letters reached my hands : nor, in com-
parison with the intrinsic interest of the ideas they embody,
can the phenomenal conditions under which some of them
were delivered, be regarded as otherwise than of secondary
interest for readers who appreciate their philosophy. But
every bit of evidence which helps to exhibit the nature of
the powers which the adepts exei'cise, is worth attention,
while the rationale of such powers is still hidden from the
world. The fact of their existence can only be established
by the accumulation of such evidence, as long as we are un-
able to prove their possibility by a priori analysis of the
latent capacities in man,

" My friend to whom the last letter was addressed wrote
a long reply, and subsequently an additional letter for Koot
Hoomi, which he forwarded to me, asking me to read and
then seal it up and send or give it to Madame Blavatsky
for transmission, slie being expected about that time at my
house at Allahabad on her way down country from Am-
ritsur and Lahore, where, as I have already indicated, she
had stayed for some little time after our household broke
up for the season at Simla. I did as desired, and gave the
letter to Madame Blavatskv, after f^ummino; and sealing the
stout envelope in which it was forwarded. That evening,
a few hours afterwards, on returning home to dinner, I
found that the letter had gone, and had come back again.
Madame Blavatsky told me that she had been talking to a
visitor in her own room, and had been fingering a blue
pencil on her writing table without noticing what she was
doing, when she suddenly noticed that the paper on which

138 Madame Blavatsky,

she was scribbling was my letter that the addressee had
duly taken possession of, by his own methods, an hour or
two before. She found that she had, while talking about
something else, unconsciously written on the envelope the
words which it then bore, ' Read and returned with thanks,
and a few commentaries. Please open.' I examined the
envelope carefully, and it was absolutely intact, its very
complete fastenings having remained just as I arranged
them. Slitting it open, I found the letter which it had con-
tained when I sent it, and another from Koot Hoomi to me,
criticising the former with the help of a succession of pencil
ligures that referred to particular passages in the original
letter — another illustration of the passage of matter through
matter, which, for thousands of people who have had per-
sonal experience of it in spiritualism, is as certain a fact of
Nature as the rising of the sun, and which I have now not
only encountered at spiritual seances, but, as this record will
have shown, on many occasions when there is no motive for
suspecting any other agency than that of living beings with
faculties of which we may all possess the undeveloped germs,
though it is only in their case that knowledge has brought
these to phenomenal fruition.

" Sceptical critics, putting aside the collateral bearing of
all the previous phenomena I have described, and dealing
with this letter incident by itself alone, will perhaps say —
Of course, Madame Blavatsky had ample time to open the
envelope by such means as the mediums who profess to get
answers to sealed letters from the spirit world are in the
habit of employing."

Mr. Hodgson (" Proceedings of the Society for Psychical
Kesearch," vol. iii. p. 258) is not satisfied with the genuine-
ness of this '' precipitation."

" The envelope," he says, " was in Madame Blavatsky's
possession for several hours, and when it was returned to
Mr. Sinnett he found it * absolutely intact, its very complete
fastenings having remained just as he had arranged them.'
Cutting the envelope open Mr. Sinnett found inside not
only the letter it had previously contained, but also another
from Koot Hoomi. Mr. Sinnett showed me the envelope.
The fastenings were not by any means what I should call

Anna Kingsford. 139

complete ; so far from this being the case, that owing to the
length of the flap, which was only sealed at its lower ex-
tremity, the letter might have been abstracted, and re-
inserted with other letters, without even steaming the
envelope, or loosening the adhesion of the gum by any other
process. And if the gum had been loosened by careful
steaming, the abstraction and re-insertion would have been
superlatively easy."

"Let the incident," says Mr. Sinnett, "I have just described
be compared with another illustration of an exactly similar
incident which occurred shortly afterwards under different
circumstances. Koot Hoomi had sent me a letter addressed
to my friend to read and forward on. On the subject
of this letter before sending it I had occasion to make
a communication to Koot Hoomi. I wrote a note to
him, fastened it up in an ordinary adhesive envelope,
and gave it to Madame Blavatsky. She put it in her
pocket, went into her own room, which opened out of
the drawing-room, and came out again almost instantly.
Certainly she had not been away thirty seconds. She
said, 'he' had taken it at once. Then she followed me
back through the house to my office-room, spoke for a
few minutes in the adjoining room to my wife, and, return-
ing into my office, lay down on a couch. I went on with
my work, and perhaps ten minutes elapsed, perhaps less.
Suddenly she got up. ' There's your letter,' she said,
pointing to the pillow from which she had lifted her head ;
and there lay the letter I had just written, intact as regards
its appearance, but with Koot Hoomi's name on the outside
scored out and mine written over it. After a thorough ex-
amination I slit the envelope, and found inside, on the fly-
leaf of my note, the answer I required in Koot Hoomi's
handwriting. Now, except for the thirty seconds during
which she retired to her own room, Madame Blavatsky had
not been out of my sight, except for a minute or two in my
wife's room, during the short interval which elapsed be-
tween the delivery of the letter by me to her and its return
to me as described. And during this interval no one else
had come into my room. The incident was as absolute and
complete a mechanical proof of abnormal power exercised
to produce the result as any conceivable test could have

140 Madame Blavatsky.

yielded. Except by declaring that I cannot be describing
it correctly, the most resolute partisan of the commonplace
will be unable seriously to dispute the force of this incident.
He may take refuge in idiotic ridicule, or he may declare
that I am misrepresenting the facts. As regards the latter
hypothesis I can only pledge my word, as I do hereby, to
the exact accuracy of the statement."

An able analj^sis of this incident is given by Mr. Hodgson
in the " Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research,"
vol. iii., p. 257. It appears that Mr. Sinnett made a "de-
position" on the subject with fuller details before a committee
of the society.

'' From this account," says Mr. Hodgson, " it appears that
Madame Blavatsky was not out of Mr. Sinnett's sight for
ten seconds, but in the account given in * The Occult World,'
Mr. Sinnett undertakes to say only that she had not been
away to her room thirty seconds, admitting that she was
out of his sight for a minute or tivo in Mrs. Sinnett's room.
After this I cannot feel certain that Madame Blavatsky
may not have been absent in her own room considerably
more than thirty seconds, nor do I feel certain that Madame
Blavatsky may not have retired to some other room during
the interval of ' a few minutes ' which Mr. Sinnett assigns
to her conversation with Mrs. Sinnett in the adjoining
room. Even apart from this uncertainty I cannot attach
any importance to the case after finding that on my second
trial I could open a firmly closed ordinary adhesive envelope
under such conditions as are described by Mr. Sinnett, read
the enclosed note and reyjly to it, the question and the re-
ply being as long as those of Mr. Sinnett's, and reclose the
envelope, leaving it apparently in the same condition as
before, in one minute. And it appears to me quite possible
that Madame Blavatsky, with her probable superior skill
and practice, might have easily performed the task in thirty
seconds."

" In one or two cases," says Mr. Sinnett, " I have got
back answers from Koot Hoomi to my letters in my own
envelopes, these remaining intact as addressed to him, but
with the address changed, and my letter gone from the in-
side, his reply having taken its place. In two or three cases

Anna Kingsford. 141

I have found short messages from Koot Hoomi written across
the blank parts of letters from other persons, coming to mo
through the post, the writers in these cases being assuredly
unaware of the additions so made to their epistles.

" Of course I have asked Koot Hoomi for an explanation
of these little phenomena, but it is easier for me to ask than
for him to answer, partly because the forces which the
adepts bring to bear upon matter to achieve abnormal
results, are of a kind which ordinary science knows so little
about that we of the outer world are not prepared for such
explanations ; and partly because the manipulation of the
forces employed has to do, sometimes, with secrets of initia-
tion which an occultist must not reveal. However, in
reference to the subject before us, I received on one occasion
this hint as an explanation : —

" ' . . . . Besides, bear in mind that these my letters are
not written, but impressed, or precipitated, and then all
mistakes corrected.'

" Of course, I wanted to know more about such precipita-
tion ; was it a process which followed thought more rapidly
than any with which we were familiar ? And as regards
letters received, did the meaning of these penetrate the
understanding of an occult recipient at once, or were they
read in the ordinary way ?

" ' Of course I have to read every word you write,' Koot
Hoomi replied, ' otherwise I would make a fine mess of it.
And whether it be through my physical or spiritual eyes,
the time required for it is practically the same. As much
may be said of my replies ; for whether I precipitate or
dictate them or write my answers myself, the difiference in
time saved is very minute. I have to think it over, to
photograph every word and sentence carefully in my brain,
before it can be repeated by precipitation. As the fixing
on chemically prepared surfaces of the images formed by the
camera requires a previous arrangement within the focus of
the object to be represented, for otherwise — as often found in
bad photographs — the legs of the sitter might appear out of
all proportion with the head, and so on — so we have to first
arrange our sentences and impress every letter to appear on
paper in our minds before it becomes fit to be read. For
the present it is all I can tell you. When science will have

142 Madame Blavatsky.

learned more about the mystery of the lithophyl (or litho-
biblion),and howtbe impressof leaves comes originally to take
place on stones, then I will be able to make you better under-
stand the process. But you must know and remember one
thing — w^ebut follow and servilely copy Naturein her works.'"

In another letter Koot Hoomi expatiates more fully on
the difficulty of making occult explanations intelligible to
minds trained only in modern science.

" Only the progress one makes in the study of arcane
knowledge from its rudimental elements lorings him
gradually to understand our meaning. Only thus, and not
otherwise, does it, strengthening and refining those myste-
rious links of sympathy between intelligent men — the
temporarily isolated fragments of the universal soul, and the
cosmic soul itself — bring them into full rapport."

Mr. Sinnett relates another marvel : —

" The very first incident which took place was in the
nature of a pleasant greeting from my friend Koot Hoomi.
I had written to him (per Madame Blavatsky, of course)
shortly before leaving London, and had expected to find a
letter from him awaiting my arrival at Bombay. But no
such letter had been received, as I found when I reached
the headquarters of the Theosophical Society, where I had
arranged to stay for a few days before going on to my
destination up country. I got in late at night, and nothing
remarkable happened then. The following morning, after
breakfast, I was sitting talking with Madame Blavatsky in
the room that had been allotted to me. We were sitting at
different sides of a large square table in the middle of the
room, and the fall daylight was shining. There was no one
else in the room. Suddenly, down upon the table before
me, but to my right hand, Madame Blavatsky being to my
left, there fell a thick letter. It fell ' out of nothing,' so
to speak ; it was materialised, or reintegrated in the air
before my eyes. It was Koot Hoomi's expected reply — a
deeply interesting letter, partly concerned with private
matters and replies to questions of mine, and partly with
some large, though as yet shadowy, revelations of occult
philosophy, the first sketch of this that I had received.
Now, of course, I know what some readers will say to this

Anna Kingsford. 143

(with a self-satisfied smile) — ' wires, springs, concealed
apparatus,' and so forth ; but first all the suggestion
would havB been grotesquely absurd to any one who had
been present ; and secondly, it is unnecessary to argue
about objections of this sort all over again ah initio every
time. There were no more wires and springs about the
room I am now referring to, than about the breezy hill-tops
at Simla, where some of our earlier phenomena took place.
I may add, moreover, that some months later an occult note
was dropped before a friend of mine, a Bengal civilian, who
has become an active member of the Theosophical Society,
at a dak bungalow in the north of India ; and that later
again, at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at
Bombay, a letter was dropped according to a previous
promise out in the open air in the presence of six or seven
witnesses."

I now give the celebrated letter of Koot Hoomi to Mr.
Hume. It has been much praised, and is undoubtedly
clever. But it is to be remarked that the same evasions
shine through the grandiloquent language that Dr. Wyld
complained of. Several of my friends have assured me
that when they sought the secrets of magic from Madame
Blavatsky, they were treated to like evasions.

" Dear Sir,

" Availing of the first moments of leisure to
formally answer your letter of the 17th ultimo, I will now
report the result of my conference with our chiefs upon the
proposition therein contained, trying at the same time to
answer all your questions.

" I am first to thank you on behalf of the whole section
of our fraternity that is especially interested in the welfare
of India, for an offer of help whose importance and sincerity
no one can doubt. Tracing our lineage through the vicissi-
tudes of Indian civilisation from a remote past, we have a
love for our motherland so deep and passionate that it has
survived even the broadening and cosmopolitanising (pardon
me if that is not an English word) effect of our studies in
the laws of Nature. And so I, and every other Indian
patriot, feel the strongest gratitude for every kind word or
deed that is given in her behalf.

144 Madame Blavatsky,

"Imagiue, then, that since we are all convinced that the
degradation of India is largely due to the suffocation of her
ancient spirituality, and that whatever helps to restore that
higher standard of thought and morals, must be a regene-
rating national force, everyone of us would naturally and
without urging, be disposed to push forward a society whose
proposed formation is under debate, especially if it really is
meant to become a society untainted by selfish motive, and
whose object is the revival of ancient science, and tendency
to rehabilitate our country in the world's estimation. Take
this for granted without further asseverations. But you
know, as any man wdio has read history, that patriots may
burst their hearts in vain if circumstances are against tliem.
Sometimes it has happened that no human power, not even
the fury and force of the loftiest patriotism, has been able
to bend an iron destiny aside from its fixed course, and
nations have gone out like torches dropped into the water
in the engulfing blackness of ruin. Thus, we who have the
sense of our country's fall, though not the power to lift her
up at once, cannot do as we would either as to general
affairs or this particular one. And with the readiness, but
not the right, to meet 3'our advances more than half-way,
we are forced to say that the idea entertained by Mr.
Sinnett and yourself is impracticable in part. It is, in a
word, impossible for myself or any Brother, or even an
advanced neophyte, to be specially assigned and set apart as
the guiding spirit or chief of the Anglo-Indian branch.
We know it would be a good thing to have you and a few
of your colleagues regularly instructed and shown the
phenomena and their rationale. For though none but you
few would be convinced, still it would be a decided gain to
have even a few Englishmen, of first-class ability, enlisted
as students of Asiatic psychology. We are aware of all
this, and much more ; hence we do not refuse to correspond
with, and otherwise help you in various ways. But what
we do refuse is, to take any other responsibility upon our-
selves than this periodical correspondence and assistance
with our advice, and, as occasion favours, such tangible,
possibly visible, proofs, as would satisfy you of our presence
and interest. To ' guide ' you we will not consent. How-
ever much w^e may be able to do, yet we can promise only

Anna Kingsford, 145

to give you the full measure of your deserts. Deserve
much, and we will prove honest debtors ; little, and you
need only expect a compensating^ .return. This is not a
mere text taken from a schoolboy's copybook, though it
sounds so, but only the clumsy statement of the law of our
order, and we cannot transcend it. Utterly unacquainted
with Western, especially English, modes of thought and
action, were we to meddle in an organisation of such a kind,
you would find all your fixed habits and traditions inces-
santly clashing, if not with the new aspirations themselves,
at least with their modes of realisation as suggested by us.
You could not get unanimous consent to go even the length
you might yourself. I have asked Mr. Sinnett to draft a
plan embodying your joint ideas for submission to our
chiefs, this seeming the shortest way to a mutual agree-
ment. Under our ' guidance ' your branch could not live,
you not being men to be guided at all in that sense. Hence
the society would be a premature birth and a failure, look-
ing as incongruous as a Paris Daumont drawn by a team of
Indian yaks or camels. You ask us to teach you true
science — the occult aspect of the known side of Nature ;
and this you think can be as easily done as asked. You
do not seem to realise the tremendous difficulties in the
way of imparting even the rudiments of our science to
those who have been trained in the familiar methods of
yours. You do not see that the more you have of the one
the less capable you are of instinctively comprehending the
other, for a man can only think in his worn grooves, and
unless he has the courage to fill up these, and make new
ones for himself, he must perforce travel on the old lines.
Allow me a few instances. In conformity with exact
science you would define but one cosmic energy, and see no
difference between the energy expended by the traveller
who pushes aside the bush that obstructs his path, and the
scientific experimenter who expends an equal amount of
energy in setting a pendulum in motion. We do ; for we
know there is a world of difference between the two. The
one uselessly dissipates and scatters force, the other concen-
trates and stores it. And here please understand that I do
not refer to the relative utility of the two, as one might
imagine, but only to the fact that in the one case there is

K

146 Madame Blavatsky,

but brute force flung out without any transmutation of
that brute energy into the higher potential form of spiritual
dj^namics, and in the other there is just that. Please do
not consider me vaguely metaphysical. The idea I wish to
convey is that the result of the highest intellection in the
scientifically occupied brain is the evolution of a sublimated
form of spiritual energy, which, in the cosmic action, is pro-
ductive of illimitable results ; while the automatically act-
ing brain holds, or stores up in itself, only a certain quan-
tum of brute force that is unfruitful of benefit for the
individual or humanity. The human brain is an exhaustless
generator of the most refined quality of cosmic force out of
the low, brute energy of Nature ; and the complete adept
has made himself a centre from which irradiate potentiali-
ties that beget correlations upon correlations through
seons of time to come. This is the key to the mysterj- of
his being able to project into and materialise in the visible
world the forms that his imagination has constructed out
of inert cosmic matter in the invisible world. The adept
does not create anything new, but only utilises and manip-
ulates materials which Nature has in store around him,
and material which, throughout eternities, has passed
through all the forms. He has but to choose the one he
wants, and recall it into objective existence. Would not
this sound to one of your ' learned ' biologists like a mad-
man's dream ?

" You say there are few branches of science with which
you do not possess more or less acquaintance, and that you
believe you are doing a certain amount of good, having
acquired the position to do this by long years of study.
Doubtless you do ; but will you permit me to sketch for
you still more clearly the difference between the modes of
physical (called exact often out of mere compliment) and
metaphysical sciences. The latter, as you know, being
incapable of verification before mixed audiences, is classed
by Mr. Tyndall with the fictions of poetry. The realistic
science of fact on the other hand is utterly prosaic. Now,
for us, poor unknown philanthropists, no fact of either of
these sciences is interesting except in the degree of its
potentiality of moral results, and in the ratio of its useful-
ness to mankind. And what, in its proud isolation, can be

Anna Kings ford. 147

more utterly indifferent to everyone and everything, or
more bound to nothing but the selfish requisites for its
advancement, than this materialistic science of fact ? May
I ask then .... what have the laws of Faraday, Tyndall,
or others, to do with philanthropy in their abstract relations
with humanity, viewed as an intelligent whole ? What care
they for Man as an isolated atom of this great and har-
monious whole, even though they may sometimes be of
practical use to him ? Cosmic energy is something eternal
and incessant ; matter is indestructible ; and there stand
the scientific facts. Doubt them, and you are an ignoramus ;
deny them, a dangerous lunatic, a bigot ; pretend to improve
upon the theories — an impertinent charlatan. And yet
even these scientific facts never suggested any proof to the
world of experimenters that Nature consciously prefers that
matter should be indestructible under organic rather than
inorganic forms, and that she works slowly but incessantly
towards the realisation of tliis object — the evolution of
conscious life out of inert material. Hence their ignorance
about the scattering and concretion of cosmic energy in its
metaphysical aspects, their division about Darwin's theories,
their uncertainty about the degree of conscious life in
separate elements, and, as a necessity, the scornful rejection
of every phenomenon outside their own stated conditions,
and the very idea of worlds of semi-intelligent if not intel-
lectual forces at work in hidden corners of nature. To give
you another practical illustration — we see a vast difference
between the two qualities of two equal amounts of energy
expended by two men, of whom one, let us suppose, is on
his way to his daily quiet work, and another on his way to
denounce a fellow-creature at the police station, while the
men of science see none ; and we — not they — see a specific
difterence between the energy in the motion of the wind
and that of a revolving wheel. And why ? Because every
thought of man upon being evolved passes into the inner
world, and becomes an active entity by associating itself,
coalescing we might term it, with an elemental, that is to
say, with one of the semi-intelligent forces of the kingdoms.
It survives as an active intelligence — a creature of the
mind's begetting — for a longer or shorter period proportion-
ate with the original intensity of the cerebral action which

148 Madmne Blavatsky,

generated it. Thus, a good thought is perpetuated as an
active, beneficent power, an evil one as a maleficent demon.
And so man is continually peopling his current in space
with a world of his own, crowded with the offsprings of his
fancies, desires, impulses, and passions ; a current which re-
acts upon any sensitive or nervous organisation which
comes in contact with it, in proportion to its dynamic in-
tensity. The Buddhist calls this his ' Shandba ' ; the Hindu
gives it the name of ' Karma.' The adept involves these
shapes consciously ; other men throw them off unconsci-
ously. The adept, to be successful and preserve his power,
must dwell in solitude, and more or less within his own soul.
Still less does exact science perceive that while the building
ant, the busy bee, the nidifacient bird, accumulates each in
its own humble way as much cosmic energy in its potential
form as a Haydn, a Plato, or a ploughman turning his
furrow, in theirs ; the hunter who kills game for his
pleasure or profit, or the positivist who applies his intellect
to proving that + X -f = - , are wasting and scattering
energy no less than the tiger which springs upon its prey.
They all rob Nature instead of enriching her, and will
all, in the degree of their intelligence, find themselves ac-
countable.

