notorious Yahya Bey, the chief of police, and other
officials, civil as well as military, who, in consequence of their
representations, had replaced those who had been friendly to 'Abdu'l-Baha,
and by secret agents who traveled back and forth between Akka and
Constantinople, and who even kept a vigilant watch over everything that
went on in His household, they arose to encompass His ruin. They lavished
on officials gifts which included possessions sacred to the memory of
Baha'u'llah, and shamelessly proffered to high and low alike bribes drawn,
in some instances, from the sale of properties associated with Him or
bestowed upon some of them by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Relaxing nothing of their
efforts they pursued relentlessly the course of their nefarious
activities, determined to leave no stone unturned until they had either
brought about His execution or ensured His deportation to a place remote
enough to enable them to wrest the Cause from His grasp. The Vali of
Damascus, the Mufti of Beirut, members of the Protestant missions
established in Syria and Akka, even the influential _Sh_ay_kh_ Abu'l-Huda,
in Constantinople, whom the Sultan held in as profound an esteem as that
in which Muhammad _Sh_ah had held his Grand Vizir, Haji Mirza Aqasi, were,
on various occasions, approached, appealed to, and urged to lend their
assistance for the prosecution of their odious designs.

Through verbal messages, formal communications and by personal interviews
the Covenant-breakers impressed upon these notables the necessity of
immediate action, shrewdly adapting their arguments to the particular
interests and prejudices of those whose aid they solicited. To some they
represented 'Abdu'l-Baha as a callous usurper Who had trampled upon their
rights, robbed them of their heritage, reduced them to poverty, made their
friends in Persia their enemies, accumulated for Himself a vast fortune,
and acquired no less than two-thirds of the land in Haifa. To others they
declared that 'Abdu'l-Baha contemplated making of Akka and Haifa a new
Mecca and Medina. To still others they affirmed that Baha'u'llah was no
more than a retired dervish, who professed and promoted the Faith of
Islam, Whom Abbas Effendi, His son, had, for the purpose of
self-glorification, exalted to the rank of God-head, whilst claiming
Himself to be the Son of God and the return of Jesus Christ. They further
accused Him of harboring designs inimical to the interests of the state,
of medi