cation which He dictated to His amanuensis, paid a glowing tribute,
glorifying Him as the One "round Whom all names revolve," as "the Most
Mighty Branch of God," and as "His ancient and immutable Mystery." He it
was Who, in several Tablets which Baha'u'llah Himself had penned, had been
personally addressed as "the Apple of Mine eye," and been referred to as
"a shield unto all who are in heaven and on earth," as "a shelter for all
mankind" and "a stronghold for whosoever hath believed in God." It was on
His behalf that His Father, in a prayer revealed in His honor, had
supplicated God to "render Him victorious," and to "ordain ... for Him, as
well as for them that love Him," the things destined by the Almighty for
His "Messengers" and the "Trustees" of His Revelation. And finally in yet
another Tablet these weighty words had been recorded: "The glory of God
rest upon Thee, and upon whosoever serveth Thee and circleth around Thee.
Woe, great woe, betide him that opposeth and injureth Thee. Well is it
with him that sweareth fealty to Thee; the fire of hell torment him who is
Thy enemy."

And now to crown the inestimable honors, privileges and benefits showered
upon Him, in ever increasing abundance, throughout the forty years of His
Father's ministry in Ba_gh_dad, in Adrianople and in Akka, He had been
elevated to the high office of Center of Baha'u'llah's Covenant, and been
made the successor of the Manifestation of God Himself--a position that was
to empower Him to impart an extraordinary impetus to the international
expansion of His Father's Faith, to amplify its doctrine, to beat down
every barrier that would obstruct its march, and to call into being, and
delineate the features of, its Administrative Order, the Child of the
Covenant, and the Harbinger of that World Order whose establishment must
needs signalize the advent of the Golden Age of the Baha'i Dispensation.

Chapter XV: The Rebellion of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali

The immediate effect of the ascension of Baha'u'llah had been, as already
observed, to spread grief and bewilderment among his followers and
companions, and to inspire its vigilant and redoubtable adversaries with
fresh hope and renewed determination. At a time when a grievously traduced
Faith had triumphantly emerged from the two severest crises it had ever
known, one the work of enemies without, the other the work of enemies
within, when its prestige had risen to a height unequalled in any perio