" Exact experimental science has nothing to do with
morality, virtue, philanthropy, therefore can make no claim
upon our help until it blends itself with metaphysics.
Being but a cold classification of facts outside man, and
existing before and after him, her domain of usefulness
ceases for us at the outer boundary of these facts ; and,
whatever the inferences and results for humanity from the
materials acquired by her method, she little cares. There-
fore, as our sphere lies entirely outside hers — as far as the
path of Uranus is outside the Earth's — we distinctly refuse
to be broken on any wheel of her construction. Heat is
but a mode of motion to her, and motion develops heat, but
why the mechanical motion of the revolving wheel should
be metaphysically of a higher value than the heat into
which it is gradually transformed she has yet to discover.
The philosophical and transcendental (hence absurd) notion
of the medipeval theosophists that the final progress of
human labour, aided by the incessant discoveries of man,

Anna Kingsford, 149

must one day culminate in a process which, in imitation of
the Sun's energy — in its capacity as a direct motor — shall
result in the evolution of nutritious food out of inorganic
matter, is unthinkable for men of science. Were the sun,
the great nourishing father of our planetary system, to hatch
granite chickens out of a boulder ' under test conditions '
to-morrow, they (the men of science) would accept it as a
scientific fact without wasting a regret that the fowls were
not alive so as to feed the hungry and the starving. But
let a shaberon cross the Himalayas in a time of famine and
multiply sacks of rice for the perishing multitudes — as he
could — and your magistrates and collectors would probably
lodge him in jail to make him confess what granary he had
robbed. This is exact science and your realistic world.
And though, as you say, you are impressed by the vast ex-
tent of the world's ignorance on every subject, which you
pertinately designate as a ' few palpable facts collected and
roughly generalised, and a technical jargon invented to
hide man's ignorance of all that lies behind these facts,' and
though you speak of your faith in the infinite possibilities
of Nature, yet you are content to spend your life in a work
which aids only that same exact science. . . .

" Of your several questions we will first discuss, if you
please, the one relating to the presumed failure of the
' Fraternity ' to * leave any mark upon the history of the
world.' They ought, you think, to have been able, with
their extraordinar}^ advantages, to have 'gathered into their
schools a considerable portion of the more enlightened
minds of every race.' How do you know they have made
no such mark? Are you acquainted with their eflforts, suc-
cesses, and failures ? Have you any dock upon which to
arraign them? How could your world collect proofs of the
doings of men who have sedulously kept closed every
possible door of approach by which the inquisitive could
spy upon them ? The prime condition of their success was
that they should never be supervised or obstructed. What
they have done they know ; all that those outside their
circle could perceive was results, the causes of which were
masked from view. To account for these results, men have,
in different ages, invented theories of the iQterposition of
gods, special providences, fates, the benign or hostile in-

150 Madame Slav at sky.

fliience of the stars. There never was a time within or
before the so-called historical period when our predecessors
were not moulding events and * making history/ the facts
of which were subsequently and invariably distorted by
historians to suit contemporary prejudices. Are you quite
sure that the visible heroic figures in the successive dramas
were not often but their puppets ? We never pretended to
be able to draw nations in the mass to this or that crisis in
spite of the general drift of the world's cosmic relations.
The cycles must run their rounds. Periods of mental and
moral light and darkness succeed each other as day does
night. The major and minor yugas must be accomplished
accordino- to the established order of thinojs. And we,
borne along on the mighty tide, can only modify and direct
some of its minor currents. If we had the powers of the
imaginary Personal God, and the universal and immutable
laws were but toys to play with, then, indeed, might we
have created conditions that would have turned this earth
into an arcadia for lofty souls. But having to deal with an
immutable law, being ourselves its creatures, we have had
to do what we could, and rest thankful. There have been
times when ' a considerable portion of enlightened minds '
were taught in our schools. Such times there were in
India, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. But, as I re-
marked in a letter to Mr. Sinnett, the adept is the efflor-
escence of his age, and comparatively few ever appear in a
single century. Earth is the battle-ground of moral no
less than of physical forces, and the boisterousness of
animal passion, under the stimulus of the rude energies of
the lower group of etheric agents, always tends to quench
spirituality. What else could one expect of men so nearly
related to the lower kingdom from which they evolved ?
True also, our numbers are just now diminishing, but this
is because, as I have said, we are of the human race, subject
to its cyclic impulse, and powerless to turn that back upon
itself. Can you turn the Gunga or the Bramaputra back
to its sources ; can you even dam it so that its piled-up
waters will not overflow the banks ? No ; but you may
draw the stream partly into canals, and utilise its hydraulic
power for the good of mankind. So we, who cannot stop
the world from going in its destined direction, are yet able

Anna Kings ford. 151

to divert some part of its energy into useful channels.
Think of us as demi-gods, and my explanation will not
satisfy you ; view us as simple men — perhaps a little wiser
as the result of special study — and it ought to answer your
objection.

" ' What good/ you say, ' is to be attained for my fellows
and myself (the two are inseparable) by these occult
sciences ? ' When the natives see that an interest is taken
by the English, and even by some high officials in India, in
their ancestral science and philosophies, they will themselves
take openly to their study. And when they come to realise
that the old ' divine ' phenomena were not miracles, but
scientific effects, superstition will abate. Thus, the greatest
evil that now oppresses and retards the revival of Indian
civilisation wdll in time disappear. The present tendency
of education is to make them materialistic and root out spiri-
tuality. With a proper understanding of what their ances-
tors meant by their writings and teachings, education would
become a blessing, whereas now it is often a curse. At
present the non-educated, as much as the learned natives,
regard the English as too prejudiced, because of their Chris-
tian religion and modern science, to care to understand
them or their traditions. They mutually hate and mis-
trust each other. This changed attitude towards the older
philosophy, would influence the native princes and wealthy
men to endow normal schools for the education of pundits ;
and old MSS., hitherto buried out of the reach of the
Europeans, would again come to light, and with them the
key to much of that which was hidden for ages from the
popular understanding, for which your sceptical Sanscritists
do not care, which your religious missionaries do not dare,
to understand. Science would gain much, humanity every-
thing. Under the stimulus of the Anglo-Indian Theosophi-
cal Society, we might in time see another golden age of

Sanscrit literature

" If we look at Ceylon we shall see the most scholarly
priests combining, under the lead of the Theosophical
Society, in a new exegesis of Buddhistic philosophy ; and at
Galle, on the 15th of September, a secular Theosophical
School for the teaching of Singhalese youth, opened with
an attendance of over three hundred scholars ; an example

152 Madame Blavatsky.

about to be imitated at three other points in that island.
If the Theosophical Society, 'as at present constituted/
has indeed no ' real vitality/ and yet in its modest way has
done so much practical good, how much greater results
might not be anticipated from a body organised upon the
better plan you could suggest ?

" The same causes that are materialising the Hindu mind
are equally affecting all Western thought. Education en-
thrones scepticism, but imprisons spirituality. You can do
immense good by helping to give the Western nations a
secure basis upon which to reconstruct their crumbling
faith. And what they need is the evidence that Asiatic
psychology alone supplies. Give this, and you will confer
happiness of mind on thousands. The era of blind faith is
gone; that of inquiry is here. Inquiry that only unmasks
error, without discovering anything upon which the soul
can build, will but make iconoclasts. Iconoclasm, from its
very destructiveness, can give nothing ; it can only raze.
But man cannot rest satisfied with bare negation. Agnos-
ticism is but a temporary halt. This is the moment to
guide the recurrent impulse which must soon come, and
which will push the age towards extreme atheism, or drag
it back to extreme sacerdotalism, if it is not led to the
primitive soul-satisfying philosophy of the Aryans. He
who observes what is going on to-day, on the one hand
among the Catliolics, who are breeding mira^cles as fast as
the white ants do their young, on the other among the free
thinkers, who are converting by masses into Agnostics —
will see the drift of things. The age is revelling at a de-
bauch of phenomena. The same marvels that the spiritual-
ists quote in opposition to the dogmas of eternal perdition
and atonement, the Catholics swarm to witness as proof of
their faith in miracles. The sceptics make game of both.
All are blind, and there is no one to lead them. You and
your colleagues may help to furnish the materials for a
needed universal religious philosophy ; one impregnable to
scientific assault, because itself the finality of absolute
science, and a religion that is indeed worthy of the name
since it includes the relations of man physical to man
psychical, and of the two to all that is above and below
them. Is not this worth a slight sacrifice ? And if, after

Anna Kingsford, 153

reflection, you shall decide to enter this new career, let it
be known that your society is no miracle-mongering or
banqueting club, nor specially given to the study of pheno-
menalism. Its chief aim is to extirpate current supersti-
tions and scepticism, and from long-sealed ancient fountains
to draw the proof that man may shape his own future
destiny and know for a certainty that he can live hereafter,
if he only wills, and that all ' plienomena ' are but mani-
festations of natural law, to try to comprehend which is the
duty of every intelligent being."

All this is very fine, but it suggests a doubt whether
Madame Blavatsky knew anything herself about the soul
growth of Boehme and Buddha. With her the "ancient
Indian spiritualism " seems to mean " phenomena," " science,"
" proof " of a next world.

An able analysis of the Koot Hoomi letters is given by
Mr. Hodgson in the Report that I have frequently quoted.
Mr. Sims and Mr. Nethercliffc, the leading experts in hand-
writing, pronounced the letters to be in the handwriting of
Madame Blavatsky, unskilfully disguised at first, more
skilfully disguised later on. Mr. Hodgson saw many of
these letters in manuscript, a great advantage, as he says
that in print they have been much edited. He thinks that
in style Koot Hoomi and Madame Blavatsky have many
points of similarity, " especially in the cumbrous and wordy
form of sentence which so often appears, in the abundance
of parenthetical phrases, and in the occasional use of oidri
metaphors."

Also both at times wrote curious English : —

Koot Hoomi. Madame Blavatsky.

your's, her's your's

fulfill, dispell expell

thiefs thiefs

leasure deceaved, beseached

quarreling, marshaling quarreling, quarreled

alloted cooly (for coolly)

in totto lazzy, lazziness

defense defense

Other mistakes, says Mr. Hodgson, suggesting that the

154

Madame Blavatsky

writer was accustomed to French, may be found in different
Koot Hoomi documents ; for instance, montain for movm-
tcdn, pro fond for profound, vantedy for vaunted. " You
have to beat your iron while it is yet hot."

Also both seemed to have the same ideas about dividing
words at the end of a line : —

Koot Hoomi.

Madame Blavatsky.

incessan-tly, direc-tly

una-cquainted

fun-ctions

po-werless

des-pite, misunders-tood

recen-tly, hones-tly, perfec-tly

cha-nged

correc-tness

po-wers

Beacon-sfields

Both also seemed to mentally construct their sentences
first in French and then to transfer them to English. Mr.
Hodgson gives several specimens of these. Amongst others
the following^ : —

Koot Hoomi.

Madame Blavatsky.

So more the pity for him.

You felt impatient and
believed having reasons to
complain.

One who understands
tolerably well English.

Their active meiitality pre-
venting them to receive clear
outside impressions.

So more the pity for him.

There is not a tittle of
doubt for it being so.

Olcott says you speak very
well English.

The mediums reproached
me with preventing by my
presence the " spirits " to
come.

Then, too, there were specimens of American spelling, for
instance, Koot Hoomi spelt " skepticism " thus.

CHAPTER XL

PROFESSOR KIDDLE.

Madame Blavatsky with Colonel Olcott and Baboula, the
conjurer's boy, is steaming through the Suez Canal. She
is approaching, but from an opposite pole, Anna Kingsford.

The advent of this latter lady was of immense importance
to the theosophists. She did not stay very long, but she
imported mysticism into the society. Koot Hoomi had
prated about the mystical " banner," but as theosophy with
Madame Blavatsky meant the guinea annual subscriptions
of the members, it stood to reason that she could not toler-
ate any theory of magic that was not based on intricate
secrets of the powers of five-ra^^ed stars and catch -words,
of which she alone possessed accurate knowledge. With
Mrs. Kingsford were associated earnest students of the old
Kabbalism like Mrs. Penny and Mr. Maitland. A few of
these remained in the society, but most of them by and by
left and formed "Hermetic" societies, "Christian Magians,"
" Christo Theosophical " societies, and so on.

Madame Blavatsky at length reached England ; but it is
to be doubted whether it was very wise policy allowing her
to come. She was soon at her old tricks. The day after
she v/as introduced to Anna Kingsford, a little comedy took
place. The two ladies met in the morning, and by and by
went together to a pastry-cook's shop for lunch. A discus-
sion had previously taken place about a certain article in The
Theosophist, Madame Blavatsky, who had started it, main-
taining that such and such words were in the article, and
Mrs. Kingsford being under an impression that they were

not. With the Russian lady was a native of India, M ,

who had come to England to bear testimony as to the exist-
ence of the Mahatmas.

" M — ' — , have you got that copy of The Theosophist in
your pocket ? " said Madame Blavatsky.

155

156 Madame B lav at sky.

The answer was in the negative.

At lunch the discussion was revived, and Madame Bla-
vatsky was more positive than ever. She affected to lose
her temper.

" M , I must have that copy," meaning that it must

be at once brought by occult means.

" There it is 1 " said M , producing it from his pocket,

but Mrs. Kingsford failed to credit this " precipitation."

Mrs. Kingsford used to narrate another amusing anecdote.
One day she cross-examined the native.

" M , tell me truly, have you ever seen these Mahat-

mas ? "

" Seen ! What do you mean by ' seen ' ? The word is
vague."

" Have you seen any of them in the flesh ? "

" In the flesh ! No ! I have seen their astral bodies."

A short time afterwards Mrs. Kingsford learnt from
another lady that she had put the same question, and elic-
ited quite a different answer.

"M , what is this? You told Mrs. Dash that you

had seen the Mahatmas in the flesh."

" Yes, I did so proclaim," said the native.

" And you told me just the contrary."

" That is so."

" But is not one statement a falsehood ? "

" No, it is occultism — "

" Then occultism permits — "

" Any lie as long as it is not quite impossible."

Dr. Anna Kingsford told me another funny anecdote.
Madame Blavatsky was at an evening party convened in
her honour, and M , the native, was there also. Sud-
denly in the middle of a commonplace conversation, the
Russian lady threw herself sprawling on her knees, and

M imitated her. Both looked with an expression of

reverence and awe in the direction of an imaginary Ma-
hatma whom they pretended to see.

But in truth the alliance between Madame Blavatsky
and Anna Kingsford could not last very long. The mind
of one was saturated with the teachings of Boehme and
the fine old mystics, whereas the theosophy of the other
was a complete antagonism to this.

Professor Kiddle. 157

The motto of the neo-platonist was simple — " Withdraw
into thyself, and the adytum of thine own soul will reveal
to thee profounder secrets than the Cave of Mithras."

The philosophy of Mrs. Kingsford was similar : — " There
is no enlightenment from without. The secret of things is
revealed from within."

She had an original mind, but she never liked to break
completely away from the old orthodoxies. She pondered
over the saying of Matthew Arnold :

" At the present moment there are two things about the
Christian religion which must be obvious to every percipient
person ; one, that men cannot do without it ; the other, that
they cannot do with it as it is."

But Christianity was certainly not an atheism. Indeed
the Christian mystics, as Mrs. Kingsford well knew, based
their entire system on the text (John xiv. 23), "Jesus an-
swered and said unto him, If a man love me he will keep
my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him and make our abode with him."

But how could there be union with God in a system
which denied God altogether ? The answer was that by

" living the life," a theosophist like M was rewarded

by visits from the Mahatmas in their astral bodies. But
then what guarantee was there for the genuineness of these
visits ? The Mahatma might be a wicked shell personating
a Mahatma. Besides a visit from a Mahatma has nothing
to do with the next world at all. A Mahatma is as much a

mortal as M himself. But after life theories are

theories, and folks can differ about these theories and still
remain fast friends. But Madame Blavatsky was very
irritable and very aggressive. Mrs. Kingsford, in alliance
with Mr. Maitland, wrote a pamphlet protesting against her
atheism. They proposed that a section of the London
Lodge should be allowed independent speculations. But a
letter from Koot Hoomi at once threatened immediate
expulsion. And a still less satisfactory event now
occurred.

In Mr. Hodgson's article (p. 397 of the " Proceedings ") is
a copy of a letter written by Madame Blavatsky to a
medium^ " X," exhorting him to deceive Mr. Massey by the
aid of a sham miracle.

158 Madame Blavatsky,

" My Dear Good Friend,

" Do you remember what Z (the medium's control) told
or rather promised to me ? That whenever there is need for
it he will always be ready to carry any message, leave it
either on Massey's table, his pocket, or some other mysteri-
ous place. Well now, there is the tnost important need for
such a sliow of his powers. Please ask him to take the
enclosed letter and put it into M.'s pocket, or in some other
still more mysterious place. But he must not know it is Z.
Let him think what he likes, but he must not suspect you
had been near him with Z at your orders. He does not
distrust you, but he does Z."

Madame Blavatsky, taxed with this letter, admitted that
this portion was genuine : —

" ExGHEiN, Friday.

" All I have the honour now of telling you is — on my
theosojyJoical ivord of honour, — 1. That I am the author of
but the first part of the letter you quote, i.e., a few hurried
lines to X, after receiving the letter addressed to you and
received by me at Girgaum, Bombay — asking X to remind
Z of his promise and convey the letter to you by any means
provided they were occult. My authorship begins with ' My
dear good friend,' and ends with ' He does not distrust you,
but he does Z.' What follows after has never been written
by me."

But Mr. Hodgson draws attention to the fact that there
was nothing in her letter about sending the letter to Mr.
Massey " only by occult means," and that in the other part
of the letter a certain " L.L." was to be treated to occult
letters by pure cheating. It will be remembered that Mrs.
Besant has urged in her biography that Madame Coulomb
is the sole witness against Madame Blavatsky. This is not
quite correct, for in Cairo, in America, and here in London,
the same queer stories of confederacy crop up. And the
defence, namely, that part of the letter is forged, is unin-
telligible. How could a piece of paper be found with water-
marks, etc., corresponding exactly with those of the letter

Professo7' Kiddle. 159

to be altered, and how could the two pieces be spliced
together so as to avoid detection ?

But whilst Anna Kingsford was tryino- to reconcile
Madame Guyon and Koot Hoomi, and the Psycliic Research
Society were taking down " depositions," and listening to
the "astral bell " concealed up Madame Blavatsky's petti-
coats, a bolt fell from the blue. In Ligld, September 1st,
1883, appeared the following letter : —

" Sir,

"In a communication that appeared in your issue
of July 21st, ' G. W., M.D,,' reviewing * Esoteric Buddhism/
says : ' Regarding this Koot Hoomi, it is a very remarkable
and unsatisfactory fact that Mr. Sinnett, although in cor-
respondence with him for years, has yet never JDcen per-
mitted to see him.' I agree with your correspondent
entirely; and this is not the only fact that is unsatisfactory
to me. On reading Mr. Sinnett's ' Occult World,' more
than a year ago, I was very greatly surprised to find in one of
the letters presented by Mr. Sinuett as having been trans-
mitted to him by Koot Hoomi, in the mysterious manner
described, a passage taken almost verhatirti from an address
on Spiritualism by me at Lake Pleasant, in August, 1880,
and published the same month by the Banner of Light.
As Mr. Sinnett's book did not appear till a considerable
time afterwards (about a year, I think), it is certain that I
did not quote, consciously or unconsciously, from its pages.
How, then, did it get into Koot Hoomi's mysterious letter ?

