acerdotal order
represented by the eminent ecclesiastics residing in Najaf, Karbila and
Kazimayn. He was now, while in the vicinity of the court of His royal
adversary, to offer a similar challenge to the recognized head of Sunni
Islam, as well as to the sovereign of Persia, the trustee of the hidden
Imam. The entire company of the kings of the earth, and in particular the
Sultan and his ministers, were, moreover, to be addressed by Him, appealed
to and warned, while the kings of Christendom and the Sunni hierarchy were
to be severely admonished. Little wonder that the exiled Bearer of a
newly-announced Revelation should have, in anticipation of the future
splendor of the Lamp of His Faith, after its removal from 'Iraq, uttered
these prophetic words: "It will shine resplendently within another globe,
as predestined by Him who is the Omnipotent, the Ancient of Days. ...That
the Spirit should depart out of the body of 'Iraq is indeed a wondrous
sign unto all who are in heaven and all who are on earth. Erelong will ye
behold this Divine Youth riding upon the steed of victory. Then will the
hearts of the envious be seized with trembling."

The predestined hour of Baha'u'llah's departure from 'Iraq having now
struck, the process whereby it could be accomplished was set in motion.
The nine months of unremitting endeavor exerted by His enemies, and
particularly by _Sh_ay_kh_ 'Abdu'l-Husayn and his confederate Mirza Buzurg
_Kh_an, were about to yield their fruit. Nasiri'd-Din _Sh_ah and his
ministers, on the one hand, and the Persian Ambassador in Constantinople,
on the other, were incessantly urged to take immediate action to insure
Baha'u'llah's removal from Ba_gh_dad. Through gross misrepresentation of
the true situation and the dissemination of alarming reports a malignant
and energetic enemy finally succeeded in persuading the _Sh_ah to instruct
his foreign minister, Mirza Sa'id _Kh_an, to direct the Persian Ambassador
at the Sublime Porte, Mirza Husayn _Kh_an, a close friend of 'Ali Pa_sh_a,
the Grand Vizir of the Sultan, and of Fu'ad Pa_sh_a, the Minister of
foreign affairs, to induce Sultan 'Abdu'l-'Aziz to order the immediate
transfer of Baha'u'llah to a place remote from Ba_gh_dad, on the ground
that His continued residence in that city, adjacent to Persian territory
and close to so important a center of _Sh_i'ah pilgrimage, constituted a
direct menace to the security of Persia and its government.

Mirza Sa'id _Kh_an,