nce in their midst. The very
designations by which they chose to refer to him, such as the "august
leader," and "his highness" bespoke the reverence with which He inspired
them. On one occasion, a European general who, together with the governor,
was granted an audience by Him, was so impressed that he "remained
kneeling on the ground near the door." _Sh_ay_kh_ 'Aliy-i-Miri, the Mufti
of Akka, had even, at the suggestion of 'Abdu'l-Baha, to plead insistently
that He might permit the termination of His nine-year confinement within
the walls of the prison-city, before He would consent to leave its gates.
The garden of Na'mayn, a small island, situated in the middle of a river
to the east of the city, honored with the appellation of Ridvan, and
designated by Him the "New Jerusalem" and "Our Verdant Isle," had,
together with the residence of 'Abdu'llah Pa_sh_a,--rented and prepared for
Him by 'Abdu'l-Baha, and situated a few miles north of Akka--become by now
the favorite retreats of One Who, for almost a decade, had not set foot
beyond the city walls, and Whose sole exercise had been to pace, in
monotonous repetition, the floor of His bed-chamber.

Two years later the palace of Udi _Kh_ammar, on the construction of which
so much wealth had been lavished, while Baha'u'llah lay imprisoned in the
barracks, and which its owner had precipitately abandoned with his family
owing to the outbreak of an epidemic disease, was rented and later
purchased for Him--a dwelling-place which He characterized as the "lofty
mansion," the spot which "God hath ordained as the most sublime vision of
mankind." 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit to Beirut, at the invitation of Mi_dh_at
Pa_sh_a, a former Grand Vizir of Turkey, occurring about this time; His
association with the civil and ecclesiastical leaders of that city; His
several interviews with the well-known _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad 'Abdu served to
enhance immensely the growing prestige of the community and spread abroad
the fame of its most distinguished member. The splendid welcome accorded
him by the learned and highly esteemed _Sh_ay_kh_ Yusuf, the Mufti of
Nazareth, who acted as host to the valis of Beirut, and who had despatched
all the notables of the community several miles on the road to meet Him as
He approached the town, accompanied by His brother and the Mufti of Akka,
as well as the magnificent reception given by 'Abdu'l-Baha to that same
_Sh_ay_kh_ Yusuf when the latter visited Him in Akka, were su