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The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett - 1925

By A. T. Barker

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Letter No. 168

[Passages in bold type are comments by H. P B.; those in bold type italics have been underlined by her. — Ed.]

Colombo,
15th February, '86

Dear Cornelia Gracihusji (?!),

Such a showing around of private letters that were meant to be kept secret, I never heard of in my life before! Mine to Hubbe and the Gebhards, to Hoffman, and others; my letter to the L.L. intended to brace up our Branches at a crisis and sent by Mrs. Cavell to a N.Y. paper! Leadbeater's to Sinnett or Miss A.; and now yours to Mme. de Morsier about "Mme. Potiphar." Well, hang me, but I'm tempted sometimes to vow that I'll never write another letter save for print. However, perhaps it's just as well that the hidden things in the heart should be cleared out and make the necessary row, for the storm will always clear the air.

So A. P. S. is bent on giving you another perhaps sharper squeeze of the thumb-screw, by printing a Defence pamphlet.** He has become mighty prudent now!! I wish you joy of your pamphlets and articles, and devil's rows: You can never be satisfied without being mixed up in one, (?) and I believe the very agony they cause is an agreeable episode to you — more so, at any rate, than silence, quiet, and steady work. Gang your gait then; but since every sensible man in the T.S. abhors its being mixed up in commotion which at this stage, only do it enormous harm — just do your fighting outside our camp, and take your black eyes and bloody noses like a man. Our "defence" of you shall be done in the only non-lunatic way of solid work, and dignified, passionless action like that of the last Convention. What are all your pamphlets and Memoirs in contrast with the quiet loyalty of the Resolution adopted in December. Now your pamphlet is my FAULT!

The S.P.R. stench threatens to break out here, and Samanyala has been thrown into a great funk about it by Andrew Perera who proves to be a champion of petty motive, having been spewed out by the Colombo T.S. when he played his trump of "resignation" the second time. The H.P. sent for me and I had a long, secret interview with him on Saturday; C. W. L. present and Gomewardene interpreting. The H.P. is a good, but awfully weak-kneed man, and I may have trouble to keep him to the mark when the report gets into circulation here. Fortunately just at the nick of time there arrived here on his way around the world, a certain Mr. Frank Millar of California, who used to be in the War Department (Washington) and later was in my office. So I sent a Comtte. of Buddhists to "interview him" as to my antecedents, and he gave a splendid character. Our friends are jubilant thereat. They wrote out, and F. M. certified as accurate, a report of the interview, sent it to the Observer — which of course did not print it — and are now sending it to the Times (local), the Madras Mail, Bombay Gazette, and Mirror. At a pinch like this every good thing helps, and whatever can be said in favour of either of us strengthens the T.S.

The "New Spiritual Ray" on which poor W. T. Brown is floating now is that Rosicrucian Society of America. Poor chiel! Well I'd rather they were responsible for his mental state than we. It's a great relief to my mind.

Enclosed your cheque for February. Love to all,

Affy. yours,
H. S. O.