Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: unknown, In Memoriam, Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1952, bahai-library.com.
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A BIENNIAL INTERNATIONAL RECORD

Prepared under the supervision of the National Spiritual Asgembly
o f the Bz~hi'iaof the United States and Canada
with the approval of S h v h i Effendi

VOLUME XI
103, 104, 10.5 AND 106 OF T m BAHA'I ERA
RPML 1961950 A.D.

B A H A ' ~PUBLISHING TRUST
W~lrnctte.Illinocs
CONTENTS xiii

Prn
46. Princess Marie Antoinette d e Broglie Aussenac .............. 456
47 . David Starr Jordan. Late President. Leland Stanford University .................................................. 4 7
48. Prof . Bogdan Popovitch. University of Belgrade. Yugoslavia . . 457
.
49 Ex-Governor William Sulzer .................................. 457
50. Luther Burbank ............................................... 457
.
51 Prof. Yone Noguchi .......................................... 451
52. Frof . Raymond Frank Piper .................................. 431
53. Angela Morgan .................................. ... . . . 457
.
54 Arthur Moore ............................................... 458
.
55. Prof . Dr Jan Rypka. Charles University. Praha . Czechoslcvitkia ......................................................... 458
. .
56. A L . M NicoIas .............................................. 458
.
57 President Edrrard Bene5 of Czechoslovakia .................... 459
58. Sir Ronald Slorrs. N.V.C.. M.G .. C.R.E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
59. Col. Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh. Raja of 13ajang (Nepal) 460
.
60 Journal of the RoyaT Asiatic SocieZy of Great Britain and Ireland ....................................................... 462
.
61. Rt . Hon. M . R Jayakar. Privy Councillor. Londen ............ 462
62. Prof. Benoy Kurnar Sarkar. M.A.. Ph.D. ...................... 463
63 . Mrs . Sarojinu Naidu .......................................... 463
64. Jules Bois ................................................. 463
65. The late Slr John Martin Harvey. D.Litt. ..................... 41il
.
6fi. Dr Hewlett Johnson. Dean of Canterbury .................... 465
67 . Won . Arnold 5 .Toynbce. D.Litt.. Oxon ........................ 4 G
68. Sir A . Ramaawami Mudaliar. K.C.S.1. ........................ 465
. .
89 B r Bhagavnn Das ........................................... 466
.
70 . S. Eitrem. University of Oslo Norway ........................ 466
TI1. In Memoriam ..................................................... 469
Fannie Leech ...................................................... 469
Walter Olitzki .................................. ...
.......... 470
Fanny A . Knobloch ................................................ 473
Marta Brauns-Forel ............................................... 476
Fred Mortensen ................................................... 483
Haj Taha EbHarnamsi ............................................ 486
Friedrich Schiveizer ............................................... 487
John David Bosch ........................... . ................... 488
'Ali S a b m i ........................................................ 404
Orcella Rexford ................................................... 495
Abu'l-Fetouh Battah ............................................... 4%
'Ali Said Eddin ........................ .
.
..................... 499
Mubarnmad-Taqi X~fahini ........................................ 500
H a j l MahmQu Q a s ~ a b c h i.......................................... 502
Beulah Storrs Lewis ............................................... 5113
Hasan Mar'i Tantiwi .............................................. 5115
Nuri'd-Din 'Abbiu ............................... .......
. . . . . . 506
Julia Culver ....................... .
..
........................... 507
Mountfort Mills ..................................... ...
. . . . . . . . . 509
George Om Latimer ............................................... 511
Mani Mehta .................................................... 512
Maulvi Muhammad 'Abdu'lllh VaRn ...................... .
... 515
P A R T THREE
I . BahL'i Dicccto~y184&1@55.............. ............................ 519
1. Bahi'i National Spiritual Assemblies ......................... 519
MEMORIAM
MRS. FANNIE L E X H
January 15, It%&-February 22, 1948
By the Sp4rituhrd A$setnblu
of the Bahi'i'is of Chkago

Mrs. F ~ I Lesch
C camc into the
BahB'I Fgth m B96.When quite y m ~
she married a very promising young
lawyer, Mr. Frank Collier. The couple
had one son, Mr. John Colher. Later,
belng widowed, she met through her
BahB'I associatwns, Mr. George Lesch,
whom she married in 1895. Mr, Lesch
was the brother of Miss Mary Lesch,
deceased, and Mrs. Rose C. Robinson
of Chicago.
As her husband, Mr. George Lesch,
was secretary of the Spir~tualAssembly of Chirag0 from its incdion-it
was hown first as the Council Board,
then the House of J u s t i e , and later
the Hmse of Soiritual~tv-Pannv Lesch
made typewrliten rep& of the minutes of the meetmgs, which were sent Fanny Eesch
to 'Abdu'lBahL a t 'AkkA, and mpies
were preserved in what became the
nuclws d the BahB'i Archives. These
are prlccltss historic docurncnte of tho '*bd~'l-~aMgave V f i i t ~Feast
Faith, not only in Chicago, but in $he for fie friends d Chicago at the b e
Western World. She was the first ta Lesch. the first
make typewritten mpies the ~ ~ b Ofl those~ t meetings,
~ now called firesides,
of ' ~ b d ~ * l -mrn~ ~ h
be~ original
, per+ her home. 'AWu'l-Eaha gave her
elan and Arabic, nnrl shared them with to have them a Wular
the friends. She also made copies of day each m e & at the same Iwur.
the ta&s of M i r ~~ b n ' l - ~ a d lthe
, begimlng was with m e soul, and in
great oriental scholar and disciple of due time grew to great p r o ~ o r h n s .
~ ~ h ~ n ~ + sent , * ~ b d ~ v l - to
l 1 f iby ~ ~ dShe
* continued these meetings for forty
America to enlighten and strengthen ypaW-
the earlier believers. Through the wm- Mrs. Fannle Lesch served the Cause
pilation of these r w ~ r d sof the Tablets of Baha'u'llhh into her eighty-eighth
and talks, was established the Publ~sh- year, passing into the Abhh Kingdom,
ing Smiety, now h o w n as the Pub- February ZZ, 1948. The SpintuaI Aslishiig Committee, through which sembly of Chicago, cooperating with
Bahi'i Ilteratura is being published and the Chicago Bahii'i Community held a
dlstt~butedto all points of Dahb'I ac- Memorial Service for their departed
tivity throughout the world. sister, at Wc request of her son, Mr.
470 T H E BAIIA'f W O R L D

John Collier, April 23, 1W at the Jor- Assembly of the National SpintuaI Asdan Chapel in Chien@ Mr. Albert Win- scmbly of U l t Baha'is oP Ihe United
dust, a member of the Chicago Spirit- States and Canada. . , .*'
ual Assembly, was requested to con- m e s t quotahong are taken from a
duct the service. Selections from the handful of programs, typical of many
Words of Bahi'u'llih and 'Abdu'I-BahB,,,,, pouvmirs many
approprlate to the occasion, were rearf. thousands of inquirers that w a l k r
No note of sadness waa sounded, and o ~ i t ~ k i ' ~ drew to the ~ ~ h i b i
the splrit manifested by the assembled ~ ~ ~waiter t h . olitzki did only
guests was one cf rejoicw that our for people, he awakmed their minds
beloved sister had ascended to the man- ,d hearts. H~ those rare
sions of the Most GIorlou~. creativc gcraonulitics wllo dedicate
A Cablegram from our beloved Guar- their a r t to something that transcends
dim, Shonhi Effend~, was received, it: his voice was his contribution to
which read: world peace.
''Ueeply symphathke loss loyal d f 5 Walter Olitzki was born March 17,
tingush& maid-servant Baha'u'llah, 1899, in Hamburg, Germany, and grew
Fannie Lesch. Present w ~ t hyou in up In Berlin. Both his parents were
spirit memonal services. Psaylng ar- Jewish, his father of Russian, his
dently progress her soul Abhb Brig- mother d Polish descent. Both his
dom.-Shoghl" grsndfnthers were well-known cantors
-- of orthodox congregations. An aunt,
Madame Rosa Olitzki, was a famous
contralto and one t ~ m eMetropolitan
WALTER OLITZPEI Opera star.
Ln 1986 Walter Olitzki was the leading baritone at the Jewish Kulturbund
159sI949 in Berlin. On Decembcr 14 of that year,
BY M m m m GAIL he marrled b 1 Mana Olitzki, whom he

,,The Bahi,ls oi Near York take had met when the twa were scheduled
tor a joint recital, and with whom he
in presenting a recital by had sung at thc opera in monte Carlo
Walter Olitzki, .Opera and at the Jenlsh Kdturbund. In
Baritone , , .,,
present Palo
Peninsula Bahh,is
Bahi,i Concert June, 1939, after SeemingIy endless mcia1 and religious persecuticns, the
OlitzRi, left lor the United States'
member of ~ e t r o p o l l t a n Opera Cornpmy and sari Francisco Opera corn- The Olitzkis reached N c W York City
pany. ~t the piano. Ludwig Altman, with a total capital of two dollars. Lilf
offieid Organist of the sari pranciseo ~ U P P O N herself and her husband by
.
symphony orchestre . " 7 1 "under the sew'"&, working mrnc erghty hours a
auspices of the publie ~~~i~~~ corn- week. In September, a t the morning
mittee of thr Nntionnl Spir~tualAs- Where lhey liwA, met
sembly the Bahhlfs + , M T ~ Madelahe
~ Humbert, who told them of
Bahh'is of Allentown request the honor Bahi'u'llgh. Walter knew no English
of your presence . . ." "The Bahl"is oi and Lili only a little, but they under-
Los Angeles present . . ." "The Bah$'is s h o d that * great, new Prophet had
of Berkeley, California, present . . ." come Who promised peace. and that
"The San Francism BahA'i Assembly Hitler would not invade America as
mrdially invites you and your was then generally feared.
friends... ." "The Annual Bahi'i Sou- On December 2, 1939, Walter made
venir of New Jersey invites . . ." "The his debut at the Metropolitan Opera
."
Bahi'is of Syracuse present . . "Un- House as Beckmesser 1n "Die Meisterder the auspices of the BahP'is of singer." His success was immediate,
Wa!3hhgton, U.C. . . ." "Under the the critics being unanimws in their
auspices of the National SpMtual nrrtairn, and O l ~ nDome., muaic edi-
IN M E M O R I A M 471

tor of the New York Times, stating:
"in details of brrainezq, dlction. song.
Mr. Ol~tzkiproved himsclf an artist "
The couple. their way of life now
changed, soon left for Caliiomia where
they spent the summer months studying Engl~sh.When they returned for
Ihe nc.w Opera season In October. their
f ~ sconcern
t was to look up Madclaine
Humbert to learn more about the new
Prophet. Through Madelatne they attended classes at the home of Mildred
and Rafi Mottahedeh, Lili translating
fur Walter, whose English w a s still undeveloped. What attracted him most
to rlie Far& was, as Lili hns sincc
written, "the friendliness . . . and the
absence of discr~minetionto which we
had been subjected for quch a long
time and w h ~ c h had been the cause
of so much sulTertng." In March 1941.
although not yet a declared Baha'i,
Walter gave a recital a t the New York
Baha'i Center.
That April thc couple returned t o Walter Olitzki
California with a letter of introduction
to Virninia Orbison. thrcueh whom thev
met many believers andattendad the
annual picnic held in Santa Paula. The in the days to come. You have found
hospitality of the frlends made t h ~ one
s nuw your true hornethe Faith of
of the happiest summers of their life, God--and this is why you are so
and the lnok Portais to Freedom now much happier than before. The
laid the foundation of Walter's love f o r Guardian hopes you will. l x able to
'Abdu'l-Bshh and the Guardian. As Lili guide other souls to It, who, like
has written, "More intuitively than yourselves, have ruffwed and are
through studying, h e felt the security seeking the Light. He advised you
for which Bahb'u'llih has provided, the to both study the Teachings and
indivls~bilityof the Causa. . ." In September 1931, at the Penst of Mashiyyat
teach others. The need is so great,
the suffering so acute m the world
In Lo8 Angeles, the Olitzkis became today, that the Bahh'is cannot be
declared Bahb'is. still, but must, in every way they
can, seek to open the eyes oi their
Walter always carried w ~ t hhim, in fellow-men. He sends you his loving
his prayer book, tbe following letter greetings, e r d will remember you in
:
of welcome, sent them by the Guard-
--
1*11:
the Holy Shr~nes. .".
The Guardian aclded. in his own hand.
Haifa, May 4th, 1942 " ~ athe i Spirit t h i t guides and anii
"Dear BahH'i friends. mates t h ~ sFaith be your shield and
guide, and enable you to deepen your
Your most welcome letter of April understandmg of its essential verities
1st was received by the Guardian, and and to praclalm far and wide its lifehe has i n s t ~ c t e dme to answer you g ~ v m gprmclples. Your true brother,
on h ~ behalf.
s He welcomes v w into QL-4.:
o"u6''L.
rr

the world-wide Faith of ~a<~'w'llih.
and assures you that h e will Walter OIitzki remsined with the Ye%-
for you both that you m a y rchder ropMltan Opera Cuniys~lylor eight sea-
His Cause many valuable services sons, also singing with the San Francis-
T H E B A H A'f WORLD

co Opera Company and that d Sari these institutions overnight. he would
Antonic, md sppearing with Ule never be pamitlcd to ~419in any 04
Charles Wagner Opera Production of the wbite colleges of the South. Walter
"La Bohemc." H e was best known in answered "That's tw bad for them."
the United States for his portrayal of He loved Negro Spirituals and always
Beckmesser in "Die Meistersinger," ~ncludedthem on his programs. Crib
Alberich in "Der Ring des Nibelungen," ics pra~sedthe rare simplicity of manand Klingsor in "ParsFtal." In addltion ner and purity of feeling of these rendih e had mastered about m e hundred tions.
and fifty operatic roles of the Italian. In addition to traveling, teaching,
French and Russian reperbery, and had and contributing freely of his voice,
appeared m these at the Municipal O p Walter served on many Baha'i adminiera House in Komigsberg, East Prus- strative agencies, such as the New
sia, nnd the Berlin State Opera. He York Regional, New York BahP'i Lialso scored successes for his origlnal brary and Bahb'i Feasts, and European
intmrpretatimr of F U C ~ Modcmists 88 nelicf Cornniitteeri. On this last com-
Richard Strauss, AIban Berg, Hinde- mittee he collected, made up and permith and Kreneck He had appeared sonally malled packages to Europe
in Strauss' "Der Rcsenkavalier" and over a period of years.
Berg's "Wmzeck'" in performances Walter Olitzki was invited to smg at
conducted by the composers thcm- the BahB'i House of Worship for the
selves. He sang in five languages. Convention of 1M8. He regarded this
Besldes his operatic work, Walter evening as the highlight of his life. It
OIitzki sang m numerous recitals, ora- took place during his last, happy year
torios and radb performances In the on earth, a year when, Lili said after-
United States and Europe. A crit- ward, all his dreams were realized.
ic wmte, "The qushv of voice is never Oli, as his intimates called him, wes
hard, always meIodious, with a r a r e ternpermmtal: before singing that
richness." night, he m l d speak t~ no one except
From the day he accept4 the Faith, Lili. As h e paced the corridor outside
Walter gave the Neanage wherever he the auditorium, he p e s t u d to Lili. She
went. Whether he was singing to the conferred wfth him and then relayed
hundreds of gersons he attracted to bls requesk to the speaker of the eve-
Green Aore, Maine, Bahh'f School; o r ning: He desire$ the speaker to inin Harlem. at a BahV1-sponsored bene- clude some element from the Biblical
fit for the United Negro College Fund; song he was about to sing. The followor a t the New York T ~ m e sHall for a ing Iine was accordingly incorpomted
Bahb'l Pence Meeting; o r at the Bahi'i- i n k the t a l k ''This is the generation
sponsored Wcodrow Wilson Anniver- of them that seek the Lord."
sary Program; or in Chicago a t the The last time WaIter sang at the
great Bahi'i Centenary Banquet, or to a Opera House in San Francism - as
large public audience a t the Bahi'i Beckmesser in "Dle Meistersinger" -
House of Worship itseU4is purpose seventeen of hIs Bahi'i friends were in
was always the same: to further the the capacity audience. The last time
oneness of mankmd. he sang for the BahL'ls was on the
Everyone knew he was a BahP'f. He Birthday of BahB'u'llBR a t the Los Anwrote about the Causc to all his friends geles Bahh'l Center in 1948. On this
-in Sweden, Holland, Emland, Pales- occasion he sang the prayer, admirtine. Traveling throughout the United ably set to music, at Walter's request,
States on concert taws, h e invariably by Charles Wolcott: "From the sweet
met the Baha'is and spoke and sang for scented streams of Thine eternity give
them. On a tour through the South, he m e to drmk, 0 m y God . . " .
stayed overnight on the campuses of all He was ill of cancer seven and a
the Negro Colleges which h e visited, half months. Much of this time he was
and in each one t a w h t the Faith. When in agony. K s voice wan destroyed.
h e returned home h ~ sagent assured Meanwhile his spiritual stature greatly
him that because he had remained in ~ncreasrd,and thoge d n were close ta
hi recognized his ever-dwening love later explained, "came one broufit up
for God and man, and his great long- in the Mulpmmadan Faith %nd reing to serve both. He died in Los An- vealed this jewel of wlsdom conceall-i:
g ~ l r s8 t the Cedars of Lebanon EIospi- in the parable of wr New Teshment."
tal, August 2, 1949. From that time she attended the BahPl
Althsugh Walter Olitaki'n Bahk'I I& meetings, eager for more light, and
on earth was wlativeFy brief, he rose finally became a Bahh'i after two years
through his own merit to national prom- of struggle. Eventually their entire
~nenceas a servant of the Faith, and family became ardent BahB'ls.
in these still.early years of the Faith in So brilliant was the flame ignited
the United States, his dedication of his within Mks Fanny by the Teachings,
voice to Baha'i communities was a par- that she made it possible, out of her
ticularly valuable gift. He seemed own earnings, to send her sister, Alma,
much younger than his age; as an a r b to Germany as a pioneer in 19W nnd t o
ist h e had not yet reached his prime. help her remain there until 192W, firmly
His fellow-Bahh'is who laved him can establishing the Faith in that country.
only compensate their loss in redoubled (See The Bah6'i WorM, Vol VII) She
service to the Cause h e loved s o well, herself, traveled to Southernmost Africa
remembering that while the singer is as a pioneer, bringlng the light to thst
gone, the song remains. f at-off country !
h 1908 the three Knobloch slstets
and Joseph Hannen (Pauline's husband) received permission from 'Abu'l-
FANNY A. F3TOBLOCH Bahfi to make a never-bbe-forgotten
pilgrimage to the pnson city of 'Akkh.
-
1859 1949 Bccauso d the death of their belwed
BY V m h 1- Twnm mother, Mrs. Amalie Knobloch, it was
Miss Fanny A. Knobloch was born decided that Fanny should go first, acin Bautzen, Saxony, Germany on J k companied by Mrs. Ida Finch, a Bahl*i
e m b e r 22, 3859. irom Seattle, Wash~ngto~l.These two
She received the BahB'i m@ssage mct Miss N m a Knobloch a t Naples, en
from MlreA Abu'l-Fadl in Washington, rout@ to 'Akki. An hour's shore leave
D. C., and through her sister, Mrs. at Messlna, half an hour at Port Said,
Pauline Hannen, accepted the Teach- and then Alexandria. There in the harings in 1934, after having attended bor flags of a11 nations fluttered &om
classes for two years. the various shlps. On the wharf was
Previously, ahe relabed, she had h e n e multitude of faces uplifted ta the
an ardent Christian. Her marrled s r i s deck of the vessel. As they looked d m
ter, Mrs. Hannen, with her two boys. at these faces, Miss Alma said, "No+
would come to visit Miss Fannie's home tice the man almost in the middle of
every Sunday afternoon and would dis- the f i f t h row with a green scarf around
cuss the Bahb'I interpretation of the his turban. Now count seven to the
Scripture6 with thelr beloved mother, right. What do you see?" Mrs. Fhch
who was well versed in the Bible. The replied, "I see a very friendly face."
constant conversation dealing with They counted Pour friendly, Illumined
religion became quite trymg to Miss faces among that vast mass of men,
Fanny, and she r i q i i ~ - t ~ her
d sistcr and when they landed 9 gpntle mice
to discuss anything but religion. The close to M i- shoulders said the Greatturnzng point came when one day Paul- est Name, hllih-u-Abhl, in an underme, returning from a BahB'i meet~ng, tone, repeating it several times. Joygave Mlrzb Abu'I-Fall's explanation of ously they responded, but in an equalthe m ~ r a c l eof the loaves and fishes, ly low tone, for in those days It was
for it was ao different from the me very dangerous to be k n o w as a
given by the members of Miss Fanny's Bahb'i.
Bible class, many of whom were re- Among these four Oriental brothem
tired ministers wha had taught the who had come to meet the steamer
Bible for many years. "Yet here," she was Prince UurBsinI. A visit was I
made to the home of Muhammad
Yazdi, the brother of &mad Yazdi of
Port S a ~ d where
, a meeting was held,
first w i h the ]]let>,auld thnl with the
wornen on the s e m d flwr. From these
Bahi'is the three pilgrims carried a
supplication to 'Abdu'l-Bah& that He
wmrlrl bleeq P.eypt with I visit A t thut
trme no one thought He would ever bc
outside the prison walls of ' A k a . When
they delivered the message to 'Abu'l-
BahB, He said, "Inshi'llAh," meanlng
"God willing," and true enough, He
d ~ dbless Egypt with His presence not
long after His liberation.
In describing Haifa, Miss Fanny
wrote, "In our small hotel, we occup~ed
a second story front room, one door of
which opened on to a small balwny.
mat night the glorious rays of a full
moon revealed the w h t e crested wevetl
of the sea, rolllng upon the sands of
the Valley of Achor. The minaret of
the mosque gleamed white akmve the
walls of the prison city. In the distance was Mt. Carmel, illumined, while Fanny A. Knobloch
close at hand great rows of tall palms
cast weird shadows upon the road."
She spoke of her great happiness in BahP'u'Uhh." Following are His words:
metrng Munirib K-hhnum, the wlfe of
'AWu'l-BahA, who toM her on one oc- "Vmly, We have elevated thee to the
casion that personal nearncns to the rank of one of the most distinguished
arnang thy sex, and granted thee, in
Manifestation of God does not in itseFf
imply a high spirttun1 station, for Jesus My court, a station such as none
had sisters and brothers and there is other w o m a n hath surpassed. Thus
no mentlon of them; that His Holiness, have W e preferred thee and raised
Baha'u'llih, had a brother who was thee above the rest, as a sign of
f a r from God; likewise 'Abdu'l-Bahb grace from Kim who b the Lor8 of
had a brother who became an enemy the throne on high and earth below."
Only one who had visited 'Akkb durof the Faith.
What joy to meet Shoghi Effendi mg the days of 'Abdu'l-Eahb could un-
(later to become Guardtan of the derstand what ~t meant to be with
Faith) and his l ~ t t l e sister, and Him. For nine days the three pilgrims
experienced a happiness beyond ex-
Bahiyyih KbAnurn, thc Greatest Holy
Leaf, a s well a s the other mcmbers pression because of their close contact
Him. When they were leaving, He
of the Holy Household. Of Bahiygih with
Khhnum, she wrote, "A strange and said tn them, "You are not weeping?
unhoum feeling possessed me w h ~ l e
Do not weep! Many friends weep because they wish to remain longer."
in the presence of Bahiyyih Khsnurn,
Miss Fannie replied, "No, we have r s
the Greatest Holy Leaf. Possibly it can
ceived so many blessings and are eager
be described as a feeling of awe, a to go out and share them with all who
feeling very unfamiliar t o me. However, later, I realized that I had been are ready to listen."
in the presence of tho greatest. the N d d i n g His blessed head, 'Abdu'lmost holy woman in the history of the Bahb replied, "The general does not
world-the Greatest HoIy Leaf! the I w e most the man in the back of the
daughter of the Manifestation of God, ranks. He loves most the man in front.
IN M E M O R I A M

