THE ONE WHO THINKS HE KNOWS ACT III. IV. ⸻ The tall pale man with lupine eyes sat on the edge of his bed in London Hospital. He concluded his story with the same emotionless rhythm as when he began. It was unsettling. W.T. Stead was beginning to share in the belief of the police that this man the veritable Jack the Ripper. Stead, of course, kept this to himself.[1] “I entered,” said the man. “Lord Lytton was standing... Read more
Lamasery. David A Curtis, “one of the cleverest reporters on the New York press,” paid a visit to “The Lamasery,” the Theosophical headquarters, on March 20, 1878. It was a large house dedicated to French flats on Eighth Avenue & 47th Street, in the “new” neighborhood of Longacre near the massive carriage factory of Brewster & Co.[1] When Brewster moved their operations there in 1872 the neighborhood became the center of the carriage business in New York.... Read more
The Airdsmen huddled over the skeleton in the trench. “Who do ya ‘spose it was?” It was a balmy day in late July 1886. The “Airdsman,” that is, the workmen in the employ of John Aird & Sons, had been laying a main for the Commercial Gas Company when they made their remarkable discovery. Six feet below the surface, at the intersection of Cannon Street Road and Cable Street, in St. George’s-in-the-East, they found a skeleton with a stake driven... Read more
BOWERY ~ Percy Grant, the rector of the Ascension Church, was among the men in the crowd who came to hear Irvine lecture at the Washington Heights branch of the Y.M.C.A. on March 17.[1] He had come specifically to meet the speaker.[2] Grant had heard Irvine speak at the Interborough Shop and was impressed. It was engagement that Grant had been asked to participate but had declined. Principally because he thought it was such a very difficult thing to... Read more
HALLOWEEN In “olden times” it was believed that the night marked the annual return of spirits, and the occasion was one of fasting and prayer. By the turn of the (19th) century, it was already lamented that “Halloween became desecrated by the small boy, inasmuch as he considers it a night on which he can give free vent to his mischievous spirit.” The boys of New York had a variety of irritating pranks which they will make free... Read more
OCCULTISM OF SOUTHERN INDIA. ACT III. III. ⸻ “Just imagine,” said Verochka, “a certain doctor experimenting with different sorcery until he finally succeeds in summoning the spirit of a horribly wretched dead person. At first he was able to control it, and banish it when he desired, but then it took possession of him more and more, until it finally drove him to commit murder. The actor played the part remarkably well. The transformation was instantaneous, and simply unrecognizable.”[1]... Read more
TOWER HAMLETS ACT III. I. ⸻ “I am speaking nearly every night,” said Besant. “It is an immense district, going right down as far as the Isle of Dogs, and including by the whole of Whitechapel. It is hard work covering the whole constituency. I am not canvassing myself, but my committee are canvassing, and also my match-girls, of whose voluntary help I am very proud. I am confining myself to public speaking.” Annie Besant, one of the few... Read more
DECCAN PLATEAU ACT II. XIII. ⸻ A public reception for the Bombay Theosophical Society was held at the Framji Cawasji’s Institute at 5:30 in the evening on November 12, 1888. K. M. Shroff presided.[1] Charley, and Harte spoke on “The Spread of Theosophy in Europe and America,” while Olcott spoke on the “Mysteries of Thought reading.” “Petit Hall. The Marble Staircase.”[2] Afterward the party paid a visit to Sir Dinshaw Petit and Lady Sakarbai Petit, at their... Read more
THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA ACT II. XI. ⸻ “India is needed!” said Tukaram. He drew a deep breath of air which smelled of brine and tar-rigging. “The whole world needs India, though the world does not know it.” Tukaram, Rustomji, and Bhavani had planned a day at Elephanta Island for Charley, Verochka, Harte, and Baroness Kroummess. A curtain launch was chartered at Apollo Bunder which they loaded with vibrant-colored fruits. (Little cream-bananas the size of fingers, custard apples, papaws, and... Read more
APOLLO BUNDER ACT II. X. ⸻ “The result of the interview with my wife was most satisfactory,” said Sir Samuel Baker. “The usual womanish questions had been replied to, and hosts of compliments exchanged. We were then rich in all kinds of European trifles that excited their curiosity, and a few little presents established so great an amount of confidence that they gave the individual history of each member of the family from childhood. Some of these ladies were very... Read more
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