would be impossible
for me to unfold in this short compass the tale of such heroic actions.
Nor can any tribute of mine do justice to the spirit which has enabled
these standard-bearers of the Religion of God to win such laurels and to
confer such distinction on the generation to which they belong.

The Cause of Baha'u'llah had by that time encircled the globe. Its light,
born in darkest Persia, had been carried successively to the European, the
African and the American continents, and was now penetrating the heart of
Australia, encompassing thereby the whole earth with a girdle of shining
glory. The share which such worthy, such stout-hearted, disciples have had
in brightening the last days of 'Abdu'l-Baha's earthly life He alone has
truly recognized and can sufficiently estimate. The unique and eternal
significance of such accomplishments the labors of the rising generation
will assuredly reveal, their memory its works will befittingly preserve
and extol. How deep a satisfaction 'Abdu'l-Baha must have felt, while
conscious of the approaching hour of His departure, as He witnessed the
first fruits of the international services of these heroes of His Father's
Faith! To their keeping He had committed a great and goodly heritage. In
the twilight of His earthly life He could rest content in the serene
assurance that such able hands could be relied upon to preserve its
integrity and exalt its virtue.

The passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha, so sudden in the circumstances which caused
it, so dramatic in its consequences, could neither impede the operation of
such a dynamic force nor obscure its purpose. Those fervid appeals,
embodied in the Will and Testament of a departed Master, could not but
confirm its aim, define its character and reinforce the promise of its
ultimate success.

Out of the pangs of anguish which His bereaved followers have suffered,
amid the heat and dust which the attacks launched by a sleepless enemy had
precipitated, the Administration of Baha'u'llah's invincible Faith was
born. The potent energies released through the ascension of the Center of
His Covenant crystallized into this supreme, this infallible Organ for the
accomplishment of a Divine Purpose. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha
unveiled its character, reaffirmed its basis, supplemented its principles,
asserted its indispensability, and enumerated its chief institutions. With
that self-same spontaneity which had characterized her response to the