One of the assembled guests, the Governor of Phoenicia, paid a last
tribute to the memory of 'Abdu'l-Baha in the following words: "Most of us
here have, I think, a clear picture of Sir 'Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, of His
dignified figure walking thoughtfully in our streets, of His courteous and
gracious manner, of His kindness, of His love for little children and
flowers, of His generosity and care for the poor and suffering. So gentle
was He, and so simple, that in His presence one almost forgot that He was
also a great teacher, and that His writings and His conversations have
been a solace and an inspiration to hundreds and thousands of people in
the East and in the West."

Thus was brought to a close the ministry of One Who was the incarnation,
by virtue of the rank bestowed upon Him by His Father, of an institution
that has no parallel in the entire field of religious history, a ministry
that marks the final stage in the Apostolic, the Heroic and most glorious
Age of the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah.

Through Him the Covenant, that "excellent and priceless Heritage"
bequeathed by the Author of the Baha'i Revelation, had been proclaimed,
championed and vindicated. Through the power which that Divine Instrument
had conferred upon Him the light of God's infant Faith had penetrated the
West, had diffused itself as far as the Islands of the Pacific, and
illumined the fringes of the Australian continent. Through His personal
intervention the Message, Whose Bearer had tasted the bitterness of a
life-long captivity, had been noised abroad, and its character and purpose
disclosed, for the first time in its history, before enthusiastic and
representative audiences in the chief cities of Europe and of the North
American continent. Through His unrelaxing vigilance the holy remains of
the Bab, brought forth at long last from their fifty-year concealment, had
been safely transported to the Holy Land and permanently and befittingly
enshrined in the very spot which Baha'u'llah Himself had designated for
them and had blessed with His presence. Through His bold initiative the
first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the Baha'i world had been reared in Central
Asia, in Russian Turkistan, whilst through His unfailing encouragement a
similar enterprise, of still vaster proportions, had been undertaken, and
its land dedicated by Himself in the heart of the North American
continent. Through the sustaining grace overshadowing Him since the
inception of His