If you but knew t h e value of these gart, Germany, to recover her health
days, you would not cat, you wouFd and at the same time to assist Miss
not sleep, you would not walk. You Alma in her work in that country and
would mn and give to all the Qlad in Switzerland. While there, she re-
Trd~nga!" ce~veda telegram inviting her ta Pans
After leaving 'Akkb, t h e three t r a wa s the guest of 'Abdu'l-Bahb. In Paris.
lers went t n Cairo, Egypt, to see once she, in company w ~ t hMadam Holbach
more their beloved teacher, Mirth of Br~ttany. Mrs. Beedp nnd Mndnm
Abu'l-Fad], then living in that clby. Blumenthal of New York, attended
Upon them departurc, he gave ta Miss the meetings wherever 'Abdu'l-Bahi
Fannie his most precious possession, spoke, In clubs, in large salons, In the
his prayer bends, saytng tn hcr, "My homes of those interested, and else-
Lord gave them to me." where. She mentioned one particular
Their steamer t h a took them evening when 'Abdu'l-BahB addressed
Marscillex. From there they sped on a group of some eighty pmple. Monta Z u r ~ c h , Switzerland, an$ then to sleur Hlppolyte Dreyfus a d d as in-
Stuttgart, Germany, where Miss Alma terpreter for the Frcnch people, and
had labored for two years and contin- 'Abdu'l-BahA, upon the conclusion of
ued for y e t another twelve, serving His address, unexpectedly called upm
the Cause of Bahi'u'llhh. The two sis- Miss Beatrice Irwin l a young lady
ters addressed a large m t i n g , bring- pwsent) to repeat His address in Engto the German friends 'Abdu'l- l ~ s hfor the benefit of the American
BahiYs message nf love. friends. The immediate obedience of
After several days Miss Fannie then Miss Irwin, although she was startled,
hastened to Paris, according to 'Ab was indeed beautiful t o behold!
du'l-Bahi's wish, then to London, to In 1923, Miss Fanny, dauntleas and
convey His greetings, and back again full of hope, went to Capetom, %uth
to America, after an absence of three Africa, to carry the light of BahB'u'llAh
months. to that countr~r. From Capetoran, she
Upon her return to America, she traveled to Kirnberley, Johannesburg,
shared her exgerimces with the friends Pretoria and other parts of South Aiin Washington, Baltimore and New rica, bringing the m e s s a e of broth-
York, always working for the estab- e r h d and peace. F o r three years she
lishment of the Faith. When 'Abdu'l- worked steadfastedly for the promotion
Bahh camc to America in 1912, Fanny of the Faith, giving many talks at tea8
and her sister Pauline and husband and large public gatherings, enkindling
were invited to Dublin, New H a m p m a n y souls with the fire of the Teachshire as HIS guests. rmhiIe there they ings.
met Mrs. E. Hoagg end Mrs. Kline of In 1926 it was necessary for her to
California, who had come fox the privi- come back to America because of ill
lege of W i g near 'Abdu'I-Bahh. The health, but in 192.928,at the age of sixtylast morning of their stay, 'Abdu'l- elght, she found the courage ta return
Bahh, speaking to George Latimer and to Airica, where she rcmained an adgrnciously including Miss Fanny and dit~onaltwo years. Thus she was able
her sister Mrs. Hannen, said, "I will to give a fresh impetus t o the Faith,
reveal a prayer which you shall use encourage the groups already estabwherever you go." That proycr la now 11shed and awakon many more people
known as the "Peaycr of the Cove- ta the fact that a New Day had dawnnant." ed. She worked tirelessly and devoted-
The two sisters werc blessed with ly, ever having in mind the words of
thc privilege of bid din^ ioreweI1 to 'Abdu'l-BahA a t their parting in ' A M :
'Abdu'l-BahB aboard the steamer upon "IF you but knew the value of these
His departure from America. Other days, you would not eat, you would
Rahl'ie were there, t o o , and as &cy not sleep, y o u would not wnllr. You
waved goodbye to their Beloved, many would run and e v e to all the Glad
eyes were wet with tears. Tidings!"
In 1913 Miss Fanny returned to Stuti- In later years, Miss Knobloch lived
476 T H E BAHA'f W O R L D

. -- her
with .. .
-- nenhew. Carl Hannen. in Wflrnette, Illinois, I; sight of the b e a u t i 1
MARTA BRAUNS-FOREL
Zum 18, August 1948
BahB'i House of Worship, which was
always an inspiration to her. Carl's
wife, Minneola, gave her much lwing
care. To the last, Miss Fanny was ever B A H A ' U Z t A H sprichb: ,,Mein erster
praying for an 0 p ~ f l ~ i to W render Rat ist: besitee an gutes, tin wines,
humble service t o the Cause. ''W -,ineleuchtetes Herz, damlt du das
spjrit is eager," she would say. "but Kiinigreich, das ewig, unsterblich und
the physical, body Is weak." ohne Ende ist, besiben m6gest!-0
When X visited her at the nursing ~ ~ u n d , Herz ist der Sitz des
dein
home on her eighty-ninth birthday, she ewigen Geheimmsses, rnache es d c h t
said, among otha things, "if You zum G d i s s sterblicher Gedanken und
thanked God on your knees w e r g vergeude den Sfhatz delnes kostbaren
m a k i n g hour of Your ]if@,You mid Lebens nicht! Du gehorgt der WeFt der
never thank Him enough \ ~ v i n g Heiligkeit zu, hafte nicht an dern
allowed you to live a t this t h e . And Stnube! DU bist ein B m h n e r des Aofes
again, "Now when the pa? fn mY der Nihe, erwihle keine irdiache Wohn.
back becomes severe, I say I t is mlY unp! - ~ g t dm Wanderer die H6hen
for a little while, and then I shall leave dicger Erkermtnis erstiegen, so mag er
this b* and me our Lord d , ~~ a dml wahren Armut und den
face. So will you and all Your famib, &Uigen vergehens beketen. Dies kt
and all these earls believers. It is won- die Stufe, auf ~ c l c h e das
r Ich stirbt und
derful, isn't it?" msterblich in Gott, arm aus slch selbst
She held mY left hand and ~ n ddurch den Ersehnten reich wird.
did not h,mthat I Was writing down We, dlese Stufe erreicht hat, ist fiber
with W right hand what she said. alles, was in der Welt fst, gehqgt,
her sight was almost gone. W m darum die, welche m diesem
Her release came on December 9. Meere der Vereini~ung hingefund~n,
1949. A little less than ninety years nichts "on den vergSngliehen
old at the time of her Pas&% she D i n ~ e nin dieaer derblichen Welt, sei
was the ftwt born of the three f k s - .s su;usseres ~ u dt e r eigene hluleinung
LOUS US Knobloch sisters, Fanny, Alma besitzen, so 1st &rim kein Harm, denn
and Pauline; the last Pass away- immer der Mensch auch besitzt.
Funeral services were held in wash- ist begrenat durch seine eigene Begrenington, D.C. Her m y was be- mng, doch was Gottes Ist, ist dariiber
side her sisters, as well a5 Pauline's geheiligt, wmn du diese stufeerrei&t
husband, Joseph Hamen, and their b* hast, wirst du dm Freund schauen und
loved mother, Mrs. *malie Knobloch. alles andrre vergessen. Dann hast du
It was upon the death of her mother deines U b m a Tropfen geopiert und
Mrs. h a l i e mobloch, that 'hbdu'l- das Meer Gottea gewomen. Das ist das
Bahk had written* are those Ziel, naeh dem du gefragt hast. hliiehte
souls who visit thy luminous resting ~ , , t t dir zu ihm gelangcn.
place, and through thy commemora- we= 3n dm Hirnrnel der Einheit ernpor-
Uon receive and acquire spiritual Pow- ,teigt und zu dem Meer der Vergeistiers." gung hidand, dem ward die Stufe dea
At the time of Mi136F a m ' 3 ~as3inlZ, ,
the Guadian cabled:
-
Lebens In Gott m m let- Ziel ffir
die mit Wissen begabten m d zum blei.
"Grlwe passing dearly beloved di- -
benden Heim fir dle, welche lieben.
tinguished exemplarg pioneer Faith Su verbleibe denn 1s deiner Liebe zu
Fanny Knobloch. Memmy her n e Mir, damit du Mich i m Reiche des
table services imperishable, her re- Lichta findest"'
ward Abhi Kingdom bmntitul, a* Liebe Freunde, wir sind hier, urn
surcd, cvcrlaating." Abschled zu nehmen von einem gellebten, von einem fiebenden Menschen,
- den Gott die Stufe zu Seiner Ebene hat
Iiberschreiten lassen. Dieset geliebte
IN M E M O R I A M 479