" I sent to Mr. Sinnett a letter through his publishers,
enclosing the printed pages of my address, with the part
used by Koot Hoomi marked upon it, and asked for an
explanation, for I wondered that so great a sage as Koot
Hoomi should need to borrow anything from so humble a
student of spiritual things as myself. As yet I have re-
ceived no reply ; and the query has been suggested to my
mind — Is Koot Hoomi a myth ? or, if not, is he so great an
adept as to have impressed my mind with his thoughts and
words while I was preparing my address ? If the latter
were the case he could not consistently exclaim : ' Pereant
qui ante nos nostra dixerunt.'

'' Perhaps Mr. Sinnett may think it scarcely worth while

i6o Madame Blavatsky.

to solve this little problem ; but the fact that the existence
of the brotherhood has not yet been proved may induce
some to raise the question suggested by ' G. W., Sl.D.' Is
there any such secret order ? On this question, which is
not intended to imply anything offensive to Mr. Sinnett,
that other still more important question may depend. Is
Mr. Sinnett's recently published book an exponent of
Esoteric Buddhism ? It is, doubtless, a work of great
ability, and its statements are Vv^orthy of deep thought ; but
the main question is, are they true, or how can they be
verified ? As this cannot be accomplished except by the
exercise of abnormal or transcendental faculties, they must
be accepted, if at all, upon the ii^se dixit of the accom-
plished adept, who has been so kind as to sacrifice his
esoteric character or vow, and make Mr. Sinnett his channel
of communication with the outer world, thus rendering his
sacred knowledge exoteric Hence, if this publication, with
its wonderful doctrine of ' Shells,' overturning the consola-
tory conclusions of Spiritualists, is to be accepted, the
authority must be established, and the existence of the
adept or adepts — indeed, the facts of adeptship — must be
proved. The first step in affording this proof has hardly
yet, I think, been taken. I trust this book will be very
carefully analysed, and the nature of its inculcations ex-
posed, whether they are Esoteric Buddhism or not."

The following are the passages referred to, printed side
by side for the sake of ready reference : —

Eoctract from Mr. Kiddle's Extract fromKoot Hoomis

discourse, entitled "The Pre- letter to Mr. Sinnett, in the

sent Outlook of Spiritual- ''Occidt World,'' Srd Edi-

ism," delivered at Lake tion, p. 102. The first edi-

Pleasant Camp Meeting on tion was published in June^

Sunday, August 15th, ISSO. 1881.

"My friends, icZeas rule the "Ideas rule the world ; and

world; and as men's minds as men's minds receive new

receive new ideas, laying ideas, laying aside the old

asid§ the old and effete, the and effete, the world will

world advances. Societyrests advance, mighty revolutions

Professor Kiddle.

i6i

U[)on them ; mighty revolu-
tions spring from them ; in-
stitutions crumble before
their onward march. It is
just as impossible to resist
their influx, when the time
comes, as to stay the pro-
gress of the tide.

And the agency called
Spiritualism is bringing a
new set of ideas into the
world — ideas on the most
momentous subjects, touch-
ing man's true position in
the universe ; his origin and
destiny ; the relation of the
mortal to the immortal ; of
the temporary to the Eternal ;
of the flnite to the Infinite ;
of man's deathless soul to the
material universe in which
it now dwells — ideas larger,
more general, more compre-
hensive, recoGjnisinoj more
fully the universal reign of
law as the expression of the
Divine will, unchanging and
unchangeable, in regard to
which there is only an Eter-
nal NoWy while to mortals
time is past or future, as re-

will spring from them, creeds
and even powers will crumble
before their onward march,
crushed by their irresistible
force. It will be just as im-
possible to resist their in-
fluence when the time
comes as to stay the pro-
gress of the tide. But all
this will come gradually on,
and before it comes we have
a duty set before us: that of
sweeping away as much as
possible the dross left to
us by our pious forefathers.
New ideas have to be planted
on clean places, for these
ideas touch upon the most
momentous subjects. It is
not physical phenomena, but
these universal ideas that we
study, as to comprehend the
former, we have first to un-
derstand the latter. They
touch man's true position in
the universe in relation to
his previous and futuie
births, his origin and ulti-
mate destiny; the relation of
the mortal to the immortal, of
the temporary to the Eternal,
of the finite to the Infinite ;
ideas larger, grander, more
comprehensive, recognising
the eternal reign of immut-
able law, unchanging and
unchangeable, in regard to
which there is only an Eter-
nal Now: while to unini-
tiated mortals time is past
or future, as related to

1 62 Madame Blavatsky,

lated to their finite existence their finite existence on this
on this material plane ; &c., material speck of dirt ; <foc.,
&c., &c. &c., &c.

" New York, Aug, 11, 1883." " Henry Kiddle."

This letter created an immense excitement in occult
circles. And an explanatory letter from Tibet, if anything,
made matters worse. In it Koot Hoomi announced that he
had gone ofi'to Mount Pleasant in his astral or spirit body, and
there had heard Professor Kiddle's inspirational address.

" For the first time in my life I paid serious attention to
the utterances of the poetical media (American for mediums),
of the so-called ' inspirational ' oratory of the English
American lecturers, its quality and limitations. I was
struck with all this brilliant but empty verbiage, and re-
cognised for the first time fully its materialism."

Returning to the flesh in Tibet, with this "inspirational"
discourse jingling in his ear, the Mahatma proposed not
to plagiarise from it but to attack it in a letter sent
to Madame Blavatsky through the spiritual telegraph.
"Proofs," it appears, are struck off" in this process, but the
Mahatma, being tired after a long ride, failed to correct
them on this occasion. These " proofs " are all carefully
kept ; and a new version of the letter corrected from the
proofs was sent.

But the terrible Professor Kiddle was again on the
watch. In Light (Sept. 20, 1884), he pointed out that if
the Mahatma went in his astral body to Mount Pleasant he
could scarcely have heard the discourse, for it was delivered
at Lake Pleasant.

Also, if the main object of his astral flight was to wit-
ness a "medium" discoursing under the obsession of a spirit
it is difficult to understand his satisfaction at his success,
for the professor is no " medium," and he read the lecture
from a manuscript.

The cup was full. Anna Kingsford retired, together
with Mr. Maitland, Mr. Stainton Moses, Mr. Massey, in fact
the greater portion of the intelligent members of the
society. They had long argued that whether there were
Mahatmas or no it was desirable to support a society in
touch with the real occultism of India. To this important
question we must now turn.

CHAPTER XII.

BUDDHISM, '•' ESOTERIC " AND GENUINE.

In *' The Secret Doctrine," Madame Blavatsky announces
that there are two Buddhisms, two revelations of occultism,
a sham one to be found in the discourses which, with
pleasant comedy, Buddha delivered to his disciples to put
them off the track of the real secrets, and a real one only
known to her.

Oddly enough, if we turn to the " Lalita Vistara," which
contains the life of Buddha, we find a claim very similar to
hers. It states that the work was written to reveal the
" mysteries " of the Buddhas, the secrets of yoga, to show
how a mortal can acquire the " divine vision," with its con-
comitant " magical powers " (Foucaux's translation, pp. 7,
401). ^ ^

Which is the authentic claimant here ? and which the
sham one ? My own impression is that better than any
other work in the world, better than the Upanisbads, better
than Cornelius Agrippa or Paracelsus, the " Lalita Vistara "
reveals the secrets of the White Magician. The Western
occultists give a hint here, and a dark sentence there.
They write under the shade of the great Roman Church.
The "Lalita Vistara" without any disguise gives the external
and the internal development of the adept (Brahmajnani,
be who knows Brahma). As this work has never been
treated from this point of view, I will give a hasty sketch
of it.

Buddha was born of the Virgin of the Zodiac, called by
the Brahmins, Maya Devi. He comes to her womb as an
elephant. Capricorn in the early Buddbist sculptures is an
elephant issuing from a Makara, or Leviathan. The "Lalita
Vistara" talks of tbe elephant Airavana (born of the waters),
and also of the elephant called Bodhi (spiritual enlighten-
ment). It is plainly a story, not of an ordinary birth, but

163

164 Madame Blavatsky,

of the birth of the Parusba, the divine man of Brahminism,
the Higher Ego, the Higher Adam of Christianity.

At the birth of the little prince soothsayers were con-
sulted by the king. They pronounced the following : —

*' The young boy will, without doubt, be either a king of
kings, or a great Buddha. If he is destined to be a great
Buddha, four presaging tokens will make his mission plain.
He will see —

" 1. An old man.

" 2. A sick man.

" 3. A corpse.

" 4. A holy recluse.

" If he fails to see these four presaging tokens of an
avatara, he will be simply a Chakravartin (king of earthty
kings)."

King Suddhodana, who was a trifle worldly, was very
much comforted by the last prediction of the soothsayers.
He thought in his heart. It will be an easy thing to keep
these four presaging tokens from the young prince. So he
gave orders that three magnificent palaces should at once be
built — the Palace of Spring, the Palace of Summer, the
Palace of Winter. These palaces, as we learn from the
" Lalita Yistara," were the most beautiful palaces ever con-
ceived on earth. Indeed, they were quite able to cope in
splendour with Yaijayanta, the immortal palace of Indra
himself. Costly pavilions were built out in all directions,
with ornamented porticoes and furbished doors. Turrets
and pinnacles soared into the sky. Dainty little windows
gave light to the rich apartments. Galleries, balustrades,
and delicate trellis -work were abundant everywhere. A
thousand bells tinkled on each roof. We seem to have the
lacquered Chinese edifices of the pattern which architects
believe to have flourished in early India. The gardens of
these fine palaces rivalled the chess-board in the rectangular
exactitude of their parterres and trellis- work bowers.
Cool lakes nursed on their calm bosoms storks and cranes,
wild geese and tame swans ; ducks, also, as parti-coloured
as the white, red, and blue lotuses amongst which they
swam. Bending to these lakes were bowery trees — the
champak, the acacia serisha, and the beautiful asoka-tree
with its orange-scarlet flowers. Above rustled the mimosa,

Buddhism, ''Esoteric'' and Genuine. 165

the fan-palm, and the feathery pippala, Buddha's tree.
The air was heavy with the scent of the tube-rose and the
Indian jasmine. These palaces, when the prince was old
enough, were peopled witli beautiful wives and concubines.
The chief wife was lovely Yasodhara.

Perhaps, at this time, the good King Suddhodana was
more happy than even the prince in the ecstasy of his
honeymoon. He had found for that prince the most beauti-
ful wife in the world. He had built him palaces that were
the talk of the whole of Hindoostan. No Indian maharaja
before had had such beautiful palaces, such lovely wives
and handmaidens, such dancing girls, singers, jewels,
luxuries. In his bowers of camphor cinnamon, amid the
enchanting perfumes of the tube-rose and the santal-tree,
his life must surely be one long bliss, a dream that has no
awakening.

But suddenly this exultation was dashed with a note of
woe. The king dreamt that he saw his son in the russet
cowl of the beggar-hermit. Awaking in a fright, he called
an eunuch.

" Is my son in the palace ? " he asked abruptly.

'' He is, 0 king."

The dream frightened the king very much, and he
ordered five hundred guards to be placed at every corner
of the walls of the Palace of Summer. And the soothsayers
having announced that a Buddha, if he escapes at all,
always escapes by the Gate of Benediction, folding doors of
immense size were here erected. The sound of their swing
on their hinges resounded to a distance of half a yogana
(three and a half miles). Five hundred men were required
to stir either gate. These precautions completely quieted
the king's mind, until one day he received a terrible piece
of news. His son had seen the first of the four presaging
tokens. He had seen an old man.

This is how the matter came about. The king had pre-
pared a garden even more beautiful than the garden of the
Palace of Summer. A soothsayer had told him that if he
could succeed in showing the prince this garden, the prince
would be content to remain in it with his wives for ever.
No task seemed easier than this, so it was arranged that on
a certain day the prince should be driven thither in his

1 66 Madame B lav at sky

chariot. But, of course, immense precautions had to be
taken to keep all old men and sick men and corpses from
his sight. Quite an army of soldiers was told off for this
duty, and the city was decked with flao^s. The path of the
prince was strewn with flowers and scents, and adorned
with vases of the rich kadali plant. Above were costly
hangings and garlands, and pagodas of bells.

But, lo and behold ! as the prince was driving along,
plump under the wheels of his chariot, and before the very
noses of the silken nobles and the warriors with javelins
and shields, he saw an unusual sight. This was an old
man, very decrepit and very broken. The veins and nerves
of his body were swollen and prominent ; his teeth chat-
tered ; he was wrinkled, bald, and his few remaining hairs
were of dazzling whiteness ; he was bent very nearly double,
and tottered feebly along, supported by a stick.

" What is this, O coachman ? " said the prince. " A man
with his blood all dried up, and his muscles glued to his
body ! His head is white ; his teeth knock together ; he is
scarcely able to move along, even with the aid of that
stick!"

" Prince," said the coachman, " this is Old Age. This
man's senses are dulled ; suffering has destroyed his spirit ;
he is contemned by his neighbours. Unable to help him-
self, he has been abandoned in this forest."

" Is this a peculiarity of his family ? " demanded the
prince, " or is it the law of the w^orld ? Tell me quickly."

"Prince," said the coachman, " it is neither a law of his
family, nor a law of the kingdom. In every being youth is
conquered by age. Your own father and mother and all
your relations will end in old age. There is no other issue
to humanity."

" Then youth is blind and ignorant," said the prince, " and
sees not the future. If this body is to be the abode of old
age, what have I to do with pleasure and its intoxications ?
Turn round the chariot, and drive me back to the palace ! "

Consternation was in the minds of all the courtiers at
this untoward occurrence ; but the odd circumstance of all
was that no one was ever able to bring to condign punish-
ment the miserable author of the mischief. The old man
could never be found.

Buddhism^ ''^Esoteric'' and Genume. 167

King Suddhodana was at first quite beside himself with
tribulation. Soldiers were summoned from the distant pro-
vinces, and a cordon of detachments thrown out to a dis-
tance of four miles in each direction, to keep the other pre-
saging tokens from the prince. By-and-by the king became
a little more quieted. A ridiculous accident had interfered
with his plans : " If my son could see the Garden of Happi-
ness he never would become a hermit." The king deter-
mined that another attempt should be made. But this time
the precautions were doubled.

On the first occasion the prince left the Palace of Summer
by the eastern gate. The second expedition was through
the southern gate.

But another untoward event occurred. As the prince
was driving along in his chariot, suddenly he saw close to
him a man emaciated, ill, loathsome, burning with fever.
Companionless, uncared for, he tottered along, breathing
with extreme difticulty.

" Coachman," said the prince, " what is this man, livid
and loathsome in body, whose senses are dulled, and whose
limbs are withered ? His stomach is oppressing him ; he is
covered with filth. Scarcely can he draw the breath of
life!"

" Prince," said the coachman, " this is Sickness. This
poor man is attacked with a grievous malady. Strength
and comfort have shunned him. He is friendless, hope-
less, without a country, without an asylum. The fear of
death is before his eyes."

" If the health of man," said Buddha, " is but the sport of
a dream, and the fear of coming evils can put on so loath-
some a shape, how can the wise man, who has seen what
life really means, indulge in its vain delights ? Turn back,
coachman, and drive me to the palace ! "

The angry king, when he heard what had occurred, gave
orders that the sick man should be seized and punished, but
although a price was placed on his head, and he was
searched for far and wide, he could never be caught. A
clue to this is furnished by a passage in the " Lalita Yistara."
The sick man was in reality one of the Spirits of the Pure
Abode, masquerading in sores and spasms. These Spirits
of the Pure Abode are also called the Buddhas of the Past

1 68 Madame Blavatsky,

in many passages. The answers of the coachman were due
to their inspiration.

It would ahnost seem as if some influence, malefic or
otherwise, was stirring the good King Suddhodana. Un-
moved by failure, he urged the prince to a third effort.
The chariot this time was to set out by the western gate.
Greater precautions than ever were adopted. The chain of
guards was posted at least twelve miles off from the Palace
of Summer. But the Buddhas of the Past again arrested
the prince. His chariot was suddenly crossed by a phan-
tom funeral procession. A phantom corpse, smeared with
the orthodox mud, and spread with a sheet, was carried on
a bier. Phantom women wailed, and phantom musicians
played on the drum and the Indian flute. No doubt also,
phantom Brahmins chanted hymns to Jatavedas, to bear
away the immortal part of the dead man to the home of the
Pitris.

"What is tiiis?" said the prince. "Why do these
women beat their breasts and tear their hair ? Why do these
good folks cover their heads witli the dust of the ground.
And that strange form upon its litter, wherefore is it so rigid?"

" Prince," said the charioteer, " this is Death ! Yon form,
pale and stiflTened, can never again walk and move. Its
owner has gone to the unknown caverns of Yama. His
father, his mother, his child, his wife cry out to him, but he
cannot hear."

Buddha was sad.

" W^oe be to youth, which is the sport of age ! Woe be
to health, which is the sport of many maladies ! W^oe be
to life, which is as a breath 1 Woe be to the idle pleasures
which debauch humanit}^ ! But for the ' five aggregations '
there would be no age, sickness, nor death. Go back to the
city. I must compass the deliverance.'*'

A fourth time the prince was urged by his father to visit
the Garden of Happiness. The chain of guards this time
was sixteen miles away. The exit was by the northern
gate. But suddenly a calm man of gentle mien, wearing
an ochre-red cowl, was seen in the roadway.

" Who is this," said tlie prince, " rapt, gentle, peaceful in
mien ? He looks as if his mind were far away elsewhere.
He carries a bowl in his hand."

Buddhism, ^''Esoteric'" and Gemdne. 169

" Prince, this is the New Life," said the charioteer.
" That man is of those whose thoughts are fixed on the
eternal Brahma [Brahmacharin]. He seeks the divine
voice. He seeks the divine vision. He carries the alms-
bowl of the holy beggar [bhikshu]. His mind is calm, be-
cause the gross lures of the lower life can vex it no more."

" Such a life I covet," said the prince. " The lusts of man
are like the sea-water — they mock man's tliirst instead of
quenching it. I will seek the divine vision and give im-
mortality to man ! "

King Suddhodana was beside himself. He placed five
hundred corseleted Sakyas at every gate of the Palace of
Summer. Chains of sentries were round the walls, which
were raised and strengthened. A phalanx of loving Vv^ives,
armed with javelins, was posted round the prince's bed to
" narrowly watch " him. The king ordered also all the
allurements of sense to be constantly presented to the
prince.

" Let the women of the zenana cease not for an instant
their concerts and mirth and sport. Let them shine in silks
and sparkle in diamonds and emeralds."

The allegory is in reality a great battle between two
camps — the denizens of the Kamaloka, or tlie Domains of
Appetite, and the denizens of the Erahmaloka,or the Domains
of Pure Spirit. The latter are unseen, but not unfelt.

For one day, when the prince reclined on a silken couch
listening to the sweet crooning of four or five brown-skinned,
large-eyed Indian girls, his eyes suddenly assumed a dazed
and absorbed look, and the rich liangings and garlands and
intricate trellis-work of the golden apartment were still
present, but dim to his mind. And music and voices, more
sweet than he had ever listened to, seemed faintly to reach
him. I will write down some of the verses : —

" Mighty prop ot humanity-
March in the pathway of the Rishis of old,
Go forth from this city !
Upon this desolate earth,

When thou liast acquired the priceless knowledge of the Jinas,
When thou hast become a perfect Buddha,

Give to all flesh the baptism (river) of the Kingdom of Righteous-
ness,

170 Madame Blavatsky.

Thou who once didst sacrifice thy feet, thy hands, thy precious body

and all thy riches for the world,
Thou whose life is pure, save flesh from its miseries !
In the presence of reviling be patient, O conqueror of self !
Lord of those who possess two feet, go forth on thy mission !
Conquer the evil one and his army.''

Thus run some more of these gathas : —

" Light of the world ! [lamp du monde — Foucaux],
In former kalpas this vow was made by thee :
' For the worlds that are a prey to death and sickness I will be a

refuge ! '
Lion of men, master of those that walk on two feet, the time for thy

mission has come !
Under the sacred Bo-tree acquire immortal dignity, and give Am-

rita (immortality) to all !
Revilings and many prisons,
Death and murder,

These hast thou suffered with love and patience,
Forgiving thine executioners.
Kingless, men seek thee for a king !

'Stablish them in the way of Brahma and of the ten virtues,
That when they pass away from amongst their fellow-men, they may

all go to the abode of Brahma."

But the good King Sucldhodana opposed the bright
spirits.

It is recorded that he offered to resign his royal umbrella
in favour of his son. His urgent entreaty that the prince
should abandon all thoughts of a religious life was answered
thus : —

" Sire, I desire four gifts. Grant me these, and I will
remain in the Palace of Summer."

