he same time, lavished, in several letters,
his favors upon the 'ulamas of Isfahan, whom he had hitherto ignored. From
the pulpits of that city an incited clergy began to hurl vituperation and
calumny upon the Author of what was to them a hateful and much to be
feared heresy. The _Sh_ah himself was induced to summon the Bab to his
capital. Manu_ch_ihr _Kh_an, bidden to arrange for His departure, decided
to transfer His residence temporarily to his own home. Meanwhile the
mujtahids and 'ulamas, dismayed at the signs of so pervasive an influence,
summoned a gathering which issued an abusive document signed and sealed by
the ecclesiastical leaders of the city, denouncing the Bab as a heretic
and condemning Him to death. Even the Imam-Jum'ih was constrained to add
his written testimony that the Accused was devoid of reason and judgment.
The Mu'tamid, in his great embarrassment, and in order to appease the
rising tumult, conceived a plan whereby an increasingly restive populace
were made to believe that the Bab had left for Tihran, while he succeeded
in insuring for Him a brief respite of four months in the privacy of the
Imarat-i-_Kh_ur_sh_id, the governor's private residence in Isfahan. It was
in those days that the host expressed the desire to consecrate all his
possessions, evaluated by his contemporaries at no less than forty million
francs, to the furtherance of the interests of the new Faith, declared his
intention of converting Muhammad _Sh_ah, of inducing him to rid himself of
a shameful and profligate minister, and of obtaining his royal assent to
the marriage of one of his sisters with the Bab. The sudden death of the
Mu'tamid, however, foretold by the Bab Himself, accelerated the course of
the approaching crisis. The ruthless and rapacious Gurgin _Kh_an, the
deputy governor, induced the _Sh_ah to issue a second summons ordering
that the captive Youth be sent in disguise to Tihran, accompanied by a
mounted escort. To this written mandate of the sovereign the vile Gurgin
_Kh_an, who had previously discovered and destroyed the will of his uncle,
the Mu'tamid, and seized his property, unhesitatingly responded. At the
distance of less than thirty miles from the capital, however, in the
fortress of Kinar-Gird, a messenger delivered to Muhammad Big, who headed
the escort, a written order from Haji Mirza Aqasi instructing him to
proceed to Kulayn, and there await further instructions. This was, shortly
after, followed by a