innerhalb des Geiatigen Rates h- Krsft gegebpn.
und legte rnit einem Hinweis auf die Eine A u f m u n g ihrer Tatigkeiten
Bedeutung einen Kranz nieder, der oua innerhalb der offentlichen Feier w i r e
Blumcn ihrcs HBude-Grunstilckm in ihrcm Wunachc entgegengewesen. Dur-
Ettlingen gewunden war. Mach Herrn urn sei eine kurze Zusammenfassung
Wcber legte Umel Kohler aus Stuttgart ~ h r e sLebens hler angefiigt.
eirren Heidekranz nieder, den die Am 23. September I888 in Ziirlch als
Freunde aui dcr Baha'iSommerschule Tochter d ~ damnlieen 4 C h ~ l s r 7 t r adm
in Esslingen gewunden hatten. Als Irrenanstalt Burghiilzli, des Psychiaters
Leiter des Kreises der Kronacher- Prof. Dr. Auguste Forel ~eboren,
Freunde Iegte Herr Dr. NBldecke einen wuchs sie im Kreise von £ h i Geschwi-
Krarv. aieder, der aus Blumen der stern vm der besonderen Liebe ihrer
Garten aller Freunde des Kreises Mutter, Emma Forel, geb. Steinhed,
gewunden war. Und im Auftrage des umsorgi, in der dewtschsprachigen und
Aufsichtsrates der Gartenstadt sprach spzter in der franssischen Schweiz auf.
Herr Hlls die Griisse der Gartenstadt Die Umwelt ihrer Jugend prigte ihr
aus. I n besonderen erwshihrtte er, wie Wesen: Die Verbundenheit rnit den
Marta Brauns in $en Ki-icgsjahcen die Bergen, d ~ sie e als Sehnsucht f i r ganzes
pffegelm gewcrdenen Vorgartea der Ceben hindurch begleitete, die gliihende
Sledlung in ihre Betrewung genommen Freiheitsliebe und die Selbstverstiindd
hattc und dass sie am 23. Mai 1948 l i r h k ~ i t des iibernat~analdenkenden
(einem Bahb'i-Feiertage:) zum Mitghed Weltburgers, das waren die Erbnnlagen
des Aufslchtsrates und dea Prdmga- ihrer Heimat. Untrennbar verbanden
ausschusses gewahlt worden war als slch rnit ihnen die Grunddtze ihres
erste Frau in der Geschichte der Gar- Vaters: Die Gnmdanschauung, dass
tenstadt. Leben Aribeit bedeutet, die fanatische
Umrahmt von 2 Liedern des Kron- Wahrheitsliebe und die Klarheit des
acher Singkreiaes klang die Feier mit Denkens. Diese Erziehungsprinzipien
dern Musikstiick aus, was die Tote a m verein~gtens ~ c hrnit dern Erbteil der
~11~1lz1eibletl
paliebl Iwllt:. d e ~
Badrnrit: Mutter: Der alles umfassenden Liebe
,,Mein gllubiges Herze, frohlocke, sing, und der angeborenen Giite.
scherze", gespielt van FIGte, Violine Als sie S e h e t i r i n ihres Vaters h
und Cello. Ywme war, lernte sie ihren Mann ken-
Nach Beendigung d a Feier wurdc nen, den darnaligen Medizinstudenten
der Sarg vm sechs d a Freunden, unter Artur Brauns, der als Stuaienfreund
ihnen ihrem Sahn Sven, und firern ihres iiltesten Bruders Eduard seine
Schwiegersohn herausgetragen. Auf dec Fcrien dort verlebt. Mit diesem m a m -
Bahrt m dem von ihr selbst aus- men griindete sie die elgene FarniIie,
gewihlten Ruheplatz in Hohenwetters. zun8chst in Milnchen.
bach begTeitetes sie ausser ihren Kind- W a r e n d sie mit *en vier Kindem
ern nur die sllerniichsten Freunde. ber ihren EItern in der SchweIz dl@vier
Nachdem an dem oircnen Grab das J a h r e des ersten WeItkrieges wr-
Totengebet gcsprochen war, schaufelten brachte, war ihr Mann als Militkarzt
die Angeborigen und Freunde das an der deutschen Ostfront. Unter
Grab sclbst zu. Als der Grabhdgel diesem Zwiespalt zwischen Deutsch
rnit den Krinzen und Blumen bedeckt nnd Schwelzer Empfmden, mischen
war, nahmcn dic Frcunde rnit cin- f i i e y und Frieden, hat ste in jenen
em Gebet von der Toten Abschied. Jahren vie1 gelitten, und es reifte in
Auf ihrer Grabplatte werden die Worte jenen Sahren zagleich der Entschluss
Bahi'u'llihs stehen: ,,Du bist mein wo immer es niigllch war, fiir den
Licht, und Mein I.icht wird niernals Fdeden m arbeiten.
vergehen. Warurn fiirchtest du sein Er- 1919 liess sich ihr Yann als praklbschen? So verbleibe denn in deiner tischer Arzt und Psychiater in K a r b
Liebe zu mir, clantit du Mich i m ncichc ruhe nteder. I n der noch im Entsltehen
des Lichts Andent". Diese Work hatten begriffenen Gartenstadt4iedl~ngfand
der Vexstorbenen in den schweren die junge Arztfarnilie eine gefstesver-
Kriegsjah~en a m meisten T m t and wandte Ijmgebung vor, die ihr bald mr
482 THE BAHA'f WORLD
member of the National Spiritual As- the young girls, she herself served the
sembly of Germany. She was active in officers at the Casino. One can only
the fight of the Guttempler Association m e s s at the self-control such functions:
against alcohd; she cooperated with imposed on this French-speaking Swisp;
the Esperantists; she served in the who had constituted herself the guard-
"Women's League for Peace and Free- ian of the German populace, and whose
dom"; she was an indispensable cw main task in life had been the fight
worker of the Kmnach friends in their against alcohd.
promotion of a garden-city. To this The direst sorrow of Marta Brauns'
was added actual work on the garden life was when she was not allowed a
and estate of her husband in Ettlingen, permit to go to the bedside of hcr dying
and she met these demands as if gar- mother in 1946.
dening were her real vocation. In addi- After her r e t m to Karlsruhe in the
tion, many patients of h e r husband late summer of 1945, she tried t o contransferred their confidence to her and centrate all her powers, beyond her
came for advice, and the correspond- home, garden and social duties, on a c
ence which she carried on with all tivitles for the BahB'i Faith. The r e
parts of the world would in itself have newal of the Bahb'l group in Karlsruhe
been enough ta keep one person busy. was due ta her initmtwe. From this
With d l this she was an exemplary group the Bahi'l community arose in
mother to her five children. the spring of 1941. As a member of the
The years from 1931 to 1939 were a National Spiritual Assembly, re-elected
high point in the life of Marta Brauns, In 1948 following the eight-year suspenfor during this period her mother I~ved sion of BahA'i activity, and as a delewith her in Karlsruhe. Anyone who was gate to the National Convention, she
fortunate enough to be a guest in the was an inspiration to all the Bahh'fs of
Brauns household at that time never Germany, whle her correspondence
forgot its atmosphere of happiness and with friends in Palestine, Persia, 'lriq,
self-sacrilicing love. The separation Africa, Argentina, the United States,
from her mother, brought about by the Canada, England, Holland and Switzer-
Second World War, added to many new land, made her known to Bahh'is
sorrows, not the least of which was an throughout the world.
ever more torturing homesidoless. Marta's death was sudden; as her
Marta suffered from the many injus- son-in-law commented in his address
trces of the Third Reich and the gen- at the funeral, held August 18, 1948.
eral loss of freedom. The isolation of in the memorial hall of the Diaconirs
Germany from the rest d the world, Hospltal at Riippurr, there WAS no
the p e r m t i o n of the Jews, the pro- glace m her crowded life for a lin~ingerscription of the Bahi'i mmmunity - ing and meditative old age. Many
a11 these caused her much anguish. people gathered on that solernn occa-
The war demanded further sacrifices $]on to pay their last respects. The
from her. In 1942, her youngest son Bahh'i Assembly of Karlsruhe, the Es-
Jurg fell on the Eastern Front. The slingen Bahh'i School, her Konach
fortitude with which she bore the loss friends, the Board of the garden-c~ty
of thls son who was realIy the closest there (of which Board Marta had reto her showed her deeply religious na- cently been elected the flrst woman
ture. The serious war injury of her member), were represented. Nine
eldest son Wolf was a new calamity. candles, emblems of the nine lights of
In 1945 when the wlfe of this son, the Bahi'i unity, burned at the head of the
beloved Anne, died suddenly, i t was lavlshly beflowered d i n .
Marta who sustained him. These words from the funeral ad-
At the end of the war the French drew, which was accompanied by apoccupied the village of Hiidingen on grogri8t.e Bahi'i prayers and readings.
Lake Constance, to which Marta and summed up her life:
her daughter had been evacuated. Dur- "At a time when gaclficists were
ing the occupation she acted both as sneered at, she fought valiantly for
interpreter an8 med~ator. To protect peace. Disregarding the compassionak
IN M E M O R I A M
smile of the intellectuals, she spent you to have the funeral prweed quietthe days of h e r advanced years learn- ly with only you p r e m t . I would like
ing an international auxiliary langu- you so mu& to do what I have done
age. Nmost fanatically, she challenged aftcr your father's paasing: no mournthe moral degeneration of her t ~ m e s , ing, no wearing of black; rather being
in a place where a l m l and its a+ joyful and preserving the g o d and
tendant practices were considered edu- the positive, the spiritual heritage d
cational factors. She matched t h ~ crm- my uarents and of your father. You
quests of science with the conquests needn't forget my def~ciencics and
of religion. She fought for the triumph weaknesses, though they shouldn't enof her religion when the nuthorities tirely hide the positive. The best we
imaged they could destroy her spirib have glven you is the Bahb'f teaching.
ual treasure by conf~scatingher books. I needn't say more. It contains wery-
She suffered like a mother with all t h ~ n gthat I would want to tell you."
the victims of racial and religious p m
judlce; she tried to shield them; if one,
fearing to wmpromlse himself, t m e d
away h m her, he found her heart
st111 open to him when he came back FRED MORTENSEN]
again for help. If she knew that someone was withdrawing from her out of Fred Mortensen's youth was turbucoldness o r jealousy, she prayed for lent. His environment was not of the
him, seelung a way of reconciliation best, and he played with b y s grown
until she found it. She demonstrated hard and ruthless. Determined to be
the prlncipfe of woman's equal~tywith their match, he broke the law whenever
man by her own life. She had her rp h e had a chance. Inwardly he felt guilnowned father's incorruptible mtellect, ty, but he wanted to be Itke the others
her mother's Ioving heart, a sense of and went on from bad to worse.
respcnsiblrty and determination equal- Strange, that his very mnflict with the
ing that of her departed husband. lnw shmlrl hnve g i v ~ nhim the nppor-
Wherever she came, she brought with tunity which led him to embrace the
her the dear, bright mountain a i r of Baha'i Faith, and completely changed
her native Switzerland, chilling the the course of his Me.
languid and the weak, perhaps, but The secomt of his early days and
refreshing the strong. Her whole Iie his first contact with the Faith, and
was a restless struggle truly to become especially of his memorable experia Bahi'i-"a bearer of I~ght." ences when 'Abdu'l-Bahb v ~ s i t dthe
For her children, Marta Brauns- United States in 1912 i s given with feel-
Forel wrote out her last wishes in a ing and sincerity by Fred Mortensen
warm, human testament: himseu i n an articIe entitled: "When
"YGUknow that I h v e a great aver- a Soul Me& the Master." This article
sion to visiting cemeteries. For that was published in the March, 1924 issue
reason I have long decided that I would of Star of the West. In lt he writes:
like to be Interred in the small ceme- "My dear mother had done everytery of Hohenwettecsbach, a t some thing in her power to make me a good
small, hidden place and wtthout t h e boy. I have but the deepest love for
customary wreaths and flowers. How- her and m y heart has often btcn sad
ever, you could plant Lonicera on it when thinking how she muat have worwhich grow quickly to a green cover ried for my safety as well as my future
without permitting weeds to come up. well-being. Through it all and in a most
Never seek me there! Where I am is wonderful way, with godllke patience,
a t Ettlingen, m our stone garden, she hoped and prayed that her boy
gandmother's hill as she herself used would find the road which Teadeth to
k, call it, Oarl.c a, y u ~ iI ~ u u ~ L ' ~rjghtcauoncsn md hnppincso. But cn-
- -
merial m lace, and J u r ~ ' s s d t j , t a l vironment proved a g w a t barrier l o her
abode. don't want to trouble anyone nwwld by Mt,lal Aswith coming there. Therefore I ask b w f s oi m~fego.
d84 T H E BAHA'1 WORLD

aspirations and every day in every way brought me from out the dark prison
I became tougher and bugher. Fight- house; it was he arha told me, hour
ing was a real pleasure, as welcome after hour, about the great love of
as a meal, and breding a grocer's 'Akdu'l-3ahB for d l His children and
window to steal his fruit or what-not that He was here to help us show that
was, as I thought, a great joke. love for our fellowmen. Honestly, I
It happened that one night the gang often wonderd then whvhat Mr. Hall
was strolling along, lust doing nothing meant when he talked so much about
in particular [looking for trouble I love, God's love, Bahb'u'llbh's love,
guess), when one of the gang said, "Oh, 'Abdu'l-BahA's Iwe, l o w f o r the Covelook at the swell bunch of bananas." nant, love for us, from us to God, to
"Gee, I wtsht I had some," another HIS Prophets, etc. I was bewildered.
said. "Do you?'' said I. About this time Stlll, I returned, to become more be-
3 heard a dog bark~nginside the store, wildered, so I thought; and I wondered
and IDaking in, I saw a large bulldog. why. It was, as I now know, the power
That seemed to aggravate me and t a of the Holy Spirit drawing one, who
show my cantempt for the watchdog w~shedto be drawn.
. . . I broke the window, took the "Thus the Word of God gave me a
bananas, passed them around and wc new birth, made me a livrng soul, a
merrily strolled up the street . . . rwivliied spirit. I am positive that
"Making the Jews feel that they were nothing else upon the earth could have
back in Russia was lots d fun. I can't changed my character as it has been
begin to tell you how we enjoyed per- changed. I am indeed a new being,
secuting them, stealing their wine, changed by the power of the Holy Spirit
breaking their windows, in f a c t doing .. . 1 have been resurrected and made
everythmg but setting f i r e to their live in the Kingdom of A1 AbhH.
homes. I plainly remember that it cost "Again through the attraction, of the
me sixteen dollars to pay for broken Holy Spirit 1 was urged, so it seemed
windows to keep out of jail. to me, to go to see 'Abdu'l-Bahi. He
"The meat m i l that did so much to was at Green Acre, Maine, at this time,
make us hard, was the saloon with its and when I heard the rumor that He
attendant evlls. My! how tough I have might go back to His home (Palestine)
seen fine young fellows become under and not come west, I immediately dethe influenceof liquor. I could tell you termined to go and see Him. 1 wasn't
many things of a Iawless nature, but going to miss meetiig 'Abda'l-BahH
1 wrltc these fenv to show what the after waiting po long to see Him.
power of Eahi'u'lIih can do in this day. "So I left home, going to Clevelad,
"I was a fugisve for four years, hav- where I attended a convention of print
ing walked out of jail while awaihng ers for a few days. But I became so
trial. Then, a youm felIow was being restless I could not stay for adjournarrested and I, of course, tried to take ment. How often have 1 thought about
him away from the wlieeman. WhiIe that trip of mine from Cleveland to
this was going on a couple of detec- Green Acre! The night before leaving
tives happened along and in my haste Cleveland I had a dream that 1 was
t o get away from them I leaped over 'Abdu'l-Bahl's guest, that 1 sat at a
a thirty-five foot wall, breaking my leg, long table, and many others were there,
vrhiw~ng
e$Cnpr the h i ~ l l ~ t~ grq(lnd ton, and of how H e walked up and
nbout and wound up in the 'garden at down tellbg stories, emphasizing wlth
the feet of the Beloved' as Bahb'u'U4h His hand. This, later, was fulfilled and
has so beautifully written in the Seven He Imked just as 1 saw Him in C l e w -
Vall~a. land.
"At this time I was defended by our "As my finances were IQW, I at needeparted, but illustrious Bahi'i brother, essity must holm my way to Green
Alhprt Hall, to whom I nwe many Acre. The Nickel Plate Railway was
thanks and my werlasttng good will m y cholce, for mveyance to Bufiala,
for helping O tree me from the prism New York. From Buffalo I again 'rode
of men and of self. It WAS he who the rods' to Boston, a long ride from
IN MEMORIAM , 485

around midnight until nine the next
morning. The Boston Maine Railway
was the laqt link between 'AMu'l-Bahi
arid Ule outside world, tio i l swmed tu
me, and when I crawled OH from the
top of one of its passenger trains at
Portsmouth, New Rampsh~re,1 was excwrlingly happy. 4 hoat ride, a strcch
car ride, and there I was, at the gate
of Paradise. M y heart beating double
time, I stepped ontn the soil of that
to-be-famous center tired, dirty and
wondering, but happy.
"I had a letter of introduction from
Mr. Hall to Mr. Lunt, and in searching
for h ~ mI met Mrs. Edward h e y ,
who, dear soul, was kind enough tn
offer me a bed. She awakened me next
morning a b u t six o'clock saying I'd
have to hurry if I wished to see 'Abdu'l-
Bahk.
"Arrivhg at the hotel I found quite
a number of people there on the same
miasion, to s& 'Abdu'l-Bahfi. Being one
af the last arrivals, I was looking
around, t o make mgself comfortable, Fwd Mortensen
when someone exclaimed, 'Here He
.
comes, now.' . . After greeting several others and when about to go to "Answer: 'From Minneapolis.'
His room, He suddenly turned to me "Question: 'Do you know Mr. Hall?'
and sald in a gruff voice (at least I "Answer: 'Yes.He told m e about the
thought so), 'Sit down,' and pointed to Cause.'
a chair--which I dldn't care ta do, as "Question: 'Did yw have a pleasant
elderly ladies were standing. But what journey?'
was I to do! I meekly obeyed, feeling "Of d l the questions I wished to
rebelious over what had happened. amid this was the one! I dmpped m y
Such a welcome,after making that dif- gaze to the floor-and again He put
ftcult trip! M y mind was m a whirl. the question. I lifted my eyes to His
"The first man to receive an interview with 'Abdu'l-BahL was a doetor:
..
eyes and His were as tnro . sparkling
jewels, which seemed to look into my
he had written a book on lwe. It very depths. 1 knew He hew and I
seemed but a minute until . . . ' 'Abdu'l-
BahA wishes to see Mr. Mortensen.'
must tell ...
"I answered: 'I did not wme as pe+
Why, I nearly wilted. I wasn't ready. p1e generally do, who mme to see You.'
I hadn't expected to be called until
the very last thing. X had to go, and "Question: 'How did you come?'
it was a strange feeling In my htact "Answer: 'Riding under and on top
and wondering-wondering what would of the railway trams.'
happen next. He welcomed me with a "Buestion: 'Explain how?'
smfle and a w a r m hand-clasp, telling "Now as I loolted into the eyes of
me to be seated .. . His first wards 'Abdu'l-Bahh I saw they had chnged
were, 'Welcome! Welcome! You are and a wondrous light seemed to pour
very we1mme'-then, 'Are you happy?' out. It was the light of love and I feIt
-which wns rcpcatcd three timco. I relimed and vmy much happier. I cxthought, why do you ask m e that so plained to Him I rode on the trains,
many times? Of course, I am happy. . . alter which He kissed both my cheeks,
"Then, 'Where did you come from?" gave me much h i t , and kissed the
THE B A H'A'f W O R L D

dirty hat I wore, which had become biographical a m t "When a Soul
soiled on my trip to see Him. Meets the Master" was read at the
"When He was ready to leave Green memorial services. Not long beiore his
Acre I shod nearby to say gwdbye, passing he had written to the Guardian:
and to my astonishment He ordered "1 a m happy that you chose to include
me to get into the automobile with IGm. the story of my visit to 'Abdu'l-Babi
After a week w ~ t hHim at Malden, at Green Acre in God Passes By.'
Massachusetts, I left f o r hnmp with 'Abdu'l-Bahi! wrote m e Pmm Ramnever-to-be-forgotten memories of a leh, Egypt, September 12, 1913 . . .
'That trlp d thine f r o m M i a p o l i s t o
wonderful event-the meeting of God's
Covenant, The Branch of that Prc-Ex- Green Acre w11l never be forgotten. Its
istent FLoot . . . mention will be recoraed eternally in
"A few weeks later I again had that books and works of history. Therefore,
wonderful privilege to be near the Cove- be thou happy that, praise be to God,
nant for a fcw moments. thou hast an illumined heart, a living
"These events a r e engraved u p m the spirit, and a r t vivified with merciful
t a b k t of my heart and I love every breath.' "
moment ot them. The words of When the Guardian reeeivd the news
BahL'u'llBh are my food, my drink and of Fred Mortensen's death he cabled
my life. I h a w no other aim than to be the family: "Grieve passing beloved
of servlcc ta IIis pathway and to be Fred.Welwmc nsaurcd Abh5 Kmgdom
obedient to HIS Covenant. by- Master. Praying progress his wul
&'Thisis the Power of His Spirit, His HIS name forever inscribed Bah&'i
Love and His mercy to me." hlStQry."
Fred Mortensen was born February
7, 1887, a t Fort Dodge, Iowa. He died
dune 13, 1946, at 6 3 0 p.m. of cerebral
hemorrhage at the Chicago Hospital, HAJ TAHA ELIIAMAMSII
Chlca~o.He spent many years teachlng On M y 8, 1946, the BahKis of Egypt
throughout the counlry: at one period and Sudan were grieved a t the passing
of his life, he pioneered in Montana, away of Haj Taha El-Hamamsi, a sinpersonally financing publicity for the ceTe believer of: Tanta. He was a
Faith In various newspapers thmugb Bah6'i who distinguished himself by the
out the state, particularly in Helena sacrifices he made ceaselessly thrwghand Buttc. In 1916 he wart the author- out his Iile of service.
i z e d representative of the BahB'i Ternple U n ~ t y ,and was its agent in carry- First awakened by the persecutions
of the BahB'is of Port Said in 1920 and
ing out plans for relief in Haifa, Syrm later impressed by the integrrty of the
and Turkey. For t w e n t y a e years he he began to inqulre lnto the
was a member of the Chicago com- persecuted,
BahL'i Faith. By 1923 h e was thoroughly
munity. His daughter, Mrs. Kathryn
attracted to the Cause and made his
Mortcnsen Penoyer, writes, "My father
lived and practiced the Baha'i Religion
f ~ r s pilgrimage
t to the Holy Shrines on
the second Commemoration D a y of
to a degree b y o s d possible explanation . 'Abdu'P-Bahh, subsequently making the
. . an the very eve before his same trip almost every year. He
death he spent his last time tcoching adapted himself to the development of
the Faith of Bahb'u'llah. His devotion
the Cause of Bahh'u'llih as i t evolved,
cannot be r n e a s u d in mere words,
they are not powerfd enough. It might and he made the adaptation in deeds
be of interest to know lhat he was also rather than in words.
preparing to depart f o r Austria w ~ t h Haj Taha dlstinguisl~edhimself parthe Guardian's blessings and wishes as trcularly by his generous contributions
his guide 'Abdu'l-Eahi truly named to every institution of the Cause, the
him well when He a a ~ d ,' M y son.' " rcea P m m E%, p m.
He was buried in Cedar Park Ceme-
National S M t u a l Asarmblv Id tfic
tery. A s he had scquested, his auk- ~ 1aB d Ule h
of m t . M a n and Awalna.
IN MEMORIAM 481
-- immtant achievement for the Cause
in-khartoum-the first Spiritual Assembly was established in Sudan. Haj Taha
had enabled his daughter and her Ilutiband to cmierate to Khartoum, where
~ e accorng?ished
y this wondeku~task
so desired by the beloved Guardian.
In Jwc, I046 Haj Taha fell ill w h i
in Port Sald, and on July 8, he passed
away at the age of fiftyeight. As there
is yet no BahB'I burial ground in Port
Said, his mff~n was transferred t o 1sm6'iIlyyih where it was buried next to
that of his wtfe.
- ..L His life of seervice and sacnflce
gamed him the title of "Zealous s e w
ant and symbol of faithtolness," which
the beloved Guardian conferred upon
him In his cable.
-

