Changes

For the information of the Editors.  

For the information of the Editors.  

I was promised through Elizaveta Alex[androvna] Ladyzhen­skaya<ref>Elizaveta Alexandrovna Ladyzhenskaya (1815-1883) – cousin of H.A. Gan, mother of H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky. Vera Petrovna Zhelikhovskaya (1835-1896), writer, playwright, sister of H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky, in essay ''Unexplained and Unexplained'' (from personal and family memories) wrote that E.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Ladyzhenskaya was “familiar with the Katkovs” (''The Rebus'', 1885, No. 13, p. 126). </ref> to send me printed chapters ''From the Caves, etc.'' from ''the first day of their appearance''; I was promised ''The'' ''Vestnik<ref>The magazine ''Russian Herald'' (Russky Vestnik) is meant. </ref>'' in January, but I still do not have it. The first chapters appeared in early December, and now it is March – and I ''have not yet got a line''. I do not want to make difficulties for the respected editorial board and do not ask for the daily ''Moskovskie Vedomosti'' (well, I have no time to read them), but I only humbly ask to send me ''clippings'' with my own articles; not because of the author's vanity or something else, but just because of prosaic, but very necessary information, without which ''I cannot'' proceed writing ''From the Caves''. From the first chapter I began to write without any rough copy, and having written I immediately sent the written away, sometimes without even looking through it, as every minute is precious to me. It is not surprising, therefore, that I have forgotten what I wrote about, and even some names. Although I keep a kind of diary and describe the ''true one and all''&nbsp;– the true and truthful incidents, and my personages are not fictitious, but those whom I meet here every day, but having changed some names (at their request), I completely forgot ''who I called whom''; and except “the Thakur”, one of whose names is really “Gulab Sing”, I don't remember the others. Also, I absolutely cannot remember which places and which of the customs and manners of the Hindus I have already described and which I have not. That way, there will be ''confusion'' – and it will not be my fault. I do not have a single line from that rough copy left. I am still writing by guesswork, without any positive instructions from the editors and without knowing, neither what, nor how much, they need.  

I was promised through Elizaveta Alex[androvna] Ladyzhenskaya<ref>Elizaveta Alexandrovna Ladyzhenskaya (1815-1883) – cousin of H.A. Gan, mother of H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky. Vera Petrovna Zhelikhovskaya (1835-1896), writer, playwright, sister of H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky, in essay ''Unexplained and Unexplained'' (from personal and family memories) wrote that E.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Ladyzhenskaya was “familiar with the Katkovs” (''The Rebus'', 1885, No. 13, p. 126). </ref> to send me printed chapters ''From the Caves, etc.'' from ''the first day of their appearance''; I was promised ''The Vestnik<ref>The magazine ''Russian Herald'' (Russky Vestnik) is meant. </ref>'' in January, but I still do not have it. The first chapters appeared in early December, and now it is March – and I ''have not yet got a line''. I do not want to make difficulties for the respected editorial board and do not ask for the daily ''Moskovskie Vedomosti'' (well, I have no time to read them), but I only humbly ask to send me ''clippings'' with my own articles; not because of the author's vanity or something else, but just because of prosaic, but very necessary information, without which ''I cannot'' proceed writing ''From the Caves''. From the first chapter I began to write without any rough copy, and having written I immediately sent the written away, sometimes without even looking through it, as every minute is precious to me. It is not surprising, therefore, that I have forgotten what I wrote about, and even some names. Although I keep a kind of diary and describe the ''true one and all''&nbsp;– the true and truthful incidents, and my personages are not fictitious, but those whom I meet here every day, but having changed some names (at their request), I completely forgot ''who I called whom''; and except “the Thakur”, one of whose names is really “Gulab Sing”, I don't remember the others. Also, I absolutely cannot remember which places and which of the customs and manners of the Hindus I have already described and which I have not. That way, there will be ''confusion'' – and it will not be my fault. I do not have a single line from that rough copy left. I am still writing by guesswork, without any positive instructions from the editors and without knowing, neither what, nor how much, they need.  

