Publications: The Daily Graphic, New York, Vol. V, October 30, 1874, p. 873
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29
H.P.B.’S SCRAPBOOKS
Beginning in 1874, and for about ten years, H.P.B. pasted a wide variety of cuttings from newspapers and magazines into Scrapbooks. There are twenty-four of them in the Archives of The Theosophical Society at Adyar, India. Every newspaper reference to the T.S. and its work, and any account thought to be of consequence for historical purposes, was pasted in these Scrapbooks. This included also cuttings of H.P.B.’s own articles and letters to Editors which had been published, and some of Col. Olcott’s contributions to various Journals of the day.
H.P.B. appended pen-and-ink and pencil remarks and comments to various statements in the text of these articles; many of these comments are humorous and are enhanced by cartoons, either drawn by herself or pasted in from some other magazine or paper, frequently with her own additions. Here and there appears some important statement of her own, not to be found anywhere else in her writings.
In the pages that follow, the reader will find all pertinent comments by H.P.B. introduced in their approximate chronological sequence, which at times is not easy to determine; some of H.P.B.’s annotations may have been added later than the time when any given article was published.—Compiler.
The first article definitely known to be from the pen of H.P.B. is the one in the New York Daily Graphic, entitled “Marvellous Spirit Manifestations,” with which the present Volume opens:
HPB's Scrapbook 1:5 (BCW 1:34-36)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, the above article is pasted on page 5, in three separate columns, together with the Press Cutting mentioning her arrival at the Eddy Homestead on Oct. 14, 1874, as may be seen on the accompanying illustration. H.P.B.’s comment at the top of the page reads:]
The curtain is raised. — H.S.O.’s acquaintance on October 14, 1874, with H.P.B. at Chittenden. H. S. Olcott is a — Rabid Spiritualist, and H. P. Blavatsky is an occultist — one who laughs at the supposed agency of Spirits! (but all the same pretends to be one herself).
[To the date of the article H.P.B. added in pen and ink: 1874; and she also wrote the following footnote under column 3:]
#They may be the portraits of the dead people then repro . . . . . (they certainly are not Spirits or Souls) yet a real . . . . . nomenon produced by the Elementaries. H.P.B.
[The sign introducing the footnote is missing in the actual article; there are, however, blue underlinings and quotation marks in connection with the word “spirits,” in the 4th and 5th paragraphs of the text, made by H.P.B., and to which her footnote may refer.]
HPB's Scrapbook 1:6-7 (BCW 1:44)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 6-7, where the above article is pasted, H.P.B. added in pen and ink under her signature:]
So much in defence of phenomena, as to whether these Spirits are ghosts is another question.
H.P.B.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:7-8 (BCW 1:44)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 7-8, there is a cutting from The Daily Graphic of November 1874, which deals with the visit of a Mr. Brown, the “mind reader,” to the Eddys’ Homestead. Mr. Brown relates how one of the “spirits” brought to H.P.B. one of the decorations which had belonged to her father, and says that “Madame was overwhelmed with gratitude.”
H.P.B. underlined the word overwhelmed and added at the end of the article in pen and ink:]
Overwhelmed—be switched! . . . . not my father’s pet, if you please. H. P. Blavatsky is never “overwhelmed.”
HPB's Scrapbook 1:8 (BCW 1:45)
[In Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 8, the account of Mr. Brown is followed immediately by an article entitled “Unpractical Spirits,” presumably also from The Daily Graphic. It is signed with the initials “I.F.F.” which obviously stand for Irvin Francis Fern. H.P.B. added the following remarks in pen and ink:]
Bravo! Irvin Francis Fern—a great Occultist. He IS RIGHT but we have to defend phenomena & prove it too before we teach them philosophy.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:11-12 (BCW 1:53)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 11-12, a cutting is pasted from The Spiritualist of January 1, 1875. It is entitled “Materialized Spirit Forms” and is an article written by Benjamin Coleman who deals with Robert Dale Owen’s opinion on the genuineness of the phenomena of materialization. The following parts were commented upon by H.P.B.: “The Countess’ presence at several of the Eddy séances led to most surprising manifestations, including the appearance of several spirits of persons known to her in foreign countries.” H.P.B. marked this sentence with blue pencil and added at the side in pen and ink:]
Yes; for I have called them out MYSELF.