" What are they ? " said King Suddhodana.

" Grant that age may never seize me. Grant that I may
retain the bright hues of youth. Grant that sickness may
have no power over me. Grant that my life may be with-
out end."

The Buddhas of the Past prevail, and Buddha determines
to escape. How is the Gate of Benediction to be opened ?
Buddha prays to Dasasata Nayana (he of the ten hundred
eyes), who sends his angels to open it. He exchanges the
rags from the graveyard for a king's jewels and silks, I

Buddhism^ ^^ Esote7'ic'' and Genuine. 171

cannot help giving here a paraphrase of a lyric in " Izeyl,"
pronounced by Buddha : —

" The throne is too far from the crowd,
Its famine and cares ;
I give up the crown for the shroud
That the xjocji wears.

" The throne is too far from the poor,
And their soul, to know
A man must go forth and endure
Their want and woe.

" The throne is too far from the tomb,
The corpse, the pall ;
I will set up a torch in the gloom
And succour all."

Buddha now puts himself under a teacher (guru), named
Arata Kalama, but soon finds that he can learn little of him.
He then studies the secrets of white magic in the only way
that these can be learnt, by solitude and purification.

Already we have matter enough to enable us to judge
Madame Blavatsky. Her Buddhism proclaims : —

1. Annihilation is the reward of the just man made
perfect.

2. Communication with the unseen world is most perilous,
as none but malignant fiends, the bad halves of dead
mortals, can communicate with the denizens of earth.

3. Therefore, such communication should only be at-
tempted under the guidance of a Mahatma.

4. There is no God.

If the allegory of Buddha's life has any meaning, it com-
pletely upsets proposition No. 1. Old age, disease, and
death make happiness impossible here. But there is a
remedy — amrita (" a," not " mrita," death). No doubt a
bad school of Brahmanism about A.D. 20 foisted on early
Buddhism the Pyrrhonism of the Sunya Vadi. This is
fully set forth in my little work, "The influence of
Buddhism on Primitive Christianity."

Proposition No. 2. Madame Blavatsky holds that all
good thought and effort must come from Mahatmas and
Dhyan Chohans, from mortals, from this world in short.

The " Lalita Vistara " reverses this proposition. All the

172 Madame BlavatsJzy.

mortals round Buddha, the Brahmins, the king, etc., seem
to hold the brief of Mara the tempter. They all seek to
dissuade the prince from his lofty mission. All good thought
and effort come to him from the dead Buddhas, called also
Rishis, the dead saints, who certainly know nothing of any
law of division at death. In the " White Lotus of L)harma,"
Buddha, like Christ, calls from the grave two of these
mighty prophets to attest his mission.

Proposition No. 3. It so happens that Buddha, for a
short time, was under an actual Mahatma. But he found
that he could learn nothing but formalism from him. So
he left him and sat under the bo-tree seeking interior light.
On his death-bed he uttered these words: —

" Be to yourselves Ananda, your own light. Seek no
other refuge. Let Dhaima (interior knowledge) be your
liglit and refuge. Whosoever now Ananda, or after my de-
parture, shall be his owm light, his own refuge, and shall
seek no other refuge, will henceforth be my true disciple."

Proposition No. 4. A man who prays to Dasasata Nayana
to burst open the barriers that keep him from the spiritual
life, can scarcely be called an atheist. But we will let
Buddha speak for himself.

When the teacher was dwelling at Manasakata in the
mango grove, some Brahmins, learned in the three Yedas,
come to consult him on the question of union with the
eternal Brahma. They ask if they are in the right path-
way towards that union. Buddha replies at great length.
He suggests an ideal case. He supposes that a man has
fallen in love with the " most beautiful woman in the land."
Day and night he dreams of her, but has never seen her.
He does not know whether she is tall or short, of Brahmin
or Sudra caste, of dark or fair complexion ; he does not
even know her name. The Brahmins are asked if the talk
of that man about that woman be wise or foolish. They
confess that it is " foolish talk." Buddha then applies the
same train of reasoning to them. The Brahmins versed in
the three Vedas are made to confess that they have never
seen Brahma, that they do not know whether he is tall or
short, or anything about him, and that all their talk about
union with him is also foolish talk. They are mounting
a crooked staircase, and do not know whether it leads to a

BuddJiism, ^^ Esoteric'" and Genuine, 173

mansion oi' a precipice. They are standing on the bank of
a river and calling to the other bank to come to them.

Now it seems to me that if Buddha were the uncom-
promising teacher of atheism that Sir Monier Williams
pictures him, he has at this point an admirable opportunity
of urging his views. The Brahmins, he would of course
contend, knew nothing about Brahma, for the simple reason
that no such being as Brahma exists.

But this is exactly the line that Buddha does not take.
His argument is that the Brahmins knew nothing of
Brahma, because Brahma is purely spiritual, and they are
purely materialistic.

Five " Veils," he shows, hide Brahma from mortal ken.
These are

1. The Veil of Lustful Desire.

2. The Veil of Malice.

3. The Veil of Sloth and Idleness.

4. The Veil of Pride and Self-righteousness.

5. The Veil of Doubt.

Buddha then goes on with his questionings :
"Is Brahma in possession of wives and wealth ? "
" He is not, Gautama ? " answers Vasettha the Brahmin.
" Is his mind full of anger, or free from anger ? "
" Free from anger, Gautama ! "
" Is his mind full of malice, or free from malice ? "
" Free from malice, Gautama ! "
" Is his mind depraved or pure ? "
" It is pure, Gautama ! "
"Has he self-mastery, or has he not ?"
" He has, Gautama."

The Brahmins are then questioned about themselves.
" Are the Brahmins versed in the three Vedas in posses-
sion of wives and wealth, or are they not ? "
" They are, Gautama 1 "

" Have they anger in their hearts, or have they not ? "
" They have, Gautama."
" Do they bear malice, or do they not ? "
" They do, Gautama."

" Are they pure in heart, or are they not ? "
" They are not, Gautama."
" Have they self-mastery, or have they not ? "

15^4 Madame B lav at sky.

" They have not, Gautama."

These replies provoke, of course, the very obvious retort
that no point of union can be found between such dissimilar
entities. Brahma is free from malice, sinless, self-contained,
so, of course, it is only the sinless that can hope to be in
harmony with him.

Vasettha then puts this question : " It has been told me,
Gautama, that Sramana Gautama knows the way to the
state of union with Brahma ? "

" Brahma I know, Vasettha ! " says Buddha in reply,
" and the world of Brahma, and the path leading to it ! "

The humbled Brahmins learned in the three Vedas then
ask Buddha to " show them the way to a state of union
with Brahma."

Buddha replies at considerable length, drawing a sharp
contrast between the lower Brahminism and the higher
Brahminism, the " householder " and the " houseless one."
The householder Brahmins are gross, sensual, avaricious,
insincere. They practise for lucre black magic, fortune-
telling, cozenage. They gain the ear of kings, breed wars,
predict victories, sacrifice life, spoil the poor. As a foil to
this he paints the recluse, who has renounced all worldly
things, and is pure, self-possessed, happy.

To teach this " higher life," a Buddha " from time to time
is born into the world, blessed and worthy, abounding in
wisdom, a guide to erring mortals." He sees the universe
face to face, the spirit world of Brahma and that of Mara
the tempter. He makes his knowledge known to others.
The houseless one, instructed by him, " lets his mind per-
vade one quarter of the world with thoughts of pity,
sympathy, and equanimity ; and so the second, and so the
third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world,
above, below, around, and everywhere, does he continue to
pervade with heart of pity, sympathy, and equanimity,
far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure." ^

" Verily this, Vasettha, is the way to a state of union with
Brahma," and he proceeds to announce that the Bhikshu,
or Buddhist beggar, " who is free from anger, free from
malice, pure in mind, master of himself, will, after death,
when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahma."
1 " Buddhist Suttas," p. 201.

Buddhism^ '' Esoteric'' and Genuine, 175

We here see how many million miles away the "Buddhism"
of Madame Blavatsky was from that of Buddha. Suppos-
ing that there are Mahatmas and that the Russian lady's
miracles were genuine, does that take us very far? Madame
Blavatsky, a pauper, desired to use her magic to gain the
lakhs of rupees of Mr. Sassoon and Holkar. Buddha having
a crown and countless gold pieces desired to become a pauper.
Madame Blavatsky had an ambition to astound the vulgar
with duplicated diamond rings and astral post offices.
Buddha contemned diamonds and false applause. Madame
Blavatsky worked entirely on the plane of matter, and
sought to demolish Brahma and his legions. Buddha
worked entirely on the plane of spirit, and sought the im-
mortal world of Brahma, and the soul growth. In short,
the magic of one was black, and the other white. A fine
Buddhist parable may throw light on this : —

ALCHEMY.

A vain young Brahmin once was told

Of holy spells that made red gold ;

This fancy vexed him day and night,

His life was gross, his heart was light.

Said one, "In Uravilva^s wood

There dwells the Buddha, calm and good.

He knows all secrets. Ask his aid ! "

The Brahmin sought the holy shade :

Said Buddha, "What you wish, my son,

May most undoubtedly be done.

But gold is crime ! It whets the knife ;

Designs the drops that poison life.

It parents lust, and hate, and ire ;

For gold the son will kill the sire.

For gold the maiden sell her shame,

Kings spread wide lands with sword and flame

The sons of Dharma never tell

Their mantras and their potent spell

Except to those whose lives are pure.

To those who've conquered earthly lure,

Who know in fact the gold's true worth,

The tawdriest tinsel upon earth."

The Brahmin said, " My life is pure,

I've conquered every earthly lure ;

Who, like a Brahmin, knows the right I "

His life was gross, his heart was light.

176 Madame B lav at sky.

One night the couple -when the moon

Hides for two Aveeks her light in June

(The only fortnight in the year

When man can make red gold appear),

Sought out a cavern, where a rill

Dashed down a chasm in the hill ;

The mantras now were promptly told,

And Buddha spread the ground -with gold,

Six thousand pieces the amount,

A robber saw the Brahmin count.

Then Buddha hurled it in the foam,

Repeating as he journeyed home

His solemn caution : " Son, bew^are !

Use not this knowledge, have a care ! "

But as they trudged, at break of day,

Five hundred robbers barred the way !

" Oh holy masters, we are told,"

They said, " that you have countless gold."

Said Buddha, " Gold sheds human blood,

And so we flung it in the flood. '^

The chieftain said, " Such w^ords are vain,

And one as hostage must remain —

The younger one. So promptly hie

And fetch the gold, or he must die.

Within a week he will be slain ! "

" Within a week I come again,"

Said Buddha, " Fear not. Brahmin youth,

A Buddha's tongue is simple truth.''

Grim terror pales the young man's brow,

Will the great Buddha keep his vow ?

Five days have passed away too soon.

To-night will end the weeks in June

W^hen spells can work ; and if he Avait,

To-morrow will be all too late.

" 0 take me to the rocky dell.

To-night I'll Avork a mystic spell."

The gold Avas made. Quick spread its fame,

A rival band of robbers came ;

" Divide or fight ! " they loudly cried.

When the broad pieces they espied.

" He made this gold," the first clan said,

" We give him up to you instead. '^

O pity noAV the Brahmin's fate,

He thinks of Buddha's word too late.

Though all unfit the time of year,

The greedy robbers Avill not hear,

They cut his throat ; and then assail

Their rivals for their lying tale.

Swords flash and fall on sounding crest,

On cloven targe, and stricken breast,

Buddhism, ''Esoteric''' and Genuine. 177

Sharp cries of anguish over all
Outroar the angry waterfall,
Whose snowy stream is soon a flood
Of dying men and human blood,
Borne off to Yama's realm of death ;
Two robbers soon alone draw breath.
Exhausted with three days of fast,
They watch the gold. Says one at last,
" You guard the cave ; but we must eat.
I'll to the town for drink and meat."
One hied him to a leech's stock,
One nursed a dagger by a rock ;
Each muttered, " Soon 'tis all mine own ! "
One perished, stabbed without a groan ;
The other seized his drink and meat
And soon was writhing at his feet.

M

CHAPTER XIII.

A CHANGE OF FKONT.

In the month of February, 1894, at the request of a friend,
I gave a short lecture at Toynbee Hall, intending to ex-
plain theosophy in a popular way to the working man,
of whom I was told the audience would be chiefly composed.
Instead of them I found that a large detachment of theo-
sophists had invaded Whitechapel. They contradicted every
word that I had said, and were especially angry with me
for representing Madame Blavatsky's teaching to be atheistic,
and for announcing that she had ever asserted that only the
bad halves of men could ever communicate with the living.

I was puzzled. These theosophists were plainly en-
thusiasts. Also they seemed honest enthusiasts. And
they cited chapter and verse against me. As I rolled
home in the underground railway I began to think that the
theory of " Shells " had come to me in some turbid dream.

Eagerly I consulted her writings when I reached home.
Certainly in the Theosophist for October, 1881, appeared
these words, " At death or before," the '' Spirit," the higher
Ego, " becomes a new person," that " can never span the
abyss that separates its state from ours." Plainly I had
not dreamt all this. And in " Esoteric Buddhism," p. 177, 1
read : " They (the Mahatmas) never occupy themselves with
any conception remotely resembling the god of churches
and creeds."

But my theosophical assailants could not be quite mad ;
so I made a careful examination of the more recent utter-
ances of Madame Blavatsky, and I found that the charge
made against me was perfectly just. " Theosophy " had
made a complete change of front. I place a few of its
statements side by side.

178

A Change of Front,

179

God.

"It (the Esoteric Philo-
sophy) proves the necessity
of an absolute Divine prin-
ciple in nature."

" It denies Deity no more
than it does the sun."

" Esoteric philosophy has
never rejected God in nature,
nor Deity as the absolute
and abstract Ens " (" Secret
Doctrine," vol. i. p. 20).

God istbe"Seven-Skinned,
Eternal Father - Mother "
(" Secret Doctrine," i. p. 9).

" There is no God per-
sonal or impersonal." In a
small work entitled, " Theo-
sophy or Spiritual Dynamics,'
Dr. Wyld, for some years
President of the British
Branch of the Theosophical
Society, announces that he
retired from it when these
words were used by Madame
Blavatsky.

God is " unconscious "
("Esoteric Buddhism,"p.l76).

" Revelation never comes
from the Unmanifestable
One Life. The Occultist ac-
cepts it alone from Dhyan
Chohans, and planetary
spirits, divine but finite
beings, who have become
Gods for men " (" Secret
Doctrine," i. p. 10).

" This infinite eternal cause
is Be-ness rather than Being "
(76., i. p. 14).

God " may be regarded in-
differently as space, duration,
matter, or motion " (" Esoteric
Buddhism," p. 176).

" The God of the Apostle
Initiate and of the Rishi is
the Unseen and the Visible
Space" ("Secret Doctrine,"
i. p. 9).

NiRVaNA.

Nirvana does not mean Annihilation is the reward
annihilation (" Secret Doc- of the highest adept (" Eso-
trine," i. xxi). teric Buddhism," p. 133).

i8o

Madame Blavatsky,

Good Spirits.

The good halves of mortals,
separated from the bad halves
at death, " can never again
span the abyss which sepa-
rates tbeir state from ours"
{Theosophist, October, 1881).

All that can come to earth
are the shells, the wicked
halves of mortals {Ih.).

The good halves can span
the abyss, but it is by draw-
ing the " living seer " to the
disembodied spirit.

Madame Blavatsky, cited
bv Mrs. Besant (" Death and
After," p. 71).

The souls or astral egos
of pure living sensitives,
labouring under the same
delusion, think their loved
ones came down to them on
earth, while it is their own
spirits that are raised to-
wards these in the De-
vachan (Mrs. Besant, Ih., p.
72).

The " guardian angels "
of the Christian are the
same as the Dhyan Chohans,
the Flagoe of Paracelsus, the
Pitri or ancestors of the
Hindoos ("Secret Doctrine,"
i. p. 222).

Dhyan Chohans.

The Dhyan Chohans are
spirits, the "architects of the
visible w^orlds," the same as
the "archangels" and seraphs
of Christianity (" Secret Doc-
trine," i. p. 16).

They are the same as plan-
etary spirits, they are men
who have become gods
(" Secret Doctrine," i. p 10).

They are adepts, men liv-
ing on earth at times. The
" adept himself, no matter
how high, does return to in-
carnation eventually after
the rest of mankind have
passed across the great divid-
ing period in the middle of
the fifth round " (" Esoteric
Buddhism," p. 136).

A Change of Front.

i«i

Flesh Meat — Wine — Marriage.

Dr. Wyld writes to me
that when he was president
of the Eno^lish branch of the
Theosophical Society, " H. P.
B. and Olcott always taught
us that the highest theo-
sophy could not be reached
except by abstaining from
wine, marriage, and flesh
meats, and they used to
reply to our complaints that
no teachers of the East came
to us, that it was because we
did not live ' the Life ' as
above."

Madame Blavatsky married
twice after receivingthis doc-
trine. According to Madame
Coulomb she v/as " Madame
Metrovitch," and Professor
Coues tells us that she
married one Betanelly in
1875, in America.

Colonel Olcott tells us
that her weight was over
17 stone, and that her cor-
pulence was "largely due to
the manner of life she led,
taking next to no physical
exercise whatever, and eat-
ing much unless seriously
out of health. Even then
she partook largely of fatty
meats, and used to pour
melted butter by the quan-
tity over her fried eggs at
breakfast. Wines and spirits
she never touched, her bever-
ages being tea and coffee, the
latter being her special fav-
ourite.

"Herappetite,whilel knew
her, was extremely capricious,
and she was most rebellious
to all fixed hours for meals,
hence a terror to all cooks
and the despair of her col-
leagues.

" When we removed to
Adyar, I determined to put
a stop to this bother, and I
built a kitchen on the terrace
near H. P. B.'s bedroom, gave
her a set of servants to her-

1 82 Madame Blavatsky.

self, and let her eat or go
without as she pleased.

" She was never a vege-
tarian while I knew her,
flesh diet seeming to be in-
dispensable for her health
and comfort, as it is to so
many others in our society,
including myself."

I have fully noticed other discrepancies, the metempsy-
chosis, the seven and the four principles, etc.

What was the meaning of this complete change of front ?
Soon I detected a logic in it. Madame Blavatsky's theo-
sophy had one consistent principle — opportunism. Her
" Esoteric Buddhism " was designed to win over the rich
Hindoos, and to do this she was obliged to dethrone Brahma,
Vishnu, and Rama, and to put in their places the Mahatmas,
the Dhyan Chobans. These Dhyan Chohans made the
Kosmos as Mr. Sinnett tells us. But as they are still alive
in Tibet they confront us with a difficulty. Without a
world there could be no Dhyan Chohans, and without
Dhyan Chohans there could be no world. Then ATadame
Blavatsky had to get rid of the Indian ghost worship. Her
mind, as I have often stated, lacks originality. But a book
by an eccentric Frenchman gave her a hint.

The Abbe Louis Constant; under the pseudonym of Eliphas
Levi, had written several works on magic. He was a Kab-
alist, and he professed to be an adept himself, " Magus."
But Mr. Home came to Paris and quite eclipsed this
magician with his marvels. Eliphas Levi retaliated with a
doctrine that he professed to find in the Kabala, the
doctrine of shells.

" Nothing can enter heaven but tliat which comes from
heaven. After death, therefore, the divine spirit which
animated man returns alone to heaven, and leaves on earth
and in the atmosphere two corpses, one terrestrial and
elementary, the other airy and astral, one inert already, the
other still quickened by the universal movement of the soul
of the world, but destined to die slowly, absorbed by the
astral powers that produced it."

A Change of Front. 183

Eliphas Levi goes on to say that " It is these airy corpses
that necromancy evokes." This bad half of the individual
*' seeks again the objects of his passions^ torments the dreams
of young girls — haunts the scenes of his old mundane
pleasures " (Eliphas Levi, " Dograe et Rituel de la Haute
Magie," vol. i. p. 262).

