Theos-Talk Archives (April 2006 Message tt00730)

"Have you read the [Hodgson] report about me....?"  
asked H.P.B.

The following is excerpted from Annie Besant's AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1893):

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And so it came to pass that I went again to Lansdowne Road to ask 
about the Theosophical Society. H.P. Blavatsky looked at me 
piercingly for a moment. 

"Have you read the report about me of the  Society for Psychical 
Research?" 

"No; I never heard of it, so far as I know." 

"Go and read it, and if, after reading it, you come back — 
well." 

And nothing more would she say on the subject, but branched 
off to her experiences in many lands. 

I borrowed a copy of the Report, read and re-read it. Quickly I saw 
how slender was the foundation on which the imposing structure was 
built. The continual assumptions on which conclusions were based; 
the incredible character of the allegations; and — most damning fact 
of all — the foul source from which the evidence was derived.
 
Everything turned on the veracity of the Coulombs, and they were 
self-stamped as partners in the alleged frauds. Could I put such 
against the frank, fearless nature that I had caught a glimpse of, 
against the proud fiery truthfulness that shone at me from the 
clear, blue eyes, honest and fearless as those of a noble child? Was 
the writer of "The Secret Doctrine" this miserable impostor, this 
accomplice of tricksters, this foul and loathsome deceiver, this 
conjuror with trap-doors and sliding panels? 

I laughed aloud at the absurdity and flung the Report aside with the 
righteous scorn of an honest nature that knew its own kin when it 
met them, and shrank from the foulness and baseness of a lie. 

The next day saw me at the Theosophical Publishing Company's office 
at 7, Duke Street, Adelphi, where Countess Wachtmeister — one of the 
lealest of H.P.B.'s friends — was at work, and I signed an 
application to be admitted as fellow of the Theosophical Society. 

On receiving my diploma I betook myself to Lansdowne Road, where I 
found H.P.B. alone. I went over to her, bent down and kissed her, 
but said no word. 

"You have joined the Society?" "Yes." 

"You have read the report?" "Yes." "Well?" 

I knelt down before her and clasped her hands in mine, looking 
straight into her eyes. 

"My answer is, will you accept me as your pupil, and give me the 
honour of proclaiming you my teacher in the face of the world?" 

Her stern, set face softened, the unwonted gleam of tears sprang to 
her eyes; then, with a dignity more than regal, she placed her hand 
upon my head. "You are a noble woman. May Master bless you." 
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Daniel
http://hpb.cc