CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF THE CHIEF EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF H. P. BLAVATSKY AND
COL.HENRY S. OLCOTT,
FROM JANUARY, 1888, TO JUNE, 1888, INCLUSIVE.
(the period to which the material in the present volume belongs)

1 8 8 8

Early—Friction between H. P. B. on the one hand, and Subba Row and some of his Anglo-Indian backers on .the other, growing worse. They threaten to withdraw from the Society and to publish a rival magazine (ODL., IV, 41).

January 10—Letter sent to H. P. B. from New York, signed by twenty prominent members protesting against some Indian pundits' opposition to the publication of The Secret Doctrine, then in process of preparation (Path, II, Feb., 1888, pp. 354-55; Ransom, 247).

February 22—Death of Dr. Anna Bonus Kingsford, who was born in 1846 (AK, 3rd ed., II, 361-62).

March—Col. H. S. Olcott is very depleted after his long trip in 1887; blood impoverished, outbreak of boils, one being of a carbuncular nature; laid up for a while with gouty rheumatism in one foot. Accepts invitation to visit General and Mrs. H. R. Morgan at Ootacamund, and is restored to much better health as a result of complete rest. While there, he buys the piece of land on which he built later on a cottage known as “Gulisthan” as a retreat for H. P. B., himself and other friends (ODL., IV, 46; 50-51; Ransom, 246; Theos., IX, Suppl., April, 1888, p. xxxiii).

April—Letter to the Editor of the New York Path, dated from Bombay and signed by a number of Indian pundits, protesting the ideas expressed in the letter published in The Path of January, 1888 (Path, III, June, 1888, pp. 97-98; Ransom, 247).

April 4—Letter from H. P. B. to William Quan Judge, granting him exclusive rights to print and publish The Secret Doctrine during the whole term of the copyright in the same, as agent for the Theosophical Publication Society (Theos. Forum, V, December, 1933).

April—A. J. Cooper-Oakley resigns from the Editorship of The Theosophist which he had edited during Col. Olcott's absence at Ootacamund (H. S. O. in Theos., X, Suppl., Dec., 1888, p. xxviii).

April 22-23—National Convention of American Theosophists held at the Sherman House in Chicago, Ill. (Path, III, May, 1888, pp. 66-71; Theos., IX, July, 1888, pp. 615 et seq.).

May 6—H. S. Olcott lectures ax the Mysore Mahârâja's house (ODL., IV, 49).

Page xxv

May—H. P. B. much improved in general health, according to Bertram Keightley (Theos., IX, Suppl., May, 1888, p.xxxvii).

May 31—H. S. Olcott leaves Ooctacamund for Adyar; lectures en route at Coimbatore, Pollachi, Udamalpet and Palghat; reaches Adyar June 12th (ODL., IV, 51; Ransom, 246; Theos., IX, Suppl., July, 1888, p. xlv).

June 23—Important meeting of the Isis Branch in Paris, sale Richefeu, to revise rules and eliminate elements of discord. Le Lotus ceases to be the official organ of the Branch (Le Lotus, III, July, 1888, pp. 253-55). Considerable trouble in regard to new President (ODL., IV, 56; Ransom, 249).

June—T. Subba Row and J. N. Cook (of London Lodge) resign membership in the Society; this is partially due to the protest published in the The Path of January, 1888, about Hindû views concerning the publication of The Secret Doctrine (Theos., IX, Suppl., June, 1888, p. xli; Ransom, 246-47).

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS

AK—Anna Kingsford. Her Life, Letters, Diary and Work,by Edward Maitland. 2 vols. Ill. London: George Redway, 1896. 3rd ed., J.M. Watkins, 1913.

Lotus, Le—Revue de Hautes Études Théosophiques, sous l’inspiration de H.P. Blavatsky. Paris. For a time the official organ of the Isis Branch of the Theosophical Society. Published from March, 1887, to March, 1889.

ODL—Old Diary Leaves, Henry Steel Olcott, Fourth Series, 1887-1892. London: Theos. Publ. Society; Adyar: Office of The Theosophist, 1910.

Path—The Path. A Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, Theosophy in America, and the Study of Occult Science, Philosophy and Aryan Literature. Published and Edited at New York by William Quan Judge. Vol. II, April 1887-March, 1888; Vol. III, April, 1888-March, 1889.

Ransom—A Short History of The Theosophical Society. Compiled by Josephine Ransom. With a Preface by G. S. Arundale. Adyar, Madras: Theos. Publ. House, 1938 xiii, 591 pp.

Theos. Forum—The Theosophical Forum, Published under the authority of the Theosophical Society, Point Loma, California, U.S.A. New Series. Monthly. First issue publ. In September, 1929.

Theos—The Theosophist, published at Madras, India, beginning with October, 1879. In progress,