Thus C.C.M. knows; he is too intelligent, too acute an observer of human nature to have remained ignorant of that most important of facts, namely that the woman has no possible motive for deception. There is a sentence in his letter which, framed in a little kinder spirit, would go far to show how well he could appreciate and recognise the real motives, had not his mind been poisoned by prejudice, due, perhaps more to S. Moses' irritation than to the efforts of her three above enumerated enemies. He remarks en passant — that the system of deception may be due to her zeal, but regards it as a dishonest zeal. And now, do you want to know how far she is guilty? Know then, that if she ever became guilty of real, deliberate deception, owing to that "zeal," it was when in the presence of phenomena produced she kept constantly denying — except in the matter of such trifles as bells and raps — that she had anything to do with their production personally. From your "European standpoint" it is downright deception, a big thundering lie; from our Asiatic standpoint, though an imprudent, blamable zeal, an untruthful exaggeration, or what a Yankee would call "a blazing cock-a-hoop" meant for the benefit of the "Brothers," — yet withal, if we look into the motive — a sublime, self-denying, noble and meritorious — not dishonest — zeal. Yes; in that, and in that alone, she became constantly guilty of deceiving her friends. She could never be made to realize the utter uselessness, the danger of such a zeal; and how mistaken she was in her notions that she was adding to our glory, whereas, by attributing to us very often phenomena of the most childish nature, she but lowered us in the public estimation and sanctioned the claim of her enemies that she was "but a medium"! But it was of no use. In accordance with our rules, M. was not permitted to forbid her such a course, in so many words. She had to be allowed full and entire freedom of action, the liberty of creating causes that became in due course of time her scourge, her public pillory. He could at best forbid her producing phenomena, and to this last extremity he resorted as often as he could, to her friends' and theosophists' great dissatisfaction. Was, or rather is it lack of intellectual perceptions in her? Certainly not. It is a psychological disease, over which she has little if any control at all. Her impulsive nature — as you have correctly inferred in your reply — is always ready to carry her beyond the boundaries of truth, into the regions of exaggeration; nevertheless without a shadow of suspicion that she is thereby deceiving her friends, or abusing their great trust in her. The stereotyped phrase: "It is not I; I can do nothing by myself . . . it is all they — the Brothers . . . I am but their humble and devoted slave and instrument" is a downright fib. She can and did produce phenomena, owing to her natural powers combined with several long years of regular training, and her phenomena are sometimes better, more wonderful and far more perfect than those of some high, initiated chelas, whom she surpasses in artistic taste and purely Western appreciation of art — as for instance in the instantaneous production of pictures: witness her portrait of the "fakir" Tiravalla mentioned in Hints, and compared with my portrait by Djual Khool. Notwithstanding all the superiority of his powers, as compared to hers; his youth as contrasted with her old age; and the undeniable and important advantage he possesses of having never brought his pure unalloyed magnetism in direct contact with the great impurity of your world and society — yet do what he may, he will never be able to produce such a picture, simply because he is unable to conceive it in his mind and Tibetan thought. Thus, while fathering upon us all manner of foolish, often clumsy and suspected phenomena, she has most undeniably been helping us in many instances, saving us sometimes as much as two-thirds of the power used, and when [we] remonstrated — for often we are unable to prevent her doing it on her end of the line — answering that she had no need of it, and that her only joy was to be of some use to us. And thus she kept on killing herself inch by inch, ready to give — for our benefit and glory, as she thought — her life-blood drop by drop, and yet invariably denying before witnesses that she had anything to do with it. Would you call this sublime, albeit foolish self-abnegation — "dishonest"? We do not; nor shall we ever consent to regard it in such a light. To come to the point: moved by that feeling, and firmly believing at the time (because allowed to) that Hurrychund was a worthy chela197 of the Yogee Dayanand, she allowed C.C.M. and all those who were present to labour under the impression that it was Hurrychund who had produced the phenomena; and then went on rattling for a fortnight of Swami's great powers and of the virtues of Hurrychund, his prophet. How terribly she was punished, every one in Bombay (as you yourself) — well knows. First — the "chela" turning a traitor to his Master and his allies, and — a common thief; then the "great Yogin," the "Luther of India" sacrificing her and H.S.O. to his insatiable ambition. Very naturally, while Hurrychund's treason — shocking as it appeared at the time to C.C.M. and other theosophists — left her unscarred, for Swami himself having been robbed took the defence of the "Founders" in hand, the treachery of the "Supreme Chief of the Theosophists of the Arya Samaj" was not regarded in its true light; it was not he that had played false, but the whole blame fell upon the unfortunate and too devoted woman, who, after extolling him to the sky, was compelled in self-defence to expose his mala fides and true motives in the Theosophist.