Archibald Keightley was one of Blavatsky's
main students in London and when she died he wrote the following article in
tribute to her.
IN MEMORIAM
The first occasion on which I ever
heard of H.P.B. was on reading Mr. Sinnett's Occult World, at the close of 1883-1884. At that time I had, with
other friends in Cambridge, been studying the phenomena of spiritualism to a
slight extent, and had also been reading all the books on magic which I could
find in the University Library. Consequently the ideas did not come to me in an
entirely new fashion, and Madame Blavatsky was less associated with the Occult World phenomena in my mind than with
the letters which are printed in that work.
It was in the spring of 1884 that I
first saw her. I was then on the eve of joining the Theosophical Society, or had
just done so, and was attending a meeting of the London Lodge held in Lincoln's
Inn, for the purpose of settling, under the presidency of Col. Olcott, certain
differences between the Oriental and Occidental views on Theosophy.
During that
meeting I noticed particularly a somewhat stout lady quietly enter the room and
sit down near the door. Nothing occurred till some mention was made of what
Madame Blavatsky had done, when this lady remarked quietly, "That's
so", after which a general rush was made towards her, and she was carried
off to the head of the room, while the meeting broke up in confusion.
It
appeared that Madame Blavatsky had found it imperatively necessary to attend
that meeting; had started from Paris without luggage or attendant; had in fact
arrived by the mail train and had followed her occult instinct in guiding
herself to the rooms where the meeting was being held, of which she had not the
address. As Madame Blavatsky returned to Paris the next day or the day after, I
had no opportunity of making her acquaintance.
When next I saw her she was
staying at the house of Mrs. Arundale, in Elgin Crescent. I cannot say that,
beyond admiring her learning very greatly, i was very closely drawn to her.
Outside the fact that I was a member of the Theosophical Society and anxious to
get information, there was nothing in me to draw her attention. I was then in
the midst of my medical studies, and, living outside London, had very little
time to spend in visits.
It was during the autunm, however, that Madame
Blavatsky, together with my friends Mr. and Mrs. Cooper-Oakley, rented rooms in
Victoria Road, and I there joined them for a short time previous to their
departure for India. Even under such favorable circumstances I cannot lay claim
to being intimate with her. So far as I could tell, I was to her the friend of
Mr. and Mrs. Cooper-Oakley, with whom she might talk and chat in the evening
when her work for the day was done, and nothing more.
I may, I think, lay claim
to the proud distinction that of all who had at that time lived in the same
house with Madame Blavatsky, I was alone in never having witnessed any of the phenomena
which were so frequently seen in her neighborhood.
I saw the steamer leave the
docks on the Mersey, and did not see Madame Blavatsky again till 1887, when I twice
visited her at Ostende. In the mean time I had of course seen and read all that
was to be heard of the S.P.R. Investigation. I was present at the meetings at
which the report was read, and most certainly it made very little impression on
my mind. I had been reading a good many "detective stories" and I well
remember the poor impression as a story which the report made on me.
As to the rest
immediately concerning Madame Blavatsky, I knew her learning, wit, and
cleverness. I thoroughly believed in the existence of the Masters as constituting
a necessary link in human evolution, and the only effect on my mind was a still
greater contempt for circumstantial evidence, hearsay reports, and working
hypotheses. Theosophy was itself; Madame Blavatsky had brought it to the world,
and I felt a trust in facts as opposed to appearances.
However, it was in 1887 that I was
first brought in close contact with H.P.B. She was then in Ostende, engaged in
writing the Secret Doctrine. At the
time Theosophy seemed to be slowly decaying as a force in England, and together
with other friends I felt that some strong step had to be taken. Consequently,
after corresponding, Madame Blavatsky replied that if she found that the desire
for her presence was sufficiently strong, she was willing to leave her
retirement and come to London to help on the work. All of us wrote to her and
finally she consented to come.
At Ostende I found Madame Blavatsky and the
Countess Wachtmeister living together, and was at once set to work to read some
part of the Secret Doctrine. Almost
directly on my return to London, I heard that H.P.B. had been taken suddenly
ill and that her life was in danger. A slight chill had developed dangerous
symptoms which by some extraordinary means disappeared, and she recovered a
second time from a condition in which recovery is rarely, if ever known.
It can easily be imagined, then,
that on my second visit to assist in her journey to England, I was to the last
degree dismayed to find the day when we were compelled to leave damp and foggy,
and that a thin misty rain was falling. It must be remembered that Madame
Blavatsky had not set foot outside her rooms, she would not come out of her
private room into the parlor if the window was open, and as a rule her own room
was nearly unbearable to others from the heat which made it pleasant to her.
However, we started and got on board the steamer with ease; the tide was full,
and the steam.er lay alongside the wharf at a convenient height.
But Dover!
There the tide was low, and many were the damp and dripping steps up which we
had to climb. However, a carrying chair and porters overcame the difficulty.
But her face, as she was being carried up, was a study. Imagine the circumstances,
recollect Madame Blavatsky's face, and the scene is easily conjured up.
Next
came an even greater difficulty, crippled as her limbs were from disuse — the
getting her into the railway carriage from the low platform. However, an end
comes to everything, and so it did to the journey, and she arrived safe and
well at Norwood in the evening, and, further, there were no ill effects to be
detected next day.
We settled down to work at Maycot,
Bertram Keightley and myself, with H.P.B., her maid, and one servant, staying
there till September through the heat of the Jubilee summer. Work was the order
of the day, and its results are visible. A great deal of the Secret Doctrine was written again; it
was corrected and recorrected and type-written, Lucifer magazine was started, and the Blavatsky Lodge was formed.
Friends gathered around her and rallied to the Theosophical flag. Then came the
time for expansion, for the Countess Wachtmeister was on the point of arrival,
and another exodus was made to Lansdowne Road. Unintermittently the work went on,
and the focus of activity steadily extended its rays, until the present condition
of affairs was reached.
Thus it may be seen that for at
least two years I was closely associated on intimate terms with Madame
Blavatsky. It is next to impossible to convey to one who did not know her the
varied sides of her personal character. To those who were merely curious about
her and her work she was courteous and external, but it was not until the
interest in Theosophy became real that H.P.B. showed herself as she was.
Well
do those who love her know that almost every fault and sin imaginable in human
character have been assigned to her. Doubtless to the external and carnal
observer some color may have been given, and even then we know that nature is
not all smiles and that thunder-showers clear the air. But what I distinctly
affirm is that such excuses are not valid. It is not in any degree possible to
comprehend the many phases of a single human character, and especially such a
complex one as H.P.B.
I am positive from long observation of her actions that
there was a purpose in all her acts and words, and that it depended on the
observers how much they might profit by the lesson. This may sound ridiculous
to some, but I convinced myself that H.P.B. used the physical instrument which
was called H.P. Blavatsky with distinct, untiring purpose, although the
instrument grew so impaired by sickness that it became increasingly difficult
to direct it.
To all who assisted her work she was
ever ready to give counsel and help, and only those who received her help can
appreciate it at its just value. But though they feel it, they cannot talk of
it, for it is not possible to bring the deepest feelings to the surface.
Personally, as I know her, I may say that I found in her the wise teacher, the
loving friend who knew how to cut for the purpose of curing, and an example in
practice when the need arose of how to regulate action to theosophical ideas.
I
may close by saying that I regard myself as most fortunate in the Karma which brought
me in association with H.P.B. and enabled me to assist so far as I could in the
work of the lion-hearted leader of the Cause of Theosophy.
(This
article was first published in Lucifer
magazine, July 1891, p.362-364; and later in the book HPB: in memory of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, 1891, p.55-58)
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