The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-21
BUNDY vs.. BLAVATSKY.
A CaIOAGo COLONEL TOO MUCH
FOR A RINDoo MAHATMA.
vatsky's Agent Cornered by q
Shrewd Enemy.

vatskyS Agent Cornered py q
Shrewd Enemy.
From the Ne,C York Recorder.
CHICAGO, ILL. Aug IA story Of Col.
John G. Bunday, late editor of the ReEigio-
Philosophical Journal is now being told
concerning the remarkable battle no made
in bis paper on Nine. Blavatsky. the lead er
OF the Theosophical Society. When the
fat Russian emigrated to India with the
notable New York newspaper man, Henry
s. Olcott, she invented number of mysteri-
GUS personages, whose agent she claimed to
be, aud whom she called adopts, or, In the
oriental tongue. mHhatmas, meaning great
souls. Col. Bundy was the cause OF proving
one of these mahatmas 30 be decidedly
odd character and given to vulgar
habits as readily as the most commonplace
mortals. 1t was the coloDel's remarkable
memory that caused tue lofty mahatma,
and through him the fat madame herself
more confusion than was ever confouaded
before in a space so small. Blavatsky
taught that a mahatma was, primarily, dis
satisfied with the common affairs of msn-
kind. In the first place, a mahatma is all
good. That Is the prime requisite. In the
second place, a mahatma knows all about
everything.
OF course the madame commended that
there were many mahatnas, or adopts, who
lived in the Businesses of the HImalaya
mountains, and with whom she alone of all
the earUh's inhabitants was personally ac-
quaiuted. But the particular mahatma
with whom she was specially friendly was
a mild Hindoo. Koot Hooni Lal Singh Of
name, and it was X. II. L. 8. who made
himself particularly conspicuous about the
time that Blavatsky AMI Olcott settled III
India. No one ever saw this prodigy of men
vis-a-vls. Koot Hoomi was altogether too
bright for that. Some vicious persons, pois-
oned by prejudice, it is true, had theory that
the wherefore K II. did not show his blessed
face TO any one except Nine. Blavatsky her
self was due to the simple fact that he had
no existence outside the phantasmagoriR
that Nine. Blsvassky threw in large lights
on the sheet Of human credulity. Koot
Hoomi was troubled with Il disease known
as cacoethes scribendi-an itch for writ
iug-and his letters were manifold and
voluminous. He did not pick his corre-
spondentS. but wrote to any one that desired
it-and who was in the same room as the
madame 1t was a strange coincidence that
wherever Nine. Blavatsky was not, no let
ters of Koot Hoomis could be delivered,
and she was always the postwoman.
Among Blavatsky's favorites in India was
an Englishman-a certain A. L. Slnnett,
who, through her, carried "A certain amount
Of vicarious reputation as parrot phlloso-
pher; /. g., he repeated what he heard
Blavatsky say and rewrote what Koot
hoomi wrote. This Englishman was spe-
cially favored by numerous visitations OF
letters from Koot Hoomi-always through
the madame, of course-and in time, what
by dint of rewriting aud repeating, he be-
came a most envied man among the theoso-
phists, oculists, thaumaturgists, neaplaton-
- Ill, 49,
and for the elixir of life and all the other
lobbyists that consume valuable time and
often money in looking for impossibilities.
Sinnett received letter after letter, and, the
accumulation being so great, he thought 1t
advisable to systematic them, reduce them
TO a compact theory aud to publish them in
book form, each copy OF the book retailing
in India for s rupees in England for half
sovereign and in America for 81 so, all of
which seemed good, and Mr.. Sinnett rested
and raked in the shokels. But, alasl
trouble was brewing. Sinnett in Simla,
India, was at one end OF 1t, and Col. Bundy,
in far-dlstant Chicago. was at the other.
In looking over Sinnets's new compila-
ton Of the alleged Ko)t Hoomi letters, CT.
Bundys eye CHANGED to light upon par
ticularly glowing passage. The passage was
of such resplendent style, Of such brilliant
dicton. of such ornate and polished English,
Of such very fine figure, that the colonel
read and reread 1t with pleasure, but in
some way or other IL seemed 80 bin that
he had read it before, For a week he pom
dered, and the result OF his cogitations was
that he at last identified it with a passage
iu a lecture OF a certain Mr.. Klddle, TO
whom he had listened a short time
before To make certain he referred to a
copy of the Riddle lecture, and, surely
enough, there was the passage Identical TO a
comma. Did the colonel call attention TO
the fact In his paper! Well, ratherl In
deed, as it was right in his way. he made
leader OF it. and then some otficious person
took the pleasure Of sending a marked copy
to MIR. Sinnett and to His Royal Hlghness
Koot Hoomi, inolosed 10 Mr.. Sinnett's care.
Mr.. Sinnett took the paper, read the
deadly parallel and was paralyzed. What
could he dos Confronted his mahatmic
friend with the matter and ask an expla-
nation2 That would be the proper thing,
could he lay his hands on the mahatms, tut,
never having laid eyes on him, lot alone
hand, this was impossible. Toe next best
thing was to confront Nine. Blavatsky,
and this he did at ONE. The madame took
the paper and told Mr.. Sinnett she would
communicate with the master and give him
the result as soon as possible after 1t was
obtained. A letter came back promptly
Through madame) to Mr.. Sinnett from
KOot Hoomi, in which this gentleman ex-
planned: That the passage in Riddles leo
ture, having been formed in Riddles brain,
was set free and was floating through space.
He tKoot Hooml WAS writing on a similar
topic; his brain was agitated In correspond
ing cells, and, being very sensitive, alb
sorbed the whole passage just as 1t was and
transferred it % paper without changing
a letter. But more than that. Mr..
Hoomi Lal Singh explained further that
when he wrote the passage he knew 1t was
not his own, but he had not time or tnclina-
tion to sound the abysses of space in order
to find the authors name and date for the
proper credit, and 80 let it flicker as 1t stood
But the incident caused veritable riot In
India. and lost Mime. Bavatsky several good
subscribers.
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