I humbly ask the respected editorial staff of  ''The Moskovskie Vedomosti''&nbsp;– which I don’t know at all, and its respected editors and publishers – of whom I don’t have the slightest idea, – to take all this into account, solve all of my problems and – if they want the continuation and end of ''From the Caves'' – send me clippings from the first five chapters<ref>The first five chapters of the book by H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'' were published in ''The Moskovskie Vedomosti'', November 30 and December 4, 5, 11, 13, 15 (No. 305, 309, 310, 315, 317, 319), 1879.</ref>.  

I humbly ask the respected editorial staff of  ''The Moskovskie Vedomosti''&nbsp;– which I don’t know at all, and its respected editors and publishers – of whom I don’t have the slightest idea, – to take all this into account, solve all of my problems and – if they want the continuation and end of ''From the Caves'' – send me clippings from the first five chapters<ref>The first five chapters of the book by H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'' were published in ''The Moskovskie Vedomosti'', November 30 and December 4, 5, 11, 13, 15 (No. 305, 309, 310, 315, 317, 319), 1879.</ref>.  

{{Style P-Title|Letter from H. P. Blavatsky<br>

{{Style P-Title level|3|Letter from H. P. Blavatsky<br>

to M. N. Katkov}}

to M. N. Katkov}}

Therefore, I humbly ask you – while I am not far, in Paris, if you really need my articles and you are going to print ''The Blue Mountains'' etc. in ''The Russkiy Vestnik'', then let's draw up something like a contract, certificate or ''agreement''. Would you send someone of your friends in Paris to me? Could you write what and how much I should write per year? ''Would you obligate'' me and thereby save me from my own laziness, or rather negligence? This way would be better for the business and you and me. Would you tell me, I ask you (I do not understand this subscript calculation) – how much I can get for each page or printer’s sheet (<...><ref>Here the page is damaged.</ref> ''je crois<ref>I believe (Fr.). – Tr.</ref>''?) in ''The Russkiy Vestnik''? And when would you wish to get ''Three Months in the Blue Mountains''? Would you write and order everything in detail. Then, immediately upon receipt of your letter, I will leave for my friend Countess d'Adhémar in Enghien, where she promises to hide me in her ''chateau<ref>Castle (Fr.). – Tr.</ref>'' and drive out all these hundreds of Parisian talkers who eat up the soul and my time here from morning till night! In less than two or three weeks I will finish the manuscript (rewrite it that is) and send it. And if you don’t write, then it’s not worth starting.  

Therefore, I humbly ask you – while I am not far, in Paris, if you really need my articles and you are going to print ''The Blue Mountains'' etc. in ''The Russkiy Vestnik'', then let's draw up something like a contract, certificate or ''agreement''. Would you send someone of your friends in Paris to me? Could you write what and how much I should write per year? ''Would you obligate'' me and thereby save me from my own laziness, or rather negligence? This way would be better for the business and you and me. Would you tell me, I ask you (I do not understand this subscript calculation) – how much I can get for each page or printer’s sheet (<...><ref>Here the page is damaged.</ref> ''je crois<ref>I believe (Fr.). – Tr.</ref>''?) in ''The Russkiy Vestnik''? And when would you wish to get ''Three Months in the Blue Mountains''? Would you write and order everything in detail. Then, immediately upon receipt of your letter, I will leave for my friend Countess d'Adhémar in Enghien, where she promises to hide me in her ''chateau<ref>Castle (Fr.). – Tr.</ref>'' and drive out all these hundreds of Parisian talkers who eat up the soul and my time here from morning till night! In less than two or three weeks I will finish the manuscript (rewrite it that is) and send it. And if you don’t write, then it’s not worth starting.  