FRIEDRICH SCHWEIZER 1
Friedrich Schwebw, the husband of
Kaj Taha El-Hamamsi the well-known and active German
BahB'i teacher, Mrs. Annemarie
Schweizer, w a s born in Esalingen, S e p
last tlf w h i ~ hwna the plastering of the tember 12, 1884. He adupltd the career
interior of HaHrato'l-ds of Cairo, of a topographer. In 1910 he was intm
where his name appears in the records. duced into our Falth by MISS Alma
A sacrifice which places him among Knobloch, at that time a pioneer In
the pioneers was his immediate re- Germany. In November, 1911 our wellsponse to the promsal for emigration beloved Master invlted Mr. and Mrs.
introduced by the beloved Euard~anfall- Scbwelzer, who were then new believlowing the success achieved by the ers, to come to Paris. They were both
Baha'is of Egypt on the clccaslon of very anxious t o see Htm. Mrs.Schweithe Centenary celebrations In 1944: he zer tells about it: "During the trip from
emigrated to Tanta, the capital of the Stuttgart to Paris and the morning of
biggest province of Egypt. our visit we prayed that our hearts
At Tanta persecutions began and dis- and souls might be purified to recave
turbances broke out there. The few the blessings of the meeting with Him.
BahB'ls in that mty were exposed to Scarcely had we arrived when He sumreal danger and underwent many hard- moned us to His presence. Lady Blomships, but the presence of Hal Tahe field had entered the mom Before us;
seemed to assure them that the mercy we saw that she h ~ n her
t knees k e h ~
of Bahh'u'lllh was with them. and 'Abdu'l-BahL. Friedrich said, 'That I
through hia steadfastness, sacrifice, and cannot do--heel down before a man!'
enthusiasm, they could remain firm We entered--and the first one to h i e d
and undaunted by the threats of their down was Friedrich, so greatly was he
enemles. Their reward from the Abha overwlrelmed by tbe majesty and glory
Kingdom was success in the formabon of His sanctity. "'Abdu'l-Bahh Idled
of the f ~ r s tSpfritual Assembly of h a t him up md embraced him HP WRU
c ~ t yin 1945. meatly moved. On another occasion
Through the sacrifice and zeal of Haj fie matron~l Srrbrlhal Aawmbb oi the
Taha, the same year recorded a very ~ % s eI mrmany stld
488 THE BAHA'I W O R L D

'Abdu'l-Bahil called him to His side and
kept his hand during His speech. How
happy he was, and we aU with him!
All the friends present congratulated
hlrn on this honor."
In April, 1913, d e n the Master, on
His brig through Germany, stayed a
few d a y s in St1ttteav-t. Friedrich again
had the privilege of meeting Him. His
attachment to the Roly Cause grew,
and he became one of the early pioneers for our Faith in Germany.
Friedrich Schweizer aIwags put aside
his own desires when it was necessary
to sacrifice his interests to serve the
Holy Cause or to beIp a believer in distress. But he never uttered many
words. Silent, solid, and wholly reliable, he did his duty. In the same spirit
he perform4 good, accurate work d u r
ing the years he was the secretary oi
the National Spiritual Assembly (from
about 1930 to 1535) and as a member
of the local Spiritual Assembly in S t u t t
gart.
The 13th of July 1946, he sutfered an Friedrich Schweizer
attack of pneumonia and passed away.
All who were close t o our dear friend
will knm that when Re passed away gratitude for his abundant Iwe, howla life filled with labor, care, and the edge, and advice, for his generosity and
observance of duty comblned with af- his readiness to sacrif~ce,and for the
fection, love, and benevolence to ev- home we found with him. We h o w
e r y b d y , came to its earthly conclusion. what he would say to us: "do your
W h e n enumerating his high qualities, duty; work for the Cause d God."
we remember not only his profeaslonal
activity and all the concern he dlsplayed as a father for the welfare of
his family, but also we remember es- SOW DAVm BOGCH
pecially a work not so obvious to the
public: his labor lor peace, his strug-
1855 - 1946
gle far the conquest of national, mu- BY C ~ E X M T M.
E
cial, religious, and socfal prejudice and At the gate of the garden some stand
antagonism and his endeavors for the and look within, but do not care to enprosperity of aU mankind. Very early ter. Others step inside, behold ib beauhe was enlightened by the divine beam ty, but do not penetrate far. Still others
emitted by the eternal Light, the call
of BahB'iullhh sent down again to t h e encircle this garden, inhaling the frag.
world through His love to redeem hu- rance of the flowers, but having enman~ty.And it was this beam at the joyed its full beauty, pass out again
supernal Light which radialed from by the same gate. But there are always
our friend's heart. some who enter, and becoming intoxi-
His name will always be connected cated with the splendor oi what they
with the histow of the Bahi'i Faith in behold, remsin f o r life to tend the gar-
Germany. The German Bahi'ls, and don.-'Abdu'l-Bahh
those from StuttgartZuffenhausen in ,From materlol hrml&ed by Elh GmdalI
particular, o w him a great deal" d Wp~rsnd BUou Straun.
IN M E M O R I A M 489

Such a gardener was John David evidently Gad bad other plans for him.
Bosch. And the flowers he tended were One of several children, he was but
the men. women and children in whose eleven years old when his mother died.
heartn he had, ht one tIme ar anather, She hxd heti a woman of culture and
planted the s d s of spiritual truth. deep spiritual insight and ha felt her
When he spoke of spiritual things and loss wry keenly. His father married
of BahB'u'llkh, there was a light in his again. The second wife was a follower
clcar bluc cyeo t h d seemed to b a of Swe&nborg, antl h d o w long John
reflection of a splendor that few others became familiar wlth the books of that
have had the joy of beholding, and when renowned philosopher. Considering this
he looked into the eyes of a fellow hu- exceptional relig~ousbackground, i t is
m a n being a glow of friendliness lighted not yurprlsing that his impressionable
up his face, crinkled his eyes a t the young mind was influenced to want to
comers and brought a quick smile to know more about spiritual matters-a
hls lips. desire which was to be ultimately ati is-
Although there are many friends who fled years afterward in another part
remember him as a young man and of the world.
gossibly somewhat different in appear- Wls formal education, ended at the
ance, most of us who h e w him only age of fourken. He s m n left home, gw
in his later years were sure that he Ing to Germany where for a few years
must always have been a distinctive Ilc worked at and studied wine-making.
individual. I& was tall and straight. From there he went t o France and
His hair was white and he wore a well- spent f ~ v eyears in its famed wine dlstrimmed white beard. In the summer- trrcts; then to Spain to further acquaint
time, when be dressed in his spotless h~msclf wth lus chosen business.
white serge and Panama hat, he had In 163'0 he came to America with his
the look of a man of noble rank. sister Lorusa and her husband, Johann
He was a person of few words; he Zuberbiihler, who planned to farm in
did n o t need to speak. Hi8 handclasp Nebraska. For a while he wmked on
was warm and firm, and one was in- railroad construction. He began to learn
stantly s t ease ln his company. His ev- English, and having decided that
ery action was an expression of love America should be his permanent home
and lundliness, and he was never bag- he made applicatron for citizenship,
pier than when serving lun beloved which was granted in due time.
Faith and BahB'i friends. To hear him He did not rcrnain long In Nebraska.
tell of his precious experience3 with Like many other young men of that
'Abdu'l-BahB was to feel that one had era, Re h e a d the call of the West and
inhaled a bit of the fragrance 01 the determined to wend his way to Cali-
Master's premce, and be drawn more fornia. In OkIahoma he worked for four
closely both to Him and the John He months oa a large ranch where he had
loved so dearly. charge of a thousand head of cattle and
John David Bosch (Johannea Davld had to ride the range. The ranch was
Bdsch) was b r n August 1,1855, in New owned by a Chickas~wIndian in whom
Sankt Johamn in the Kanton of St. Gaf- he found a true and lasting friend. But
the lure of California was too strong
leu, Switzerland. His parents and
Lra~~dparelta were iollawers of the re- to resist and so he set out again, finally
former Zwingali, r contemporary of reaching Sacramento in 1881. Durihg
M a r t i Luther, In the year 1621 twelve thc next ten years he was mcupied in
fathers of families in the Toggenburg various branches of the wne trade in
the southern part of the state.
of Swiberlahd had establinhed a fund
of two thousand florins to provide fi- In 1889 he paid a brief visit to his
nanclal assistance every year to any native land. Some time after his return
two malt descendants who c a x d t o h e moved ta northern California t o bestudy theology. John, a dlrect descend- come superintcndent of the large
ant of one of the founders, was enti- winery a t Windsor In Sonoma County.
tIed t o the benefits d this fund, but In 1 8 9 , under the direction of the
490 THE B A H A ' I W O R L D
California Wine Association, h e super- Mrs. Helen GaodaU of Oakland, upon
inbznded the crection and eqdpment, whom he called three months later and
a t Geyserville, of the largest and most learned crf the history and principles
morlsrn ~ i n r t qin the oountry for thc of thc Faith. Having found what
manufacture of dry and sweet wines seemed to be the truth for which he
and brandies. He made his home there had been seeking, he endeavored to a t
but retained his position as superin- tend the meetings in her home at least
tendent of lwth wineries until his rp. once a month. AR t h s rnwtlnp6~ were
trrement from the business. He also of the afternoon tea party varietg.
orgamzed and managed the Cal~fornia there were seldom any men but him-
Grape Nectar Company for the pmduc- self present, and s m e t f m e s he would
tron, by an improved process of sterlli- stand with one foot on the ferry and
aation, of a supenor quality of unfer- the other on the wharf. hesitating
mented grape juice. T h i s company he whether to join the ladies or remain
eventually turned over to the Associa- in San Francisco; but always, when
tion. B e h e e n 1909 and 1836 he acquired the whistle blew, h e would be almard
extenslvc properties in Sonoma, Men- bcund for Oakland and the Gwdall
docino, and Contra Costa Counties, on horn e .
which were grown varied agrrcultural On May 29, 1905, he wrote bis first
crops. As there were many olive and letter to 'Abdu'l-Baha. The acknowlprune trees on his Geyservzlle land, he edgement, receivwl through Mrs. Godat one time experimented in the mak- all, enjoined: "0 thou John Bosch:
ing of high grade olive 011, and built a Raise the call of the Kingdom and
pIant for prune-drying on a commercial give the Glad-Tidings to the people;
scale; and a hobby of his had been the gurde them t o the Tree of L ~ f c so , that
raismg of pure breed Swiss goats. they m a y gather the fruits from that
Incidentally, it was m 1900 that he Tree and attain that great Bounty.''
mmpIeted his progresg u! the Masonic That was the first of many Tebleta
Order, receiving the thirty-second de- from 'Abdu*l-BahB. Some were adgree and bcomlng s mcmber of San drcsscd t o him alone, aud surrle Lu him
Francisco Scottish Rite Consistory No. and another behever together. One was
1. wrrtten dune 25, 1912, to hlm and his
Throughout all these years Mr. Bosch friend, the famous Mr. Luther Burbank
persisted In his ardent search for truth. of Santa Rosa. In this Tablet, 'Abdu'l-
Referring to his passing, a friend re- Bahj called them: "Ye two roses in
called that when he had first met him the Garden of the Knowledge of Gcd,"
he was investigating the claims of and expressed the hope that: "In the
spiritualism and =cult sciences. "He utmost of freshness and benuby ye may
was an unusual seeker after truth," became manifest; that is, ye may
the friend wrote, "m that he w a s not arise to serve the Kingdom of God."
urged because of misery or dissatis- And in an earlier message 'AbduT-
lnction in his life, nor by curiosity. L Bshk wrote: "With the utmost humiliiy
s a w him grasp the fact of the Im- I pray at the Kingdom of Abhi that
mortaIity of man, and that seemed suf- that soul [Mr. Eoschl may become
ficient far him." holy, fkd capacity to receive the out-
Mr. B O Ahad not heard of the BahB'i pouring of Eternim and become a lu-
Faith until early in 1905 when, travel- minous stpr in the West."
ing by train from San Francisco to Upon learning that the use of alcoholic
GeyservilL, he chanced to meet an liquor as a beverage is forbidden in
old scguaintaace, a Mrs. Beckwith of the teachings of Bahikdl1Bh,Mr. Bosch
Chicago. She was reading the book. -a professional m e taster, though a
'Abbds Egendi, His Life am? Teach- nondrinker of spirituous liquors-be
mgs, by Myron R. Phelps. H e p~cked came troubled about what he should
it up, glanced over a few pages. and do m regard t n h ~ swine business.
asked: "Where d ~ dyou get thls b w k ? Therefore, in a letter ta 'Abdu'l-BahL,
It is good enough for me and I want he asked for advice. In reply, 'Abdu'lto buy a copy." She referred him to Baha supcested that it would be better
IN M E M O R I A M 491

to engrgo m another business, but
gradually. Consequently he severed his
connection with the Association in 1916
and. applied himself to the further development of his properties.
Mr. Bosch attended the first Bahh'f
Temple Unity Convention in ChicaBo,
in 1909, as a delegate from the Pacdic
Coast and Hawai~.Wile there he met
many of the early Bahi'is, and in a
short time his home became a point of
attraction f o r traveling teachers, including Mr. Thornton Chase, Mr.
Charles Mason Remcy, and Mrs. Isabella D. Brittingham; also Mrs. t u a
Getsinger, whme visit inspired him to
w r ~ t e'Abdu'l-BahP, December 1, 1910,
"May this simple place on the hills
be dedicated to the universal spirit of
the teachings of BahA'u'lFQb."
When thc news came that 'hbdu'l-
Bahi was on the way to America, Mr.
Bosch had such an 0~envheIminkdcsire to see E r n he started for New
York on April U , 1912. At Chicago,
hearing that 'Abdu'l-Baha was in Washington, he went there instead, only to John David Bosch
find that 'Abdu'l-Bahh had not yet left
New York. So hc humled on to that
city, arriving very early on a cold a i ~ d
snowy morning. As soon as he had partaken of it 'Abdu'l-Bahb said: "You
secured his mom in the Hotel Anrconia are now one of the family. You may
he stole to 'Abdu'l-Bahh's suite :'nd come and go as you please."
was a d m i t t d almost immediately. Re- I remained mth 'Abdu'l-Bahk while
lating his experience to a friend, Mr. He mceived many visitors. Then I
Bosch said: went for a walk, and when I returned
When I entered the room I had a after an hour I was amazed to see about
pocketful of questions to ask 'Abdu'l- two hundred people in the lobby. In a
Bahh, but when I saw Him I suddenly few minutes 'Abdu'l-Bahi passed
felt quite empty. I never took the ques- through. Noticing thc rcsped that these
tions out. Eventually 'Abdu'l-BahB told peoplc paid Him, the ass~ntantmanager
me all that I had wanted to ask Him. of the hotel, who was standing near
Foolishly I remarked that I had come me, remarked, "That must be a man
three thousand mlles to see Him, and Of God."
He smilingly replled, "I came seven Three automobiles were awaiting
thousand m~Tes to see you.'' I t o l d 'AWu'l-Bahi and His party to take
H ~ r n that I, bslng a foreigner, had then! lu IIIEllu~tir d Mr. a ~ dMrs.
not the capacity of a speaker and Edward K i e y for luncheon. 'Abdu'lthat my work so far had been to circu- Baha stepped inta the first one with
late books and a few pamphlets. two of the Persian friends. Thcre was
'Abdu'l-Bahl said: "You are doing very a vacant scat and one of the attendwell; you are doing better than talk- ants beckoned me to come. As I reaching. With you it is not words or the cd the door, 'Abdu'l-Bahi seized me by
movement ot the lips; with you it is the Imnd and pulled me into the car,
the heart that speaks. In your presence seating me at His ripht. He s e e m 4
silence speaks and rahates." Then tea very tired. Immediately He put His
was brought in and after we had both arm around my waist, dropped His
49.2 T H E B A H A ' i WORLD
head on my left shoulder, and with taugRt for Rw months in Paditi. Cme
a deep sigh went to sleep. During the whom they met was a minister, and
entire hour's drive, while the fr~ends he later thanked 'Abdu%BahC for sendin the automobiles looked at the sights, ing these emissaries fa hi8 people. OR
'Abdu'l-Baha slept. the day of thew departure, the island-
When we arrived at the Kinney home ers showered them with gifts and, in
a chair was placed in the center of accordance with a Tahltian custom, bethe room for 'Abdu'l-Bahi, but He did stowed upon Mr. Bosch a title meannot sit in it. Instead, He walked about ing "First king of the great f a r n i b of
among the people, shaking hands. BahA'is arrived among us."
When He came to me He panscd right In April of the next year Mr. and
by without seeing me, and for a rn- Mrs. Bosch left Geyserville for Haifa
m a t 1 felt hurt. Then I remembered to see 'Abdu'l-Bah6. After visiting and
that m the morning He had told m e teaching In France, Switzerland, Gerthat I was "one of the family," and many, and Italy, they reached Watfa
I h e w then that thcre had been no on November 14, 1921. Only their
need to sag anything to me. spoken words could adequately de-
'Abdu'l-Baha departed for Washing- scribe the joy and happiness they had
ton five days later and Mr. Bosch went being with 'Abdu'l-Bahi f o r two
in the same car; ekght days afterward heavenly weeks. But no words m l d
he again traveled in the same c a r portray the depth of the sorrow that
with Him to Chicago. It was on thin descended upon them, and upon the
trip that 'Abdu'l-BnhA bestowed upon household, and upon all the BahC'is of
h~rnthe name "Nbrbni," writing it out the world, when 'Abdu'l-Bahi passed
in His own hand and explaining, away on Novembpr 28, 1921.
through an interpreter, that it meant Two days before His passlng, 'Abdu'l-
"full of light." Mr. Bosch humbly ex- Bahi had walked in khe garden with
p r e s s 4 the wsh that 'Abdu'l-Bahi Mr. Bcsch, giving him frult from the
might find time to vlsit his unpreten- orange trees. He was the last Westhoue home in Gcyscrville, to which erner to have this great blessing. Also
'AMu'l-Bahb replied, "Wlth you,"-and to h ~ mwas given the sacred privilege
rcpeatiw-"with you, I would sleep in of assisting the family with the prepathe basement." rations for the burlal of the Servant
Mr. Bosch remained in Chicago for of God; and the shoulder upon which
the Annual BahA'l Convention and was "bdu'l-BabB had slept in New York,
present when IAbdu'l-BaM laid the helped in Haifa to carry His casket
foundation stone of the Baha'i House t o its final resting-place on Mt. Carmel.
of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, May At the request of Bahfyyih IWnurn,
1, 1912, the sister of 'Abdu'l-BahA, Mr. and Mrs.
The story of the visit of 'Abdu'l-B& Bosch remained in Haifa for the cu%
to Califomla cannot be told here, but tornary forty days of mourning. Dursate it to say that Mr. Bosch spent lng this period, the grandson of 'AbduZ
every possible moment in His presence. B a h i , Shoghi Effendi, returned from
In San Francism, on January 19, EngIand to become the first Guard~an
1914, Mr. Bosch married Mrs. Louise of the BahQ'i Faith. Wben Mr. and Mrs.
Sophia Stapfer of New York, being the Bosch took thc~r leave, he handed
sccmd marriage £or each of them. She, them the first copy of tBe Will and
too, was a native of Sw~tzerland,and Testament of 'Abdu'X-Babi to deliver
from that time forward, in all their to the Bahh'i Convention in Chicago In
activities, the names of "John and Apr~d 1922.
Louise" were inseparable. En route to the Unlted States they
When the Teaching Tablets of revistted Germany, and it was then
'Abdu'l-Bahi were released, Mr. and that Mr. Bosch was instrumental in
Mrs Bosch were eager to respond at hrin~ineabout one of the first R n h i ' i
once. As both spoke fluent F'rench, they meetings fn Berlin.
chose Tahiti of the Society Islands in Upon their relurn to G e y s e r v f i they
which to pioneer, and in 1920 they were soon engrossed in teaching work.
IN M E M O R I A M 493

