# Abdu'l-Baha's First Days in America

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Juliet Thompson, Abdu'l-Baha's First Days in America, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> ABDUL BAHA'S
> FIRST DAYS
> IN AMERICA
> 
> FROM THE DAIRY
> OF JULIET THOMPSON
> 
> PRINTED BY
> THE ROYCROFTERS, EAST AURORA, NEW YORK
> .April II> I924
> ~H~E                 waited at the pier five radiant hour~. At last,
> ~             t. •. through t~e haze of the harbor ... a shr~ loomed.
> c.r,J. ru,l       • ( The ship docked, but Abdul Baha did not np-
> ~ '--~-~ "" pear. SuJJenly I had a great glimpse! In the dim
> C~~-WC~             interior of the ship, barely visible, striding co and
> ~.A,-      un:ḥ7~fro near the door ... ,vas One ,vith a step that
> shook youlJust that one Stride, charged ,vith power, the S\Veep
> of a robe, a majestic head, turban-crowned ...           chat ,vas all I
> saw-but     my heart stopped.
> We saw Him in the afternoon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kinney.
> When I arrived Abdul Baba was sitting in the center of the dining-
> room, near the Oower-screwn table. His aba \vas of cream-color. At
> His knees stood Sanford and Howard Kinney and His arn1s ,,,ere
> around chcn1. He was very \vhice and shining. No words could
> describe the ineffable peace of Hi1n. The people stood around Him in
> rows and circles-several huhdred in the roon1s; many , ..áere sitting
> on the flo.or in the dining-roo1n. \Ve n1aJc a dark background for
> His effulgence. Our tears only reOected Hin1; and there ,verc many,
> many who were weeping just at the sight of 1-lim .... just at t11e
> sight of that divinencss. For at last we saw divineness-incarnace ...
> ( Divinely He turned His head from one child to anothcr-fro1n one
> group to another. I wish I could describe that tum of the he:id. It is
> ineffable ...   an oh, so tender turn, with that indescribable divine
> grace caught by Leonardo da Vinci in His Christ of the Lase Suppcr-
> (in the study for the head)--but in Abdul Baba irradiated with
> smiles and a Ufting of those eyes filled with glory, which even
> Leonardo, with all his mystery, could not have painted. The very
> ◄ 5 ):-
> essence of compassion, the poignancy of tenderness is in that turn of
> the head ...
> .April r2.th
> A t-tESSAGJl fron1 Abdul Daha to my rnother:
> " Con,áey to thy dear mother the greetings of AbHA. Say to her:
> • Always ren1ember my advices. It is my hope that thou mayest
> forget everything save God. Nothing in this world is sufficient for
> man. God alone is sufficient for hin1. GoJ is the protector of man.
> AU the world ..viU not protect the soul.á "
> 
> eA.priJIJth
> T   OD.t Y Abdul        spoke at hlatioric lvfortcn ás. Ag:iin because of
> D.:zh-a
> the immense crowd He spoke st:tnJing on the stairway, don1inating
> :ill the be:iuty of that house by His superlative Dcauty.
> His theme th:it day ,vas the spiritual seasons, and in the midst of
> His address a delicious little thing happened ,vhich, slight tho' it
> was, I ,vant ro keep. In its very sli~htt)c:ss, it "áill dra,v the people of
> the futurc closer to the !\laster, just as it dre,v us.
> Those render little touches of His hun1or :inJ si1nplicity-ho,v prec-
> ious they are!-bridging at the tnomcnt the illimitable space het,veen
> us and His perfection-making         His divinity acccssiblcl The dis-
> ciples in the past, looking back io those mystctious J;1ys,vith their
> Lord over the :i.byss of their trngic sep:1r:1tion fro,n Hiin, ,vc:rc, I
> suppose, a,vcd into silence .tbout the little rhiu.~J-the :11lor.1blelittl,
> thingJ. So " the Man of Sorro,vs " h;1s been just-the               .l\1an of
> Sorro,vs to us-Love and Sorrow. \Ve h.1ve never fonned any con-
> ception of the .1\1:inof Love and Joy, grc:it, bouyant joy, a Christ
> whose love overflowed in little tendernesses and ,vhose joy over-
> flowed in fun and ,vit-a happy, s1niling, laughing Chrisc.
> But no,v to tell you of chis little thing: \Vith His celestial elo-
> quence .Abdul Daha had described the spiritual springtime-the
> qujckcning ::ind aiv.akcning to Jjfc, .. V.i T .1bcsr:1n,.. He began
> 2nd paused for the translation-when        poor Ahmad (the translator)
> lost the English word I But while Ahtnad stood, c.onfuscd :ind help-
> less, .Abdul D.aha, wjrh .2 smile of brjgbt humor, translated for Hirn-
> ◄ 6):--
> self: '' Summer," He laughed. Whereupon a little ripple of delight
> ran through the audicncc. The charm of Him had captured chen1.all!