H.P.B.
[The last sentence of the article: “These American facts, coupled with our own, should have an important bearing in correcting the errors of both science and theology”—w as continued by H.P.B. who added in pen and ink:]
—and—Spiritualism please add. Belief in the agency of “Spirits” or disembodied souls in these phenomena is as foolish & irrational as belief in the agency of the Holy Ghost in the fabrication of Jesus if the latter ever lived.
H. P. Blavatsky.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:20-21 (BCW 1:72)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 21, there is pasted a short printed announcement concerning the visit of Col. H. S. Olcott to Boston. H.P.B. added to it in her handwriting, the date of January 20, 1875. To the sentence which states that “Dr. Gardiner announced that Col. Olcott’s subjects next Sunday would be ‘Human and Elementary Spirits’ in the afternoon, and in the evening ‘Ancient Magic and Modern Spiritualism.’” H.P.B. added in pen and ink the following remarks:]
The “Spirits” wrote anonymous letters to Dr. Gardiner and threatened to kill—Col. Olcott if he lectured against them. They did not kill him though, — guess didn’t know how, the sweet “angels”! . . .
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, between pages 20 and 21, may be found the manuscript of the following “Important Note” in H.P.B.’s own handwriting. It is undated, but its last paragraph places it as being prior to the formation of The Theosophical Society. The accompanying illustration reproduces this “Note” just as it appears on two small separate sheets of paper in H.P.B.’s Scrapbook.
Her words show better than anything else the pathos of her situation, and the complex psychological and spiritual difficulties she was working under even at that early period in the history of the Movement. On what specific purpose she was sent to America is stated here beyond any doubt.]
HPB's Scrapbook 1:36 (BCW 1:90)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 36, may be found another cutting from the Spiritual Scientist of May 27, 1875, the text of which is as follows:]
“It is rumoured that one or more Oriental Spiritualists of high rank have just arrived in this country. They are said to possess a profound knowledge of the mysteries of illumination, and it is not impossible that they will establish relations with those whom we are accustomed to regard as the leaders in Spiritualistic affairs. If the report be true, their coming may be regarded as a great blessing; for after a quarter century of phenomena, we are almost without a philosophy to account for them or control their occurrence. Welcome to the Wise Men of the East, if they have really come to worship at the cradle of our new Truth.”
[H.P.B. underlined in red pencil the word “Spiritualist,” and wrote on the margin, lengthwise up the page, also in red pencil:]
At . . . & Ill. . . . passed thro’ New York & Boston; thence thro’ California & Japan back. M . . . appearing in Kama-Rupa daily.
[The abbreviations most likely stand for Atrya and Illarion (or Hilarion), two of the Adept-Brothers.]
HPB's Scrapbook 1:58 (BCW 1:94)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 58, may be found at the bottom of the page the following important note written by H.P.B. in pen and ink:]
Orders received from India direct to establish a philosophico-religious Society and choose a name for it—also to choose Olcott. July 1875.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:39 (BCW 1:95)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 39, several cuttings are pasted consisting of articles by Col. H. S. Olcott written for the Spiritual Scientist about July 15, 1875. One of these, entitled “Mutterings of a Storm,” deals with the crisis of Spiritualism, and Col. Olcott ends it with the following remarks concerning the Journal:]
“Already some of the best and brightest minds among our psychologists have come to our assistance, and no paper in the world has a more talented corps of contributors. Already friends gather around us, send us money, exert themselves, without our solicitation, to get subscribers, and our young enterprise stands upon ‘rock bottom’.”
[Along the side of this article, H.P.B. wrote in pen and ink:]
The Editor and Medium Gerry Brown has thanked us for our help. Between Col. Olcott & myself, H.P.B., we have spent over a 1000 dollars given him to pay his debts & support his paper. Six months later he became our mortal enemy, because only we declared our unbelief in Spirits. Oh grateful mankind . .
