Olcott's letter of apology.

Colonel Olcott's health was failing during his last journey from the United States to India. Mrs. Marie Russak, a rich American widdow, member of the Theosophical Society, took care of him and traveled with him. Ardent disciple of Mrs. Besant in the defense of the women's rights, she didn't share the vues of the old Officer, who had kept, from his time in the Army, old fashion ideas about women, particularly about prostitution. During the journey, she managed to influence him to restore peace in the Theosophical Society.

Knowing that he was reaching the end of his life, and that Leadbeater wouldn't succeed him as his successor, Olcott became receptive to the recommandations of Mrs. Russak and was ready for reconciliation. He wrote several letters in which he recognize that he had been to hash about Leadbeater and that Annie Besant had not been in "errance" during their common occult research.

He dictated a letter of apology to Mrs. Russak, begging Leadbeater to renounce to give guidelines to young boys, regarding sexuality because "these things offend the ideas and standards of the majority of the members of the Theosophical Society".

Later Leadbeater promised to avoid these topics in his work for the Theosophical Society and remained faithful to his word till the end of his life.