1876
The
Luminous Circle
From Scrapbook, Vol. I, p.113
From Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp.155-56
From Scrapbook, Vol. I, p.185
Huxley and Slade: Who is More Guilty of “False Pretencies”?
.
.
THE LUMINOUS CIRCLE*
WONDERFUL POWERS OF THE DIVINING
GIRL OF
A THEOSOPHICAL TALE TOLD BY AN OLD TRAVELLER IN THE FAR EAST. — A MAGIC MOON. — WHAT WAS SEEN THEREIN. — THE DERVISHES OF
[The Sun,
We
were a small party of merry travellers. We had arrived at Constantinople a week
before from Greece, and had devoted fourteen hours a day to running up and down
the steep hills of Pera, visiting bazaars, climbing to the tops of minarets,
and fighting our way through armies of hungry dogs, traditional masters of the
streets of Stamboul. Nomadic life is infectious, they say, and no civilization
is strong enough to destroy the charm of unrestrained freedom when it has once
been tasted. For the first three days my spaniel, Ralph, had
kept at my heels, and behaved like a tolerably well-educated quadruped.
He was a fine fellow, my travelling companion and most cherished friend; I was
afraid to lose him, and so kept a good watch over his incomings and outgoings.
At every impudent attack by his Mohammedan fellow creatures, whether
demonstrations of friendship or hostility, he would merely draw in his tail
between his legs, and seek in a dignified and modest manner protection under
one or the other wing of our little party. He had shown from the first a
decided aversion to bad company, and so, having become assured of his
discretion, by the end of the third day I relinquished my vigilance. This
neglect was speedily followed by punishment. In an unguarded moment he listened
to the voice of some canine
––––––––––
* [In her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 118,
H.P.B. made a notation in blue pencil above this title to the effect that this
was her “2nd story.”—Compiler.]
––––––––––
178 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
siren,
and the last I saw of him was his bushy tail vanishing around the corner of a
dirty, crooked street.
Greatly
annoyed, and determined to recover him at all hazards, I passed the remainder
of the day in a vain search. I offered twenty, thirty, forty francs reward for
him. About as many vagabond Maltese began a regular chase, and toward night we
were assailed in our hotel by the whole troop, every man of them with a mangy
cur in his arms, which he tried his best to convince me was the dog I had lost.
The more I denied, the more solemnly they insisted, one of them actually going
down upon his knees, snatching from his bosom an old corroded image of the
Virgin, and swearing with a solemn oath that the Queen of Heaven herself had
appeared to him and kindly shown him which dog was mine. The tumult had
increased so as to threaten a riot, when finally our landlord had to send for a
couple of kavasches from the nearest police station, who expelled the army of
bipeds and quadrupeds by main force. I was the more in despair, as the
headwaiter, a semi-respectable old brigand, who, judging by appearances, had
not passed more than a half-dozen years in the galleys, gravely assured me that
my pains were all useless, as my spaniel was undoubtedly devoured and half
digested by this time, the Turkish dogs being very fond of their toothsome
Christian brothers.
The
discussion was held in the street, at the door of the hotel, and I was about to
give up the search for that night, when an old Greek lady, a Phanariote, who
had listened attentively to the fracas from the steps of a neighboring house,
approached our disconsolate group and suggested to Miss H., one of our party,
that we should inquire of the Dervishes concerning the fate of Ralph.
“And
what can the Dervishes know about my dog?” inquired I, in no mood to joke.
THE “HOLY MEN”
“The
holy men know all, Kyrea (madam)!” answered she, somewhat mysteriously. “Last
week I was robbed of my new satin pelisse, which my son had brought me from
THE LUMINOUS CIRCLE 179
Brusa,
and, as you all see, there I have it on my back again.”
“Indeed?
Then the holy men have also metamorphosed your new pelisse into an old one, I
should say,” remarked a gentleman of our company, pointing to a large rent in
the back, which had been clumsily mended with pins.
“And
it is precisely that which is most wonderful,” quietly answered the Phanariote,
not in the least disconcerted. “They showed me in the luminous circle the
quarter of the town, the house, and even the room in which the Jew who stole it
was preparing to rip and cut my garment into pieces. My son and I had barely
the time to run over to the Kalindjikoulosek quarter and save my property. We
caught the thief in the very act, and both instantly recognized him as the man
shown us by the Dervishes in the magic moon. He confessed, and is in prison
now.”
