"If my memory serves me rightly, we met first upon an occasion when H.
P. Blavatsky was induced to try, in the presence of some reporters,
if she could open up communication with the diaphanous remainder of
a night watchman who had been drowned in an East River dock. Olcott
was present, in command, prominent and authoritative, and Judge, in
attendance, reserved and quiet. The spook was shy and the reporters
sarcastic. The only one apparently annoyed by their humour was the
Colonel. Mr. Judge's placidity and good nature commended him to the
liking of the reporters, and made a particularly favourable impression
upon me, which was deepened by the experiences of an acquaintance that
continued while he lived. In all that time, though I have seen him
upon a good many occasions when he would have had excellent excuse for
wrath, his demeanour was uniformly the same--kindly, considerate and
self-restrained, not merely in such measure of self-control as might
be expected of a gentleman, but as if inspired by much higher regards
than mere respect for the convenances of good society. He always seemed
to look for mitigating circumstances in even the pure cussedness of
others, seeking to credit them with, at least, honesty of purpose and
good intentions, however treacherous and malicious their acts toward
him might have been. He did not appear willing to believe that people
did evil through preference for it, but only because they were ignorant
of the good, and its superior advantages; consequently he was very
tolerant."--J. H. CONNELLY.
"What he was to one of his pupils, I believe he was to all, ... so wide
reaching was his sympathy, so deep his understanding of each heart; ...
and I but voice the feeling of hundreds all over the world when I say
that we mourn the tenderest of friends, the wisest of counsellors, the
bravest and noblest of leaders. What a man was this, to have been such,
to people of so widely varying nationalities, opinions and beliefs
... to have drawn them all to him by the power of his love, ... and
in so doing, to have brought them closer to each other. There was no
difficulty he would not take infinite pains to unravel, no sore spot in
the heart he did not sense and strive to heal."--G. L. G.
In truth, we might pile up these evidences from the hearts of those
who knew him best and longest, and who were well fitted to judge of
the solidity and the truth of any character. But of this there is no
need. It is for those to say who were influenced by their bugbear of
"authority" whether they have not exchanged the substance for the
shadow; have not retained the dogmatism and lost the free and noble
spirit which W. Q. Judge ever exercised, and which he strove to retain
in the T.S. Summing up his life, one must still say what was written
soon after his departure: "In thinking of this helper and teacher of
ours, I find myself thinking almost wholly of the future. He was
one who never looked back; he looked forward always.... We think of
him not as of a man departed from our midst, but as a soul set free
to work its mighty mission, rejoicing in that freedom, resplendent
in compassion and power. His was a nature that knew no trammels, but
acknowledged the divine laws in all things. He was, as he himself said,
'rich in hope.'... That future as he saw and sees it is majestic in
its harmonious proportions. It presaged the liberation of the race.
It struck the shackles from the self-imprisoned and bade the souls of
men be free. It evokes now, to-day, the powers of the inner man....
Death, the magician, opened a door to show us these things. If we are
faithful, that door shall never close. If we are faithful; only that
proviso. Close up the ranks, and let Fidelity be the agent of heavenly
powers. To see America, the cradle of the new race, fit herself to help
and uplift that race and to prepare here a haven and a home for Egos
yet to appear ... for this he worked; for this will work those who came
after him. And he works with them."