Frequently they made trfps to south. out &, and demonstrathg h t
ern California. In the winter of 192% unique spirit of hospitality which from
1928 Mr. Bosch visited Portland, the very beghnlng they had poured
Seattle, and Vancouver, in the latter out in a veritable flood upon Bahh'is
city aiding in the formation of the first and non-Bahs'is alike. Particularly was
local Spiritual Assembly in 1928. this true a t the Unity Feasts, that
Wherever he went he carried to the each year marked the opening of the
friends the spirit ut luve arrd rlcvwhiul~ s c s s b s , at which they so warmly wclto the Faith that motivated his o m mmed everyone. F m 1927 on, the
life. Mrs. Bosch, meanwhile, was d* success of thc school became the alling her part, traveling from place to compelling p-se of their lives, and
place, striving to spread the Faith in they liked nothing better than to share
Sonoma County. But the greatest of all with the friends, at four o'clock tea
testimoniaIs to their unremitting la- under the "Big Tree," their recollecbors is the BahVi School at Geyserville. tions of 'Abdu'l-BahB', and the believ-
On August 1, 1925, more than a hun- ers of former dayr;.
dred BmhA'is from the S m Francisco Mr. Bosch livcd to see the s c h d
Bay area, bsides other guests, con- grow from a small, informal gathergregated at Geyservllle to celebrate ing do an efficiently operating instituthe seventieth birthday of Mr. %sch. tion, from which many young people
It proved to be such a happy affair wwit Iurth lo lake Iht! leadlings tu
it was repeated the succeeding year, oountries in which he had once traveland at that time the idea of a western ed and taught.
s c h d for the training of Bahl'i tenth- HIS last appearance at the s c h l
ers began to take shape. was on the festive occasion of his
Jn the spring of 142'1 the National eighty-ninth birthday when students
Spiritual Assembly appointed a com- and invited guests assembled in the
m ~ t t e e of t h r e e - J o h n Bosch, Leroy evening at Bahl'i Hall to do him honor.
Ions, and G ~ n r g eLatimer--to find a An enormous cake, bearing eighty-nine
locatfon for a western states Bahh'i lighted candles, was b r o ~ g h tin and
summer ~chool. Mr. Bosch recalled placed upon the table at which Mr.
that he had written 'Abdu'l-Bahi in and Mrs. Bosch were seated. Then a
1919, offering his Geysemlle property long line of children marched In, singfor "a Bahh'i community home or cc- ing "Happy Brithday" as they laid
operative institution and Baha't their handfuls of flowers on the table
schm1." Hence it was but natural that until it wns entirely covercd--evidence
he should again offer the facilities of of the love cherished by both old and
his ranch for this purpose. Thus the young for these two selfless souls. Mr.
first Bahi'I school in the Went came Bosch, a m ~ dmuch advice and laughinto being, the first session openina ter, a t last succeeded in blowing nut
on his seventy-second birthday, August the candles. After individual greetings
1, 1927. In subsequent letters the Guar- and felicitations, the whole party movdian stressed the hope that this school ed down to the "Big Tree" t o partake
would "flourish and attract an increas- of the cake and elaborate refreshments
ing number of spiritually-minded, c a p the hostesses had prepared.
able souls" who would ''in time un- Following a Hngering illness, Mr.
reservedfp aceept the RahA'i Revela- Boseh passed quietly away on July
tion in rts entirely and thus reinforce 22, 1946, just at the end of the twenthe work that i s being achieved f o r tieth session of the BahL'I Schm1, and
our beloved Cause." ninc days before his ninety-first birth-
In 1 1 6 Mr. and Mrs. Bosch deeded day.
their property to the National Spiritual On July 24, a t two o'clo& In the after-
Assembly, thereby establishing the m,funeral rites were held in BahB'I
schoo1 as a permanent mshtution of Hall where the Mdy had lain In s t a l
the American Bahb'i community. In since midmorning. Masses O! floral
prwious s a r s they had been personal pieces bore silent witness ta the affachosts to the Mends, houhing them with- tion, esteem and respect of BahYis,
494 T H E BAHA'f W O R L D

neighbors, and buslnegs msociates.
During the impressive ceremonies canducted by Mr. Leroy Ioas, an intimate
Buhfi'i friend, the Village stores remained closed. The pallbearers were
neighbors and Bahh'is representing
several nat~onalities.A beautiful spot
in O l l w Hs11 Corneterg, o v c r l d r i n g
peaceful Sonoma VaUey and shaded by
the trees so dear to him, is now his
rest in^-place.
A cablegram sent by the Guardian
from Haifa was received by the National Spiritual Assembly July 29:
"Profoundly grieve passing dearlybelovd, greabhearted, high-minded,
distinguished servant of BahB'u'llAh,
John Bosch. His saintly life, pioneer
services. historic conbribution of institution of summer school, entitle him to
rank among outstanding figures of the
closing years of heroic, and opening
years of formative age of the Bahb'i
Dispensation. Concourse on high extol
his exalted services. Assure his wife
and valiant companion of my deepfelt
sympathy. Advise hold special gathering In Temple as tribute to his imper- 'All Saboor
ishable m-mory "
As befitting one of such lofty station,
.
the earthly chapter of his life closed Him, and loving Him . . For the cause
with a memorial service in the Bahi'i of God will they contend, and not fear
House of Worship at Wilmette, on Sun- the blame of the blamer."
day, November 24, 1946, to pay homage In his youth he decided to bear from
to his immortal memory. the enemies even a "rain of arrows,"
a s he wrote from Ba&did ta his father
in Karbilb, who criticized him for hls
open declnrabon of his Faith and adm s e d him to conceal it. Sabaor remained firm and wrote 'Abdu'l-Bahb
Saboor, the patient, so a d d r e s s 4 by asking H ~ r nfor His Divine Confirmathe beloved Guardian, was a faithful tions. In His kind and encouraging rebeliever of Baghdad. He passed away ply, 'Abdu'l-Bahb alluded to his future
in Sulayminilryih on August 3, 1946. In and described "the absence of the bea letter of tribute and consolation from liever from his native land for the sake
nf Rd" as "the cause of divine mercy
thc Guardian dated October 27, 1948 w e
read these words: "He was a sincere and %he source of rest and delight in
servunt, gallant and faithfuL . . . pa- both warlda." Acwrdingly Saboor d.+
tient in adversities, content with what voted himself to the difhsion of the
had been ordained for him by his d i ~ n efragrances in t h e Bahi'i meet
Creator." ings or whenever h e met a soul searchgaboor ha. recognized the ing after truth. He suffered insults and
of the Cause wl,m as a bgy he read evrn stoning irorrr U I ~memies, H e dethe following in a verse from the Qur'jn fended the interests of t h e Cause
(5:59): "0 ye who believe! . .. God notably when he was a member of the
d l 1 then raise up a people loved by Spiritual Assembly of B a a d B d , which
IN M E M O R I A M 495

remlled in 1922 the assaults of the ORCELLA REXMIR131
~ovenanbbreakers.
OrceUa Redon3 (Louise Cutt9-Pow-
Although S a b r had no high secular ell) wes born June 12, 1887 in Tracy,
eduualiun, h~ drank dcrgly of the dl- Minnesota. Planning in her youth to
vine outpourings. His only happiness become a mllege professor, she a&
was in extrading from the Holy Bocks tended the University of California a t
the Clad-Tidmg~:of "the coming of the Berkeley, where she studied four lan-
T ~ r r l " 9nrl in t ~ l l i n epeople ahout the
guage% and maJored in education and
new Revelation. He ~ I l e c t c d the domestic science. On receiving her
verses alluding to the "Lordship of Bachelor of Science degree, she took
Baha'u*116h*' becausc he was dazzled graduate work in philosophy and gsyby the signs of the greatness 0 6 chology, found her interests changing,
BahB'u'llhh. and bccame a writer and lecturer.
Between 1924 and 1934 S a h r was The name "Orcelle RexIord" is a
greatly distressed by economic circum- cryptogram, made up of letters chosen
stances and by the death of h ~ wrfes for her by an acquaintance in New
and children. He continually swght the York City. T o Orcella this name symprayers of the beloved Guardian, and bollzed her wish to link her personality
received several comforting replies to cosmic forces for g o d , which wouId
promising future blessings. These di- give her the grestest Y m W s for develvine promiacs were later fulfilled. opment.
Though old and weak h e gave the Orcclla Arst heard of the BaM'l
last yesra of his life to pioneering the Faith brom Mrs. Myrta Sandoz of Clwe-
Bahi'i Faith in new areas. He joined land, Ohio, and was later confirmed by
the pioneers in establishing the first Dr. Edward Getsinger In Boston, M a s -
local Assembly in firkuk in 1942. Then sachusrtts. She became a believer in
in 1945 the National Spiritual Assembly 191&1919.
of 'Iriq sent him to Amara in the south Since belief and action were hsep
to join the Bahh'i Gmup there. Here arable to her, while studvine the Faith
the people were fanatical. They stoned with Dr. Getsinger she brought along
him, and the police carled him for in- two students from her own classes.
vestigatim. Returning to Ba&ddd he Thcse, too, became BahB'Is. Soon she
was honored to receive his last letter began to organize classes far Dr. Getsfrom the Gnardian dated May 23, 1946 inger. In order to serve the Faith with
which alluded to his last days. A t this maximum efficiency, Oreella now took
tme, Saboor became radinnt and had stock of her educational equipment and
the beauty of a mature soul. capacities; she even investigated her
On d m e Z3,1946. he traveled to Sulay- genealogy, to appraise p s s i b l e inm5nfyyih to join the BahB'i Group. A herited tendencies and 'thus fully to
month later his life ended peacefully obcy the commandment, "Know thyon August 3, 1946. self". As a child she had often been
He is buried on a high rmky hill told of her second greatgrandfather,
everlooking the city, his grave m e r e d W~lliamJamis, appointed by Jefferson
with shadowy bougaimvillaes. The as consul and charge d'affairea a t Lis-
Cuardlarr's tribute is engraved on white bon, who gave his services without
marble a t his resting place, m that cost to the then young and impecunious
the friends will. read and remember t nine years
American G u v e r ~ i ~ n e nfor
that h e was the first BahQ'I pioneer to (18021811). Orcella felt that her tenddie in Sulaymhiyyih. ency to pioneer, and to contribute h a
services to a righteous Cause, might
have come down to her from this
ancestor.
'AMu'l-Bah6's newly-revealed Tab-
Iets OF the Divint Plan ~ a l l e afor p i p

- 3- Uu h . m I WBlrlId Assembly o t the
neers to spread the Faith. In respmse,
lmrn mnranal iumlshcd by W a r d P. Hatch
M Y S cd Tra. end OW.
4% T H E BAHA'f WORLD
Orcella 6et out for Alaska in 1922. h m s , beyond the fmntler in Mexico--
Some of her forbears had joined the the list seems endleas.
gold rush to the Yukon: she determined W i l e visiting Phoenix, Drcella was
to find the gdol d souls receptive to Injured In a fall, which ended her proher Message. The first Alaskan to ac- fessional career as n lecturer. In Hollycept the Faith through Orcella w a s wood to regain her health, she was
Gayne V. Gregory, who s m became active in teaching and administrative
the husband of his tcacher and within work. Then she left California on what
lwn years gave up his extensive dental was to be the last of so m a n y journeys
practice at Anchorage to serve as busi- for the Faith: alone, she attended the
ness manager of Omella's lecture tours. thirty-eighth Annual Bnhll'i Conven-
Rc@lla continued to be a lecturer by tion at Wilmette, teaching in various
profession; while conducting classes on cities and at the Geyscrville Bahk'i
various subjects (among other topics, School on h e r wav home. On Sundav
such as diet, she did much to popu- morning, August li, 1946, she died s u i -
larize the use of color in clothing and denIy in her bath.
in household furnishings and utensrls,
a t that time traditionally drab) she Messages Boon began to arrive from
would refer her students to a lecture many parts of the BaM'l world from
that would follow the paid series of the grieving spiritual children of Ortalks, and would b r ~ n gthem a horn- cella. Johanne Sorensen Hoe$ wrote
ledge that was beyond price. This final from Denmark, "It was through htartalk was on the advent oX RahB'u'll5h. ing her lecture about the Bahi'i Faith
Invariably, she left a Bah4'i study that I became a Bahi'i (in Honolulu,
.
1925) . . I will always be thankful to
class, which was then conducbed by Orcella Rexford that she could not keep
other BahB'i teachers. That h e r meth- her great love of BahB'u'UQh by herod was successful is proved by the self but wanted to bring the loving meslarge number of Bahs'is who first sage of: God to her fellow men." And
learncd of the Faith through Omella. Ophelia B. Crum: ''I was among the
5n Dcnvcr, for csemplc, cightccn hun- audience of about a thwsand who
dred people attended the Denham heard Orcdla say: 'I have been teach-
Theater on each of two nights to hear ing you about these outer subjects in
OrcelIa speak on the Cause, and a which you a r e interested, but now I
study class of four hundred and thirty- wlll tell you of the greatest truth that
five people resulted. When, toward the you should h o w today . .. ' The next
close of her life, a .serious accident night we met to form study classes and
ended her professional lecture career. f o r three months we would meet . . .
giving her the freedom she had longed At the end of that time some forty
for, she found that she had been de- students became members of the New
prived of her best teaching medium. York BaM'f communitv." Victoria E.
In 1925 the Gregorys left Ala~kafor Robarts, who introduced Gayne Greg-
Honolulu,and after teaching there, re ory to Orcellla, writes: "Orcella Rexturned to the mainland where they ford was an outstanding woman, m e
traveled from west to east and north of the few persons whom I ever met
to south; then crossing the Atlantic who never said an unkind or critical
.
and taking their car with them, they word of another . . her one great
motored through Europe. While here dcske war to establish the BahA'i Cause
( ~ n19261, they received permission to over the world." From Boston, Helen
visit Shoghi Effendi in Haifa. Return- L. Archambault states, "In 1931 . . .
ing spir~tually reinvigorated to the she had been holding her Health Lec-
United States, Orcella continued her tures whereby many were helped phyconstant travels: at one time o r another sically and mentally . .. out of that
she taught in Oakland, Milwaukee, Dwr- group eleven became declared believvpr, N- Tork, Omnha, G n t t l r , S p prq . . . In 1lnJ Orrelln c a m e ngnin
kane, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Flint, to Boston . .. out of this group nine
Detroit, Butte, Phoenix, St. Paul, Win- have since declared their belief; . . .
neapolis,-in Florida, Texas, Okla- m y husband Vidor Archambault and I
IN M E M O R I A M 407

were among the first elwen and are
grateful beyond words to our 'spiritual
mother.' " Mrs.Wetzel lngold of Whitefish Bay, Wixonsin: "My lifo has beon
d ~ e p l y blessed by knowing her.''
Martam Haney, Washington D.C.,
early BahH'i teacher, says, "It was so
easy for her to make cantacts wlth
her fellow human beings . . . she bad
a precious and sweet sympathetic understanding of life and pmple. OEcella
.
was a born optimist. . . T h ~ soptimism
drew people to hey. She had an intense
desire to really know the BahL'i teachings. . . . A t one of our annual conventions there were twenty-two believers present who were the spiritual chlldren of OrcelIa." Mamie L. Seto of San
Francisco, one of the Bahb'i teachers
who assisted Orcella with follow-up
classes, writes of the study group which
Orcella left in HonoIdu, and adds,
"She maintained that we must meet
people on the personal plane, help
them w3th their personal problems, and
then take them to the universnI o r world Orcella Rexford
aspect of our Faith . . . she gave one
of the most convincine menint? talks
on the Fafth 1 have e k r ' h e a i .
She ~ n ~ l in
. ..
r l the eh0rtp-t time create, A letter from the Guardian, thmugb
and with the greatest ease devise and R6blyyih =Anurn, to the local Assemformulate plans for any project . . . was ofmLo$
bly Angeles says in part: "She
m d no task seemed too difficult. . . . e of the most devoted teachers
She looked forward eagerly to the mm- of the Cause in the States, and respon.
Ing of each day as an opporbnity for sibIe for bringing it to the attention of
.
further development. . . I can think
of few people who loved a new idea
a great many people, aa well as for
the cnnfirmafion of many souls. Her
as much as OrcelTa did. .. . She was radiant devotion will, not be forgotten,
and her examp]@should certainly be
born to conquer and overcome those
obstacles which stand between one and an inspiration to her fellow believers.
his goal. I have seen her leave a nick It is a great pity th@ Cause should Iose
bed to speak at a public meeting." her services just as the new S e w n
OrcelIa RcxFord was laid to rest Au- Year Plan is getting under way. He
gust 14 at IngIewood Park Cemetery, asks you t~ particularly convey to dear
near the grave of Thornton Chase. Mr. Gregory his profound pympathy for
Friends filled the chapel; Paul S c h p the loss oi such a wonderful woman
eny, who learned of the Faith through and to assure h l m he will pray for her
brcella, traveled from Phoenix, Ari- happiness in the next world, a world
zona to sing at the memorial servicc, in which she will And many of her old
and Mrs. India Haggarty, Mrs. Flor- fellow teachers awaiting her. . . ."
ence IIoldnger, and Mrs. Emily Schie- A record of OrceIla'a's last day on
mann spoke. Winstan Evans read the earth was set down by her friend, Mrs.
prayer at the grave. The Guardian's
cable to Dr. Gregory was mad "Deplore loss Indefatigable, gifted promot-
Edith Weston:
That laat morning Mrs. Weston drove I
OrceIla and other friends up fmm
er Faith. Heartfelt, sympathy. Fervent Hollywood to the Fiesta in Santa Bar.
prayers. Shoghi." bara. Orcella, true ta her l o w of colors,
498 THE BAHA'f W O R L D
was wearing a striped g r e w cotton I have missed, and 1have always wantdress and a dark emerald-green swea- ed to go."
er, and her hat and mat were two I t got dark and they started for
ahadca of purple: with her soft hair home. This was OrceUa's very last
and fresh skis, she looked radiant and journey; she devoted it to teaching her
youthful. friend:
They went up by the Coast mad; the "She talked Bahi'i, she radiated it;
wind blew, the smell of f i ~ h wns in ulc she s~emecllike some spiritual elf,tryair, the spray stung t h e t faces. In San- ing to share with us the ethereal joy
ta Barbara Orcella guided them to the of her relig~on. 'Bahi'is love peace,'
old Spanish misston-the "Queen of the she explained. 'They are hospitable. No
Missions"-and then took them to call one has too much, for all share. Chilon a resident BahA'I family, the Matte- dren must get the consent of both parsons, explaining on the way that ents before they marry. Those who
Bahl'b are hospitable and that t h ~ y come into thc Faith receive a special
could doubtless eat their picnic h u h outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This
in the Matteson home. Mrs. Weston dis- comes always with a new Manifestscovered that Mr. Matteson had built tion. Oh, if I could be your spiritual
hls house with his own hands, using mother, and bring you into the peace,
sections of old buildings, packing cases the hnppiness, the utter m t e n t m e n t ,
and new lumber, Above thc mnntlc- that th* Faith ha$ given me.'
piece they saw a green, sculptured "Alter awhile she was silent. I asked
square of rosewwd, on which was if she was tired. 'Oh no,' she replied,
painted the symbol of the Greatest and once again she became her old
Name. The visitors spread their lunch alert wonderful self. At IO:90 we said
out on the long dining-room table. TRhm good-by. m e doctor--my husband-'
they left, O r e l l a promised to come and she said reflectively, Was my only respend a weekend in the little guest gret on this perfect day. 1 wish he
house Mr. Matteson was hrlding. could have been with us.' "
After that they w a t c h 4 the Fiesta
parade, whphich depicts the city's history
from Indian times. Orcella and Mrs.
Weston sat in the curbing along the
line of march; they saw babies in flowerdecorated carts, young men and On October 15, 194. tht BahB'fs
women in the costumes of long ago, of Egypt received with sorrow the news
Spanish dons on Arab horse-bright of the gassing away of AM-Fetouh
colors, shiny harness, tooled-leather Battah, an early Egyptian BahQ'i, and
saddIes heavy with silver. Warner a true servant of the Faith.
Brothers was taWng pictures. Tl~esun He followed his father in embracing
was hot, but Orcella did not complnin. the Cause during the historic sojourn
Later they drove around a bit, started of 'Abdu'l-BahB in Egypt in 1QlC-1911,
to window shop, ended by shopping in and had the privilege of being in His
earnest-and Orcella was delighted Holy Presence.
with hex purchases. At six she suegesb- He devoted himelf to the service of
ed they go over to the Samarkand, the thc Faith, and was never daunted by
Persian hotel; here they w a l k d threats or persecutions, Bravery in dethrough the long twilit gardens with fendig the Cause was hi distinction,
their light-blue alabaster vases. They and his thorough study of the teachings
looked down across the city. ''See, be- mablcd him to meet the various argufore the Government took over this ments of the oppositionwith a dominant
hotel for the soldiers, water used to power, and to surprise his adversaries
flow down this broad decline clear bo with sound and convincing prnofs.
the bottom of thc dclI," Ormlla said. In 1914 and 1935, when psrseeutiome
"This is really Fenian, with its sunken raged in Port-Said and Alexandria regardens, its flowers, its running waters. myi7sbd Abprlnla. al Ew
u a lArscmW
~ I tand
~ m t & a l ~en
I'm going to Persia. It is the one glace
IN M E M O R I A M 499
zeal and energy mt11 he p a s s d away.
His loss was deeply regretted by the
beloved Guardian.