Not
understanding what she meant by the luminous circle and magic moon, but not a
little mystified by her account of the divining powers of the “holy men,” we
felt so satisfied that the story was not wholly a fabrication that we decided
to go and see for ourselves on the following morning.
The
monotonous cry of the Muezzin from the top of a minaret had just proclaimed the
DERVISHES AT HOME
It
was with the greatest difficulty, therefore, that we finally found the British
shipchandler’s store in the rear of which we were to look for the place of our
destination.
180 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
Our hotel
guide knew about the Dervishes as little as ourselves; but at last a Greek
urchin, in all the simplicity of primitive undress, consented for a modest
copper bakshish, to lead us to the dancers.
We
arrived at last, and were shown into a gloomy and vast hall, which appeared to
me like a vacated stable. It was long and narrow, the floor was thickly strewn
with sand, as in a manège, and it was lighted only through small
windows under the cornices of the ceiling. The Dervishes had finished their
morning performances, and were evidently resting from their exhausting labors.
They looked completely prostrated, some lying about in corners, others sitting
on their heels, staring vacantly, in mute contemplation of the Invisible
Divinity, as we were informed. They appeared to have lost all power of speech
and hearing, for none of them responded to our questions until a gaunt
giant-limbed fellow, in a tall pointed cap, which made him appear over seven
feet high, emerged from an obscure nook.
Informing
us that he was the chief, he remarked that the holy brethren, being in the act
of receiving orders for further ceremonies of the day from Allah himself, must
not be disturbed. But when the interpreter had explained to him the object of
our visit, which concerned himself alone, he being the sole proprietor of the
“divining rod,” his objections vanished, and he extended his hand for the alms.
Upon being gratified, he beckoned two of our party, signifying that he could
not accommodate more at once, and led the way.
THE SIBYL’S RETREAT
Plunging
after him into the darkness of what seemed a half-subterranean passage, we were
led to the foot of a tall ladder reaching to a chamber under the roof. We
scrambled up after our guide and found ourselves in a wretched garret, of
moderate size, destitute of all furniture. The floor, however, was carpeted
with a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs festooned the walls in profusion. In
one corner we perceived something which I mistook, at first, for a bundle of
old rags; but the heap presently moved,
THE LUMINOUS CIRCLE 181
got on
its legs, advanced to the middle of the room, and stood before us, the most
extraordinary-looking creature that I ever beheld. Its sex was female, but it
was impossible to decide whether she was a woman or a child. She was a
hideous-looking dwarf, with a head so monstrously developed that it would have
been too big for a giant; the shoulders of a grenadier; the bosom of a
THE MAGICIAN AT WORK
Without
losing time in idle talk, the Dervish produced a piece of chalk, and traced
round the girl a circle about six feet in diameter. Fetching from behind the
door twelve small copper lamps, and filling them with a dark liquid contained
in a vial which he drew from his bosom, he placed them symmetrically around the
magic circle. He then broke a chip of wood from the half-ruined panel of the
door, which bore evident marks of many a similar depredation, and, holding the
chip between his thumb and finger, began blowing on it at regular intervals,
alternating with mutterings of weird incantation; suddenly, and to all appearance
without any apparent cause for its ignition, there appeared a spark on the
chip, and it blazed up like a dry match. He lit the twelve lamps at this
self-generated flame. During this process, Tatmos, who until then had sat
altogether
182 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
unconcerned
and motionless, removed her yellow babouches off from her naked feet,
and throwing them into a corner, disclosed, as an additional beauty, a sixth
toe on each deformed foot. The Dervish then reached over into the circle, and,
seizing the dwarf’s ankles, gave a jerk as if he had been lifting a bag of
corn, raised her clear off the ground, and stepping back, held her head
downward. He shook her as one might a sack to pack its contents, the motion
being regular and easy. He then swung her to and fro like a pendulum until the
necessary momentum was acquired, when, letting go one foot and seizing the
other with both hands, he made a powerful, muscular effort and whirled her
round in the air as if she had been an Indian club.
My
companion had shrunk back into a corner in fear. Round and round the Dervish
swung his living burden, she remaining perfectly passive. The motion increased
in rapidity, until the eye could hardly follow her body in its circuit. This
continued perhaps for two or three minutes, until gradually slackening the
motion, he stopped it, and in an instant had landed the girl upon her knees in
the middle of the lamp-lit circle. Such was the Eastern method of mesmerization
as practised among the Dervishes.
