dow he would unhesitatingly uphold his verdict.

Yet another recruit to the ever-swelling army of the new Faith was the
eminent scholar, Mirza Ahmad-i-Az_gh_andi, the most learned, the wisest
and the most outstanding among the 'ulamas of _Kh_urasan, who, in
anticipation of the advent of the promised Qa'im, had compiled above
twelve thousand traditions and prophecies concerning the time and
character of the expected Revelation, had circulated them among His
fellow-disciples, and had encouraged them to quote them extensively to all
congregations and in all meetings.

While the situation was steadily deteriorating in the provinces, the
bitter hostility of the people of _Sh_iraz was rapidly moving towards a
climax. Husayn _Kh_an, vindictive, relentless, exasperated by the reports
of his sleepless agents that his Captive's power and fame were hourly
growing, decided to take immediate action. It is even reported that his
accomplice, Haji Mirza Aqasi, had ordered him to kill secretly the
would-be disrupter of the state and the wrecker of its established
religion. By order of the governor the chief constable, 'Abdu'l-Hamid
_Kh_an, scaled, in the dead of night, the wall and entered the house of
Haji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali, where the Bab was confined, arrested Him, and
confiscated all His books and documents. That very night, however, took
place an event which, in its dramatic suddenness, was no doubt
providentially designed to confound the schemes of the plotters, and
enable the Object of their hatred to prolong His ministry and consummate
His Revelation. An outbreak of cholera, devastating in its virulence, had,
since midnight, already smitten above a hundred people. The dread of the
plague had entered every heart, and the inhabitants of the stricken city
were, amid shrieks of pain and grief, fleeing in confusion. Three of the
governor's domestics had already died. Members of his family were lying
dangerously ill. In his despair he, leaving the dead unburied, had fled to
a garden in the outskirts of the city. 'Abdu'l-Hamid _Kh_an, confronted by
this unexpected development, decided to conduct the Bab to His own home.
He was appalled, upon his arrival, to learn that his son lay in the
death-throes of the plague. In his despair he threw himself at the feet of
the Bab, begged to be forgiven, adjured Him not to visit upon the son the
sins of the father, and pledged his word to resign his post, and never
again to accept such a position. F