Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-25
BLAVATSKY
Story of the Mystic Who Founded Theo.
sophical Society

| sOpHlCdl DOCleby
A cloud Of incense smoke rising from
the Syrian desert on q night In 1870
assumed the shape of an old man with a
long, white beard. II am Hero, one Of
the priests of a great TEMPLE erected to
the gods that stood upon this spot"
quoth the grim spectre. This monu-
ment was the altar. Behold"
Thereupon-so the story goes-"a phan-
tasmagoric vision of a gigantic temple
appeared, supported by ponderous col
umns, and a great city was seen covering
the distant plain, but all soon faded into
thin air."
Two caravans had met in the desert.
One had contained the alleged performer
of this miracle, the first modern woman
to gain worldwide fame in the role of
the Great Unknown. Like the master of
the mediums, this sphinx boasted of
childhood replete with abnormal occur
rences. She was born in southern Russia,
amid the piled.up collins of victims of
the awful cholera epidemic of 1881, and,
while they were baptizlng her in the
Greek Church, she snatched a lighted
taper from the altar and set fire to the
childhood 1t was claimed that while
asleep she could give correct answers to
questions asked by persons who would
take her hand. Thus would she reveal
the hiding places of lost property and
twas said impart other mediumistic in
formation.
This uncanny child was Helena Pc
trovna Hahn, daughter of General Alexis
Hahn, a noble German who once settled |
in southern Russia. When she was z |
her mother died and she was sent to live |
with her grandfather, the Governor of |
Saratow. But after she took up her |
abode in his palace her governess dis
covered that she was possessed of the |
devil She went into frances, soaring the
old Governor into gooseflesh.
AT the age of II Helena married Gen.
eral Count Blavatsky, a gouty Russian
of 20, from whom she separated after a
brief period of domestic unhappiness.
Next she attempted to penetrate the for
hidden boundaries of Tibet, but was
turned back by the fanatical natives.
After wandering in India and elsewhere in
the Orient, she returned to Russia, where,
at the gloomy and gruesome chateau of
certain prince, she frightened the noe
turnal guests with weird demonstrations
Of table.tippings, spirit rappings, thought
readings, levitation and the opposite phe-
nomenon-making light articles heavy.
Returning again to the Orient, she
visited Egypt and Syria, and finally came
to America, where she was exploited as
a spirit medium under the alleged control
of John King" dead pirate. and much
as Cagliostro had founded his Egyptian
free masonry for the regeneration of man.
kind, so Madame Blavatsky, in 1875, es-
tablished the famous Theosophical So
ciety.
She now declared herself to be a dis
ciple of a mysterious brotherhood OF
whom she had met in Tibet
and who had the power of causing appari-
tions of themselves to appear where their I
bodies were not. Visitors to her sanctum
were amazed to receive mysterious letters ,,
dropped before them as from the ceiling, I
and to hear alleged communications from I
the Tibetan mahatmas. 1t was said to be I
1 common occurrence for a visitor to ask
her a question and the same day have the 7
oostman hand him letter under a for +
eign postmark bearing direct reply to 4
hat question.
Blavatsky died May 8, 1891. She was :
,remated and her ashes were divided into {
hree equal parts, buried respectively in c
London, New York and Adyar, India i
Shortly afterward Solovyoff. a Russian !,
ournalist and litterateur, published her v
confession" which he alleged she made C
o him after he had caught her in trick c
ry and confronted her at a private
eance. This man declared that she not I,
My confessed that her phenomena were k
fraudulent. but was prevailed upon to j
how to him the apparatus with which e e
he produced 1t. But her disciples have II
lways denounced Solovyoff not only as H
ar, but as a coward, inasmuch as he g
i'd not dare publish the confession" dur j,
ng the priestess's lifetime.
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