> { Afterwards He went up to rest in Mr. Morten's room. He had seen
> one hundred and forty people .that n1orning, and was so spent that
> He see1ncd almost ill. Bis fatigue \Vas evident to all, and yet-the
> people had no pity I \Vhen I returned from an errand to the kitchen,
> I found that His rest was being cruelly intruded on. Literally hun-
> dreds of people were streaming tow;irds Hjs room. A dozen ivcre in
> the room; at the door ,vere many eager faces, and behind them,
> coming up the stairs-a procession!
> "Oh, can't we shut the door?" I asked the interpreter. But Abdul
> Baba heard my question.
> " Let them come now,'' He said, gently.
> The disciples' attitude and-the ~1ascer's attitude! \\'hat a differ-
> ence there has always been between chem Iáá Suffer rhe liccle children
> to come unto me! " And the disciples \Vere such little children
> themselves that He had to put it that way-" suffer them! "
> Tenderly He pressed a baby to His breast, smiling and fondling it.
> " DeautifuJ b.abyJ LjttJc chicken! " He said, in His dear English~
> then explained that " little chicken " was the Turkish pet name: for
> child.
> A young single taxer began to question Him, •• What message shall
> I take to my friends? "
> " Tell them," laughed the Master, with that wonderful spice of
> keen hun1or in His face, " to come into the Kingdom of God. There
> they will find plenty of land-and there are no taxes on it! "
> ..A.prilI8th
> THIS    morning the Master agreed to go to the Bowery Mission,
> and He began to speak about it.
> á" I want to give them some money," He said to me, " I am i11love
> with the poor. How many poor men go to the Mission? ..
> •• .About three hundred,"
> •• Take this bill to the bank, Juliet, and change it into quarters,"
> He said, and He drew from His breast a thou.sandfranc note. " Keep
> the money," He further instructed me,áá and meet me at the Mission
> ..;(1 ►
> with it in a bag." And He gave the same instructions to Edward
> Getsinger, with a second thousand franc note.
> As I lefc the room, with son1e lilies of the valley in my hand, che
> pretty little chambermaid stopped me.
> " Did He give you those? "she asked .
> .. y cs. ..
> " He gave me some flowers yesterday-some roses. I think He is a
> Saint."
> The next night ,ve met the M:ister at the Bo,very Mission. Of the
> scene there ) ,vrote to J\áIr....  • th:tt fine person so strangely with-
> held from giving his life to the Master, ,vhosc principles he serves.
> through some blindness of the inrcllect. To him ,vho seems to roe
> the type of that rich young m:tn who, though he came to Jesus
> loving him, still ,vould not sell all to follow Him, I quoted the
> words of the Master to the poor. Hoi.v He had begun:
> •á Christ said, • Dlesseclare the poor.á He never said, Dlcsscd are the
> rich."
> How He had gone on:
> •• Ther.efore, you musl be thankful to God that although in this
> world you are indigent, yet the treasures of God arc within your
> reach; and although in the material realm you arc poor, yet in the
> Kingdom of God you arc precious.
> " His Holiness, Jesus Himself, was poor. He did not belong to the
> rich! He passed His time in the d~scrt, traveling among the poor and
> Jived upon the herbs of the Jield. He had no place to lay His head-
> no home. He was exposed io the open to heat, cold and frost" (how
> descriptive of the lives of those who }jsccnedl), " to inclement
> weather of all kinds; yet He chose this rather than riches. If riches
> were considered a glory, the Prophet Moses would have chosen
> them, Jesus ,vould have chosen them. ~ 7hcn Jesus appeared, it w:ts
> the poor who accepted Him fust,not the rich. Thercfore,yo11 arc the
> disciples of Christ; you arc His comrades, for He, outwardly, was
> poor, not rich.
> "Even earthly happiness does not depend upon wealth. You will find
> many of the wealthy i:xposed to dangers and troubled by difficulties,
> and in their last moments upon the bed of cleath there remains the
> ◄ 8 ):-
> regret that they must be separated from that to which their hearts
> arc so attached. They come into this ,vorld naked and they must go
> fro1n it naked. All they possess they must leave behind and pass
> away solitary, alone. Often at the time of death their souls arc
> (iJlcJ with ren1orse, and, worst of all, their hope in the mercy of God
> is less than ours. Praise be to God, our hope is the mercy of God,
> and there is no doubt rhat the Divine Coinp:1ssion is bestowed upon
> the poor; His Holiness Jesus Christ said so. His Holiness Bah:i'o'-
> llah said so ...     The poor are very dear to God. The mercies and
> bounties of God are with the1n. The rich are mostly negligent, in-
> attentive, steeped in worldliness, depending upon their means,
> whereas the poor arc dependent upon God, and their reliance is upon
> Him-not upon themselves. Therefore, the poor are nearer to the
> threshold of God and co His throne.