Your secretary<ref>Sergei Ivanovich Sokolov (1851-1912) – employee of the newspaper the ''Moskovskie Vedomosti'' (the ''Moscow News''), personal secretary of M.&nbsp;N.&nbsp;Katkov, censor of the Moscow Censorship Committee, member of the Moscow Committee for the Press.</ref> wrote to me before the printing of ''The Jungles'' in ''The Russkiy Vestnik'' that after the publishing the ''Letters'' will be published in special books.<ref>The book ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'' by H. P. Blavatsky was originally published in the ''Moscow News'' (1879-1882), then the same chapters were published in the ''Russkiy Vestnik'' (1883, No. 1-7) and issued as a separate edition: Radda-Bai. ''From the Caves and Wilds of Hindustan. Letters to the Motherland''. M., 1883.</ref> They have been published, haven’t they?<ref>The announcement of the sale of a separate edition of the book appeared for the first time in the ''Moscow News'' on December 9, 1883 (No. 341).</ref> They write to me from Russia that they are sold at every railway station, and I have not seen a single one yet! They also write from Nice that now our Russians, having acquainted with me, are subscribing ''The Jungles'', and that the book is “sold like hot cakes.” Would you be so kind to order to send at least one such book to the address (in the heading of the letter). And also that No. of'' The Russkiy Vestnik'' where the last pages of ''From Caves and Jungles'' are printed – I don't even know where they end!

Your secretary<ref>Sergei Ivanovich Sokolov (1851-1912) – employee of the newspaper the ''Moskovskie Vedomosti'' (the ''Moscow News''), personal secretary of M.&nbsp;N.&nbsp;Katkov, censor of the Moscow Censorship Committee, member of the Moscow Committee for the Press.</ref> wrote to me before the printing of ''The Jungles'' in ''The Russkiy Vestnik'' that after the publishing the ''Letters'' will be published in special books.<ref>The book ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'' by H. P. Blavatsky was originally published in the ''Moscow News'' (1879-1882), then the same chapters were published in the ''Russkiy Vestnik'' (1883, No. 1-7) and issued as a separate edition: Raddha-Bai. ''From the Caves and Wilds of Hindustan. Letters to the Motherland''. M., 1883.</ref> They have been published, haven’t they?<ref>The announcement of the sale of a separate edition of the book appeared for the first time in the ''Moscow News'' on December 9, 1883 (No. 341).</ref> They write to me from Russia that they are sold at every railway station, and I have not seen a single one yet! They also write from Nice that now our Russians, having acquainted with me, are subscribing ''The Jungles'', and that the book is “sold like hot cakes.” Would you be so kind to order to send at least one such book to the address (in the heading of the letter). And also that No. of'' The Russkiy Vestnik'' where the last pages of ''From Caves and Jungles'' are printed – I don't even know where they end!

Although I have no idea, how much money you owe me in your office, but I know that you owe me something. If you could order to end the scores and start new ones from ''The Blue Mountains'', I would be extremely grateful to you.<ref>Here the page is damaged.</ref>  

Although I have no idea, how much money you owe me in your office, but I know that you owe me something. If you could order to end the scores and start new ones from ''The Blue Mountains'', I would be extremely grateful to you.<ref>Here the page is damaged.</ref>  

{{Style P-Signature|H. Blavatsky.<br>

{{Style P-Signature|H. Blavatsky.<br>

Radda-Bai.<br>

Raddha-Bai.<br>

To His Excellency <br>

To His Excellency <br>

Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov

Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov}}

}}

Dear Thakur-Sahib,  

Dear Thakur-Sahib,  

Thanks to Mrs. Blavatskaya (''Radda-Bai'') and her letters ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'', I learned about the existence of the sublime world of Raj-Yogis and became convinced of those extraordinary gifts that they acquire in pursuit of higher spiritual goals.  

Thanks to Mrs. Blavatskaya (''Raddha-Bai'') and her letters ''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan'', I learned about the existence of the sublime world of Raj-Yogis and became convinced of those extraordinary gifts that they acquire in pursuit of higher spiritual goals.  

Rereading these letters several times today and understanding them for myself (especially the places with your precepts), I gradually turned from a complete materialist into a believer and, having paid attention to my sinful life, I realized that I was following the wrong path.  

Rereading these letters several times today and understanding them for myself (especially the places with your precepts), I gradually turned from a complete materialist into a believer and, having paid attention to my sinful life, I realized that I was following the wrong path.