'ALI SAID-EDDIN!
On Februaw 19, 1947 the BahB'fs
of Egypt were shocked at the irrep
arable loss of a staunch believer, and
a sincere servant of the Cause, 'Ali
Said-Eddi.
His knowledge of the Caus@ went
back M the e a r k days of the Belowd
'Abdu'l-BaM, when at the age of sixtern he noticed in one of his school
teachers a t Beirut certain characteristics and vlrtues which he greatly admired. When he learned that that
teacher waa il Bah67, it m s suffltient
to attract him whoIb to the new Fa~th.
Later he was brought into the presence
of 'Abdul-BahP by his teacher, and
the moment his eyes fell upon the Holy
Abul-Fetouh Battah Countenance h e recognized at once the
Divine Resplendency shiningfrom the
Beloved Master and became d e w t c d
to Him.
spcctivcly, ho nccornpllshed much in Some years later he lived m Palee
behalf of the Baha'is by interviewing tint where he received the blessings
high off~ualsand giving sound state* of the Master. On various occasions
ments on the truth of the BahA'i he served the Cause under circum-
Faith. As a government employee, h e stances which for a long period of his
was transferred to Mag-Harnmadi, Up- life were very hard, as the hatred and
per Egypt, where in 1941 he attendpd enmity of the Covenantbrealcers were
a carrsc on civil defense against air raging.
raids, and made his first lecture on The ascension of 'Abdu'l-BahB was
Universal Peace a s ordained by a deep shock to him, but he soon i m d
gahi'u'llah. Observing the tumult his his consoIatim in the Guardian. Being
lecture caused, especialb among the wholly devoted, h e sought the advice of
Muslim clergy present, he published an Shoghi Effendi in every undertakin~,
invitation to them as well as to certain and so In 1931 he proceeded to Egypt
eminent persons of the town to hold to settle permanently in Port Said.
a meeting to dlscuss the Bahi'i Faith. Not only those fellow believers who
H e was soon transferred, however, to had the privilege oI seeing him at the
the more remote city of Lwror, and Holy Shrines on every commemoration
was warned by his chid, the dudgc and fcstival occasion, but the entire
of the Tribunal, againet continuing such Bahi'i community of Egypt d l 1 reactivities. In Luxor he resumed his member how great was his faithfulness
activities, delivering the Message to a and how amazlng was his love and
few souls and supplying one of thc devotion.
biggest hotels with BahA'i literature Although he was ill fmm l990 until
tor its reading library Feeling that ho his denth, he pdcipaM in all
could serve the Cause better as a free Baha'i activities, and indeed his sickagent, he retired and settled in Cairo.
Rc continued his service with great
T H E BAHA'f WORLD

ness seemed t o give him greater
spiritual power.
His sacrdices a r e beyond calcutation.
"Villa Safwan," bequeathed hp him to
the National Spiritual. Assembly of
Egypt, stands as a monument to his
generosity, and his gift of land to the
Holy Shrines at Cnrmel ranks him
among those whose names and deeds
are imperishabIe.
The foIlowmg cable was received
from the beloved Guardian: "Deeply
grieve (the) passing (of the) beloved
staunch servant (of the) Faith, 'Mi
Effendi Said-Eddin. His exemplary
servlces enriched Bahi'l endowments
m both E g y p t and the Holy Land.
Advise friends hold memorial gatherlngs (mf memory (of) his imperishable
services."

On necember 13, 1946, the BahL'is 'Ali Said-Eddi
of Egypt learned with deepest m w
and gricf of the passing of MNammad
Tau1 MBhBnn, the last survivor of 'UlamBs cursed and accused of heresy.
the age of BahB'ullbh. His loss is H e was horrified when hlullb Ilftilyrnirreparable,.not only to his Mend8 in mad B4qir (surnamed "the Wcl£" by
Egypt, who had received from him true the Supreme Pen), and ImimJum'Ih
fatherly Iove and luridness, but also do killed the two brothers, Muhammad
thosc innumerable friends in both the Hasan (surnamed the SuItin of
East and West who knew him well, Martyrs) and Muhammad Vusayn (surgreatly valued his services, and a p named the Beloved of Martyrs), not
preciated his help on their visits to and because they werc BAbis, nor because
from the IIoly Land they arere regarded as apostate, but
He grew up in Persia where he firat because ImAm-.Yum'ih was indebted
g11mpsed the light .of truth shining fmm to them for LE 8WO and sought to free
the horizon of BahB'u'llBh. This was himself from debt by this savage and
~ I Ithe early days of His Declaration, brutal crime.
when the fire of hostility toward the In 1878 Muhammed Tag1 1qfhh-d
Faith was being lit by its enemies, left for Egypt. During this voyage he
who were drawn from among the met many believers m various counvarious classes and dignitaries of t r ~ e sand thus learned more of the new
Persia. Be heard the 'Ulambs (Mbs- Faith. He stopped at 'Akkd, the city
lem leaders) addressfng the masses of the Prison, where he was welcomed
from their pulpits, arousing them and In the friends of the Faith, and where
inciting them to rise against the be- the brothers' murder was much dislievers of the new Faith, to destroy cussed. The first day he had the honor
them. and to upmot their movement; of meeting 'bbdu'l-BahC, and the secr
and h e witnessed the patience, forgive- ond mornlug he was privileged to
n r h s , serenily, uprigl~lriush,nud alead- make hls flrst visit t o the Holy P r e s
fashess of those men whom the erne of BahB'u'Hlh, when the Tablets
* thc nauoual
Bahal$ 04 Em!, SUE",".\ Cd
revealed in hwor of the two martyrs
were being chanted by AqL JAn,
IN MEMORIAM 501

(surnamed the Servant of God). Atter
thirteen days stay he resumed his
journey to Egypt. Later, h e made four
more trips to the Huly Land: the second
one Initiated his career, because on
that viait BahB'u'llBh advised him to
settle in Egypt, and his last visit was
in 1991,just a year hcforr t h nnr~nsion
~
of the Blessed Beauty.
His devotion to 'Abdu'l-Babi, the
Center of the Covenant, wna very sincere, and he had the privilege of receiving His blessings on many visits
to the Holy Spot, the last being on
February 4, 1919. The historic vislt oE
'AWu'l-Bahl to Egypt in 191h1912
gajned Muhammad Taqi I ~ f i h Q n i
fresh mace as he devoted himself to
His service as well as to the service
of the p~lgrlms.
On Ncwembcr 28, Im, he was deeply
shocked by the news 01 the ascension
of the Beloved Master, announced by
the Greatest Holy Leal by a cablegram.
He proceeded to I3aifa immediately
and there he felt that the world had
become dwoid of life. On the fortieth
day he left Haifa, when the sighs of
sorrow and grief of the bereaved, both Muhammad TaqI &f&M
traht%'is and non-Bahfi'is. were suddenly transformed into delight and h a p
piness on reading the "Will and Testament,'* in which the Beloved Master mught through their agents in Egypt
directed His followers to turn their to mislead the beliwers. His steadfaces towards the light shlnlng from fastness and zeal discIosed their conthe Distinguished Branch, the Beloved spiracy and protected the Cause of
Guardian of the Cause of God, Shoghi God against their mischief.
Effendi. In the field 01 literature Taqi Effendi
The progress of the Caum in Egypt took a notable part. He knew by heart
is associated with the services of almost all the general Tablets of
Mfiammad Tag1 E,f&h&ni.There Bah$'u9U&hand of 'Abdu'l-BahA, and
only a few believers when he first he could r m t most of the outstandcame to Egypt, but through his adiv- ing histomcal wents as if they were
ities many soula came to embrace the yet fresh. As chief member of the
Cause, and many centers were estab Publishing Committee, he helped to
fished. translate into Arabic many bmka and
His house was dedicated to Babel Tablets, auch aa thc iqan and S m e
activities and many meetings were held A m w e d Questicns. He also w r o l
there. It was honored by the visit of articles demonstrating the h t h of the
the Beloved Master during His sojourn Cause and promoting its teachings and
In Egypt. Y h z i Abu'l-Fag md Mrs. principles.
L.M. Getsinger spent their last days
on earth in that house, receiving all Years did not dim the brightness of
Ilospitality and care. his ~pirit,althoueh they laid upon him
His spirit of faithfulness shone with and increasing burden of sorrows and
full brightness when the Covenanb disasters. The deaths d his sons, folbreakers began t h e ~ r activities and lowed by the death of his wife, left
THE BAHA'I WORLD

him alone, but his spirit never faltered memorial gatherings to commemorate
nor felt lonelmess, as his true mmiort his hlgh achievements which Concourse
was found in his Beloved Bahh'u'llih. on High extol, for which I feel deeply
His kindness and hosgdalily were ek- grateful. . . .sho&i."
tended io everybody, and h ~ innurncrs H i j i Mahmud Qassabchi, who was
able services are graven upon the a descendant of a very old family of
hearts of the bellevers of the East and Baghdhd embraced the BahB'i Faith
West. m 1911 through reading The 51er o j the
As a Hand of the Cause of God, West which then publ~shedrewrts of
Mmammad Tsqi IsfBhAni served, 'Abdu'l-BahP's travels in Eurupe. His
underwent hardships, and passed away addresses, His photographs, and a o
w ~ t ha smile of peaoe. Memorial gath- counts of the dcep and widespread
erings were held by the believers in interest He created among the various
vanous centers, and a suitable resting classes of the Western world. The 1splace is in Mursc of construction in sues of this Bahi'i magazine were
the Bahl'i Cemetery. Nothing can presented to him by a certain BahP'i
better express the measure of this rich merchant of Yewlsh extraction, the late
Life and ~ t sblessed termination than Joseph M d u , who later gave
the following cablegram recelvcd from Qassabchi, at his request, a mpy of
the Beloved Guardian:- the Ktfdb-bAqdas, which served to re-
"Hcarts ( R ~ P )e w l stricken (by the) inforce and consummate his faith in the
passing (away of) heIoved, outstand- new Revelation. The Master, in a Tab
ing, steadfast promoter (of the) Faith. let revealed in his honor in this conhf*arnmad Taqi Tqf4hM. Inng record nection, b l e s s 4 him for having attained
(of) his magnificent, exemplary serv- the summit of being and believed in
ices (is) imperishable (and) deserves the revealed signs of the secret of exrank (him among the) hands (of the) rstence. From then on he contuuued to
Cause (of) God. Advine hold befitting offer to tblrsty s o d s the celestial Water
memorial gatherings (by) Egyptian of Life of which he had been eiven
centers. (I am sending a] contnbuhon to drink.
(of) two hundred pounds (for the) construetiopl (of a ) grave. Hhji Mahmiid Qassabchi's services
to the Cause of God started soon after
(Signed) Shoghi." World War I when, by permission of
'Abdu'l-Bahi, he undertook the restoration of the blessed Houae of
BahA'u'lIdh. Although he had expressed
his readmess t o do this important work
at his own expense, the Master and a
On the morning of September IS, number of believers participated in
l947 the friendx of 'Irdq were deeply contributing to this end.
grieved by the news of the loss of the
w e l l - h o r n believer, QQJI Mahmird of InBahB*u'llih
1925 when the case of the House
was being considered
Qassabchi, that faithful, steadfast and and decided u r n by thc law courts of
devoted Bahi'i who loved and served Baghdad, and the Shi'ih populace
the Faith of Baha'u711& until the last
were causing a great agjtation about
days of his llfe on earth. thc diaputcd casc, thus rendering the
The Guardian paid tribute to Aim in situation of the bellevers in Ba&d&d
the following telegram to the National very critical, pAji Mahrnird Qassab
Spiritual Assembly dated September chi not only stood firm and faithful to
17, 1947: "Deeply grieved loss dearlybeloved, illustrious promoter Faith, the Cause of BahB'u'llhh but encour-
H A j i Mahmud Qassabchi. Fas pre- aged other friends to do Itkcraise. Meancious, historic servlces in 'Iriq, time, he expended freely t o defray the
Persia, HoIy Land, unforgettable, ex- fees of the lawycra who were engazed
e m. d a r y.. A d v ~ s ecenters hold befitting
-
ta defend the BahP'i case.
A few years later, he was privileged
.E;F1 Wr1- .4=-mwof the t0 play the leading part in the purchase
IN MEMORIAM 5W

and establishment of the first
Ha&-atu'lQuds of BaghdM, and when
the friends undertook to m t r u c t the
present Notional KnzIrabu'tBuds his
cantributions were very g e n e r a .
Qassabchi was also among the first believers who participated in na small
measure in the erection of the Haziratu'l-Quds of the village of Avashiq,
the first of its kind to be built in 'Irhq.
Perhaps the most distinguished and
imperishable service he was privileged
lo render to the BahiiSIFaith was the
construction of the three additional
rooms adjoining the Shrine of the B i b
on Mount Carmel. These rooms now
contain the International Bahb'i Archives. The beIoved Guardian, who personally supervised the work, repeatedly
extolled this mcritorious service of
Haji Mnhmud.
With the approvak of the Guardian,
H4jl Mnhrnfid Qassalxhi participated
through his contribution, in the purchase of the land which ls to be t h e HAJI M a h m ~ dQassabchi
site of Persia's Maariqu'l-Aakkir. A
few years before his passing, HQji Mahmfid QassabdLi donated t o the Cause
three small. houses a d ~ o i n i nthe
of Bahi'u'llih.
~ House ky ~ f 2
, ~ W ~ ~ ~

to the Holv Land where he took mtf
Concerning one of his recent contri- in the funeral of Bahiyyrh ~ h ~ n u m .
butions to the Faith, Ruhiyy~hKhhum I n 1933 Qassabchi suf£ered a severe
writing to a friend ip BagbdAd, stated: attadt of paralysis which he narrowly
"Please inform Mr. Qassabchi when survived and as a result of which he
you give him the enclosed receipt that could hardly inove or speak for the
the Guardian has decided, in view of rest of his life. On September 11, lsf7
his great affrction for h ~ m to , use this Qassabchi, who had already grown &ail
loving contribution of his to the Faith and weak, fell ill, and two days Iater
for work en completing t h e superstruc- wlnged his flight iu the Abhi Kingdom.
ture of the Bib's blessed Temple, when- He was buried at Salman Pak, about
ever circumstances p e r m ~ this
t hisboric thirty miles southeast of Baghdid.
enterprise to be c o m m e n d . "
I n 1931 Qassabchi with the a g
groval .of the G~unrdian traveled to
Bahbk'llah's native land, where he was
very delighted t o meet large numbers
of devoted and zealous beUevers in
p h r b , K_hurBssh, and other cities and
towns. There he lost no chance io eon- Mrs. Bedah Storrs Lewis was born
tribute to various Bahi'i enterprises of a well-known Mormon family in
and undertahngs. Springville, Utah, on January 21, 1&S1.
In 1932 QarsabJli had the honor to She died in Los Angeles, California. on
visit thc beloved Guardian a n d the November 9. 1947. Her life had been a
BahA'i Holy Shrmes. Lnter in the year, tree that bore much fruit. As Miss Beuwhile spending the summer in Damas- lah Storrs, she married A l k r t E.
cus, Syria, he received the shocking Lewis. They had no physical children,
504 THE BAHA'I WORLD
but Mrs. L e w ~ shad a spiritual family
that was indeed numerous. For Mrs.
Lewis was an elcquent speaker, a fluent writer and an octivc Bahh'i teacher. For approximately twentyeight
years she had devoted an increasing
amount of her time and her unlque capaelties to spreading the "Glad-Tidings" of the ccmlng of BahP'u'llah.
According to her brother, findrcd L.
Storrs, Beulah became a foIlourer of
the Bahi'i Faith in CaWornla. Be
writes: "As I remember It, Beulah first
became a BahB'i in 1919. I became a
Bahi" a h o s t instantaneously when I
iisst Iearned of it through Beulah. My
mother followed soon after that. My
father never declared hmself to be a
BahP'i, but talked BahA'i to practically
everyone he met. Beulah . ..
the Br&ham Youna Univers~ty at
attended