> •• Jesus was a poor man. One night when He was out in the fields the
> rain began to fall. He had no place to go for shelter, so He lifted His
> eyes toward Heaven, saying: ' 0 Father! áFor the birds of the air
> Thou hast created nests, for the sheep a fold, (oráthe animals dens, for
> the (tshcs places of refuge, but for me Thou hast provide-I no shelter.
> There is no place where I can lay my head. My bed is the cold
> ground. My lamps at night arc the stars and n1y food the herbs of the
> field. Yet who upon earth is richer than I ? For the greatest blessing
> Thou hast not given to the rich and mighty, but unto me Thou hast
> given the po()r!
> '' ' To me Thou hast granted this blessing. They ate 111ine!Therefore,
> am I the richest one on earth.' "
> (Ah, can you not feel the divine love in the words ... the yearn-
> ing . . . the ptofundicjes of tenderness-the unspeakable consola-
> tion? It was Jike a song of love-a deeply s,.,,elling anthem.)
> " So, my cdtnfades, you arc following in Ebe foocsccps of Jesus
> Christ. Your lives are similar to His Jife. Your attitude is Jike unto
> His. You resemble Him more than the rich resemble Him. Therefore
> we will thank God that we have been so blessed wich real tichcs.
> ( '' And in conclusion I asJc you to accept Abdul Bah a as your
> serv~nt. ••
> I then tried to describe chat wonderful sccoc in which Abdul Baba
> -;(9):-
> proved His servitude to them: How He had stood at the church door
> to greer the men as they passed out, and to more than greet them-to
> add to those tender words of His a gift.
> Ah, the pitiful procession-the bread-line-the hon1eless, the hun-
> gry, the moral failures-broken figures, blurred faces, sunken nten.
> \Vhy should I attempt to paint such a scene! Of course, I am not
> equal to it. Only ...    here was a forlorn army o( men in the depths
> of life-in the very " mud and scum of things," where, nevertheless,
> as the poet so greatly says: •• al,vays, al,vays, son1eching sings,"
> and here stood One who looked Divine, receiving them like-prodi-
> gal sons?-strayed     sheep-No!-like       His dear and unblemished
> children! Ah, how can I say it more truly than in this way-here
> stood the Eternal Christ, in His reGection -on the shining mirror of
> the Scrv.1nt, Abdul Da-ha-the Eternal Christ and His beloved poor,
> ,vho, ,vrecks though they seemed, rese111bledHim " more th,10 the
> rich resen1bled Hirn I "
> Into each poor palm as He clasped it He pressed His little gift of two,
> three or four qu;1rters-just a symbol-anc! the price of a bed I Not
> a m:111,vas shelterlcss that night! 1\nd n1:1ny, I could see, found a
> spiritual shelter, a hon1e in His heart. I couJd see it by the faces
> lifted to His-and in His face bent on theirs.
> It was ,vonderf ul to ,vitncss the looks interchanged. First, the look
> in the poor, lifted f;1ce of grateful surprise at the gift found in the
> pal1n; then the lifted eyes ,videning ,vith ,vonder, as they 111ctthe
> divine gaze bent upon the,n; then a Oash of revelation from the eyes
> of Abdul Daha-a Oash of mysterious love, while His hand closed
> tightly again over that other hand with the clasp that saves.
> Who can teJI the effect of that im1nortal glance through the lives,
> and even at the moment of death, perhaps, of each of these men?
> Who can tell what the !vfastcr tl'''e that night?
> I write and \vrite, but I can not express His love-the divine pro-
> fundity of it, the poignancy of it, the divine wealth and ,varmth, the
> consolation of it ...     These can only be felt; there are no human
> words to convey them. This record is a futile one-it is wholly in-
> expressive-it is an external thing. I can not make it simple enough,
> nor great . . . l started to say, &r(at enough t Who could? llut I least
> ◄ 10)=,-
> of all! But tny words seem ill-chosen. I can not find the right ones.
> I realize, too, as I write, that I am a babe in such things ....    that
> I am just on the surface ...         that I have not apprehended. Yet,
> perhaps, if I write of the app,ara11ceI no\v, I-or others-may use
> then1 as symbols, seeing n1ore of their significance later. I can only
> try.
> My pen has run away with me. I have not in the Jc:ist quoted ,vhat I
> wrote to Mr ....      I said none of these things to him. I told him,
> however, of an incident after our return from the hotel.
> In the upper hall, on our way to the l-.iaster's apartment, ,ve had
> met the little chan1bcr1naid-the girl who the day before had told
> me of the roses He had given her. In the bag there were about eighty
> quarters left over from the Mission, and all these the i\Iaster emp-
> tied into the little maid's apron. Then He passed s,viftly into His
> aparuncnt, we following-all          but Mr. Grundy, ,vhom the 1n:1id
> stopped.
