Theos-Talk Archives (July 2002 Message tt00271)

Dallas, you wrote:

"Years ago I heard the following story, but could
not authenticate it: An old student contemporary with H P B
and her secretaries recalls hearing from Mr. A.. Keightley
that very shortly before her death, H P B walked into the
room where he worked, and asked where the MSS for the 3rd
and 4th volumes was. The pile was pointed out to her. She
then said: "I have just received instructions to destroy
that." They there and then set to work and with the help of
others, they tore up all that pile of MSS."

But Dallas I pointed out to you on June 4, 1998 on Theos-Talk that 
Archibald Keightley could NOT have told anyone that he helped destroy 
the MSS of volumes 3 and 4 SHORTLY before HPB's death.

Archibald was NOT in England at the time of (or shortly before) HPB's 
death.

Archibald actually writes:

"With the close of that summer [1890] I had to leave England again, 
going by way of New Zealand to San Francisco where I had letters from 
H.P.B. and did the work I had to do. Then returning on the way home I 
arrived at New York and was detained there by the illness of the 
relative I was with; and on May 8, 1891, received the news of Mme. 
Blavatsky passing from this life."
[ Quoted from http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/keightle.htm ]

I now quote from my 1998 posting:

Archibald Keightley left England in October,
(sometime after Oct. 10th) 1890 and did NOT
return to England till after HPB died.
See THE PATH, Dec. 1890, p. 295 where
Claude Falls Wright in his "London Letter"
writes: "Dr. Keightley leaves us in a few
days for New Zealand. . . ." This document
is dated Oct. 1890. Also see other issues of
THE PATH, first six months of 1891 for Archibald's
movements during this time period.

Then in another "London Letter" dated
January 7, 1891, Claude Wright writes:
"H.P.B. has WITHIN THE LAST WEEK OR SO
begun to get together the M.S.S. (long
ago written) for the third volume of the
SECRET DOCTRINE; it will, however, take
a good twelve months to prepare for
publication."

>From the above we see that more than
2 months after A. Keightley had left
English soil, Claude Wright reports
that H.P.B. was working on the
3rd volume MSS. H.P.B. lived 4 more
months after this report.

In light of the above how could Archibald
have been involved in the alleged
destruction of the SD III MSS "shortly
before HPB's death"?!

Daniel H. Caldwell
BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://blavatskyarchives.com/introduction.htm