Madame Blavatsky seized eagerly on this passage. At
once it played havoc with the visions of her rivals, the
Yogis, and swept away the whole army of the Pitris that
the Hindoos believed in. Also it furnished a splendid stick
for those wicked spiritualists of America who had snubbed
her and accused her of cheating. But Madame Coulomb
and Mr. Hodgson broke in upon her Indian day-dreams.
Mr. Subba Row, the Sanskrit scholar, who helped her so
much, discovered her fraud, and left the society. Mohini
and B. J. Padshah '' found,'' says Mr. Coleman, " bundles of
blue and red pencils with which tlie Mahatma letters were
written, also packs of Chinese envelopes, and bundles of
Tibetan dresses for personating the Mahatmas." Another
native, Babajee, made revelations. He confessed that Dam-
odar and Madame Blavatsky exercised so complete an
influence over him that he was obliged to attest all they
told him. He saw the Russian lady write Mahatma letters,
and was told that these great adepts would be very angry if
he did not say that he had seen them. Damodar disap-
peared.

The shipwreck had come. What was Madame Blavatsky
to do ? She must appeal to the white faces once more. The
Christian Kabalists were friendly towards the theosophists,
but they wanted a God. " Be-ness " was not enough for
them. But the Christian Kabalists were too small a body
to support a large society. The hated spiritualists had to
be courted, and the " shell " doctrine of Eliphas Levi ex-
plained away.

But all tliis was wormwood to poor Mr. Sinnett. The
god that was to be '' regarded indifferently as space, duration,
matter, or motion," seemed to be quite demolished, carrying
with him the " shells " in his downfall. A plaintive wail
from his lips appears in the Theosophist of September, 1893.
It is entitled " Esoteric Teaching."

" After the publication of ' Esoteric Buddhism,' the great

184 Madame Blavatsky,

adept who gave me the information wrote to me declaring
explicitly that it constituted a correct exposition of his
teaching. His words were : — * Be certain that, with the
few undetectable mistakes and omissions notwithstanding,
your "Esoteric Buddhism" is the only right exposition, how-
ever incomplete, of our occult doctrines. You have made
no cardinal fundamental mistakes, and whatever may be
given to 3'ou hereafter will not clash with a single sentence
in your book, but on the contrary will explain away any
seeming contradiction.' "

Mr. Sinnett announces that, now Madame Blavatsky is
dead, he is allowed to reveal the fact that he has had
several letters of the Mahatmas forwarded to him without
the knowledge of Madame Blavatsky at all.

He also states that, when the documents were precipi-
tated from Tibet, " Madame Blavatsky eagerly perused the
letters I received in reply to my elaborate questions, assur-
ing me constantly that the information they contained was
almost as new to her as it was to me." Decidedly there
was an element of comedy in Madame Blavatsky.

But a conspicuous illustration of this change of front is
to be found in the " Talking Image of Urur." This clever
little work is at once a farce and a dirge — the dirge of
deluded years. Its author, Dr. Hartmann, was induced by
his theosophical studies to travel from America to India ;
and he was one of the committee at Adyar during the
Coulomb troubles. Dr. Hartmann is the most able cham-
pion of Madame Blavatsky 's teaching, not excepting Mr.
Sinnett. He has published works on Boehme, Paracelsus,
the Rosicrucians, and other mystics. In all these works
there is, perhaps, too strained an attempt to show that
medieval Kabalism was derived from the adepts of Tibet,
and too little attention to the converse proposition. What
must have been the surprise of the Esoteric Lodge when
the prophet suddenly exchanged fervent eulogy for fervent
denunciation.

Pancho is a young man living in San Francisco. He is
married to the beautiful Conchita. From his youth he had
those indefinite yearnings after mystical knowledge that
disturbed the early days of Boehme and Madame Guj^on.
Dr. Hartmann's story is in part biographical. Suddenly a

A Change of Front . 185

Mr. Puffer comes to San Francisco, and he reveals to Pancho
a mighty mystery. In the centre of Africa, at a place
called Urur, is the head-quarters of a " Society for the
Distribution of Wisdom." This society is under the guid-
ance of certain great adepts called the " Lunar Brothers."
Dr. Hartmann points out that all his dramatis personce are
"composite photographs of still living people." The eloquence
of the " still living " Mr. Puffer fires the imagination of the
susceptible Pancho.

" I should consider myself extremely fortunate to become
a member of your society and to attract the attention of
the adepts," said Pancho.

" That is easy enough, " replied Mr. Puffer. " All you
have to do is to get a diploma from Captain Bumpkins. I
will manage the matter for you."

" I am infinitely obliged to you," said Pancho. " But, to
tell you the truth, I should like to look a little deeper into
this business. I am very much interested in occultism, and
I should like to become a Chela like yourself."

"Ah!" said Mr. Puffer. "That is quite another affair,
and rather difficult. You will have to get a Master, whose
orders you must implicitly obey, whatever these orders may
be, and you may not even know who that Master is ; for
his orders will be communicated to you through Chelas or
throuMi the Talkinoj Imao^e."

"It is just this mysterious way of doing things that is
most attractive to me," replied Pancho. " I do not think
that they will ask anything unreasonable."

" Then you will have to swear a solemn oath," continued
Mr. Puffer, " always to obey implicitly all the instructions
given to you by a Chela as supposed to be coming from an
unknown superior. Whatever your private opinions may
be, you must hold up our views before the world and give
all your time, money and labour gratuitously to the support
of the S. D. W. You will swear that if any one should
object to any opinion offered by Captain Bumpkins, or any
other member of our society, you will not listen to it, but
support our views on every occasion."

" I am willing to swear to an3'thing 3'ou like," answered
Pancho, "if I can gain my object; because I have full con-
fidence in your honesty."

1 86 Madame Blavatsky.

Mr. Puffer accompanied Pancho to the door, and as they
were bidding each other good-bye, Pancho said :

" By-the-by, I almost forgot to ask you a question, which
you may, perhaps, consider absurd. Do the adepts believe
in God ? "

" In our society," answered Mr. PafFer, " every man's
belief is respected. If you choose to imagine that the moon
is made of green cheese, there is no one to prevent you from
believing it, any more than in God. No, they do not be-
lieve in such nonsense."

Pancho, however, has one terrible wrench. It is explained
to him that the Chela must give up flesh meat and wine.
Also he must leave the beautiful Conchita behind him.
Adepts cannot have wives. After a great struggle he sends
a letter to Mr. Puffer.

" I have no doubt," he said, receiving the letter, " that
you will be accepted on probation, and now, as you have
entered upon the path, I advise y^u to cease shaving or
cutting your hair, because, in doing so, a great deal of
magnetism is lost. Do not eat any meat. Eggs are per-
mitted, but you must always first remove the dot from the
yolk. The dot is the seat of life, and must not be destroyed."

Soon Pancho is on the deck of a large steamer, which by
and by touches at Madagascar. In the distance are blue
misty hills, which may, he thinks, be near Kakodumbola
where the Brothers dwell. The steamer entered a harbour ;
and a boat with a flag bearing the letters S. D. W. (Society
for the Distribution of Wisdom) came out to the ship.

The people from the boat of the S. D. W. came on board.
They were members of that society, venerable Hottentots,
Kaffirs, and Zulus, who gave a hearty welcome to our
friends, and invited them into their boat to go ashore, where
carriages were awaiting to take them further on to Urur.

They landed, and Pancho entered a carriage with one of
the Zulus.

" I am exceedingly^ anxious to make the acquaintance of
Captain Bumpkins," said Pancho, as they drove along the
beach on the road to Urur.

'' We hope," said the Zulu, after some hesitation, " that
3'ou will have some influence over him."

" How could I, a mere beginner, have any influence over

A Change of Front. 187

the Hierophant ? " asked Pancho, astonished. " Is it not far
more probable that I will have to sit at his feet and listen to
his wisdom ? "

" It is all very well," said the Zulu ; '■' but speaking con-
fidentially, I will tell you that Bumpkins has some little
peculiarities, and that we have stood his nonsense long
enough ; even the Hottentots will stand it no longer. We
do not want to be made the laughing-stock for small boys
and servant girls ; we can see no wisdom in that. He
wants us to march through the streets of the city, each one
to wear a badge and a little flag in his hand. He means
w^ell enough ; but we will not stand his nonsense, we won't !
We hope that you will persuade him to give it up, or there
will be a mutiny. This is all that I am permitted to say."

Captain Bumpkins is plainly another of these "composite
photographs." He is not to be seen when Pancho readies
the headquarters, but Madame Corneille and Malaban, a
black man, receive him and a fellow traveller, Mr. Green.

" How long have you been a Chela ? " asked Mr. Green.

" This I am not permitted to tell," answered Malaban.

Pancho was going to ask him a question, but Madame
Corneille said: "Do not ask him anything if you would
not get fibs for an answer."

" Do Chelas ever tell fibs ? " asked Pancho.

"They do not mean to do so," answered Madame
Corneille, " but they love the truth so much that they
adorn it on every occasion."

" Where is the Hierophant ? " asked Pancho.

" The what ? — Oh, you mean Bumpkins, Captain Bump-
kins," said Madame Corneille. " You will not see him to-
night. Poor fellow ! He has an awful toothache. He
always sleeps at night with open windows, and caught a
cold."

'• But why does he do that ? " asked Pancho.

" Pie says," she answered, grinning, " that it is to save the
Mysterious Brothers the trouble to dematerialise themselves
when they come to visit him in his dreams."

One thing is patent in this " Universal Brotherhood."
The black members thoroughly hate and contemn the white
brethren, and find quite a pleasure in deceiving them.

" O ye gods ! " exclaimed Pancho ; " is this the outcome

1 88 Madame Blavatsky.

of the wisdom of the adepts ? A Hierophant parading the
streets with a little flag in his hand, a Talking Image
attended by spooks ; Chelas who cannot open their mouths
without telling a fib. . . . Yes, is it for this that I have left
my home ? "

Thus talking with himself, Pancho wandered away from
the main building, and came in the vicinity of a house of
smaller dimensions. A light shining from an open window
attracted his attention, and he beheld a man in the room
where the light was brightly burning. He seemed to be
about fifty years of age ; but his face could not be clearly
seen as it was bound up with a handkerchief. He held a
paper in his hand, looking at it and making gesticulations.
Presently, however, he looked up, and must have seen
Pancho standing among the trees, for he dropped his paper
and stared at him with surprise.

Then something curious happened. The man, making a
reverential bow and crossing his hands in Oriental fashion
over his breast, addressed Pancho in the following words :

" O great Krashibashi ! Have I then at last found
favour in your eyes ? For many years have I wished to
see you. At last my prayer now seems granted, and you
have consented to appear in bodily form before your
obedient servant. May I ask you to enter this humble
room and accept a chair ? I shall immediately open the

Captain Bumpkins had mistaken Pancho for the astral
form of the great adept, Krashibashi.

As the story goes on, the picture given of the members
of the Theosopiiical Society (all " composite photographs,"
observe) is by no means flattering.

" The Society for the D. O. W. had also among its members
some persons of considerable spiritual unfolding and intel-
lectual power ; but the vast majority of its members were
attracted by a desire to gratify their curiosity, and to
obtain favours from the Mysterious Brotherhood."

Thus one oldish 3^oung lady wants the elixir of youth,
another Chela the philosopher's stone.

"On this occasionPancho'sinterior eyes were also open to
an extent. Even without the aid of a magic mirror he
could see that the Society for the Distribution of Wisdom was

A Change of F7^ont. 189

not exactly what he had imagined it to be. He could see
that there were few persons, if any, who cared anything
for truth for its own sake, but only for the benefits that
would arise from its possession. He knew that it was not
only the desire of benefiting humanity that had caused him
to come to Urur, but that he hoped to obtain knowledge in
regard to certain m3^sterious things which might be useful
to liim, and he was aware that neither Mr. Green nor Mrs.
Honeycomb would have come to Africa if they had not ex-
pected to profit by the visit."
Here is another passage : —

" While the enemies of the Society for the Distribution of
Wisdom thus did their very best to make its name known
all over the world, those who belonged to it spent all the
power at their command to ruin still more effectually its
reputation. There were many who, like Pancho, Mr. Green,
and Mrs. Honeycomb, had not the faintest conception of
what self-knowledge means, and who, nevertheless, imagined
it to be their duty to enlighten the world about things
which were entirely unknown to themselves. They mis-
took ' wisdom ' for a belief in certain statements supposed
to come from the Mysterious Brotherhood ; and the rubbish
published by them was often sufficiently intolerable to
irighten away for ever any honest investigator. In fact
the S. D. W. assumed an entirely sectarian character, and
differed from other sects only in so far as it advocated more
superstitions than the rest."

All this is very just no doubt, but who promulgated the
doctrine that inner wisdom and the dogmatism of the
Mahatmas were one and the same thing ? The discipline
of the Chela is sketched off by one who has been a Chela
himself.

" Mr. Green," said Mrs. Honeycomb, " Master says you
must not let any idea come into your head."

" Never ! " solemnly acquiesced Mr. Green.

" Now go ! " She ordered him off, and Mr. Green dis-
appeared downstairs.

*' What is he going to do ? " inquired Pancho.

" We always make him sit every day for an hour or two
and look at any fly speck on the wall," replied Mrs. Honey-

190 Madame Blavatsky,

comb, " so that the Master can work his brain and get it into
good shape to make it receptive. The poor fellow is very
anxious to become clairvoyant."

" He seems to be very obedient,"

" Oh, yes ! He is easily managed. If we would tell him
to jump overboard, he would do so unhesitatingly. He is
used to obedience. He was educated by a Christian clergy-
man, who made him do lots of nonsensical things to train
him to obey. For two 5^ears Mr. Green had every day care-
fully to water a walking-cane stuck into a flower-pot,
although he knew well enough that it would never grow.
It was merely done to get him into the habit of not using
his reason."

'' But why did you tell him not to let any idea get into
his head ? "

" Because," was the answ^er, " there is nothing more
dangerous for a Chela than if he does his own tliinking.
He should never think, but always believe what we tell him."

" He seems to have excellent qualifications for Chelaship,"
said Pancho.

" Oh, yes ! " answered Mrs. Honeycomb. '' He is ready to
believe anything, especially if it comes in a letter that is
dropped on his head."

But on one occasion even Mr. Green was bewildered.
Contradictory teachings came from the " Masters."

" But was not the document signed by one of the
Brothers ? " asked Mr. Green.

" That does not make any diflPerence," said Bumpkins.
" Accepted Chelas are authorised to sign the names of
their Masters to any document they like."

I have pointed out that the atheism of Madame Blavat-
sky was palpably opportunism. She wished to make the
Rajahs think that the Mahatmas made the world and ruled
the forces of nature. Dr. Hartmann fully confirms me here.

" For thousands of years the heads of the scientists have
been puzzled to find out what causes the world to move.
Some thought that it was the law of gravitation, and others
imagined that it was magnetism ; but it is evident that such
absurd theories offer no explanation of the mystery. Mr.
Putfer now assures us that the motion of the earth around
its axis is due to the supernatural and miraculous powers

A Change of Front. 191

possessed by a body of adepts who live in a desert in Africa,
in the exact geographical centre of the surface of this planet.
By the united effort of their combined and concentrated
will-power they can produce the most astonishing effects
not only in tlie atmosphere of this earth, but also in the body
of the sun. The proof of this assertion may be seen in the
sun spots, a phenomenon well known to our astronomers,
and which may be easily explained by the fact that the
adepts are supplying the sun with electricity, to keep its
photosphere clear. If these adepts neglect their business
the disk of the sun becomes as full of mouldy spots as a
cheese. If they were to stop for one moment exercising
their will-power, the sun would become as dark as a crow
and the earth would cease to Tiiove.

" Our reporter asked Mr. Puffer how it came that there
were occasionally famines in Africa if the adepts had the
power to do such things. Mr. Puffer replied that he had
presented this matter to their consideration, but that the
adepts had no time to attend to such trifling matters, as
their number was small and it was all they could do to
keep the world going. They had something more important
to do than to satisfy the greed of the paupers."

Students of " Esoteric Buddhism " will scarcely know
whether to call this burlesque or plagiarism. One point
about the adepts Mr. Sinnett has neglected.

" These adepts, of which Mr. Puffer, by a concatenation of
fortunate circumstances, has become an accepted Chela, are
in possession of untold wealth ; and it is said that even the
roofs of the houses in which they live are made of pure gold
and set with rubies and diamonds, and they are notsmokincr
any other but genuine Havana cigars."

What was the " talking image " ? A mechanism, a
puzzle, an echo.

If you were very wise it spoke the words of transcen-
dental wisdom. If you were very foolish its words were quite
different, sometimes even very improper. Does this mean
that the talking image was a " composite photograph " of
Madame Blavatskyand tlie "shrine" of Adyar ?

There is a not very pleasant underplot where Conchita

192 Madame Blavatsky,

the abandoned wife, gets into the clutches of an unprin-
cipled mesmeriser. She throws herself out of the window
of a house of ill-fame to escape a worse fate, and dies.

The hero of the story at last determines to " do his own
thinking " : —

" Pancho, in consequence of his experiences, had become
fully convinced that pure and unadulterated truth cannot
be found in anything in this mundane sphere ; but that
there is likewise nothing which does not contain a certain
spark of truth, of God, or eternal life ; and that within the
human organism this spark may be blown into a flame
whose heat causes the heart to glow with divine love, and
whose light illuminates the mind with divine wisdom. He
was perfectly sure that this could not be accomplished by
any external means or ceremonies ; neither by holding one's
breath, nor by believing in certain doctrines, nor by learn-
ing by heart all the books in the world, together with all
the sayings of the sages ; but that it must be accomplished
by internal means."

The next passage also is a little remarkable, considering
that it comes from the Holy of Holies of Theosophy, and is
written by a gentleman who still writes F.T.S. after his
name.

" Pancho remained at the house of his friend. He studied
the Bible and the works of Theophrastus Paracelsus and
Jacob Boehme — not merely by means of his rational in-
tellect, but by entering into the spirit in which these books
were written ; and the deeper he entered into that spirit,
the more did his mind become clear of metaphysical phan-
tasms ; and the cobwebs which the African sun could not
remove from Pancho's brain, became removed by the light
that began to dawn at the very centre of his own soul."

" One of old, representing personified eternal truth, is re-
ported to have said, ' I am the light of the world. He who
follows me, will find eternal life.' He does not say, ' Go to
the Mysterious Brotherhood and learn what kind of a de-
scription they give about the light.' "

CHAPTER XIV.

THEOSOPHY TRUE AND FALSE.

The title of this chapter, " Theosophy True and False," is
not intended to set forth the absolute truth of either
theosophy, but only to infer that when a group of thinkers
selects a certain title for their teachings, and a second group
borrows the title for teachings that seem diametrically op-
posed to these, the earlier group may be called the true
theosophists. These were secret societies. They can be
traced from early times, certainly from the appearance of
Buddhism in Persia, 300 B.C., and I propose to show that
these teachings are eminently Buddhist. These secret
societies emerged more or less into the light about one
hundred years before the Christian Era, in Palestine, Egypt,
Greece, Persia. As Essen es they inoculated Mosaism, as
Mithraists they secretly pervaded the great Roman empire.
Experts have discovered the records of Mithraism in
Arthur's Con, and other British caves. Christianity was
largely due to these Essenes and these Mithraists. Christ
called his followers Children of Wisdom, as Buddha called
his followers Sons of Dharma.

" But we speak the Wisdom of God in a mystery, even
the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world
to our glory." (aAAa koAovfJL€V crocfiLav Oeov ev fiva-Trjpuo.) Here

(1 Cor. ii. 7) St. Paul actually calls Christianity theosophy.
There is a doubt about when the name was first used,
but we will take up our theosophists in the huge darkness
of the Middle Ages when the Church had become corrupt.
To the Jews and also to the Mussulmans we owe a debt of
gratitude, for each harboured a group of secret societies
which preserved a high idea of God, and a spirit of in-
dependent thought, amid strong persecution. More than
that, these secret societies inoculated Christianity with

193 N

194 Madame Blavatsky,

groups of secret independent thinkers, and the Reformation
was one great outburst of these.

Two great streams of theosophists came down, both
curiously impregnated with the higher Buddhism. These
were the Kabalists and the Sufis.
What was the Kabala ?

The Kabala is a book of magic, a book of lofty mysti-
cism, a book of quite astounding pretensions.

It is said to have been dictated by God Himself to a
" select company of angels who formed a theosophic school
in Paradise." It was revealed to Adam, and then to Noah,
to Abraham, to Moses. It was the secret wisdom of Israel
handed orally down with immense precautions.

With greater plausibility it is asserted to have been a
secret book of the Essenes and Therapeutse, the section of
Israel that derived their mysticism from contact with the
Buddhist missionaries. It is said to have been in the
hands of Jesus and his disciples.

