ather, would have been put to the sword. He passed some time in 'Iraq,
and received the honor of being in the presence of Baha'u'llah. Then he
went back to Persia, but again he longed to look upon Baha'u'llah, and
with his wife he set out over the deserts and mountains, sometimes riding,
sometimes on foot, measuring off the miles, passing from one shore to the
other, reaching the Holy Place at last and in the shade of the Divine
Lote-Tree finding safety and peace.

When the beauty of the Desired One had vanished from this world,
'Ali-Akbar remained loyal to the Covenant and prospered under the grace of
God. By disposition and because of the intense love in his heart, he
yearned to write poetry, to fashion odes and _gh_azals, but he lacked both
meter and rhyme:

I planned a poem, but my Beloved told me,
"Plan only this, that thine eyes should behold Me."

With rapturous longing, his heart desired the realms of his compassionate
Lord; consumed by burning love, he left this world at last, and pitched
his tent in the world above. May God send down upon his grave, from the
Kingdom of His forgiveness, a heavy rain(64) of blessings, bestow a great
victory upon him, and grant him mercies, pressed down and running over, in
the retreats of Heaven.

MIRZA MUHAMMAD, THE SERVANT AT THE TRAVELERS' HOSPICE

This youth of God was from Isfahan, and from an early age was known to its
leading divines for his excellent mind. He was of gentle birth, his family
was known and respected, and he was an accomplished scholar. He had
profited from philosophy and history alike, from sciences and arts, but he
thirsted after the secret of reality, and longed for knowledge of God. His
feverish thirst was not allayed by the arts and sciences, however limpid
those waters. He kept on seeking, seeking, carrying on debates in
gatherings of learned men until at last he discovered the meaning of his
longing dream, and the enigma, the inviolable secret, lay open before him.
Suddenly he caught the scent of fresh flowers from the gardens of the
splendor of God, and his heart was ashine with a ray from the Sun of
Truth. Whereas before, he was like a fish taken from the water, now he had
come to the wellspring of eternal life; before, he was a questing moth;
now he had found the candle flame. A true seeker after truth, he was
instantly revived by the supreme Glad Tidings; his heart's eye was
brightened by the new dawn of guidance. So blinding was th