ll be too late."

Actually that mild and submissive man, in that throne city of Asia Minor,
was occupied solely with his calligraphy and his worship of God. He was
striving to bring about not sedition but fellowship and peace. He was
seeking to reconcile the followers of different faiths, not to drive them
still further apart. He was of service to strangers and was helping to
educate the native people. He was a refuge to the hapless and a horn of
plenty to the poor. He invited all comers to the oneness of humankind; he
shunned hostility and malice.

The Persian ambassador, however, wielded enormous power, and he had
maintained close ties with the ministers for a very long time. He
prevailed on a number of persons to insinuate themselves into various
gatherings and there to make every kind of false charge against the
believers. Urged on by the oppressors, spies began to surround
Mi_sh_kin-Qalam. Then, as instructed by the ambassador, they carried
reports to the Prime Minister, stating that the individual in question was
stirring up mischief day and night, that he was a trouble maker, a rebel
and a criminal. The result was, they jailed him and they sent him away to
Gallipoli, where he joined our own company of victims. They despatched him
to Cyprus and ourselves to the Akka prison. On the island of Cyprus,
Jinab-i-Mi_sh_kin was held prisoner in the citadel at Famagusta, and in
this city he remained, a captive, from the year 85 till 94.

When Cyprus passed out of Turkish hands, Mi_sh_kin-Qalam was freed and
betook himself to his Well-Beloved in the city of Akka, and here he lived
encompassed by the grace of Baha'u'llah, producing his marvelous
calligraphs and sending them about. He was at all times joyous of spirit,
ashine with the love of God, like a candle burning its life away, and he
was a consolation to all the believers.

After the ascension of Baha'u'llah, Mi_sh_kin-Qalam remained loyal,
solidly established in the Covenant. He stood before the violators like a
brandished sword. He would never go half way with them; he feared no one
but God; not for a moment did he falter, nor ever fail in service.

Following the ascension he made a journey to India, where he associated
with the lovers of truth. He spent some time there, making fresh efforts
every day. When I learned that he was getting helpless, I sent for him at
once and he came back to this Most Great Prison, to the joy of the
believers, who felt blessed to ha