St. Paul was a Kabalist. Origen and Clement of
Alexandria were impregnated with Kabalistic teachings.
And Philo and Josephus also plainly belonged to the school
of Jewish mj^stics. But orthodox Israel were slaves of
letter, the most abject of bibliolaters.

How could they have cherished a work whose main
teaching is that the letter of the Old Testament must all
be explained away ?

Let us listen to the Kabala.

" Woe be to the son of man who says that the Tora con-
tains common sayings and ordinary narratives. For if this
were the case we might at the present day compose a code
of doctrines from profane writings which should excite
greater respect. If the Tora contains ordinary matter, then
there are nobler sentiments in profane odes. But every
word of the law has a sublime sense and a heavenly mystery.
Now the spiritual angels had to put on a heavenly garment
when they descended to earth. If they had not put on
such a garment they could neither have remained nor been
understood on the earth.

" It is for this reason that David prayed, ' Open thou mine
eyes that 1 may see the wondrous things of thy law.' "
The Kabala is essentially a book of high mysticism.

Theosophy True and False, 195

Humanity is divided into four groups who can be detected
by tlie clairvoyant. Their types of faces resemble the
Chajoth, the man, lion, ox, and eagle of the vision of
Ezekiel. To the highest group alone is vouchsafed the
" Luminous Mirror," as distinguished from the '' Non-
Luminous Mirror," the " Tree of Life," as distinguished
from the " Tree of Knowledge."

These are the words used for the soul growth, the illumi-
nation of the mystic. The well-used word " Grace " has
also a meaning distinct from that of modern pulpits. It is
the faculty of reading the mystical sense, not the literal
sense of the Bible.

A second objection may be stated.

The Jews were stubborn unitarians, and quite hated the
Trinity idea. The Zohar proclaims the Trinity of Philo,
the Trinity of Buddhism.

It announces that for millions of millions of years En
Soph (the boundless), the formless, passionless, inconceiv-
able, inactive God, remained quiescent and solitary in chaos.
Then by the aid of Sophia (the Buddhist Prajna or Dharma)
and the " Divine Man " (Purusha of India) were formed the
worlds. This chaos is the Ungruund, the great " All " and
the great " Nothing " of Boehme. It is the Yliaster, the
Limbus magnus of Paracelsus.

Other points might be taken up. The Kabala has the
doctrine of re-incarnation, but the re-births are restricted
to three. This makes nonsense of the India Karma idea,
and argues a foreign doctrine only half accepted. I show,
too, in my " Buddhism in Christendom " (p. 87), that the
ten Sephiroth of the Kabala are taken from the ten
Paramitas of the Buddha. Both words mean attributes
(vTroo-raVet?), but the ideas of divine attributes varied a little
in Behar and Palestine. Where the Buddhists write down
'' Patience,'' " Charity," " Gnosis," the Jews prefer " Splen-
dour," " Kingdom," " Beauty." The three major Sephiroth
are absolutely the same as the three principal Paramitas.

En Soph whose image is a dot or point. This in
Buddhism is Dhyani, and represents also the Isvara or
inactive God, " He whose image is Sunyata (no image), who
is like a cypher or point infinite unsustained in Nirvritti,"

196 Madame Blavatsky,

cited by Hodgson (" Lit. of Nepal/' p. 77). Nirvritti is the
Buthos of the Gnostics and Pravritti the Pleroma.

The second and third Sephiroth are " Intelligence " and
" Wisdom,'' called also in the Kabala the " Father " and
" Mother." These in Buddhism are " Upaya " and " Prajna,"
and in the two systems they symbolise the active bi-sexual
God.

" The Anointed they call male-female," sa^^s Cj^ril of
Jerusalem.

I now come to another point, the " Shells." Man is often
compared to a worm. Is it anywhere stated in the Kaba-
la that at death this worm is cut in half, and that two
halves run about independently. Following in the wake of
Madame Blavatsky and Eliphas Levi, the theosophists
loved to repeat this statement, until the extreme immorality
of the teaching was exposed. An interesting paper by a
gentleman named Leiningen was read in 1887 before the
Psychological Society of Munich. He shows that, according
to the Kabala, the individual at death is separated not
into two, but four portions, which may (or may not) be
called distinct beings.

1. Neschamah (spirit), which goes to the Briatic World,
the abode of pure spirits.

2. Ruach (soul), which goes to the World of Formation
(Jetsirah).

3. Nephesch (the lower principle), which for a long time
remains in the World of Matter (Asiah), and sometimes
hovers about not very far from the corpse.

4. " The Spirit of the Bones," which remains in the
sepulchre until the resurrection.

This seems to give a colour to the nonsense of Eliphas
Levi at first sight, but the author points out that when this
latter "Spirit of the Bones " is evoked, Nephesch, Ruach,
and Neschamah are evoked likewise. The individual is
practically still an individual in spite of the separation.

How did such a theory arise ? I think it is a simple
perversion of the Buddhist doctrine of the five Skandhas.
This word may mean the " five bodies," the " five detach-
ments of an army," the "five aggregations." Some Buddhists
hold that the Skandhas are what the individual takes with
him to each new birth. Some think they are that which

Theosophy True and False, 197

he leaves behind him. Burnouf calls them " intellectual
attributes ; " Goldstiicker, "means of conception; " Judson, in
his " Birman Dictionary," the "living animal; " Schroter, in
his " Bhotanta Dictionary," the " five bodies."

Childers gives a noteworthy fact. It is held by the
Buddhists that even after Nirvana four of the five Skandhas
still exist. Now, if we take up the Sanskrit word Skandha
in its literal meaning, we see the closest analogy between
the Buddhist and the Kabalist ideas. A living man may
be described as an army of five detachments. At death,
one of these, the material body, is destroyed, and the re-
maining four detachments march off to ghostland. We may
call any one of these what we like, " Nephesch," or the
Buddhist " Vinnana," the vagueness of the Buddhist
Skandha idea is in its favour. But the Jew was hampered
by a teaching received from Persia that the soul remained
with the gross atomic body in the sepulchre, until that body
revived at the resurrection. Hence the absurdity of the
Jewish version, but it is by no means as absurd as Eliphas
L^vi would make it.

We now come to the Sufis. When Islam attacked the
Buddhists, a curious result took place. Asia Minor and
Egypt had long been the home of secret societies, the rem-
nants of the Gnostics, the Neo-platonists, the Manicheeans,
and even of the Essenes or disciples of John ; secret
societies due to Buddhist propagandism. By the aid of
these, half of Islam became Buddhists. Advantage was
taken of the quarrel raging between the Sheahs and
Soonees. One sect of the latter, the Ghoollat, made a sort
of Buddha of Ali, whose rank amongst the prophets was the
chief bone of contention between the rival camps. Some of
the Ghoollat affirmed that, by transmigration, the higher
nature of Ali returned to earth. Others held that he sat
enthroned in the clouds, and that the thunder w^as his voice.
This was the earliest school of mystics in Islam, said by
some to go back to the actual date of Ali. The Sebiin,
another sect of mystics, proclaimed the Seven Great Imams,
seven successive incarnations of the Supreme in mortal
shape. This is plainly the Buddhist doctrine of the
Seven Mortal Buddhas. The rites of initiation were
very severe.

198 Madame Blavatsky.

"According to his propfress in 'the way,'" says M.
Napoleon Ney (" Le Societes Secretes Miisulmanes," p. 14),
" different names were ^iven to the neophyte." He was first
Talamid (disciple or servant), then Mourid (aspirant). He
was then initiated, and became Fakir (beo^gar, Ebionite, the
Buddhist Bhikshu). He was then Sufi (seer, according to
M. Ney, but some trace the word to Sophia), then
Salek ("walking" in the way), then Medjedoub ("drawn
to God "). Each of these degrees can only be gained after
successive ordeals.

There are two higher degrees reached by few: — Moham-
medi (full of the spirit of the prophet) and Touhidi, " merged
in the Divinity, Supreme Beatitude."

M. Ney goes on to say that this is plainly the Nirvana of
Buddhism.

Each sect had a " chain of gold," namely, a catalogue of
saints reaching to the Angel Gabriel. This catalogue varied
with each. It was recorded in the " Golden Legend." M.
Ney shows that the Bosicrucians of the Freemasons come
from Islam. I have pointed out that the Lotus of India
became the rose of Western mysticism.

" What rose do you wear ? " is the Shibboleth of the
Sufi.

*' I wear the rose of Mouley Taieb," is the proud answer ;
but the uninitiated are obliged to say, " I wear no rose at
all ; I am simpl}^ a servant of God." Initiation is called
" taking the rose."

"In some societies," says M. Ney, "to 'receive the rose,'
a noviciate of a thousand and one days is required, during
which the aspirant is condemned to the meanest duties of
the household, and to painful and degrading ordeals. In
the hands of thy Sheikh thou shalt be as a corpse in
the hands of those who wash dead bodies. God's own
voice commands this." This reminds M. Ney of the
^erinde ac cadaver of the Jesuits.

It is difficult to detach the Kabalists from the Sufis in
history. The word " Toledo ! " was the great pass-word in
the witches' Sabbaths in France. Michelet explains this by
the fact that Toledo in Spain was the headquarters of the
Jewish and also the Arabian schools of magic. It is plain
that these " theosophists " differed in toto from the modern

Theosophy Tmte and False, I99

school. They held that the magnum opus, the great
soul awakening, must come from within, not from Mahat-
mas and Blavatskys. Through Martinez Pasquales and
Kolmer they organised the Illuminati of the French re-
volution.

CHAPTER XY.

CEKEMONIAL MAGIC.

In Paris a fierce war is raging between the spiritistes and the
occultist es. The spiritistes are occultistes in one sense of
the word, for their study is the occult world. But the oc-
cultistes hold that the term occultism applies to certain secrets
of magic that they alone possess. Thus, occultism, with one
party, means the secrets of the next world, and occultism
with the other party means certain secrets existing in this
world.

The battle seems due to a work by M. Papus. It is en-
titled "Traite Methodique de Science Occulte." This
gentleman is the " President of the Independent Group of
Esoteric Studies," and also the head, I believe, of the
martinistes, a Kabalistic society, which goes back as far
as Martinez Pasquales, and is announced to have had Saint
Martin, Eiiphas Levi, and also the first Lord Lytton amongst
its members.

M. Papus in this volume attacks the spiritistes. The
main blot of their system is that, by neglecting the tradi-
tions of ceremonial magic, the}^ render themselves liable to
become a prey to the elementaires and the coques astrales.
This seems at first sight a plagiarism from Madame Blavat-
sky, who also dealt in theories about coques astrales. But
M. Papus is more hostile to the theosophists than he is to-
wards the honest, but mistaken, sjyiritistes. He calls the
former " Bouddhistes d' Opera Goiiiique." Eiiphas Levi is
the high priest of occultisme ; and a somewhat ghastly
photograph of le Grand Occultiste Frangais, as he ap-
peared after death, is given as a frontispiece. The great
occultist looks a little like Fagin the Jew after execution.
M. Papus gives an account of a seance of the spiritistes of
Marseilles. One lady was controlled by General Marceau,
and gave a histrionic representation of his death. St. John

200

Ceremonial Magic. 201

the Evangelist came likewise, and a much more solemn
name was attached to one visitant. M. Pap us laughs at the
reincarnation theory, which makes a clerk in a bank be-
lieve that he is Voltaire come back to earth, or Napoleon ;
and quite floods modern society with Joans of Arcs, Marie
Stuarts, Madames de Maintenon. Somehow it is only the
pretty ghosts that seem to be eager to come back.

But the spiritistes quickly took up the gauntlet, and one
of them under the pseudonym of " Rouxel " (" Spiritisme et
Occultisme," p. 5) sketched the two systems: —

" Spiritism is a science which has for object the study of
certain phenomena whose causes baffle the senses, and seem
to contradict certain laws established more or less arbitrarily
by conventional science.

" Spiritism is a science. That is its fundamental character.
It distinguishes it on one side from the current religions
which are based on authority, and on the other side from
that science which leans on a priori principles to deduce
consequences all more or less logical and all more or less
false."

The writer goes on to describe the patient methods of the
spiritistes, the Crookes, Wallaces, Gurneys ; how they
methodically observe occult phenomena, note down the
facts, and make comparisons in a careful way. A flood of
evidence has established, they maintain, the following re-
sults : —

1. The agents which produce these phenomena are the
spirits of the dead.

2. The soul survives the body.

3. If the soul survives the body the conclusions of science
that the soul is a resultant of the organism is disproved.

The author then proceeds to sketch occultism, but says
that her definition is a far more difficult matter : —

" For a long time I have observed it move like a wavelet,
contradict itself, change its name and its last teaching ;
* Buddhist ' yesterday, ' Magist ' the day before, * Occultist '
to-day, now ' Kabalist,' now ' Zingari,' it is truly Proteus.

" Occultism like s[)iritism deals with those phenomena
whose causes evade materialistic science. It professes to
offer a solution — many solutions even — more satisfactory
than ours. On that point the public shall be a judge.

202 Madame Blavatsky,

" The method of the occultists is radically opposed to the
method of the spiritists. This last is the experimental pro-
cess, as we have shown. Occultism places authority above
3Ictgister dixit.

" There was a time, not very remote, when the occultists
explained all the phenomena noted by Crookes and Wallace
and Gurney by the intervention of certain beings called by
them elementaries and elementals, to the absolute exclusion
of spirits of the dead. Now they admit that these latter
may come sometimes. Thus their ' authority ' is certainly
changeable."

Another answer to M. Papus comes from Italy. M.
Palazzi has written a little work which in its French
translation is called " Les Occultistes Contemporains." As
M. Papus takes exclusively for an authority Eliphas Levi,
M. Palazzi gives quotations from his writings to show how
contradictory these writings are : —

" Through the veil of all allegories hieratic and mystic,
through the darkness and the grotesque ordeals of all the
initiations, through the symbolism of ancient scriptures, in
the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling tablets of
old temples, and on the blackened faces of the sphinxes of
Assyria and Egypt, on the monstrous and also marvellous
paintings that interpret the Vedas to the believers in India,
in the strange emblems of our old books of alchemy, in the
ceremonies of reception practised by all mystic societies we
find the traces of a doctrine always the same and always
studiously hidden " (Eliphas Levi, " Dogme et Rituel de la
Haute Magie," p. 63).

On the second page of the same book we read, says M.
Palazzi : —

" The discovery of the great secrets of the religion and
pr'wiitive science of the Magi . . . gives us the explanation
of their miracles and prodigies.

" The greatest genius of the Catholics in modern times,
Count Joseph de Maistre, foresaw this great event.

" ' Newton,' he said, ' brings us back to Pythagoras ; the
analogy which exists between science and faith must sooner
or later bring them together.'

" Sharing with the great man both his faith and hope,

Ceremonial Macric

we have dared to ransack the rubbish heaps of the old
sanctuaries of occultism ; we have asked of the secret
doctrines of the Chaldeans, of the Egyptians, of the
Hebrews, the secrets of the transfiguration of dogmas."

In his " Histoire de la Magie," p. 5, Eliphas Levi writes
also : " The key of knowledge has been abandoned to chil-
dren, and as was to be expected, this hey is mislaid and as
good as lost."

" Here ah'ead}^," says M. Palazzi, commenting on these
passages, " in this confession of Eliphas Ldvi is a complete
proof that the occultists are not by an uninterrupted aiiilia-
tion, nor even by continuous tradition, the exclusive re-
tainers of the secret knowledge of the ancient initiations,
and of the doctrine of the Magi. Their pretensions have
no basis. Eliphas Levi announces that he has ' dared ' to
place himself on the lost track, seeking in the darkness of
initiations amongst the ruins of the old cities of the East a
doctrine which he confesses was always concealed with the
greatest iDOssible care.'"

This seems unanswerable ; and the great French occultist
seems to cut himself away still more completely from the
past in another passage : —

" The Church, always inspired by the spirit of truth,
found it necessary to proscribe under the terms ' magic,'
* manichceism,' ' illuminism,' ' masonry/ all that was in any
way connected with the primitive profanation of the
mysteries."

The unprofaned mysteries, the French writer explains,
came first from the true as distinguished from the false
Zoroaster, and then were handed down first by the Egyp-
tians in their hieroglyphic alphabet, then by Moses, then
by the Zingari in their Tarot. The society to which he
belonged was called the Martinistes, the chief French sec-
tion of the Illuminati. The mysticism of this latter com-
plex movement seems to have been mainly due to three
individuals. The first was Martinez Pasquales, a mystic
from Spain, who taught Saint Martin to evoke the dead.
His followers called themselves "Philalethes," and "Knights
of the Holy City." At Avignon and Lyons they performed
many marvels, including, it is said, much intercourse with
the dead. The second founder was Schroepfer whose evoca-

204 Madame B lav at sky.

tions were famous in Germany, and so were those of the
Count St. Germain, his pupil, who showed Louis XV. his
decapitated son in a maojic mirror. The third was Kohner,
who learnt his magical knowledge in the East. He is sup-
posed to be Altotas, from whom Cagliostro derived, as he
tells us, his magical knowledge. But Kolmer had a more
important pupil, Wieshaupt, the great captain of the
Illuminati. If Eliphas Levi repudiates " illuminism,"
" manicb?eism/' and so on, he cuts himself completel}^ from
the past, for " illuminism " was Sufism. And where did he
get his doctrine of shells, for the Magists of the French
Revolution seemed quite to live with the dead ? There is
a record of a famous banquet of twelve, of whom six were
to be ghosts. It was a sort of test banquet, to which the
Podmores of the Illimiinati sent chosen delegates. The
dead guests were the Duke of Choiseul, Voltaire, d'Alem-
bert, Diderot, the Abbd de Voisenon, and Montesquieu.

" They talked," says M. de Canteleu (" Societes Secretes,"
p. 180), " with a rare impudence, and spared no one, not
even their own personality."

But magic has its secrets. This is quite true, but it gets
these secrets from books open to the public, from the
Kabala, and such works as " The Magus " of Frances
Barrett. This gentleman was one of the real Illuminati,
and the real Martinistes. His work, which appeared in
1801, gives the secrets of Kabalistic magic.

Many people have asked me why a good spirit is called
an " astral " spirit, and its body an " astral " body, and so
on. I have been unable to answer, but by the aid of Mr.
Barrett I can do so now. Ceremonial magic plainly dates
from the time when the ancients believed that each star
was a god, the planets very great gods, the fixed stars very
small gods. And the main object of ceremonial magic was
to evoke and win the influence of these " astral " spirits,
even in the Kabalism of the early century. Mr. Barrett
shows that an advance had been made on the Peripatetics
who held that there was only one spirit in each star. Each
had its hierarchy, but the "intelligent president" alone
could be summoned, the presidents of the seven planets
being the most potent of all. These are the " Seven spirits
round the throne of God," says Mr. Barrett.

Ceremonial Magic. 205

But how are you to evoke one of these spirits, say the
" intelligent president " of Saturn ?

The first difficulty is to get his real name. Without that
nothing can be done. And the process is by no means
easy.

""This then is to be known/' says Mr. Barrett (p. 73),
"that the names of the intelligent presidents of every one
of the planets are constituted after this manner, that is to
say by collecting together the letters out of the figures of
the world from the rising of the body of the planet, accord-
ino: to the succession of the sig-ns throuMi the several
degrees from the aspects of the planet himself, the calcula-
tion being made from the degree of the ascendant."

Now as all this might be a little difficult to the tyro, we
may let him know at once that the name of Saturn, de-
duced by this process, is " Oriphael."

But this is only a beginning. I will give a sketch of
other necessary proceedings, promising that if any member
of the Psychic Research Society is really anxious to
" summon " the intelligent President of Saturn, he must go
direct to Mr. Barrett.

First you must get a sword. It must be two-edged, says
Mr. Barrett, quoting a passage attributed a little vaguely to
" the prophets " : —

•' Take unto you two-edged swords."

You must have " two holy wax lights," a magic wand
scored over with that six-pointed star that figures on all
Madame Blavatsky's literature. It is called the " Seal of
Solomon," and all readers of the "Arabian Nights" know that
on one occasion it kept the Djinin the jar. You must have
a tripod " in which the perfumes are put, and may be either
held in the hand or set in the earth." All " magical instru-
ments " must be consecrated with "holy water," "holy oil,"
and " oderiferous sufFumigations." Also you must be pro-
tected from evil spirits by the aid of a " pentacle." M.
Papus defines this as a '' synthetical tracery," which does
not tell us much. It is a plate of metal with magical
symbols scored upon it, the " Seal of Solomon," a " lamb
slain," " the figure of the serpent hanging on the Cross,'' or
some other sacred device..

