ed
upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal glory." Not
until forty days had elapsed, however, did the enrollment of the seventeen
remaining Letters of the Living commence. Gradually, spontaneously, some
in sleep, others while awake, some through fasting and prayer, others
through dreams and visions, they discovered the Object of their quest, and
were enlisted under the banner of the new-born Faith. The last, but in
rank the first, of these Letters to be inscribed on the Preserved Tablet
was the erudite, the twenty-two year old Quddus, a direct descendant of
the Imam Hasan and the most esteemed disciple of Siyyid Kazim. Immediately
preceding him, a woman, the only one of her sex, who, unlike her
fellow-disciples, never attained the presence of the Bab, was invested
with the rank of apostleship in the new Dispensation. A poetess, less than
thirty years of age, of distinguished birth, of bewitching charm, of
captivating eloquence, indomitable in spirit, unorthodox in her views,
audacious in her acts, immortalized as Tahirih (the Pure One) by the
"Tongue of Glory," and surnamed Qurratu'l-'Ayn (Solace of the Eyes) by
Siyyid Kazim, her teacher, she had, in consequence of the appearance of
the Bab to her in a dream, received the first intimation of a Cause which
was destined to exalt her to the fairest heights of fame, and on which
she, through her bold heroism, was to shed such imperishable luster.

These "first Letters generated from the Primal Point," this "company of
angels arrayed before God on the Day of His coming," these "Repositories
of His Mystery," these "Springs that have welled out from the Source of
His Revelation," these first companions who, in the words of the Persian
Bayan, "enjoy nearest access to God," these "Luminaries that have, from
everlasting, bowed down, and will everlastingly continue to bow down,
before the Celestial Throne," and lastly these "elders" mentioned in the
Book of Revelation as "sitting before God on their seats," "clothed in
white raiment" and wearing on their heads "crowns of gold"--these were, ere
their dispersal, summoned to the Bab's presence, Who addressed to them His
parting words, entrusted to each a specific task, and assigned to some of
them as the proper field of their activities their native provinces. He
enjoined them to observe the utmost caution and moderation in their
behavior, unveiled the loftiness of their rank, and stressed the magnitude
of their