Judge — May 23, 1931 — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUDGING BOOKS xe Lydia Pinkham, Madame Bla- 4 vatsky was good for what ails the phrailer sex. Hence we who are on the side of Good, do not see why Mr. C. E, Bechhofer-Roberts should see tit to take her for such a harsh ride in his biography of her, “The Mys- terious Mads "The Madame, as you know, the founder of Theoso- ', and, it being supposedly a reli- gion of glorified hocus-pocus (And what religion hasn't a certain amount?) has had quite an appeal amongst the wealthy oldish, spinstery-intellectual- ly-repressed and lacking males. As we held last week, suppose these crea- tures are helped by what comes in bottles, tracts or mystic signs, what of it? And who can say that one religion is to be more desired than any other? Live and let live was always a good idea—but don’t come barging into our backyard with conversion in your eye. However, Mr. B.-Roberts seems to he pretty sour on the subject of the colorful Madame. To put it mildly, he doesn't like her, hers or what she did, had or meant, in the least little bit. He, therefore, cannot be trusted to vive anything but a positively nega- tive picture of her. He confines him- self for the greater part of his book to calling her a profound liar, a fs miracle maker, a plagiarist-swiper su- pret nd a Woman with a Past. So busy is he with his tar-brush he ne- ulects to point out what, if any, she d for. We gather Madame Blavatsky was n eccentric, full of personal ¥ doxes, a money-wran 1 swell showman and_ phrase in emotionalist who went bad lectual, a necromancer and prognosti- cator, She was a first-class magician who could create cups and saucers (of 1 set design) when necessary, make fairy bells tinkle, mend broken china, crack liqueur glasses in midair, and pull a religion out of the darndest hodge-podge of perso experiences, Black Ma Magic, Buddhism and var ments of Occultism. The main trait of her character was her ability to dominate by sheer personal fantasy based on certain natural if charlatan- ish powers and a gorgeous inability to distinguish the truth from the exceed- ingly Lewis Carroll. Her religion was, we take it, a splendid example of a thing coming real if you belie in it long enough; in essence, High Magic or Great Hermannism Glori- fied, boasting the profound mysticism of high-sounding mumbo-jumbo and the promise of personal psychic power. It seems strictly feminine to the nth degree and is a good example — crous you hold her opinions, you can’t of what will be produced by a woman, get away from the fact that She was a man to guide her, who is given personality, queer to the gills, like 1. Incidentally, she was prob- Isadora Dunc but meant some- ably the first woman to smoke in public. thing, however cock-eyed. And that All of which makes us want to hear she had a hard life, self-imposed the other side of the wrangle. We're — probably, but no bed of roses, which, going to bone up on Theosophy as despite the author, makes fascinating soon as the Gibbses give us a few mo- reading. ments’ respite from having to read their novels, which seem to come out Jute you're toying with Karma one a day. It may be bunk, but it and the auras, André Maurois’ sounds like pretty amusing bunk. We “The Weigher of Souls” may provide want to learn why martyrdom always an entertaining interlude. Tt is one makes for religion-founding, and what — of those fantastic tales containing the there is about old age that tends to germ of plausibility, which, were use it to sublimate the mistakes and not handled so cleverly, might fall steam-heated acts which took place over into the ridiculous on its poor when it was very young. little nose. Even those who are con- So we put it up to you. If you vineed they have no souls will be read the book, and we hope you will, it y disappointed when they will strike you that however undesir- have it proved to them that their souls able you hold her life, however ludi- (Continued on page 28 Q.C.£ motor cruisers are sold by the following distributors: Albany, New York L. R. Mack, Inc. East of Amityville, L. 1. Harold's Yacht Basin Babylon, Long Island =Wayne Frost Boston, Mass. Atlantic Radio and Marine Co. Chicago, Ilinois= —=Ward A. Robinson Cincinnati, Ohio Ohio River Motor Boat Company Cleveland, Ohio =N. J. Shea Detroit, Michigan Leonard H. Thomson, Inc. Galveston, Texas- Robert Sealy Hartford, Connecticut F. W. Williams, Inc. Huntington, Long Island Chas. A. Gould, 2nd Newark, New Jersey- Griggs Sales Company Newport News, Virginia ——=C. P, Amory New York, 217 West 57th St.= Q.C.€ Marine Salon Philadelphia, Peansylvania—— ~~ Harris, LeRoy & Clark San Francisco, Calif. —John G. Rapp Corporation Syracuse, N. Y. Syracuse Motor Marine Corp. Washington, D. C. Stanley H. Horner, Inc. AMERICAN CAR And FOUNDRY COMPANY 247 WEST S7TH STREET + NEW YORK CITY 17 comicbooks.com