But more important than all is the " Lamen." Trace on

2o6 Madame Blavatsky,

brass, or virgin wax properly scented two circles from the
same centre, leaving a space large enough to write the ten
names of God in Hebrew, El, Eloshim, Elohe, Zebaoth, Elion,
etc., between them. In the centre of the lam en draw a
six-pointed star and place in it the name of the intelligent
president, Oriphael in this case. Round the six-pointed
star there must be four five-pointed stars irregularly drawn,
if only one spirit is summoned, but a star for each of the
minor spirits if several are invoked. Does not this busi-
ness of a badly drawn star for each spirit go back to the
times when savages thought the stars gods and drew badly
and couldn't write at all ?

Tiie evocation of Kabalistic magic has been compared on
one side to the Essene and Christian Sacramentum, and on
the other to the rites of the hona fide Buddhist magician.
Mr. Barrett tells us that in the Kabala a preliminary fast
of forty days is pronounced necessary. The evoker must
wear white linen and a white veil. The " table or altar "
must be covered with a clean v/hite linen cloth, and set
towards the East. There must be wax lights and incense.
Round all you must have a magic circle. " In the middle
of the altar you must place lamens covered with fine white
linen, which is not to be open until the days of consecration "
("The Kabala," p. 93). On the forehead of the evoker
there must bo a gold lamen. Eliphas L^vi adds a detail
which Mr. Barrett has plainly omitted through inadvert-
ence. Bread and wine is placed on the altar for the spirit
("Dogme," vol. ii. p. 187). The Buddhist necromancer
evokes Vajra pani, the " Wielder of the thunderbolt," with
similar rites.

All this requires some comment. Each of the seven
planets has a vast hierarchy of angels, as Mr. Barrett tells
us, under the intelligent governor (p. 43). The distance of
Saturn from the sun, according to our astronomers, is
893,955,000 miles.

It follows that when the two planets are whirling round
on opposite sides to the sun there is a vast space between
them.

Does it not seem a priori a rather strange arrangement
that a ruler of a vast legion of angels should be obliged to
leave his superintendence of them, and travel, say, one

Ceremonial Magic. 207

billion two hundred and forty-three millions of miles every
time tbat a hon vivant like Eliphas Levi, suffering from the
gout, scores a few Hebrew words on a lamen of virgin wax ?
This magic to the uninitiate is plainly a survival of early
astronomical ignorance, when people thought that the earth
was a large flat plane, the planets seven large lamps, the
other stars small lamps, all fixed on to a solid dome ; when
they thought also that the stars were the astral bodies,
each of a god. Even Mr. Barrett often confuses stars and
angels in a hopeless manner.

But supposing that we have properly prepared our magic
lamens and the real Oriphael comes to us, what have we
gained ? How can we be certain that he is not a wicked
" shell " personating the intelligent governor of Saturn ?

One tremendous answer is open to the occultists, but I do
not know whether they would like to use it. These rites
are the rites of black magic. A thin veneering of orthodoxy
is used in some of the " invocations."

"In the name of the blessed Trinity I do desire thee,
strong and mighty angel, named Oriphael, that if it be the
divine will of him who is called Tebragrammaton, etc., thou
take upon thee some shape as best becoraeth thy celestial
nature and appear to us visibly in this place," and so on
(" The Kabala," p. 93). But Mr. Barrett confesses that ex-
actly the same lamen is used " for the invocating of all
spirits whatever " (p. 95). By this hocus pocus, a " demon,
whether good or bad, may be drawn out " (p. 62). He
especially cautions us to go through the proper ceremony
of ''licencing the good angels to depart " after they have
obeyed us in coming (p. 94). The circle is a prison, the
Hebrew words bars, the food and drink a bait for the " good
angel," the sword is there to frighten him. Imagine one
of the "seven great angels that stand by the throne of
God " alarmed at the aspect of the fat little Abbe Eliphas
Levi, holding in his hand a second-hand sword bought of
an old clothes man.

We come upon another difficulty. The evocation of these
astral spirits, these intelligent governors of the planets, was
the crux of ceremonial magic in Mr. Barrett's day, when
Martinez, the founder of the French Kabalists, was still
alive. M. Papus is now their chief, and lo and behold !

2o8 Madame B lav at sky.

these vast legions of starry gods have disappeared. Ele-
mentals and elementaries, he tells us ("Traite Methodique," p.
104<7), are the only spirits that occultisme recognises. Can
it be that occuUisnie is learning lessons from spiritisme ?
But the " Elementals " of M. Papus deserve a word, as Mr.
Barrett believed in them likewise. There are four species
of " invisible powers." " Some are fiery, some watery, some
serial, some terrestrial" (Barrett, "Ceremonial Magic," p.
43). He adduces as specimens of these elementals the
Nereides that the old Greek sailors propitiated with milk,
honey, and the flesh of goats, for calm voyages ; the Dryades
or spirits of trees ; the spirits of the air, " that hold the four
winds in the four corners of the earth "; the " boiling spirits,"
etc., etc. (p. 4S). Plainly in Mr. Barrett's day the elementals
were what they were in the days of Homer, intelligent
beings, that could give to the world rain, warmth, precious
metals, prosperous voyages. But M. Papus has backed out
of all this likewise. He calls the elementals " esprits incon-
scients." Madame Blavatsky goes further. She tells us
(" Theosophical Glossary," p. 112) thatthey are "rather forces
of nature than ethereal men and women." This puzzles me.
I doze on the seashore. A soft air fans my forehead. I
look up. I may perhaps see a pretty Nereid breathing
upon me. I may detect only a soft breeze. But I don't
see how it can be rather more one than the other. Madame
Blavatsky at one time professed to be the solitary person
outside of Tibet who, by magical processes, could control
these beings. Surely, if any one, she can tell us whether
a certain elemental that she was ordering about was a soft
Nereid or only a soft breeze.

But we have one proof more that occultism is not tradi-
tion but shifting guess-work, the " Elementaries." This
word is unknown to Mr. Barrett, and seems to have been
coined by Eliphas Levi to describe the bad halves of dead
mortals, Cogues astrales. M. Papus affirms that the incuhi
and succiihi are elementaries.

This contradicts the older theosophists, for these spirits,
according to Paracelsus, are not dead mortals at all. An
incubus is the same as an Umhratilis, a full-grown young
woman, handsome and abominably wicked, that can be
created by the male without the aid of the female in half

Ceremonial Magic, 209

a minute. How she can become abominably wicked in that
time is not explained.

On one very important point Mr. Barrett throws light.
He has a chapter on the "method of raising evil spirits,
and also the souls and shadows of the dead," in fact he
views both evocations as black magic. A churchyard must
be selected and the " bones of the dead " must be " perfumed
with new blood, eggs, honey, oil, etc., and then the body and
soul (not a Goque astrale) will obey the summons." This
confirms me in what I have already suggested, that the
Kabalists, like the Catholics, were astride of two conflict-
ing eschatologies. The first taught that the saints were flying
about everywhere, the second that their souls were with
their bodies in the grave until the resurrection.

CHAPTER XVL

A LAST CHAPTER.

Three years ago I read this funny letter in a newspaper : —

" Sir, — I must apologise for trespassing on the valuable
space in your paper; but being deeply interested in the
subject, I should like to ask either you or any of your
readers, and especially ' R. C. ; F. T. S./ whether it is a
fact that two ladies drove through, or about, or round
London in a hansom cab, with the cremated remains of
Madame Blavatsky in an urn upon their knees. And if
they did so, then why ? Gilded Coach."

Another newspaper report was that these cremated re-
mains were to be placed in four stupas of the pattern
erected to Buddha. These stupas were to be in Europe,
Asia, Africa, and America respectively. The death took
place on May 8th, 1871, now called " White Lotus Day."

Whilst the ashes of this noteworthy old lady are waiting
for their stupas let us say a last word over them, and make
it as kindly as we can. The first point to be considered is
this, and it is a very important one. From about the date
of the Society Spirite in Cairo she seems to have been quite
without means. Becky Sharp thought that with ten
thousand a year she could have lived quite a " respectable "
life. Perhaps with some such sum at her disposal Madame
Blavatsky might have been a Madame Guy on. But when
she adopted spiritisme as a means of livelihood she started on
an incline of polished ice. " Miracle Club," " Arya Samaj,"
" theosophy," the " occult business," the " materialising
show business," each was " business." She had to live and
help Colonel Olcott, who, through her, had lost a lucrative
practice.

Fibs by a Russian or a Pole are not by any means viewed
as fibs are viewed by a Frenchman, who in his turn admits

21

A Last Chapter, 211

that the Englishman quite beats him in the matter of
truth fuhiess.

" Yes, sir ! " says one of Balzac's heroes, using English to
emphasise a particularly solemn assurance.

If the career of a Madame Guyon had been open to
Madame Blavatsky, it is probable that even then she might
have a little embellished the narrative of her experiences,
both inner and outer. It must be said in her favour too
that she was not the originator of the teaching of occultism,
that the main duty of man is to invent ingenious fibs to
keep concealed certain pass-words and rites.

In the following passage Madame Coulomb seems to
record a genuine conversation : —

"At this period, having satisfied myself that neither pheno-
menanor apparitions were genuine,I began to thinkmore seri-
ously on the matter, and finally one day I asked her why she
did these things, to which she answered as follows : ' But do
you know^ that you are a great " Seccatura ? " What a
bigot you are ! Do not be afraid, I do no harm ; but on the
contrary, a great deal of good. See/ she added, ' Mr. Some-
body, who for eight years was careless of his wife and child,
by this means has been brought back to the fold, and
now, as you see him, he cares for both ; and, moreover, the
same gentleman, who, before joining the society, was so
proud and so hard with the natives, now shakes hands with
them, and even remains in their company.' And she related
to me many instances of good results from such foolish
practices."

No doubt the relations between the black faces and the
white in India are by no means sa^tisfactory. Two rival
Brahminisms are face to face. Madame Blavatsky really
tried to make matters better, but she plunged into a vast
difiiculty like a "griff." She did an immense deal of harm,
but we must credit her with good intentions. And when
the members of the Theosophical Society freely subscribed
their guineas the good old lady was generous. She wore an
old dressing-gown, and supported quite an army of poor
natives. ,

She did a surprising amount of work.

212 Madame Blavatsky,

" While she was writing ' Isis Unveiled ' at New York
she would not leave her apartment for six months at a
stretch. From early morning until very late at night she
would sit at her table working. It was not an uncommon
thing for her to be seventeen hours out of the twenty-four
at her writing. Her only exercise was to go to the dining-
room or bath-room and back again to her table. As she
was then a large eater, the fat accummulated in great
masses on her body.

"When 'Isis' was finished and we began to see ahead the
certainty of our departure, she went one day with my sister
and got herself weighed ; she turned the scales at 245 lbs.
(17 stone 7), and then announced that she meant to reduce
herself to the proper weight for travelling, which she fixed
at 156 lbs. (11 stone 2)."

One point I have kept purposely in the background, but
I hear that the Psychical Research Society are about to
bring it prominently forward. Letters have already been
produced by that body, in which she seems to confess that at
one period she led an immoral life. But, as Mr. Stead has
truly remarked, if " Messalina " rises from her dead self, the
point is in her favour.

" We might as well refuse to recognise what the psalms
have done for mankind because of David's treacherous
murder of Uriah."

Was she really a physical medium ? The Psychic
Research Society has answered No ! with some emphasis.
On the other hand, stories like this are going about.
Colonel Olcott asserts positively, in his " Diary Leaves,"
that one day in America he and Madame Blavatsky and
another lady were in a room together. This second lady
was wearing a plain gold ring. Madame Blavatsky pressed
her hand a moment, and the plain gold ring was covered
with diamonds and other precious stones. A curious story
this ! If she could produce diamonds thus easily, why did
she descend to Adyar " shrines " and Simla pic-nics ?

She had the gift of " suggestion " and hypnotism be^^ond
a doubt. I copy from Light an account of the conversion
of Mrs. Besant : —

''From 1886 onwards, Mrs. Besant, being of an active
nature, had noticed the current which was setting in the

A Last Chapter.

direction of the new psycholoo^y. She had, indeed, investi-
gated spiritualism, and was not satisfied with the spiritual-
istic hypothesis, and had finally convinced lierself tliat
there was some hidden thing, some hidden power, and re-
solved to seek until she found — yet the ' conversion ' was as
startling as it was sudden."

The account of this change we give in Mrs. Besant's own
words. It is to bo understood that she had been asked by
Mr. Stead to review " The Secret Doctrine " for him : —

" Home I carried my burden and sat me down to read.
As I turned over page after page the interest became ab-
sorbing ; but how familiar it seemed ; how my mind leapt
forward to presage the conclusions ; how natural it was,
how coherent, how subtle, and yet how intelligible ! I was
dazzled, blinded, by the light in which disjointed facts were
seen as parts of a mighty whole, and all my puzzles, riddles,
problems, seemed to disappear. The effect was partially
illusory in one sense, in that they all had to be slowly un-
ravelled later, the brain gradually assimilating that which
the swift intuition had grasped as truth. But the light had
been seen, and in that flash of illumination I knew that the
weary search was over and the very Truth was found."

Now this finding of the " very Truth " is of the exact
nature of " conversion." In another form we meet with it
constantly in religious tracts and biographies. Storm-tossed
and weary, the excited sinner at lasts finds " peace," and
henceforth knows that he too has found the " very truth,"
it may be in the materialistic creed of the conventicle, or it
may be in the sensuous certainties of Catholicism. But
henceforth there is no doubt, the " very truth " has been
found. And the parallel goes on. Mrs. Besant met Madame
Blavatsky as a result of her review of "The Secret Doctrine."
There was some natural reluctance, of course, in leaving one
" very truth " for another " very truth " ; and so, breaking
with her old friends, therefore, Mrs. Besant went again to
Madame Blavatsky: —

" H. P. Blavatsky looked at me piercingly for a moment.
' Have you read the report about me of the Society for
Psychical Research ? ' ' No ; I never heard of it so far as I
know.' * Go and read it, and if, after reading it, you come
back — well.' And nothing more would she say on the

214 Madame Blavatsky.

subject, but branched off to her experiences in many-
lands.

" I borrowed a copy of the Report, read and re-read it.
Quickly T saw how slender was the foundation on which
the imposing structure was built ; the continual assumptions
on which conclusions were based ; the incredible character
of the allegations ; and — most damning fact of all — the foul
source from which the evidence was derived. Everything
turned on the veracity of the Coulombs, and they were self-
stamped as partners in the alleged frauds."

Here follows one of the most amazing passages ever
written, and remember that it is written by a woman who
had fought for years for the right of private judgment : —

" Could I put such against the frank, fearless nature that I
had caught a glimpse of, against the proud fiery truthfulness
that shone at me from the clear blue eyes, honest and fear-
less as those of a noble child ? "

No reasoning here — simple surrender, that is all. But
the account goes on : —

" Was the writer of ' The Secret Doctrine ' this miserable
impostor, this accomplice of tricksters, this foul and loath-
some deceiver, this conjurer with trap-door and sliding
panels ? I laughed aloud at the absurdity and flung the
Report aside with the righteous scorn of an honest nature
that knew its own kin when it met them, and shrank from
the foulness of a lie."

It is hardly necessary to say that Mrs. Besant immedi-
ately joined the Theosophical Society. H. P. B. soon after-
wards put her hand on Mrs. Besant's head and said, " You
are a noble woman. May Master bless you." This occurred
on the 10th of May, 1889.

As in the ca,se of Dr. Anna Kingsford, we have here a
complete proof that the mystic develops from within.
For years Mrs. Besant had been an unconscious Chela ; and
the crop of lofty mysticism that she carried away with her
after her first interview with Madame Blavatsky had in
reality been carried there. The Russian lady had little

A Last Chapter. 215

more to do with her launch than the admiral's little
daughter, who touches a button, and sends a ponderous
fabric like H.M. battleship Rodney sliding down the
grooves.

It is to be remembered also that, according to Colonel
Olcott, there were two distinct beings in the red dressing-
gown of Madame Blavatsky — a fibbing Russian lady and a
mighty Mahatma. Plainly this latter was chiefly exhibited
in the presence of Mrs. Besant. She certainly seemed to
psychologise people.

'' H. P. B." says Colonel Olcott, " made numberless friends,
but often lost tlicm again, and saw them turned into per-
sonal enemies. No one could be more fascinating than she
when she chose, and she chose it when she wanted to draw
persons to her public work. She would be caressing in
tone and manner, and make the person feel that she re-
garded him as her best, if not her only friend. She would
even write in the same tone, and I think I could name at
least a dozen women who hold her letters saying that they
are to be her successors in the T. S., and twice as many
men, whom she declared her only real friends. I have a
bushel of such certificates, and used to think them precious
treasures, until after comparing notes with third parties, I
found that they had been similarly encouraged. With ordin-
ary persons like myself and her other associates, I should not
say slie was either loyal or staunch. We were to her, I
believe, nothing more than the pawns in the game of chess,
for whom she had no heart-deep love."

The following experience of an enthusiastic theosophist
may throw some light here. " R. S. " writes a letter to
Madame Wachtmeister, published in that lady's " Re-
miniscences " : —

" I was at a great distance from H. P. B. Madame Blav-
atsky died before I ever met her. I was accepted as a
pupil ; — no rules were laid down, no plan formulated. I
continued my daily routine, and at night, after I fell into a
deep sleep, the new life began. On waking in the morning
... I w^ould vividly remember that I had gone, as it were,
to H. P. B. I had been received in rooms that I had de-
scribed to those who lived with her, described even to the
worn places and holes in the carpet."

2i6 Madame Blavatsky,

From this astral H. P. B., " R. S. '' derived mighty truths.
She was taught " the methods of motion," of vibration, of
the formation of the world from the first nucleolus of
"spirit moulding matter." She learnt that "motion was
consciousness," and so on.

"A few days after Madame Blavatsky died, H. P. B.
awoke me at midnight. She held my eyes with her
leonine gaze. Then she grew thinner, taller, her shape be-
came masculine. Slowly then her features changed, until
a man of height and rugged powers stood before me."

Now, whatever '' R. S. " may be, it is evident that he (or
she) is not an orthodox *' theosophist," or he w^ould have
known that the dead Madame Blavatsky, being a wicked
" shell," could not have preached mighty truths about
motion, etc. But the letter shows the influences at work
in theosophical circles.

We must remember, too, that on a public platform, Mrs.
Besant announced solemnly, as a proof of the existence of
the Mahatmas, that she had seen letters written in their
well-known handwriting some time after Madame Blavat-
sky's death. But this utterance led to a quaint episode in
the history of the Society.

Mrs. Besant discovered that a Mr. Judge in America had
simulated the handwriting of the Mahatmas in these letters,
and that all, except the "mental impression," were from him.
Mrs. Besant at once, as head of the Society, summoned a
great " Judicial Committee " to try Mr. Judge, who was
charged with having " practised deception in sending false
messages, orders, and letters, as if sent and written by the
Mahatmas." The Judicial Committee met in London on
the 2()th July, 1894?. According to one newspaper, Mrs.
Besant presided, " dressed as a Mahatma," or, at any rate,
as a native of India, with " white dress and white turban,"
although in what part of India females wear w^hite turbans
w^as not specifi.ed. "Mr. Judge raised a question of juris-
diction, and the Council of the Society has sustained his
plea that, even if guilty of the misuse of the Mahatmas'
names and handwriting, he was not amenable to an inquiry
by the Judicial Committee, as the oflence would have been
committed by him as a private member and not in his
official capacity. The Council had also passed a resolution

A Last Chapter, 217

to the effect that a statement as to the truth or otherwise
of at least one of the charges as formulated against Mr.
Judge would involve a declaration on their part as to the
existence or non-existence of the Mahatmas, and that would
be a violation of the spirit of neutrality and the unsectarian
nature and constitution of the Society."

Mrs. Besant is reported to have thus spoken : —
" I regard Mr. Judge as an occultist, possessed of consider-
able knowledge and animated by a deep and unswerving
devotion to the Theosophical Society. I believe that he
has often received direct messages from the Masters and
from their Clielas, guiding and helping him in his work. I
believe that he has sometimes received messages for other
people in one or other of the ways that I will mention in a
moment, but not by direct writing by the Master nor by
his direct precipitation ; and that Mr. Judge has then
believed himself to be justified in writing down in the
script adopted by H. P. B. for communications from the
Master, the message psychically received, and in giving it
to the person for whom it was intended, leaving that person
to wrongly assume that it was a direct precipitation or
writing by the Master himself — that is, that it was done
through Mr. Judge, but done hy the Master.