Prow, Utah, and later studied in England. . . . She had a varied experience
in dramatics, and had been m the
movies in Hollywood in the silent days.
.
. . I do know that she gave up every- Beulah Storrs Lewis
thing, irrduding her arnbitm in the Rcld
of dramatics to serve Bah4'u'll6h.'"
Mrs. A. C. Platt relates that, while
Beulah was acting i r ~ille d e n t moving irlg ilre teachings of Bahi'u'll~h. After
pictures, she met with an accident and a lechre, one of the members of the
was taken for recuperation to the home audience who came tn speak to her
of Mother Wright, a Baha'i and a cnm- was Dr. Mayo, of the well-known Mayo
petent character actress. But it was at Brothers of Minnesota. He told her that
the home of MTS. PIatt that a Baha'i he wan impressed by her efforts to
study class was conducted. Two mem- serve humanity spiritually without Eibers who attended the class regularly nancial return. He said that he had
and expressed keen interest In the noticwl in her symptoms of a kidney
teachings were a 11ttle girl and her ailment, which If treated in time, could
mother. That girl was Carols Lombard be greatly benefited, if not cured. Then
who later became a world-famow ac- he added that he too was trying to aid
tress, and a close friend of Beulah mankind in the ffeld of physical health,
Lewis. In the spring of 1938, Carole and that he would like to offer her the
Lombard Gable, already a Bahi'l at facilities of the Mayo Brothers Clinic
heart, was encouraged by Mrs. Lewis without cost. Though his kind and unto appear before the Sp~ritualAssem- selfish offer was deeply appreciated,
bly of the Bahb'is of Los Atlp~lecand she decided she wuld not acrept it
to decIare her belief. She joined the It was also in New York City that
Baha'i World Faith and became a mem- an enemy of the Faith came to Mra.
ber of the Los Angeles community. Lewis and offered to establish her aa
ms.Lewis was active in civic ai- a minister m a church d her o m ,
fairs. In 1930 she was president of the saying that from this position she could
Cadrnan CIub. She had also served as obtain both wealth and fame. Her represident of the Ciiy Wompn's Rrrak. fusal wan immediate and definite.
fast Club. A close friend of Mrs. L&is, Mrs.
When on a *it to New York City, Martin G. Carter, who Hved in Los
Mrs. Lewis devoted her time t o spread- Angeles, opened her hospitable home
IN M E M O R I A M 505

£or many years to classes that Mrs.
Lewis taught of the BahB'I Faith. MTS.
Carter ac.tively Interested hersel! in inviting thc opmminded and pmnressivc
among those she contacted to attend
and study in thcse classes. She states
that m her opinion possibly one hundred
souls became awakmcd and declared
themseIves Bahi'is thrw& the effective teaching of Mrs. Lewis. either dlrectly or indirectly,
As to the spirit which animated Mrs.
Lewis as a Baha'i teacher, her brothcr
has written from Salt Lake City: "She
was extremely humble and grateful to
BnhB'u'llLh for the ~nspiration which
she received and for the good that so
many people derived from it."
from Miss Clara E. Weir, a close
friend of Mrs. Lewis, mmes this statement: "I knew Beulah in the darn of
her robust vital~ty. . . . By her eloauence she could warm and inspire her
Cstencrs with the love of God and
stimulate them to rise to heights d
service . .. My earnest prayer for her
is that doors oi service may open to
her in all the worlds of God."
turning point in the history of the Cause
in Egypt. Thou& this charnpimship,
the Faith nf Bahi'u'U&h was for the
first time, declared by Mu~llrnreligioue
authorities to be an indeoendwt Faith.
The passing of our dear brother, so that a Bahi't could nit be regarded
Hasan Mar*[ Tantiwi on the twenty. as a Muslim, nor a Muslim as a Bahi'i.
e~ghthof August, 1940, terminated a pe- U p n the isauance of that historic
riod of heroism in the annals of the verdict, Hasan Mar'i moved born h i u
Cause in Egypt. He was one of the village and settled in Cairo. Ris hardfour heroes of Kawrnu78Sa'iyldih, the ships did not cease, but his spirit conhistoric village in Upper Egypt, w h , tinued to grow stronger. At last he wan
undeterred by the forces af terror, ap- appointed a teacher by the anistry ol
peared before the Muslim Court and Education, and was thus afforded a
courageously and unreservedly de- comparatively peaopfu1 life.
clared their faith in BahH'u'llHh.Taking
into consideration the times, and how As a graduate of the thousanb-year
great has been the evolutim in the old Mudim University, al-Azhar, he exthinking of their m t r y m e n in the erted his howledge, s m g t h and skin
course of the twenty-five years since in a~slstlngin translatiny inlo Arabic
that first charge was brought against many of the BahB'I Writings.
the BahB'is in Egypt, the championship In August, 1949, he visited the.friendu
of the Cause which he and his fellow- of Alexandria during his summer holibelievers displayed appear incompara- day. His regular attendance at their
bly greater than similar events record- meetings caused mutual delight and
ed later. happiness.
That championship stands in the an- On the evening of his pasdng be atnals closely assclciated with thefr sac- tended a local symposium of the BtrhB"1
riflces and sufferings and marks the youth d Alexandria. It is said that his
503 T H E BANA'f W O R L D
joy, happiness and thanldulness to
Bahi'u'llih werc so great that he
seemed t o feel as if it were the last
nrraeion for him to express his deep
affection, love and apprcc~atimlto his
beloved fellow-believers! dust as he
reached his home, he began to suffer
heart faiIurc and w i t h i fifteen minutes
h c passed away. % w a s fifty-six ycars
of age.
His body was interred in the Baha'i
burial ground in Cairo.
May his soul abide in eternal rest in
the Kingdom of AbhP!
(National Spiritual Assembly
of Egypt and Sudan)

mritten by Robert GuXck from data
supplied by 'Abdu'fiRazzBq 'AbbBs.1
Toward the close of 1949, vialent
death claimed luki'd-Dfn 'AbbBs, one
ut the most active and enthusinstlc in many trips, perhaps a dozen, to
Baha'is of 'Ir4q. He was born in Auguat Haifa.
1902, the son of 'Abbhs Rid8 MaSbadi A teacher by profession, he spent
'AAbbis who had four years earlier em- most of his life in the employ of the
braced the Cause. Mnistq of Educat~onof 'Iriq. TRe in-
Nhri'd-Dm w a s one of those blessed spectars knew of his allegiance to the
F a ~ t hand because of this sent him to
souls who thirst after righteousness. distant and uncowted places in 'Irlq.
Although Bahi'i literature was very This discriminatory treatrncnt enabled
scanty durmg the days af his youth, he him bo render unusual services ta the
loved to read whatever he could find Faith as a p m e e r settler and teacher.
r h t the Faith. He spared no effort During t h e last seven years of his
ta seek out every manuscript in his earthly existence, h e and his wde
eagerness to master the Teachingx. He taught school in Sulaymbniyyih, a town
shared his father's perseverance and in 'XrBqi Kurdisthn which will forever
devotion to the Cause. Attacks and per- be remembered because of the sojourn
secution only served to strengthen his there of BahB'u'IlAh. N9iri'd-Din'Abbfrs
cffoorta, end his loyalty and self-sacri- loved the Kwde, and his affection wus
fice ~.eachedtheir m i t h in the face of recipmcated. He performed the hisopposition. toric service of securing the translabon
into Kurdish by Mahrnhd Jawdat of Dr.
In his library he kept every available Esslemont's BahaW'Ildh a d the New
BahB'i book, including many published Era. Not mdy did he succeed in getting
in other parts of the world. His time the volume translated but he also disand money were oonsecrated to Bahi't trihut~dit widely smong the Kurds. He
service, his one consuming interest in personally translated into Arabic
life. His Iwe for the Cause and for George Townshend's pamphlet about
Shoghi Effendi was further expressed Qneen Marie's conversron to the Faith,
IN M E M O R I A M 507

publishing and distributing hundreds of
copies and presenting a gmdly supply
to the BahB'i library in Baghdid.
He was loved by his students and by
all who lmew him intimately.

JULIA CULWER , 4 ,:.-.v ,

February 8, 1861January 22, 1950
BY S m . r W~nor:
Julia Culver, after forty-seven years
of dwoted, generous and sacrificial
~ e r v l c eto the Faith of BahQ'u'llBh, was
released from this world of limitations
m January 22, 1950 in East Oakland,
California, and passed to broader horiwns at the age of e~~hty-nine.
Born in 1831, Julia Culver spent four
yeara as a child in Germany. When
the family returned to the United
States, they lived in Chicago. At twen- Julia Culver
ty&, Julia returned to Europe. I t was
in M u ~ c h in , 1903, sixteen years l a w ,
that she first heard of the BahB'i Falth
from gn Arner~can woman who was tlclrieve~ments. Together they faborcd
there at the time. in Europe for five years and did out
In those days there were few persons standlnR teaching work in Bredau and
in the United State$ or in Europe who in Budapest a t the Esperanto Congressknew s h u t BahPu'llhh, much less re- es held In those cities. Julia contributed
ognized Him as the Manifestation of large sums of money a t t h ~ stime so
G 4 for our time. J u l ~ eCdvcr, how- that the teaching work might go forever, was one of those r a r e souls who ward and throufiout the following
seemed to have been spiritually pre- ycars continued to aid greatly the acpared to recognize the Prophet on tivities of Martha Root and other Bahb'i
learning of His coming. No sooner had teachers.
she heard of His Messace and pcrused Early in 1927, the failing health of
what little was avallabte to the Western Mrs. Stannard, who had established the
world at that time of His Teachings, BahPl International Bureau in Gcneva
than she accepted their validity and at the request of the Guardian, made
dedicated her llfe to the promotion of lt imperative to find someone to take
His Cause. Back in the United States over the burden. Julia Culver, familiar
in 1904, wellt tu Qreeo Acre, in with the Continental pcopIcs an8 Ian-
Marne, where Sara Farmer, through guages, seemed the ideal choice and
her Green Acre Conferences, was was heartily approved by the Guardsmeacbna the Glad Tidinas of inn.
....
~ a h i ~ ~ ~coming. l i w s mere sh; deep- with M ~ m~ a. r d no longer a b e
-e a m g s .
ened..her knowledge of the Divine t, assume the expenses of
Julia Culver, by that October, was
beau,

In about ls20 JUlta Culver juinerl raced with the d~ui~v u l seeing this in=-
forces with Martha Root, that intrepid portant, though embryonic,inknation-
BahB'i teacher who won such a crown a1 center closed. or of takine uoon herof glory by her tireless efforts and self the full reiprmsibility f o r it. She

.- .- -
T H E BAHA'I WORLD
elccted the latter, and with a conbrk the Bahk'i Bureau will increase in
butron of six English pounds a month power and will gather round it the
from Shoghi Effendi, (later increased other movements represented there
lu nine pounds), Julia Culver supplied (all ob them less complete, less int h e rernain~ng und major share of the formed, less inspired than it) until
necessary funds to keep the Bureau it becomes, by the sheer force of its
functioning and expanding. own merit nnd character, the ac-
111 tllr e a i r l y summer of 1928, Emo- hmvlcdgd Center uf nll the congcne Hoagg, a t Julia" suggestion, structive energies of that Internationcame to Geneva to help and together a l city. Thin of muse will happen.
thgr built the Bureau Library, initiated Nothing can stop it. May it be s m .
a bulletin and arranged lectures, teas How great a privilege is y o u s and
and other activtbes dcsigned to make Mrs. Hoagg's to be so bravely and
the Bureau n meeting ground for all successfully upholding there this
persons and groups who were w r k i n g great Cause through these difficult
for peace and the betterment of the times. . . ."
world. Many notable persons visited the Nor was the develqment of the In-
Bureau in those years and attended its ternational Bureau the only service that
functions. Among those who h a w open- Julia Culver offered h e r belwed Feith.
ly voiced their sympathy with and ap- It was she who arranged for the
preciation of th~?BahPi Faith and prb- French translation of Dr. Esslemonr's
claimed it as perhaps the greatest force Bahd'u'lkih and the New Era, and she
In the world f o r the unihcation of man- who shared her own Limited resources
kind, was the late Eduard Ben&, then t o help any and all who were in need.
Mimster of Foreign Affairs for Her d ~ a r ydiscloses but a few of the
Czechoslwakia. host of deeds and contributrms which
Under the direction of Julia Culvcr, flowed from her loving, generous heart
the Intematfonal Bureau thus cooper- and purse: a hundred dollars to help
atcd with all nrgnnlrntlons in Geneva educate a Persian youth: eighty dollars
that were striving towards goals siml- to aid someone else; a check to a mothlar to those of the Bahl'is, maintained er u,hose daughter had suffered the
contact with the activities a£ the Faith amputation of a leg; cheeks to Bahb'i
throughout the world and did all in her teachers in Europe whose means were
power to make it an a w r l l ~ a r ynerve too 11mited--everywhere the helping
center to Raifa, ax the Guardian wiah- hand.
ed, in all that pertained to the Faith. Small wonder that George Towfishend
Thls was no small task, but with the wrote st this period (July 1930) : "The
a ~ dof BahB'i travelers from all parts bugles of heaven are blowing strains
o i the world, both the Bureau and the of thankEulness for your faithful,
number of Swiss believers stcad~ly staunch and determined efforts to
grew. o b q the Center of the Cownent and
One of those Bahl'i travelers to visit keep the Geneva Bureau go^. Listen
Geneva in those days, was thc eminent t o the bugles and do not mind the
George Townshend, Canon of St. Pa$ .
yappngs of mortals. . . M y thoughts
and prayers will be with you and your
rick's Cathedral in Dubho and Archdeacon of Clonfert (aos~tionshe has re- brave, lonely and invaluable work for
cently renounced to devote his entire God and His Cause."
tlme to the teaching of the BahP'i In January 1B31, on the eve of her
Faith). On his return to Ireland in Oo- aeventleth birthday, her physical
tober 3929, Dr. Townshend wrote to Ju- strength failing, Julia C d w r wrote to
lia Culver: Shoghi Effendi asking permission to re-
"Geneva i s to me a havm of spirib turn to the United States. His answer
ual henrsty an echo of HaIfa. I camc *eying she might go home. EII~V.
have seen Geneva and felt there a gene Hoagg was to return ta Geneva
spirituaI power I had not felt else- to replace her. I n June, Julia wrote to
where. 1 hope that more and more her to say that she was putting aside
IN MEMORIAM

funds to maintain the Bureau until the
following May. But due to unforscen
circumstancos Emogene Hoagg was not
able to leave f o r Europe, and the next
spring found Julia Culver still In Geneva, still hoping to k relieved and,
at that time, planning to arrive in Geyservdle, California, in g c d senson fox
the Bahfi'i Summer School sessions
there. In August, she was "hoping to
go in September." But it was Mag 1033
before it was possible for Julia Culvcr
t a leave for California.
Even then she could not be idle. After
a short rest she was busy once more
promoting the Teach'igs of the Cause
sbe lowd s o well. In California she
spread the Divine Message in various
crtiea and in Chemeketa Park was planning to open a children's school. But
failing health and finances fruqtmted
her purpose and she rvns a t last forced
to sell her property and live quietly
with her sister in Berkeley until ik bp
came necessapy to glace her in a rest
home in East Oakland where she pass- Mountfort Mills
ed away.
Julia Culver, in her forty-seven years
of Ba?&'i servlce, gavc of her substance Before the end of 1909, Mountfort
until, she had no more t o grve, elther Mills had ma& lwu pilgrimages to
physically or materially. Surely as she 'Akkd. His third pilgrimage to visit the
entered the Abhi Kingdom she was Mastet was made early in 1921. In 1922,
greeted by "the bugles of heaven. .. . with Mr. Roy C. WilhePm, he was invited by Xhnghi Effendi to go to Haifa
blowing strains of thaMulness*' for her
"faithful, staunch and determined ef- for conference with the Guardian on
forts" for the Faith of Baha'u'llih. matters related to the new conditions
On receiving news of her passmg, the created for the Faith by the Ascension
Guardian cabled thls message: ol 'Abdu'l-BahB.
"Griwe passing devoted pioneer (of)
Dur~ng the Master's viaits in New
F a ~ t h ,Jdia Culver. Her exemplary York during 1912, Mr. Mills served on
the Bahh'i reception committee which
spirit, unshakable loyalty, generous
contributions unforgettable. Fervent- s r r a n g d public addresses for 'Abdu'lly praying (for) progress (of) her
Bahh in that clty.
soul (in) Abha Kingdom." First chairman of the National Spirit-
- us1 AssembIp of the BahH'fs of the U n i t
ed States and Canada when formed in
1932 in accordmce with the pmvisiom
of the Will, and Testament left by the
NOUNTFOXT MXIA Master, Mountfort M ~ l l swas elected a
Bn HathcE m m e m b r of that body for seven terms
between 1922 and 1937. A8 trustee of
The pa~singof MOunkb* On Bahb'i Temple Unity hehad served an-
April 24, 194% d e ~ r i dthe American nually fmm its inception in 1905.
Bahh'i commun~tynf thp influence and mefinal draft of the hplnmXinn of
experience of a very distinguished be- Trust and &-Laws a d o u t 4 by the Na-
Liever. He had been a foUower of l ~ 19G was p r e p a d
tional ~ s s e & b in
BahP'u'IlHh since 1908. by Mills.
510 T H E B A H A.'f W O R L D
It would be impossible in brief space He was a member of the committee
to report his activities for thc New York which appeared before the Wilm&te
BahB'I community throughout the years W l a g e Board to appIy for a building
of his r e s i d ~ n wthere, for the national pcrrnlt for the Hause of Worship, e t a
Bahi'I community, o r in E w p e . He time when the Bahi'is owned land and
was a wlnning public speaker and hts possessed Mr. Bourgeois' design but
permafib gained many influential from a worldly point of view seemed
friends for the Faith m some of its most incagable of carrylng mlt nn imprrssive
dlUlcult days in the West. His devotion and costly a shwcture.
to the Master was impressive. Characteristic of his bfluence upon
A few outstanding events will serve people was his d i s c u s s h with the late
tu Indicate the unusual scope of his Professor Edward Browne of Cam-
Bahl'i activities. bridge University, translator of A
At the Conierence of Living Religions fiat-elter's Xawatiue: the Episode of
W~thjnthe British Empire, held in Lon- the B i b , the Persian text of which had
don, Mills represented the Bahi'is on been presented to Professor B m e by
the public platform. 'Abdu'l-Bahi at the time of hrs famous
visit to BahB'uYQh. After hearing Mr.
His appeal of the case of the House Mills' explanation of the evolution of
of Bahllu'll&h at Baghdad to the the Faith from the B i b to Bahi'u'Uih,
League of Nations, whose verdict was and i t s sitbsequent stages under the
iavorable to the F a ~ t h is
, historic. me Center of the Covenant and the terms
case is documented in earlier voTumcs of His Testament, Professor Browne
of this b i d a l record. Mllls made two realized that he had been veiled by the
journeys ta BaghdAd while studying the preomupat~onwith conPl~cting claims
facts pertaining to the BahA'i righta to and disturbances which foluwed the
possession of a sacred Baha'i shrine Martyrdom of the Bib. He expressed
confiscated by leaders of IslBm. During his desire to translate later Bahl'i
&I$ mission, acting on behalf of the works, but died before this conk~butinn
Guardian, Mountfnrt Mills had audi- to the Faith cuuld be made.
ences with the late King Feisal of 'Iraq, Mills brought into the BahB'i cornwho assured him that the government munity a trained mind, a gracious preswould carry out the terms of the df- ence, a rare quahty of friendly relaclslon rendered by the League, an in- tionship and a keen awareness of the
tent~onthe King's untimely death made need of our hme for the ~nspirationand
it lmpcssible f o r him to fulfill. Mysteri- guidance of a new Revelat~on.
ously attacked while in Baghdad, Mr. "As already inbmated," the Guardi-
Mills suffered a brutal assault the of- an wrote on October 18, 1827, "1 have
fects of which lingered for many years. read and *read most c a r m y the
Mountfort Mills prepared the Resw final draft of the By-Laws drawn up by
lution adopted by the National Spiritual that h~ghly-talented,much Ioved sarv-
Assembly for presentation ta President ant d Bah&'u'Ugh,Mountfort Mills, and
RooseveIt with an engrossed copy of feel Z have nothng substantial to add
the Tablet revealed by BahL'u'llah for t o this first and very cred~tableattempt
the heads of the Republics throughout at codifying the principles of general
America and a copy of the Master's Baha'i administration."
Prayer for America. This documcnt In hi# letter dated March 20, 19W, rewas reproduced in The Bahd'b World porting the favorable verdict pat the time. nounced by the League of Nations, the
In Geneva, Switzerland, Mills spent Guardian said: ''I must not fail in conmuch time during session8 of the clusion to refer once again to the de-
League of Nations, serving as an un- cisive role played by that distinguished
official observer and interested friend and ~nternationalc h a m o m of the Faith
of its p u h k procc&gs, and exerted of Babf'u'll'ah, our dearly-belovetl
a good influence among many of its Mountfort Mills, in the negotiat~onsthat
leaders on behalf of the Bahi'i prin- have paved the way for the signal s u e
ciples and ideals. cess already achieved. The text of the
IN M E M O R I A M 511

Bahl'i petition, which fie conceived and
drafted, has been recognized by the
members of the Mandate Commission
as 'a document welldrafted, clear in
its arguments and modernte in tone.'
He has truly acquitted himself in this
most sacred task with exemplary distinction and proved himself worthy of
s o noble a mission. I request you," (addressing the American Bahi'in) "to Jlon
rnc in my prayers for him, that the
Spirit of Bah2u1UBh may continue to
guide and sustain him in the flnal settlement of this most mighty issuc."