H.P.B.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:45 (BCW 1:119)
[At the end of this article, in her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 45, where the cutting was pasted, H.P.B. wrote in pen and ink the following:]
Shot No. 1—Written by H.P.B. by express orders from S *** (See first result in the query from a learned!! Mason—art: “Rosicrucianism,” back of the page.
[The parenthesis is not closed in the original.]
[In her Scrapbook, Vol. III, H.P.B. pasted the cuttings of this long article again. It occupies pages 241-245 therein. She signed the article in pen and ink: H. P. Blavatsky, June 1875.]
HPB's Scrapbook 1:47 (BCW 1:120)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 47, there is a cutting of an article from the Spiritual Scientist of July 22, 1875, entitled “Mrs. Holmes Caught Cheating.” On the free space between the two columns, H.P.B. wrote in pen and ink the following remarks:]
She swore to me in Philadelphia that if I only saved her that once she would NEVER resort to cheating & trickery again. I saved her but upon receiving her solemn oath.—And now she went out of greed for money to produce her bogus manifestations again. M ... forbid me to help her. Let her receive her fate—the vile, fraudulent liar!
H.P.B.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:54-55 (BCW 1:121-122)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook Vol. I, pp. 54-55, there is a cutting from a weekly journal. The Liberal Christian, of Saturday, September 4, 1875, which consists of an article entitled “Rosicrucianism” in New York.” It is unsigned but is known to have been written by the Rev. Dr. J. H. Wiggin, the Editor of that Journal. Starting with a superficial survey of Rosicrucian ideas, Dr. Wiggin goes on to relate the circumstances under which he had recently met H. P. Blavatsky. He says:]
“It was just after Col. Olcott’s astounding stories in the Sun about the floral gifts received from the spirits through a Boston medium, that I was kindly bidden by my friend Mr. Sotheran, of the American Bibliopolist, to meet both Madame and the Colonel the following evening in Irving Place; with permission to bring some friends . . .”
[According to Dr. Wiggin’s account, there were present at this gathering: Col. Olcott. Il Conte, “the secretary once of Mazzini,” Charles Sotheran, Judge M. of New Jersey, his wife, Mr. M., a Boston gentleman, and H. P. Blavatsky, who, he says, was “the centre of the group.” To the cutting in her Scrapbook, H.P.B. appended the following remarks in pen and ink:]
Written by Rev. Dr. Wiggin. This article provoked the wrath of Rev. Dr. Bellows; hence he wrote another one, on “Sorcery and Necromancy” and pitched into us.
[H.P.B. then drew a blue line from the title along the cutting to the bottom on the right edge of page 55 and added in pen and ink the following significant remark:]
On that evening the first idea of the Theos. Society was discussed.
[To this, Col. Olcott added the following note, possibly at a later date:]
For a much better account see a quotation on p. 296 of E. H. Britten’s Nineteenth Century Miracles, London 1883.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:79 (BCW 1:123)
[On page 79 of Vol. I of H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, there is another cutting from The Liberal Christian of September 25, 1875. It is a report of the Meeting of September 7, 1875, entitled “The Cabala.” It describes Mr. Felt’s lecture and mentions the formation of the Theosophical “Club.” It speaks of Dr. Pancoast of Philadelphia as a very wise occultist, and refers to his statement to the effect that ancient occultists “could summon long departed ‘spirits from the vasty deep,’ and compel them to answer questions.” To this H.P.B. appended the following remark in pen and ink:]
Not “departed Spirits or souls” but the “Elementals” the beings living in the Elements.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:57 (BCW 1:124)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 57, an article by Col. Olcott is pasted in, entitled “Spiritualism Rampant.” It is dated September 7, 1875, and deals with the Elementary Spirits and their personations. H.P.B. pasted at the side of this article three small coloured cartoons: a very fat man with an enormous head; three bottles of whiskey with faces on corks; and the head of a clown with squinting eyes. Under them, H.P.B. wrote in pen and ink:]
The present generation of men gradually evolving from—plants, vegetables, fish and becoming finally Whiskey bottles,—the “Embryonic man” or ancestor of the present race.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:63 (BCW 1:133)
[Herbert D. Monachesi, one of the original Founders of the T.S., had written an article entitled “Proselyters from India” which was published in The Sunday Mercury of New York, October 3rd, 1875, acc. to H.P.B.’s pen and ink notation. In it he praised the religions of India and China. The article was unsigned, but H.P.B. identified the author by inserting his name at the end of the cutting pasted in her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 63. She also wrote the following remarks in pen and ink between the two columns of the article:]
Our original programme is here clearly defined by Herbert Monachesi, F.T.S., one of the Founders. The Christian and Scientists must be made to respect their Indian betters. The Wisdom of India, her philosophy and achievement must be made known in Europe & America & the English be made to respect the natives of India & Tibet more than they do.