IN A TRANCE
And
now the dwarf seemed entirely oblivious of external objects, and in a deep
trance. Her head and jaw dropped upon her chest, her eyes were glazed and
staring, and altogether her appearance was hideous. The Dervish then carefully
closed the wooden shutters of the only window, and we would have been in total
obscurity but that there was a hole bored in it, through which entered a bright
ray of sunlight, which shot through the darkened room and shone upon the girl.
He arranged her drooping head so that the ray should fall directly upon the
crown, after which, motioning us to remain silent, he folded his arms upon his
bosom, and fixing his gaze upon the bright spot, became as motionless as an
image of stone. I, too, riveted my eyes upon the same spot, and followed the
proceeding with
THE LUMINOUS CIRCLE
183
intense
interest, for I had seen something similar before, and knew what beautiful
phenomena to expect.
By
degrees the bright patch, as if it had drawn through the sunbeam a greater
splendor from without and condensed it within its own area, shaped itself into
a brilliant star, which from its focus sent out rays in every direction.
A
curious optical effect then occurred. The room, which previously had been
partially lighted by the sunbeam, grew darker and darker as the star increased
in radiance, until we found ourselves in an Egyptian gloom. The star twinkled,
trembled, and turned, at first with a slow, gyratory motion, then faster and
faster, expanding and increasing its circumference at every rotation until it
formed a brilliant disc, and we lost sight of the dwarf as if she herself had
been absorbed into its light. Having gradually attained a vertiginous velocity,
as the girl had when whirled by the Dervish, the motion began decreasing, and
finally merged into a feeble vibration, like the shimmer of moonbeams on
rippling water. Then it flickered for a moment longer, emitted a few last
flashes, and assuming the density and irridescence of an immense opal, it
remained motionless. The disc now radiated a moon-like lustre, soft and
silvery, but instead of illuminating the garret, this seemed only to intensify
the darkness. Its edge was not penumbrous, but, on the contrary, sharply
defined like that of a silver shield.
THE MAGICAL SHIELD
All
being now ready the Dervish without uttering a word, or removing his gaze from
the disc, stretched out a hand and taking hold of mine, he drew me to his side
and pointed to the illuminated shield. Looking at the place indicated, we saw
dark patches appear like those upon the moon. These gradually formed themselves
into figures, which began moving about till they came out in high relief in
their natural colors. They neither appeared like a photograph nor an engraving;
still less like reflection of images on a mirror; but as if the disc were a
cameo and they were raised above its surface and then endowed with life and
motion. To my astonishment and my friend’s
184 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
consternation
we recognized the bridge leading from Galata to Stamboul, spanning the
It
passed like a panorama; but so vivid was the impression that we could not tell
whether it or ourselves were in motion. All was bustle and life, but not a
sound broke the oppressive stillness. It was noiseless as a dream. It was a
phantom picture. Street after street and quarter after quarter succeeded each
other; there was the Bazaar, with its narrow, roofed passages, the small shops
on each side, the coffee house, with gravely-smoking Turks; and as either they
or we glided past them, one of the smokers upset the narghile and coffee of
another, and a volley of soundless invectives caused us great amusement. So we
travelled with the picture until we came to a large building, which I
recognized as the Palace of the Minister of Finance. In a ditch behind the
house and close by to a Mosque, lying in a pool of mud, with his silken coat
all bedraggled, lay my poor Ralph! Panting and crouching down as if exhausted,
he seemed dying; and near him were gathered some sorry-looking curs who lay
blinking in the sun and snapping at the flies!
I
had seen all that I desired, although I had not breathed a word about the dog
to the Dervish, and had come more out of curiosity than with the idea of any
success. I was impatient to leave at once to recover Ralph; but as my companion
besought me to remain a little while longer, I reluctantly consented.
THINKING OF HIM
The
scene faded away, and Miss H—— placed herself in her turn nearer by the side of
the gigantic Dervish.
“I
will think of him,” whispered she into my ear, with that sentimental
tone which young ladies generally assume when referring to a “him.”