GEORGE ORR LATIMER
BY HOWACE
H-
I
The Centenary of the Declaration of
fhm Bhb brnueht forth ~nNorth America
;notable All-%m&ica Ccnvcntion. R e p
I
resentatlves chosen by the Latin George Orr Latimer
American comrnunlties assembled with
tho delegates elected for the United
States and Canada, and a Latin-bmerican co-cha~rman was appointed lo was BahB'i. Around him he could see
serve with the Convention chairman daily evidences d the working of an
during the sessions. indomitable spirit of faith. Here was
George Orr Latimer as chairman of no s t a t ~ cbelief in a past and f i s h e d
the National Spiritual Assembly con- revelatmi,providing slumber for souls
vened the Cmventmn and continued ta too fearful to confront reality, but a
preside when elected Convention chair- c m a d e undertaken by staunch and
man by the delegates. vigilant personalities who had to build
Perhapx in each active life there is their own path of progress from day
one e p i s d e which seems to stand out to day through the wilderness of the
as a culmination, a climax, in which
wor Id.
all the person's capacity and experi. His life-span cmncided with ,the unwrce are given their supreme fulfilY- precedented impetus which Abdu'lment. If that is so, many American Bah& gave to the concept of religion.
BahB'is will associate George Orr Lati- Rel~gicnhad been revealed truth, mamer with the Centennary Convention i n lentlc law, glorious hope and sublime
1044, when the Latin American teaching sacrifice, but never m any previous
work had become firmly established, dispensation had religion been cornmuwhen a lmal Assembly had been formcd nlly, socialized In terms of civilization
in every State and Provmce of North attuned to a valid manifestation of the
Amenca, and when the completed ex- divine Will. This mighty transfarmaterior mamentat~onof the House of tron of religion from universal truth to
Worship made possible a floodlighted community was t h e providential mis-
Temple which impressed every ob- s i m of 'Abdu'l-Bahfi, fulfilling the aims
server with a sense of exalted beauty. and conveying the powers flowing h r n
Mr. Latimer was born into and grew Bahb'u'llah to rnanktnd. 'Abdu'l-BahB
up wlth a family of pioneer Bahl'is. Inspired In the understanding and prac-
His spiritual environment from youth tice of religion its final dimension in
$12 THE BAHA'f WORLD
human reTationships and the relation- application ot truths which could not
ships of social institutions created for be previws1y appl~edin the East; asan ordered world. sistance to the work of estabIish~nga
We did 11u1 k ~ ~ owhat
w 'AMu'l-Bah4 Bahi'i curuuratt body in Americe, first
wes domg in those years, but those who na BahB'i Temple Unity, later as Naheeded Him, rcmained faithful, to the tional Spiritual Assembly; aid in the
Covenant and following in His road work of the construction of the Bah2i
were partir~patinein the very miracle Hnunp of Wo~*shlp:trav01 to distant
of human experience. Of these was lands to teach the Behb'i principles and
George Orr Latimer, from his youth to to strengthen thc bonds of fellowship
hrs sudden and unexpected death in uniting the believers of all lands; pil-
June, 1948. grimage to 'Akknand Haifa for associs-
Latimer l i d deeply in the Baha'i tion with 'Abdu'l-Bahi and prayer at
community on many levels: as teacher, the Shrines consecrakl to the Herald
lecturer, author and administrator. His and the Author of the Bahi'i Reveladevotion expressed itself an work for tion; initation of orderly development
the BahL'i schools, in writing pam- of Bahb'I properties held in trust as
phlets and magazine articles, In the de- national endowments; personal servvelopment of local and nat~onalBahi'i ices a t the schools foundcd m Eliot,
inst~twtions,in extensive travel among Maine and Geyserville, California; concvmmunities In Amerxca and Eumpo, tribution of lpgnl k n o w l ~ d f tv
i ~ the imand In the legal work of the Cause. He portant task of incorwrahng fifty or
died while a member of the National more 1mal BahB'i cornmunitles in the
Spiritual Assembly, entering tus four- United States and Cnnada."
tccnth year of service In that capacity Through the Guardian's tribute we
s ~ n c e1922. can perceive the greut and lasling mon-
"Greatly deplore gassing of distin- ument which George Orr Latimer's acguished disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahk, firm complishments have raised up in the
pillar of the American BahSi wmmu- Baha'i community.
nily, George Latimer. His outstanding
services in the closing years of the IIerolc and first stages of the Formative
Ages of the Faith are imperishable,"
the Guardfandeclared in his cablegram
to the Nat~onalAsscmbly received June On the morning of February 4, 1947,
23, 1948. Mani Mehta, son of a leading indus-
From a brief memorial prepared for trialist of Bombay, was driving home,
the Portland Assembly, this summary t~redand sleepy, when his car crashed
is quoted:- into a lamp post. H e was taken to a
"His ftrmncss in the Covenant estab hospital, but m spite of the best medillshed with the BahB'is of all t h e world cal care, he died two days Iater withby Bahi'u'llfth in the Person of 'Abdu'l- out having regained consciousness.
Bahh, joined with that of the other M ~ N Mehta first beard accidentally
members of that company (dearly be- of the Bahb'i Faith but he was immelievers), constituted the axis around diately attracted to i t and delved into
which revolved the spiritual opening of a study of its teachings with intensity
thc Wczt to thc ncw Mcscs3ogc of thc and zeal. In 11942 he formnlly a c r e p w
oneness of God and the oneness of man- the Faith. Propelled by boundless de-
GinA votion, he launched with all the fervor
"Hence In our n v l d appreciation of of his sMll and the warmth of his heart
the value of George Latimer's faith and into carrying t o others the Glad-Tidwork, we gratefully recaU these salient ings he had received. His enthusiasm
events: development of n Iocal Bahh'i was unrestrsined. He would h a w the
community from the dms of the first whole world knuw of the Truth and
share with him the Priceless P t a r l he
pioneer teachers to the days of a world- had obtained. Disregardmg position,
wide BahL't religious socieb: cavacitv
to apprehend lthe social meanin; and r B , m h a r s haa.P M . ~a.
IN M E M O R I A M 513

wealth and even safety--which tradi- any preliminary ado plunge into a talk
tional and vested interests m his corn- oi thc Cause and give the Message. On
munity, apprehendmg the menace to onc occasion, five people were traveltheir strnnghnld implied in hic cham- log b a raaway car; m e , v n h m to
pionship of the Cause, were bound to the others, was a BahL'i. As they
threaten-he arose to demonstrate the passed a fadory which had been r e
truth o i the Cause with remarkable ccntly acquired by Mr. Mehta's father,
vigor. the talk turned to t h c family and the
Hc felt that the principles of the capacity of the sons to carry on the
Farth had but to be p r e s c n w to an vast Merests of the father. Mani came
audrence for its members to achowl- In ior his share of their comments. "He
cdge and accept their truth. Under such is all right, y w h o w , but he is so
an impression, he organized a public crazy. All his talk 1s about BahP'i".
lecture at Bombay where he invited Mr. d. S. Harper, who met Mr. Mehta
his former corellg~on~sts, the Zoroas on his Kashmir trip and participated
trims, to prove to them the validity of with him in h ~ teaching
s nctivitier; m
the claim of Bahi'u'IIBh t o be the that trip, writes irr his report: "Many
Prumise of a11 Ages. The meeting brokc English Bahb'is wrl1 know the great
up in confusion £or the majorlty of the N r . Mehta of Bombay, and of his fine
audience had come, not to listen, but and direct approach in teaching the
to oppose. The protection offered by a Cause. I. found him at my hotel after
few Bahi'ls and sympalhizers prevent- fEve days, havlng a k o mme for a holl-
4 h~rn from falling a vrctim to the day from Bombay. It was no holiday
premeditated plan of assault on his per- though for Manl, for he had come soleson by the baser elements of the com- ly to set Srlsagar, the capital of Kashmunity who constituted a section of the mir, on 'fire' with the word Baha'i. I
crowd. was quickly to learn of his ambitious
&fore the intense, pers~stcntand or- and far-reaching plan and to learn to
ganized opposition which Mani Mehta my great surprlsc that I was to be a
had thereafter to face, a spirit less part of it. . ..
stout would have qunlled, but his did "We visited all sorts of people whom
not falter. His own relatives opposed I ncvcr knew existed, and from thc
him; thase within h i s ~mmediatecircle Prime Mlnister down; and we talkcd
of acquaintances called him bigoted; Bahi'i in cafes, in tongas and in the
those w~thoutthought him demented. street. We sought platforms a t several
But he went straight on in his path, schools and I helped to address the
swcrving neither to left nor right. Hrs girls at a convent a d the boys at a
attachment to the Cause was well ?em- Protestant school. . . . We gr~ntedand
onstrated d u r ~ n g this period. The distributed five thousand leaflets adstorms of trials that beat against him, vertising a public meeting. I had to
failed to subduc him. They tended but keep away from this, bcing subject to
to fan into a f ~ e r c e rblazc h ~ love
s for military law, but the high l c h t of this
the new Faith. Shortly after his en- experience was the Press Conference
~*oIlmcnt,he r m i v e d a copy of The at the largest hoteI in Srinagar. All
Promised Day t s Come by our Guard- press delegates were present and also
ian. A study of its contents r a i d his sevcral Icading businessmen and
enthusmsm to fever pitch. He was in- schoolmasters. Mr MrRtn intrducpd
strumental in bringing out an cdition the meeting after tea and then called
in Bombay. He presented copies to the upon mc to outline thc principles of
eminent men in the country and re- the Cause, which I did in a talk lasting
ceived testimonies from a few a s to forty minutes. The meetimg was F;U+
the greatness of the BahP'i Faith. cessful from the start and I would say
Mani Alehta's passion for s p e a h g to that 'tolerance' was the keynote of its
all, without exception, ahnr~tt h C~ m a r success."
1s well known. To the general across In spite of f i t h e handicapx under
the bblc or the coachman whose car- which, due to his very position in life.
r ~ a g ehe has hired, he would without he had to labor, he was always m e r -
514 T H E BAHA'f WORLD

getie in service to the Faith. In fact,
the exuberance of feeling he had on
the matter often led him bo complain
nf b h ~11vv.r pmgTPcq we makine In
the Cause in this country, snd to suggest diverse ways and means for the
capture of the attenhon of the masses.
Mani Mehta went to Europe and the
Middle East during 1945 and he visitcd
the friends in London, Manchcstcr,
Beirut, Tlhrhn, Baghdjd and Egypt. He
was keenly dissppoloted that h e couId
not meet out beloved Guardian. He was
on the local Assembly of Bombay as
well as on the National Spiritual Assembly for two years, and was vicechairman of both these Assemblies st
the t ~ m eof his passing.
He was humble, and of a forgiving
disposition. He loved the truth and held
to it tcnaciouslv. He was frank and
simple. He was affable towards his s u b
ordinates. "We shan all be terribly cut
up if our m s t e r passes away," sobbed
hls chauffeur when Mani MeMa was
lying unconscious in the hospital. "He
never treated us who served him us
inferiors. Sometimes he used to get
angry with me and disclose to me what
was in his mind, and aornetirn~sit wee
the other way about. A t such times,
he would listen with patience and forbearance and never reply in a manner MEINMehta
as ~ remind me that I was his sub
ordinate."
A few passages from the press obit- ices, was awarded thc H.B.E. in 1945.
uary notices throat further light on his "Quiet and unassuming in manners
character. and abstemious in habits, Mr. Mani
"The death of Mr. Mani H. Mehta, Mehta had a genial disposition and was
eldest son of Sir Homi Mehta, the weU- charitably Inclined."
h o r n mdustrlalist, this morning fol- 04Mr. Mehta", writes the Bornbag
lowing injuries sustained in a motor SenhwT, "who leaves behind him a
accident on Tuesday removes a prom- w~dowand a daughter, was comparainent frgure from Bombay's business tively young, being only fiIty-two years
circles," writes The Evening News of d d , was wen-known in Bahi'l circles
India. It adds, "Mr. hlehta, after his of Bombay and other parts of India,
prl~~ratim jnined his father's busmens. for the active mterest he took 1n the
He was a partner in Mcssrs. H. M. movement.
Mehta and Co., and was a director of "Many journalists h e w him perthe MU Stores Trading (la. of Indla sonally, as a friendly, unpretentious and
Ltd., and several other companies. He humble man. In spite of the fact that
took keen interest in the Baha'i mow- h e was harnessed to multifarious busiment and was president of the BaM'i ness activities of his father, he always
Spiritual. Assembly of Bombay. He was remained a dreamy idealist, w3th an unalso associated wth the war effort and worldly look about him."
was Honorary Secretary of the Giftfta "Bombay lost one of its finest young
Fund, and in recognition of his serv- workers in the untimely and tragic
IN M E M O R I A M 515

death, aa a result of a motox accident, MAULVf KUI$AMMAD '
of Mr. Mani H. Mehta,"' writes The 'ABDU'LLAX VAKfLl
Blitz on February 5, 1947. "Although
blessed with wealth, Mani was one of Ever since he accepted the Faith,
those few men of his claw who felt Maulvf M. A. Vakil was assiduous in
pain for the sufferin~sof the common its service. Simple in his ways, indif7
people and worked towards their eman- ferent to worldly fame, detached from
cipation in m a n y different fields . . . . material things, he devoted the last
What really marked him out was Ms years of his llfe to teaching the Faith
honesb, independence, mnvictims- with a zeal that neither adversity, old
and the courage to implement those age nor infirmzties could diminish. Selfconvictions in his lite and work. A less and sfncere,his patienoe and percompetent organizer, convincing orator, severance were chiefly responsible for
writcr of rare literary merit. at home the formahon and consolidation of
equaIly in the business, social and several Assembl~es and grotlps in
splritua! world, Bombay will take long Rashmir.
to forget Mani Mehta." Despite the respect he mmmanded
And finally this warm trlbute from in his community by virtue of h i s
the pen o l a l i b r a r y figure in the lolowledge arra sinceA*, his letters
Rust Rahbat of February 9: to the National Spiritual Assembly
"Me- holds back the d m r and breathed a spirit d humility which was
I see your thin eager form oonsumed truly Bahl'i, and m a man of his age
by a m~ghtyfaith, courting persecution and position, worthy of remark.
and championlng a cause by which, Maulvi 'Abdu'llih VaM was indcfatiin a worldly sense, you had nothing gable in his labors for the Cause even
to gain and c v e r y t h i y to lcsc. . .
You hved your convictions. No man
.unto the last. His writings were constantly ,directed towards guiding his
can do more. Your faith was w i l e d dormer co-rel~gionists,thc QhdIyPnfs, to
as the stuff that dreams are made of, the truth. Among his published pambut yuu ware the stuff that martyrs plilets, lhe t e a l krlowrl ia Ille Maqbariyare made of. So to your home m the i-KbAnfyar.
falling daylight. . . . Maulvi 'Abdu'llbl~VakIl was takcn ill
"Your fine intelligence, your deep on the evening d the 9th of April, 1948
capacity for hiendship, your warm a[- and on the morning of the 12th he
fiction and your social position, could passed away. The Guardian was inhave ensured for you a 11fC on velvet. formed of his passing and he replied
But ten years ago a great faith entered by cable: *'Grieve pnssing notable proyour ltfe. Then you could only perceive moter Faith Maulvi Vakil. Ardently
the heavens brightened and the mund praying progress his soul. Urge K a ~ h -
of a mshmg rn~ghty breath of fresh rnir friends persevere meritarious
a a that hUe$ all the world. Thence- labors."
forth life was f o r you no stage play As there was no Gulistan in S h g a r ,
but a hard campaign. . . . You gave Maulvi Muhammad 'Abdu'llbh Vakil
u p all, sacrificed all, for what you was buried with BahB'i rites in his own
belleved to be a new civilisatirm of grounds at Srinagar. The friend5 a t
world-wide b r o t h e r h d of justice andSrinagar, and spedally Chaudhri
love," 'Abdu'l Rahman, are ra be thanked for
Mr. Mani Mehta attended the Na- the stea8fast stand that they took on
tional Spiritual Assembly meeting a t this matter and their reasoning which
Poona on the 26th of January, 1997. Icd the late Maulvi's wife arid son to
He presidcd at a public meeting in the agrec to such a burial.
Bombay BahB'i Hall on the 2nd of It speaks of the popularity oI our late
February when an editor of a local brother that in spite of his being an
Urdu paper spoke on the Cause. These avowed Baha'i, a group of the Lahore
were h ~ slast official acts for the Cause
'BY lirs Netlwal Spddtual Assambw or iha
he loved so deeply and served so well. Bnhl'il cb I d l a . W l s t e n a M Burma.
516 THE BAHA'f WORLD

Ahmadlygrihs, the QAdiygnis of Srinagar leaves a gap which it will be hard to
and other Muslims as well as Hindus frll. HIS Ilfe will inspire other BahC'is
attended the burial ceremony. This in this country bo emulate hls examplt:
gave the BahB'is an opportunity to and serve the Cause with the same
speak on the oneness of religion and traits of selflessness, ardor and steadthe MessaRe of the Bah4'i F a ~ t h , fastness that Maulvi 'Abdu'llih Yakn
MaulvI 'Abdu'llAh Vakil's passing m conspicuously displayed.

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