Published by Blavatsky Study Center.  Online Edition copyright 2003.


A Letter from W.Q. Judge to Dr. A. Keightley

by H.N. Stokes

[Reprinted from O.E. Library Critic (Washington, D.C.), November 1932, pp. 6-8.]


The following letter from W.Q. Judge to Dr. Archibald Keightley and the accompanying document, both certified to be in Judge's handwriting, are published partly for the purpose of showing that Judge actually accepted as genuine the purported communications from the deceased H.P.B., and partly to prove that Mr. E.A. Neresheimer was wrong in asserting that since the quotations claimed by E.T. Hargrove (E.S.T. circular of April 3d, 1896) are not found in a certain Judge diary in his - Neresheimer's - possession, therefore the series of quotations was "concocted" by Katherine Tingley, E.T. Hargrove and J.H. Fussell.  This is a very serious charge, libelous if untrue, and it is my intention to defend the honor of the two surviving theosophists, Hargrove and Fussell, by showing that the quotations were actually made from documents in Judge's handwriting.  This was done in part in the September CRITIC, where reference is made to certain loose sheets in Judge's handwriting, of which I have received photographs, and which were quoted by Hargrove.

The letter and document were sent by Judge to Dr. Keightley, then in London, as a member of the E.S.T. Advisory Council, and were returned to Judge with other E.S.T. papers later, finally finding their way into the Point Loma archives.  The entire document was quoted verbatim by Hargrove (E.S.T. circular, April 3d, 1896, pages 4-8).  It will be seen by reference to that circular that the document notes certain omissions, making no reference to the person designated by Hargrove as "Promise" and supposed to be Mrs. Tingley.  Why are these references not found in the document sent to Dr. Keightley?  Clearly Judge intended to keep these to himself, as directed by the supposed H.P.B.  This lack is supplied in part by the photographs in my possession which, in Judge's handwriting, make reference to a certain person designated by a sign which I have indicated by "X" (see September CRITIC).   "Keep X well in the background"; "X is our mystery" says one of the passages.  I shall present these again later, putting them in parallel with the Hargrove quotations, and shall present evidence that it was Katherine Tingley who was referred to in such eulogistic terms by the supposed discarnate H.P.B.

Speaking of the supposed communications from H.P.B. to Judge, Hargrove stated as follows (E.S.T. circular of April 3d, 1896, page 6):

"It should be stated that in Mr. Judge's occult diary he has entered messages and communications received through this person in the same way as he has entered his own, as from Master, and this he has done in no other case, showing that 'Promise' was the only person whom he placed on his own level of reliability in this respect.

"In a long message received by him from H.P.B., extracts from which were read at a general E.S.T. meeting in New York almost a year ago, these being at the same time sent to the Advisory Council in London, there are some important references to this chela:"

This is followed by the quotations of which the following document forms a part.  It will be shown later that Judge received the "message," wrote it down hastily on scratch pad sheets, and afterwards copied it with some verbal emendations in a permanent form, whether in a diary or not matters nothing.  As for the esteem in which Mr. Judge held Mrs. Tingley, the reader is referred to his letter to her, in the October CRITIC.

The certification of the Keightley letter and document is as follows:

The attached is an exact copy, verbatim et literatim, made by me from the originals of two documents written in ink in the handwriting of William Q. Judge, the one signed by him being on a sheet of yellow paper 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. with the following printed letterhead:

"All Communications herein must be marked 'Private'
and contain no other Business.
E.S.T.
WILLIAM Q. JUDGE
144 Madison Avenue,
New York, .....................189  "

these three figures "189" being the only thing on the attached copy that is not in Mr. Judge's handwriting:  the figure "5" which follows to complete the date 1895 is in his handwriting.  In the upper left-hand corner is the imprint of the E.S. Seal, consisting of two interlaced triangles enclosed in a circle with the Sanskrit word "Sat" in the Devanagari characters in the middle, with the winged disk below.

The document referred to in the above-described letter is written on two sides of a plain sheet of white paper 8 1/2 by 11 inches, watermarked "Pure Monarch Linen L".

Copy made and compared by me with the originals in William Q. Judge's handwriting this eighth day of December, 1932, at Oakley House, Bromley Common, Kent, England.

IVERSON L. HARRIS



We, the undersigned, on this eighth day December, 1932, at Oakley House, Bromley Common, Kent, England, have compared the attached copy with the above described original documents in the handwriting of William Q. Judge, and declare the copy to be accurate in every respect.

J.H. FUSSELL
ELSIE V. SAVAGE
MARGHERITA SIREN
HELEN HARRIS

 

 

 


The letter is as follows:

Jan. 4, [189]5

Dr. A. Keightley
                     (for Councillors etc.)

Comrades

Enclosed is an exact transcript of what HPB said to me Jany 3, prematurely ended by a visitor - as usual & as results from European continual nagging at me. It is word for word. More will be said later. You can let all worthy & devoted loyalists read this - It may be read in a proper group.  Copies not to be made. This is to be kept with Council papers.

Fraternally

WILLIAM Q. JUDGE

          Go to no extremes in thought or act hereupon.

The accompanying document is as follows:

HPB. Jany 3 1895

Yours is not a (bootless) or fruitless) errand. You have nobly sustained our cause in the crisis. Be encouraged. Well did Master know the staunch fearless attributes of your soul when he directed me to make you leader of our craft in America. As the centre of our force is attacked the more does our light work for the right. Victory is ours. All will end for the good of all. Mistakes have been made but you have not gone far from the lines laid down by Master. My desire is for you to be careful about sending out Instructions to the E.S. for treacherous and unworthy persons are within the gates, & all new ideas will be appropriated by the other side after x x x x. The forces are out and annihilation is the only thing that can interfere.

Let me tell you some of the things I have learned since I absented myself from the outer world. Many of the problems of life that should have been solved if we had been more together have come up before me & I have learned much. I am, next to the American work, interested in Spain. Ireland can take care of itself. In the pine woods I have found a lodge which I knew something about before I went away. There, seven chelas & the light they show that some day will be better known, I will describe to you at our next meeting. There is much connected with it that can be used for irradiating forces in this country for there is a subtle connection. Be sure that at our next meeting it is not forgotten x x x x Slowly the light from this Lodge is being thrown over Spain & I see that from the old corpse of bigotry superstition & credulity will be reared a temple of light which will unite its forces with that of America & Ireland & from these three points I know that humanity will be saved. x x x

This battle of light & darkness in our midst seems but small (little) when I view the work before us x x x and the ends and prospects of our work shall stem the tide of this cruel & unworthy persecution. Under all work shall stem the tide of this cruel & unworthy persecution. Under all of it & over it all the Masters hand; be sure that all is well for thee. x x x x.

The light mentioned in Spain is of seven sides & a purple & yellow light. On each of the seven sides is a star. This represents the Lodge of Spain. Connect yourself with it as you will be directed. x x x

I will not permit you to resign nor will I permit you to submit to further investigation. Form your plans for the American work. Keep all your lines perfect with sustaining points & leave the rest to us. This is to your questions of last night. x x x x x

I will not touch on minor points. They will take care of themselves. Master is not after minor points. Let us turn our eyes to the American future of Theosophy. x x x x   (Interruption & conclusion by a visitor)"


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"William Q. Judge and Katherine Tingley" series of articles