me adolescent, and older
now, sought out his Well-Beloved. He emigrated to the Most Great Prison
and here, at the Ridvan, achieved the honor of being appointed gardener.
At this task he was second to none. In his faith, too, he was staunch,
loyal, worthy of trust; as to his character, he was an embodiment of the
sacred verse, "Of a noble nature art thou."(12) That is how he won the
distinction of being gardener at the Ridvan, and of thus receiving the
greatest bounty of all: almost daily, he entered the presence of
Baha'u'llah.

For the Most Great Name was held prisoner and confined nine years in the
fortress-town of Akka; and at all times, both in the barracks and
afterward, from without the house, the police and farra_sh_es had Him
under constant guard. The Blessed Beauty lived in a very small house, and
He never set foot outside that narrow lodging, because His oppressors kept
continual watch at the door. When, however, nine years had elapsed, the
fixed and predetermined length of days was over; and at that time, against
the rancorous will of the tyrant, 'Abdu'l-Hamid, and all his minions,
Baha'u'llah proceeded out of the fortress with authority and might, and in
a kingly mansion beyond the city, made His home.

Although the policy of Sultan 'Abdu'l-Hamid was harsher than ever;
although he constantly insisted on his Captive's strict confinement--still,
the Blessed Beauty now lived, as everyone knows, with all power and glory.
Some of the time Baha'u'llah would spend at the Mansion, and again, at the
farm village of Mazra'ih; for a while He would sojourn in Haifa, and
occasionally His tent would be pitched on the heights of Mount Carmel.
Friends from everywhere presented themselves and gained an audience. The
people and the government authorities witnessed it all, yet no one so much
as breathed a word. And this is one of Baha'u'llah's greatest miracles:
that He, a captive, surrounded Himself with panoply and He wielded power.
The prison changed into a palace, the jail itself became a Garden of Eden.
Such a thing has not occurred in history before; no former age has seen
its like: that a man confined to a prison should move about with authority
and might; that one in chains should carry the fame of the Cause of God to
the high heavens, should win splendid victories in both East and West, and
should, by His almighty pen, subdue the world. Such is the distinguishing
feature of this supreme Theophany.

One day the gover