possessions left behind by their fleeing enemy; that led them to discard
their own belongings, and content themselves with their steeds and swords;
that induced the father of Badi, one of that gallant company, to fling
unhesitatingly by the roadside the satchel, full of turquoises which he
had brought from his father's mine in Ni_sh_apur; that led Mirza
Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Juvayni to cast away a sum equivalent in value in silver
and gold; and impelled those same companions to disdain, and refuse even
to touch, the costly furnishings and the coffers of gold and silver which
the demoralized and shame-laden Prince Mihdi-Quli Mirza, the commander of
the army of Mazindaran and a brother of Muhammad _Sh_ah, had left behind
in his headlong flight from his camp. We cannot but esteem the passionate
sincerity with which Mulla Husayn pleaded with the Prince, and the formal
assurance he gave him, disclaiming, in no uncertain terms, any intention
on his part or that of his fellow-disciples of usurping the authority of
the _Sh_ah or of subverting the foundations of his state. We cannot but
view with contempt the conduct of that arch-villain, the hysterical, the
cruel and overbearing Sa'idu'l-'Ulama', who, alarmed at the approach of
those same companions, flung, in a frenzy of excitement, and before an
immense crowd of men and women, his turban to the ground, tore open the
neck of his shirt, and, bewailing the plight into which Islam had fallen,
implored his congregation to fly to arms and cut down the approaching
band. We are struck with wonder as we contemplate the super-human prowess
of Mulla Husayn which enabled him, notwithstanding his fragile frame and
trembling hand, to slay a treacherous foe who had taken shelter behind a
tree, by cleaving with a single stroke of his sword the tree, the man and
his musket in twain. We are stirred, moreover, by the scene of the arrival
of Baha'u'llah at the Fort, and the indefinable joy it imparted to Mulla
Husayn, the reverent reception accorded Him by His fellow-disciples, His
inspection of the fortifications which they had hurriedly erected for
their protection, and the advice He gave them, which resulted in the
miraculous deliverance of Quddus, in his subsequent and close association
with the defenders of that Fort, and in his effective participation in the
exploits connected with its siege and eventual destruction. We are amazed
at the serenity and sagacity of that same Quddus, the confidence he