" Now personally I hold that this method is illegitimate,
and that no one should simulate a recognised writing which
is regarded as authoritative wdien it is authentic. And by
authentic I mean directly written or precipitated ^ by the
Master himself. If a message is consciously written it
should be so stated : if automatically written, it should be
so stated. At least so it seems to me. It is important that
the very small part generally played by the Masters in these
phenomena should be understood, so that people may not re-
ceive messages as authoritative merely on the ground of their
being in a particular script. Except in the very rarest
instances, the Masters do not personally write letters or
directly precipitate communications. Messages may be
sent by them to those with whom they can communicate
by external voice, or astral vision, or psychic word, or
mental impression, or in other ways. If a person gets a
message which he iDelieves to be from the Master, for com-
munication to anyone else, he is bound in honour not to

2i8 Madame Blavatsky.

add to that message any extraneous circumstances which
will add weight to it in the recipient's eyes. I beheve that
Mr. Judge wrote with his own hand, consciously or auto-
matically I do not know, in the script adopted as that of
the Master, messages which he received from the Master or
from Chelas ; and I know that, in my own case, I believed
that the messages he gave me in the well-known script
were messages directly precipitated or directly written by
the Master. When I publicl}^ said that I had received
after H. P. Blavatsky's death letters in the writing H. P.
Blavatsky had been accused of forging, I referred to letters
given to me by Mr. Judge, and as they were in the well-
known script I never dreamt of challenging their source.
I know now that they were not written or precipitated by
the Master, and that they were done by Mr. Judge, but I
also believe that the gist of these messages was psychically
received, and that Mr. Judge's error lay in giving them to
me in a script written by himself and not saying that he
had done so. I feel bound to refer to these letters thus
explicitly, because, having been myself mistaken, I in turn
misled the public."

Now all this may be satisfactory to Mr. Judge, but is it
satisfactory to the Theosophical Society ? The satire that we
have quoted (" Talking Image of Urur," see ante., p. 190) from
the pen of a gentleman that knows perhaps more about that
society than any living being, made one special hit. This
was that it was a leading maxim that a Chela must receive
as a genuine document of the Mahatmas anything that any
superior chose to write. And we know that the red pencils
and Tibetan envelopes found amongst Madame Blavatsky's
properties were so used by Damodar and others. But satire
has now become sober fact, if the " mental impression " of
A. and of B. is to be received as a genuine document of the
Mahatmas. But these mental impressions ditfer considerably,
as we have seen in the cases of Mr. Judge and Mr. Sinnett.
How can we be certain which of the two gives us the " block
of absolute truth " ?

These Mahatmas have strangled the conscience and
thought of theosophy. Perhaps the Judge trial was an
effort to cast off the incubus.

Listen to this astounding passage in the " Diary Leaves "
of Colonel Olcott : —

A Last Chapter. 219

" I have been obliged to trace its evolution (that of the
reincarnation theory) within our lines, at the risk of a small
digression, as it was necessary for the future welfare of the
society to show the apparent baselessness of the theory that
our present grand block of teaching has been in H. P. B.'s
profession since the beginning. To admit that would in-
volve the necessity of conceding that she had knowingly
and willingly lent herself to deception, and the teaching of
untruth, in ' Isis '" {Theoso]jliist, August, 1893).

This is the passage, and at once the splendid fabric of
theosophy, the astral post offices, and tlie huge underground
crj^pt libraries, seem to dissolve like a palace of ice in
Russia before the first sunbeam of spring. The theory of
Mr. Sinnett is logical enougli. Madame Blavatsky was
entrusted with the secret doctrine of the Mahatmas during^
her visit to Tibet in the year 1856, but a wise and far-
seeing obscurantism made it necessary that her mission
should at first be concealed by expedients, some honest, and
some dishonest. On no other hypothesis, indeed, could her
visit to Tibet, and the existence of the Mahatmas, be estab-
lished. But Colonel Olcott has now dissipated all this.
The colonel, though credulous, is believed by all to be
thoroughly honest. He has given up a lucrative profession
in the quest of higher ideals. In hot climates he has
worked without rest, preaching, like Buddha, his Dharma
in the bazaar. If any know the secrets of Madame Blavat-
sky, it ought to be the colonel, and now he assures us that
she knew notliing of tne Tibetan secret doctrine till she
went with him to India. Then, when did the Tibetan
Mahatma come in ? Tlie colonel would perhaps reply : At
the date of the battle of Mentana, when the Tibetan Ma-
hatma took possession of the body of a fibbing Russian lady.
This is all very well, but this Mahatm.a first of all said that
he was a spirit from the ghost world. He then announced
that he was a Brother of Luxor. That he was a Tibetan
Mahatma was only his third statement. According to the
colonel, we have a Tibetan Mahatma fobbing off his ideas
on a fibbing Russian lady. But may not the fibbing
Russian lady have been one too many for him, and fobbed
off her ideas on him ?

THE END.

APPENDIX No. I,

THE MAHATMA AND THE "WESTMINSTER GAZETTE.'

Whilst these sheets are passmg through the press some singular de-
tails about the " mental impressions '' of the Vice-President of the
Theosophical Society, Mr. W. Q. Judge, have been given in a series of
papers in the Westminster Gazette, commencing on October 29th.
They were written by Mr. F. M. Garrett, whose facts are guaranteed
by Mr. Walter R. Old {Westminster Gazette, November 9th), who was
a member of the " Esoteric Section '' when these transactions took
place. It appears that the Mahatma (his name is Morya) wanted to
displace Colonel Olcott from the post of President of the Theosophical
Society. And so immediately after the death of Madame Blavatsky,
Mr. Judge had a "mental impression" that he must post off to
England, having wired from America :

*' Do nothing 'till I come ! "

His first step on arrival was to propose to Mrs. Besant that the
Mahatmas should be consulted by placing a letter asking for their ad-
vice in a well-known cabinet in Madame Blavatsky's room.

" Mr. Judge took the letter out again. On his showing it to Mrs.
Besant, judge of that lady's emotion at the discovery that at the end
of the question stood the word ' Yes ' traced apparently in red chalk."

Three days later the " Esoteric Section Council " met to decide how
the section should in future be governed, its head being gone. Mr.
Judge at once produced a plan " under which the council was to
dissolve, and its powers to be delegated to Mrs. Besant and himself as
' Joint Outer Heads,' the Inner Heads being the Mahatmas."

Mrs. Besant was arranging her papers, when amongst them was dis-
covered a little slip with the words : — "Judge's plan is right." This
was written in red pencil, and sealed with a " Cryptograph M."

Plainly these words had again come as Mrs. Besant put it, " in what
some would call a miraculous fashion." Soon more miracles occurred.
Letters were found in gummed envelopes, in desks, in old letters, as
in the old Blavatsky days ; and Mrs. Besant felt justified in making
her celebrated announcement.

221 P

2 2 2 Appendix.

Speaking in the Hall of Science on August 30, 1891, three months
after Madame Blavatsky's death, she said : —

"You have known me in this hall for sixteen and a half years.
You have never known me tell a lie. (' No, never,' and loud cheers.)
I tell you that since Madame Blavatsky left I have had letters in the
same handwriting as the letters which she received. Unless you think
dead persons can write, surely that is a remarkable fact. You are
surprised ; 1 do not ask you to believe me ; but I tell you it is so.
All the evidence I had of the existence of Madame Blavatsky's
teachers of the so-called abnormal powers came through her. It is
not so now. Unless even sense can at the same time deceive me, un-
less a person can at the same time be sane and insane, I have exactly
the same certainty for the truth of the statements I have made as I
know that you are here. I refuse to be false to the knowledge of my
intellect and the perceptions of my reasoning faculties.''

But the work of the Mahatma was only half finished. Practically
Mr. Judge and Mrs. Besant ruled the society, but Colonel Olcott was
still the nominal head. Is was necessary to force him to retire. The
method adopted was so astounding, that unless a sober member of the
"Esoteric Section" had confirmed the statement, I should have
hesitated to record it. IMrs. Besant was informed that good old
Colonel Olcott wanted to poison her. It is also positively asserted that
she put off a journey through fear of such a catastrophe.

But a Mahatma may be too clever. A "precipitated" letter was
sent to Colonel Olcott, with a very clear impression of the "Crypto-
graph M." The colonel opened his eyes. He recognised the impres-
sion of a brass seal which he himself had had made in the Punjab as
" a playful present " for Madame Blavatsky. Further investigation
disclosed that the paper of some of the missives was "the sort of tissue
which is used to separate the sheets of typewriting transfer paper."
At other times certain " Punjab paper," bought by Colonel Olcott, was
detected. This and the "brass seal " were known to be amongst the
late Russian lady's efi"ects, and to these Mr. Judge had had access.

Here was a discovery ! The poor Mahatma, bafiied, planned a great
coup. A letter reached Colonel Olcott from "a Mr. Abbott Clark of
Orange City, California, a gentleman who was under no sort of
suspicion of having anything to do with Mahatmas." In this letter
was an additional slip containing these words : —

"Judge is not the forger you think, and did not write 'Annie.'
My seal is with me, and he has not seen it, but would like to. Both
are doing right each in his own field. Yes, I have been training him
and can use him, when he does not know, but he is so new it fades

Appendix, 223

but often as it may in this letter from an enthusiast "^ * "^ it for
you to know."

The asterisks represent a blur. The precipitated letter was in red
chalk. It was signed with the " Cryptograph M,'' i)urposely smudged.
And across it in black carbon were the words : —

" Facit per alium applies to the Lahore brass 'M.' It is not pencil."
But the best laid schemes of mice and Mahatmas oft "gang agley."
Colonel Olcott had not bought the brass seal at Lahore at all, but at
quite another place, and " writing to Mr. Clark, he discovered that Mr.
Judge had spent two days in Orange county at the very date when
the Master availed hnnself of Mr. Clark's envelope."

We need not go very far into the question whether the red pencil
letters were really written by a Mahatma. It is enough that Mrs.
Besant, Colonel Olcott, and other leading theosophists, believed that
they had complete evidence of a fraud.

Says The Wedminster Gazette, commenting on these revelations : —
"In general, if not yet in detail, the peculiar series of 'missives'
which have been reproduced, and in some cases facsimiled, in The
Westminster Gazette, are admitted ; it is admitted, too, that this
foundation of the Theosophical Society's inner fabric during the last
few years has somewhere about it something rotten. Colonel Olcott's
view, pointing at Mr. Judge, is recorded in his written evidence,
which afforded the main gravamen of the articles ; Mrs. Besant's view,
pointing so far as it is intelligible in the same direction, is recorded in
lier adoption of that evidence at the published ' enquiry.' It is a
queer enough spectacle to see Mrs. Besant, who regretted that her
strict intellect could not accept miracles on the Christian evidence,
greedily swallowing the ' precipitated ' revelations of the Mahatma.
But it is a queerer and a much sadder spectacle to find her, on the
tardy discovery that she had been deceived, leading the way in a con-
donation of the deception which makes her whole Church, as it were,
a party to it. And that, even more flagrantly, has been the line of
most of her followers who have yet spoken upon fuller knowledge.
Here is a society which claims to be the recipient of a revelation from
god-like beings, and the teacher to the world of a transcend ently high
system of ethics. Yet with one accord we now have them pleading
that they do not care twopence half -penny whether the demi-gods, by
whom they have solemnly sworn, do or do not exist, or exist only as
jugglers, equal neither in culture nor in honesty to, say, the average
Cheap-Jack : while the question as to whether their own principal
oflicials are or are not utterly untrustworthy persons is dismissed as a
matter of no moral importance. Wc are not ignoring the fact, which

2 24 Appendix,

has been made clear by many other correspondents besides Mr.
Burrows, that this mental and moral fiabbiness is not shared by all
members of the society. Far from it. But as the official and the most
ostentatious line taken, it is a notable feature. It illustrates how in-
evitably the miracle-seeking instinct of this and all similar epochs is
linked with the moral crookedness of ' theosophistry . ' "

It is difficult to gainsay this. Indeed, the low state of moralit}^ of
the theosophists is evinced, as it seems to me, less by these transactions
than by the comments on them, with which, in many letters, they have
since flooded the newspapers. A document is v/ritten in red chalk,
it is immaterial whether the name of the writer be Blavatsky or
Damodar. It is fraudulently announced that this document is writ-
ten by a Mahatma. But, if I repeat the statement, knowing it to
be false, I am just as guilty as the writer. I may urge that, without
the glamour of the Mahatmas and their miracles, a vast apparatus for
the exposition of the fine mysticism of Boehme and Saint Martin would
collapse. Theosophy is a Chinese cage whose bars are labelled
"Slavery/' ''Gobemoucherie,'' "Hocus-pocus,'' "Hush up!" This will
be seen by a perusal of the "Rules and Pledges" of the "Probationer."
I give them slightly condensed, on the authority of Professor Coues.

[copy.]
''^ Strictly jyrivate, and confidential.

"The Esoteric SECTI0^' or the T. S.
[Seal.]

" Dear , I forward you herewith a copy of the Kules and Pledges

for the Probationers of the Esoteric Section T. S. Should you be unable
to accept, then I request that you will return this to me without delay.

" H. P. Blavatsky.

" Rules of the Esoteric Section (Probationary) of the Theosophical
Society.

"2. Application for membership in the Esoteric Section must be accom-
panied by a copy of the pledge hereunto appended, ivritten out and sealed
by the Candidate, who thereupon enters upon a special period of proba-
tion, which commences from the date of the pledge.

" 4. He who enters the Esoteric Section is as one newly born ; his past
— unless connected with crime, social or political, in which case he cannot
be accepted — shall be regarded as never having had existence in respect
of blame for actions committed .

"7. To preserve the unity of the Section, any person joining it expressly
agrees that he shall be expelled, and the fact of his expulsion made public
to all members of the Society, should he violate any one of the three follow-
ing conditions :

Appendix. 225

" (a) Obedience to the Head of the Section in all Theosophical matters.

" (6) The secrecy of the signs and passwords.

" (c) The secrecy of the documents of the Section, and any communica-
tion from any Initiate of any degree, unless absolved by the head of the
Section,

" PLEDGE OF PEGBATIONEES OF THE E.SOTERIC SECTION OF THE T, S.

"2. 1 2)ledge myself to support before the world the Theosophical move-
mrnt, its leaders, and its members, and in partic^dar to obey, ivithout cavil or
delay, the orders of the Head of the Esoteric Section.

'* 6. I pledge myself to give lohat support I can to the Theosophical movt-
Quent in time, money, and worh.

'^7.1 pledge myself to preserve inviolable secrecy as regards the signs
and passwords of the Section and all confidential documents. So help me
my higher self.

"Signed,

" The arrangements with regard to the Esoteric teaching which will be
given to members of the Section will be communicated to them in due
course."

APPENDIX No. II.

BLAVATSKYANA.

When Madamo Blavatsky first went to America (says Mrs. Hannah
Wolff) she, for cheapness, put up at the ' ' Working Woman's Home."
She translated a book on Russia; changed the word "Russia" every-
where to " United States " ; and she wanted to publish it as an original
work written by her on America.

She took " haschish " at this time.

She claimed that photographs left in her drawer would become
coloured.

" Isis Unveiled,'' according to Mr. Coleman, contains 2000 plagiarisms
from " Christianity and Greek Thought," by B. T. Cocker ; " Demono-
logia," by J. S. F. ; "Plato and the Older Academy," by Zeller ;

2 26 Appendix.

the "Philosophy of Magic," by Salverte ; " Sod, the Son of Man," by S.
F. Dunlop/' and "over a hundred" other books. In a series of
articles written in The, Golden Way Mr. Coleman points out these
jolagiarisnis.

According to the Countess of Wachtmeister, Madame Blavatsky, on
one occasion being unable to obtain a match, elongated herself two or
three feet and stretched up to the gas chandelier to light a cigarette.

The man Michalko (see ante, p. 26) was alive when, as a dead man,
he was supposed to come to the Eddy seance.

Home, the medium, in a letter from Geneva, dated June 12, 1882,
says that Madame Blavatsky was in Paris in 1858. " I took no interest
in her, excepting a singular impression I had the first time I saw a
young gentleman who has ever since been as a brother to me. He did
not follow my advice. He was at that time her lover, and it was most
repulsive to me that in order to attract attention she pretended to be
a medium. My friend still thinks she is mediumistic, but he is also
just as fully convinced that she is a cheat."

In "Isis Unveiled," Madame Blavatsky talks of " Chris tna,"
^'Bhudda," and of two Sanskrit books called t:.e " Bhagavad Gita"
and the " Haripurana."

Schmiechen, the German artist, from sketches by Madame Blavatsky,
produced tAvo large oil paintings of " Koot Hoomi" and "Morya."
Like the well-known presentment of "John King," they had black
beards, and white turbans and white robes— rather a chilly costume
for Tibet.

Experts have pronounced that the letters of the two Mahatmas and
those of Madame Blavatsky are written in the same handwriting.

In The Graphic (American) of November 13th, 1874, Madame
Blavatsky published " six statements " about her early life, which six
statements in the Banner of Light, Feb. 17, 1877, she flatly contradicted :
" I was not born in 1834 ; Ekaterinoslav cannot claim the illustrious
honour of being my birth-place. M. Blavatsky was not seventy-three
when he capped the climax of my terrestrial felicity,'" and so on. Was
there an element of madness in the Russian lady ?

She once saw Col. Olcott's astral body "oozing through the wall" of
her bedroom.

On another occasion, as the colonel tells us, she created a pipe '' out
of nothing."

Mahatmas must be followed from distance to distance as the yokel
follows the rainbow. Their home was first announced to be Egypt,
then Malta, then Kashmir, then Tibet.

Col. Olcott's first guru was called " Serapis."

Appendix. 227

This is the colonel's letter to Dayananda Sarasvati : —
" Venerated Teacher, — A number of American and other students,
who earnestly seek after spiritual knowledge, place themselves at your
feet, and pray you to enlighten them.''

All the Anglo-Indian officials that I have spoken to fully believe
that in India Madame Blavatsky was in the secret service of Russia.
The refugees of that nation in London tell the same story. They
affirm that the' Coulomb scandal caused her to be dismissed, and that,
to recover her position, she courted Mrs. Besant, who was known to
be in touch with Stepniak and Krapotkin. Mr. Newton, the first
treasurer of the Theosophical Society, affirms that the journey to
India was decided upon after an interview at the Russian Legation.

DENOUMENT.

The great drama of theosophy has many surprises. Mr. W. Q.
Judge has dethroned Mrs. Besant. It had been arranged, it seems,
that she was to rule the Indian and English sections of the Theosophi-
cal Society ; and now these tremendous words have come across the
Atlantic, "I declare Mrs. Besant's headship at an end."

Three reasons are given by the Vice-President for this grave step —

1. Mrs. Besant has practised witchcraft and tried her weird spells,
her " psychic experiments," on Mr. Judge and others.

2. Mrs. Besant has pronounced one of the letters of the Mahatma,
which was precipitated in an orthodox manner and passed on to Mr.
Sinnett, "a fraud by H. P. B. herself, made up entirely and not from
the Master."

Says Mr. Judge with some acuteness : "If that letter be a fraud,
then all the rest sent through our old teacher are the same.''

3. Mrs. Besant, in league with a Hindu named Chakravarti and
others, has quite flooded the society with documents from phantasmal
Mahatmas and " black magicians."

• ' They had all sorts of letters sent me from India, with pretended
messages from the Master."

Again : —

" The plot exists among the black magicians, who ever war against
the white."

All this is sad, but was not also some o it inevitable ? Let us
suppose that there are really certain Dhyan Chohans in Tibet who
made the Kosmos, rule it, and propose to instruct individual votaries
by astral appearances and dream messages, all of which are to be re-
ceived as infallible. Was it not quite certain that everyone would

28 Appendix.

soon have his private Mahatma, and that A would consider B's
" Master " " black," not " white " ? Was it not also probable that a
Baphomet Sabbath would result, with its accusations of poisonings,
spells, witchcraft, black magic ? Mr. Judge proposes to dethrone the
fine " old wisdom religion of India " as well as Mrs. Besant, its chief
expounder. In America, a great Western school of magic is to be
founded under the Mahatmas. They no longer " live in India. '^

N

Printed by Cowan 6* Co., Limited, Perth.

f