H. P. B.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:32 (BCW 1:137)
[In her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 32, H.P.B. added the following remarks to a cutting describing séances with Mrs. Compton:]
This Mrs. Compton is a real wonderful medium. She is a true electric battery worked by the Elementals.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:67 (BCW 1:143)
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 67, there is a cutting from the Spiritual Scientist of October 21, 1875, which deals with remarks made by a certain Dr. G. Bloede, who went to the trouble of warning people against the newly-formed Theosophical Society and the work of Mrs. Emma Hardinge-Britten entitled Art Magic, as enemies of Spiritualism. H.P.B. appended in pen and ink the following side-remark :]
And now I am accused by Dr. Bloede, an ardent Spiritualist, of being the paid tool of the Jesuits to pull down Spiritualism!!!
HPB's Scrapbook 1:77 (BCW 1:150)
[A copy of the Preamble and By-Laws of The Theosophical Society is pasted in H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 77-79. On top of the first column, above the title, H.P.B. wrote in blue pencil :] The Child is born! Hosannah!
HPB's Scrapbook 1:98-99 (BCW 1:162)
[Professor Hiram Corson of Ithaca, N.Y., in an article dated December 26, 1875, and published in the Banner of Light under the title of “The Theosophical Society and its President’s Inaugural Address,” sharply criticizes Col. Olcott’s Presidential Address of November 17, 1875, especially those portions of it which refer to Spiritualism. To the cutting of this article, as pasted in her Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 98-99, H.P.B. appended the following remarks:]
Oh, poor Yorick—we know him well! Aye even to having frequently seen him go to bed with his silk hat and dirty boots on. Hiram Yorick must have been drunk when he wrote this article. See H. S. Olcott’s answer on page 112.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:108-109 (BCW )
[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.
[In her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 108, H.P.B. corrected the word “spirits” to read “phenomena.”—Compiler.]
HPB's Scrapbook 1:111 (BCW )
[In H.P.B.’s Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 111, may be found a cutting from the Banner of Light of January 15, 1876. The author, F.H.C., announces Col. Olcott’s lecture in Boston on Jan. 30th, and deals with the subject of Col. Olcott and the Elementaries.
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.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:112 (BCW 1:193)
[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.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:113 (BCW )
[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 November 17, 1875. He protested against the rather rude and unfair remarks of Prof. Corson. The last paragraph of his reply is quoted below, and the italicized words in it are those which have been underlined by H.P.B. when she pasted the cutting of this reply in her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 113:]
“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:]
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.
HPB's Scrapbook 1:116 (BCW 1:194)
[In the Banner of Light of February 12, 1876, Louisa Andrews wrote an article entitled “Professor Crookes still Faithful to his Conviction,” in which she said that “it is especially gratifying to know that this gentleman is still firmly grounded in the faith.” To this H.P.B. appended the following footnote when she pasted the cutting into her Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 116:]
Firmly “grounded” in his faith in the phenomena—perfectly sceptical as to their being produced by disembodied “Spirits”! Nei!—O, sweet sugar-plum Louisa. . . . .