A
long stretch of sand; a blue sea, with white caps
THE LUMINOUS CIRCLE
185
dancing in the sun; a great steamer, ploughing her way along past a desolate shore, and leaving a milky track behind her. The deck is full of life; then men busy forward; the cook, with his white cap and apron, coming out of his galley; uniformed officers moving about; passengers on the quarter deck flirting, lounging, or reading; and a young man we both recognize comes forward and leans over the taffrail. It is—him!
Miss
H—— gives a little gasp, blushes and smiles, and concentrates her thoughts
again. The picture of the steamer fades away in its turn; the magic moon
remains for a few seconds pictureless. But new spots appear on its luminous
face; we see a library slowly emerging from its depths a library with green
carpet and hangings, and book-shelves around three sides of the room. Seated in
an armchair by the table, under the chandelier, is an old gentleman writing.
His grey hair is brushed back from his forehead, his face is smooth-shaven, and
his countenance has an expression of benignity.
“Father!”
joyfully exclaims Miss H——.
The
Dervish makes a hasty motion to enjoin silence. The light on the disc quivers,
but resumes its steady brilliancy once more.
WONDERFUL
We
are back in
186 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
lying
upon the lounge, and the servant bathing his head, which, to our horror, we see
bleeding!
We
had left the boy perfectly well one hour before; but upon seeing his picture my
companion uttered a cry of alarm, and seizing me by the hand dragged me towards
the door. Down below we rejoined our guide, and hurried back to our hotel.
The
boy had fallen downstairs and cut himself badly on the forehead; in the room,
on the writing desk were the two letters which had been forwarded from
HADJI MORA.
—————
MADAME BLAVATSKY
EXPLAINS
A RAP AT THE “LUTHER”-ANS—HER OPINION OF THE
EDDYS—MEDIUMS CRITICIZED.
[Spiritual Scientist,
To the
Editor of the Spiritual Scientist:
Dear
Sir,—For the last three months one has hardly been able to open a number of the
Banner, or the other papers, without finding one or more proofs
of the fecundity of the human imagination in the condition of hallucination.
The Spiritualist camp is in an uproar, and the clans are gathering to fight
imaginary foes. The toxin is sounded; danger signals shoot, like flaming
rockets, across the hitherto serene sky, and warning cries are uttered by
vigilant sentries posted at the four corners of the “angel-girt world.” The
reverberations of this din resound even in the daily press.
MADAME BLAVATSKY EXPLAINS 187
One would
think that the last day of judgment had come for American Spiritualism.
Why
all this disturbance? Simply because two humble individuals have spoken a few
wholesome truths. If the grand beast of the Apocalypse with its seven
heads, and the word “Blasphemy” written upon each, had appeared in heaven,
there would hardly have been so much commotion there, as this; and there seems
to be a concerted effort to pitch Colonel Olcott and myself, coupled like a
pair of Hermetic Siamese twins, into the school of the Diakka.* Occultism seems
to the superstitious, as ominous as a comet with fiery tail, and the precursor
of war, plagues and other calamities. They seem to think that if they do not
crush us, we will destroy Spiritualism.
I
have no time to waste, and what I now write is not intended for the benefit of
such persons as these, whose soap-bubbles, however pretty, are sure to burst of
themselves, but to set myself right with many most estimable Spiritualists for
whom I feel a sincere regard.
If
the spiritual press of America were conducted upon a principle of doing even
justice to all, I would send your contemporaries copies of this letter, but
their course in the past has made me, whether rightly or not, feel as if no
redress could be had outside of your columns. I shall be only too glad if their
treatment in this case gives me cause to change my opinion that they and their
slandering theorists are inspired by the biblical devils who left Mary
Magdalene and returned to the land of the “Sweet By-and-By.”†
––––––––––
* [When the cutting of this article was pasted in H.P.B.’s Scrapbook,
Vol. I, p. 108, she corrected the word “school” to read “Scheol” and added
the following footnote in pen and ink:
Scheol—the hell of the Jews—you donkey printer.
—Compiler.]
† [A hymn by Ira David Sankey (1840-1908), in which occur the following
lines:
“In the sweet by-and-by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.”
—Compiler.]
