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of your personal interest in occultism and theosophy? I do not say it was, I but enquire whether the contingency ever presented itself to your mind." Now of course this was addressed to Sinnett, but still I wish to answer it in my fashion. First I should say, cui bono throwing out such a hint? You must know whether it was so or not. If it was not, why set us speculating as to whether it may have been, when you know it was not. But if it was so, then I submit, that in the first place an idiotic business like this could be no test of any man's (there are of course lots of human beings who are only a sort of educated monkey) personal interest in anything. Would any man, who felt ever the slightest interest in anything, suffer this interest to be affected by the fact that some other person made themselves ridiculous in connexion there with? In the second place if the Brothers did deliberately allow the publication of those letters, I can only say, that from my worldly non-initiated standpoint, I think they made a sad mistake. A cause may involve murder & robbery and yet not be wholly discredited but make it ridiculous & you may write its epitaph. Mind I do not for one moment defend this. It is monstrous that it should be so - but it is unfortunately a fact, and the object of the Brothersbeing avowedly to make the T.S. respected, they could hardly have selected any worse means, than the publication of these foolish letters. I do not of course attach any very great importance to them - if there be a real vital breath underlying the T. S. (& it is this I am truly trying to arrive at), it will outlive & smother a hundred such bévues - magna est veritas et prevalebit. But still when the question is broadly put, did you ever consider whether the Brothers allowed this publication, I cannot avoid replying, if they did not, it is futile wasting consideration on the matter, and if they did, it seems to me that they were unwise in so doing.

Then come your remarks about Colonel Olcott. Dear old Olcott, whom everyone who knows must love. I fully sympathize in all you say