, _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad Ba_kh_it, as well as the
Khedive's Imam, _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad Ra_sh_id, and associated with several
'ulamas, pa_sh_as, Persian notables, members of the Turkish Parliament,
editors of leading newspapers in Cairo and Alexandria, and other leaders
and representatives of well-known institutions, both religious and
secular.

Whilst He sojourned in England the house placed at His disposal in Cadogan
Gardens became a veritable mecca to all sorts and conditions of men,
thronging to visit the Prisoner of Akka Who had chosen their great city as
the first scene of His labors in the West. "O, these pilgrims, these
guests, these visitors!" thus bears witness His devoted hostess during the
time He spent in London, "Remembering those days, our ears are filled with
the sound of their footsteps--as they came from every country in the world.
Every day, all day long, a constant stream, an interminable procession!
Ministers and missionaries, oriental scholars and occult students,
practical men of affairs and mystics, Anglicans, Catholics, and
Non-conformists, Theosophists and Hindus, Christian Scientists and doctors
of medicine, Muslims, Buddhists and Zoroastrians. There also called:
politicians, Salvation Army soldiers, and other workers for human good,
women suffragists, journalists, writers, poets and healers, dressmakers
and great ladies, artists and artisans, poor workless people and
prosperous merchants, members of the dramatic and musical world, these all
came; and none were too lowly, nor too great, to receive the sympathetic
consideration of this holy Messenger, Who was ever giving His life for
others' good."

'Abdu'l-Baha's first public appearance before a western audience
significantly enough took place in a Christian house of worship, when, on
September 10, 1911, He addressed an overflowing congregation from the
pulpit of the City Temple. Introduced by the Pastor, the Reverend R. J.
Campbell, He, in simple and moving language, and with vibrant voice,
proclaimed the unity of God, affirmed the fundamental oneness of religion,
and announced that the hour of the unity of the sons of men, of all races,
religions and classes had struck. On another occasion, on September 17, at
the request of the Venerable Archdeacon Wilberforce, He addressed the
congregation of St. John the Divine, at Westminster, after evening
service, choosing as His theme the transcendental greatness of the
Godhead, as affirmed and elucidated