––––––––––
188 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
To
begin, I wish to unhook my name from that of Col. Olcott, if you please, and
declare that as he is not responsible for my views or actions, neither am I for
his. He is bold enough and strong enough to defend himself under all
circumstances, and has never allowed his adversaries to strike without knocking
out two teeth to their one. If our views on Spiritualism are in some degree
identical, and our work in the Theosophical Society pursued in common, we are,
notwithstanding, two very distinct entities and mean to remain such. I highly
esteem Colonel Olcott, as every one does who knows him. He is a gentleman; but
what is more in my eyes, he is an honest and true man, and an unselfish Spiritualist,
in the proper sense of that word. If he now sees Spiritualism in another light
than Orthodox Spiritualists would prefer, they themselves are only to blame. He
strikes at the rotten places of their philosophy, and they do all they can to
cover up the ulcers, instead of trying to cure them. He is one of the truest
and most unselfish friends that the cause has today in
This
is not Spiritualism; it is as I say, a New Luther-an Church, and
really, though the late Oracle of the Banner of Light was evidently a
pure and true woman—for the breath of calumny, this raging demon of
MADAME BLAVATSKY EXPLAINS 189
never
been able to soil her reputation, and though certainly she was a wonderful
medium—still I don’t see why a Spiritualist should be ostracized, only, because
after having given up St. Paul, he or she does not strictly adhere to the
doctrines of St. Conant.
The
last number of the Banner contained a letter from a Mr. Saxon,
criticizing some expressions in a recent letter of Colonel Olcott, to the
Surely, some magician with his or her Cabalistic Presto! Change!
has worked sudden and singular revolutions in the mind of this disciple of
Occultism, this gentleman who “is” and “is not” a Spiritualist.
As I
am the only she-Cabalist in
––––––––––
* [In her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 108, H.P.B. corrected the
word “spirits” to read “phenomena.”—Compiler.]
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190 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
and
expose the fraud. I acted the same with them that I did with the Colonel.
Mediums have tried likewise to convince me that Mr. Crookes’ Katie King was but
Miss F. Cook walking about, while a wax-bust, fabricated in her likeness and
covered with her clothes, lay in the cabinet, representing her as entranced.
Other mediums, regarding me as a fanatical Spiritualist, who would even be
ready to connive at fraud rather than see the cause hurt by an exposure, have
let, or pretended to let, me into the secrets of the mediumship of their fellow
mediums, and sometimes incautiously into their own. My experience shows that
the worst enemies of mediums are mediums. Not content with slandering each other,
they assail and traduce their warmest and most unselfish friends.
Whatever
objection any one may have to me on account of country, religion, occult study,
rudeness of speech, cigarette smoking, or any other peculiarity, my record in
connection with Spiritualism for long years does not show me as making money by
it, or gaining any other advantage direct or indirect. On the contrary: those
who have met me in all parts of the world (which I have circumnavigated three
times) will testify that I have given thousands of dollars, imperilled my life,
defied the Catholic Church, where it required more courage to do so than the
Spiritualists seem to show about encountering Elementaries, and in camp and
court, on the sea, in the desert, in civilized and savage countries, I have
been, from first to last, the friend and champion of the mediums. I have done
more: I have often taken the last dollar out of my pocket and even necessary
clothes off my back to relieve their necessities.
And
how do you think I have been rewarded? BY honors, emoluments, and social
position? Have I charged a fee for imparting to the public or individuals what
little knowledge I have gathered in my travels and studies? Let those who have
patronized our principal mediums answer. I have been slandered in the most
shameful way, and the most unblushing lies circulated about my character and
antecedents by the very mediums whom I have been defending at the risk of being
taken for their confederate when their
MADAME BLAVATSKY EXPLAINS 191
tricks
have been detected. What has happened in American cities is no worse nor
different from what has befallen me in
Now,
what do you suppose has sustained me throughout? Do you imagine that I could
not see the disgusting frauds mixed up with the most divine genuine
manifestations? Could I, having nothing to gain in money, power, or any other
consideration, have been content to pass through all these dangers, suffer all
this abuse, and receive all these injurious insults, if I saw nothing in
Spiritualism but what these critics of Col. Olcott and myself can see? Would
the prospect of an eternity passed in the angel-girt world, in company with
unwashed Indian guides and military controls, with Aunt Salleys and Professor
Websters, have been inducement enough? No, I would prefer annihilation to such
a prospect! It was because I knew that through the same golden gates which
swung open to admit the elementary and those unprogressed human spirits who are
worse if anything than they, have often passed the real and purified forms of
the departed and blessed ones. Because, knowing the nature of these spirits and
the laws of mediumistic control, I have never been willing to hold my
calumniators responsible for the great evil they did, when they were often
simply the unfortunate victims of obsession by unprogressed spirits. Who can
blame me for not wishing to associate with or receive instruction from spirits
who, if not far worse, were no better nor wiser than I? Is a man entitled to
respect and veneration simply because his body is rotting under ground, like
that of a dog? To me the grand object of my life was attained and the
immortality
192 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
of our
spirit demonstrated. Why should I turn necromancer and evoke the dead, who
could neither teach me nor make me better than I was? It is a more dangerous
thing to play with the mysteries of life and death than most Spiritualists
imagine. Let them thank God for the great proof of immortality afforded them in
this century of unbelief and materialism; and if divine Providence has put them
on the right path, let them pursue it by all means, but not stop to pass their
time in dangerous talk indiscriminately with every one from the other side. The
land of spirits, the Summer Land as they call it here, is a terra incognita—no
believer will deny it; it is vastly more unknown to every Spiritualist, as
regards its various inhabitants, than a trackless virgin forest of Central
Africa; and who can blame the pioneer settler if he hesitates to open his door
to a knock, before assuring himself whether the visitor be man or beast?
Thus,
just because of all that I have said above I proclaim myself a true Spiritualist;
because my belief is built upon a firm ground, and that no exposure of mediums,
no social scandal affecting them or others, no materialistic deductions of
exact science, or sneers and denunciations of scientists can shake it. The
truth is coming slowly to light, and I shall do my best to hasten its advent. I
will breast the current of popular prejudice and ignorance. I am prepared to
endure slander, foul insinuations, and insult in the future as I have in the
past. Already, one spiritual editor, to most effectually demonstrate his
spirituality, has called me a witch. I have survived, and hope to do so if two
or two score more should do the same; but whether I ride the air to attend my
Sabbath or not, one thing is certain: I will not ruin myself to buy broomsticks
upon which to chase after every lie set afloat by editors or mediums.
H. P. BLAVATSKY.
—————
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 111, may be
found a cutting from the Banner of Light of
THE T.S. AS A SECRET SOCIETY 193
He quotes
from his Inaugural Address the statement concerning Mr. Felt who had promised,
by simple chemical means, to exhibit the race of beings which people the
elements. At the side of the cutting, H.P.B. remarked in pen and ink:]
And
Mr. Felt has done it in the presence of nine persons in all.
—————
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 112, there is pasted a
cutting from the Banner of Light, of January 15, 1876, which is a
Letter of Charles Sotheran to the Editor, in which he explains the reasons for
his resignation from the Theosophical Society and indulges in some very
uncomplimentary remarks about H.P.B. On the left margin of this article, H.P.B.
wrote in pen and ink:]
This
did not prevent Mr. Sotheran to come 6 months after that and beg my pardon, and
beg on his knees to be taken into the Society again as will be proved further.
—————
[Col.
H. S. Olcott replied in the pages of the Spiritual Scientist to the very
outspoken criticism of Prof. Hiram Corson in regard to his Inaugural Address of
“As for the Theosophical Society, our present experience with a certain
person, who shall be nameless since his conduct has been such as
to forfeit his right to recognition, has been a lesson that we mean to profit
by. We are considering a proposition to organize ourselves into a secret
society* so that we may pursue our studies uninterrupted by the
falsehoods and inpertinences of outside parties. When we have secured the proof
palpable of the Unseen Universe and its laws, we may publish it to the world,
unless we should then be satisfied that some other critic as courteous and fair
as Mr. Corson would denounce us as guilty of ‘assumption,’ ‘pretention,’ or
‘brag.”’
[On the right margin of the column, H.P.B. inserted the following note
in pen and ink which refers to the asterisk she inserted in Olcott’s text:]
194 BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS
Till
the row with Sotheran the Society was not a secret one, as will be seen
by this. But he began to revile our experiments & denounce us to
Spiritualists & impede the Society’s progress & it was found necessary
to make it secret.
[Below the signature of Col. Olcott, H.P.B. pasted a small colored
picture, showing a big monkey sitting and searching diligently for parasites on
the neck of a little monkey child. Above the head of the big monkey, just under
the signature, she pasted the six-pointed star with an open eye in the center
of it, and wrote the following explanation in pen and ink:]
Prest
Moloney in his future capacity of the Hindu Hanuman tenderly searching for and
delivering his younger Brothers of the Enemy- parasite.