> "Oh, sec what He has given me," she said. And when Mr. Grundy
> told her of His gifts to the men at the Mission: .. I ,vill do the same
> with this money," she exclain1cd, " I, coo, ,viii give it."
> Later, as we sat in a group around the Master, \vho was at that
> moment saying with a laugh (in reply to some question as to the
> advisability of charity), "assuredly, give to the poor! If you give
> them only words, when they put their h:inds into their pockets
> they ,viii find thetnselves none the richer for you! •á there canie a
> light tap at the door and there on the threshold stood the Jittle
> chambcro1aid. Her eyes were glistening with tears and in a sort of
> wonder, and obl•vious of the rest of us, she walked scraight up to the
> Master:
> " I came to say good-bye, sir," she said, timidly anJ brokenly,
> " and to thank you {or all your goodness to me . . . I never
> expected such goodness. And to ask you-to pray for me!"
> Her head drooped, her voice broke . . . she turned and went out
> quickly.
> There were many things I saw, and many things I heard, too, that
> night which I did not mention in my leccer.
> The Master took me back to supper with Him. As we drove up
> ..:(11)>
> l3road\'vay (imagine beii1g ,vith Hi1n on the " Great White \Vay,")
> as ,v.e drove up the crudely glittering screet, flashing with electric
> advercisetncnts, He spoke of chem sn1ilingly.
> l3ahaáo'llah, He told us, had loved light.
> •á He could never get enough light. He taught us to economize in
> everything else, but to use light freely."
> •• Ir is ro;1rvelous," I said, " co be driving through this glitter of
> ligbc "vich the real Light-tbe Light of lights! "
> •á This is nothing," He answered. " This is only the beginning. We
> will be cogechc:r in all the worlds of God. You can not realize here
> whac thac means. You can not imagine it. You can form no concep-
> tion here-here in the elemental world-of what it will be to be
> wich me in che Eternal \Vorlds I "
> c5Hay22nd.
> On, those mornings at the Hotel Ansonia, in the f19wer-61ledrooms I
> { The Master would invariably keep me all morning, calling flle
> again and again to Him. People thronged there; sometimes o~e
> hundred and nfty in a morning. He would become exhausccd arid
> teceive them in bed.
> Sitting in cbe outer room I would watch chem go in and come out-
> all different ...   as if they had had a bath of life-freshened-
> (tuickened-or like candles that had been lighted.
> leonard .Abbott came out with flushed cheeks and brightened eyes.
> { •• That beautiful bead against the pillo ...vs ! " he said to me.
> ( Charles Rann Kennedy exclaimed: " I was in the Presence of
> God!"
> One dear woman-a Mrs. Angel, till that moment a stranger to me,
> tame from the Master's room straight to me. Her whole being was áin
> agitation.
> •á Oh," she sobbed, with her he:td on my shoulder, "He told me I
> would be blessed . . . that I would beco1nc all I wished to be. lie
> told me I would be blessed I "
> Nancy ShoJJ wenr in with me. \Vhen we left she said: " J could not
> have stood the vibrations in there one moment longer. Power en-
> circles chat bed.'á
> -.{11 ►
> ~~t(~ASHINGTON                        Was beautiful, the banners of the
> .   ..,          t..   spring floating out evef}"vhere. The a venues \Vere
> /~           • leafy botvers, the parks gay and fragrant \Vith
> . ~                flower-beds and blossoming bushes, and the grass-
> ( )..~l""W~)           plots of the houses also afire ,vith the color of
> 2(L;A,.........-u:h_;__,w
> flower-beds.
> The day after I arrived, Tuesday, April 1-3rd, I met the :r,.1asterat
> luncheon at the Persian embassy. The table was scre\.vn ,vith rose-
> leaves, as the Master's table al,vays is in Acea, and Orienta.I dishes
> were served ...         A colored man was present and che 1'1aster gave
> a wonderful talk on the subject of race-prejudice, which, ho,vever,
> I will not quote. here, as it has been kept ...      and besides I am long-
> ing to catch up with these days-rhese days ,vhosc significances ate
> unfolded to me as those in \Vashington were not. These days ,vhen
> lam feeling with all my capacity for feeling .. , these days when
> all the portals of my heart arc fiung ,vide open and the fire of the
> Beyond is sweeping through n1y heart-these            days ,vhen the veils
> are torn from my eyes and I am seeing through the cryst:ils of tears
> the Manifest Gloryf Somehow I .don"t feel much like writing abOIJt
> Washington. This heart was not .awakened then!
> But He said a lovely thing at Khan's table, which I m11.rt keep. There
> had been a Jong conversation about material and spiritual diseases-
> their separate origins and separate cures. Consumption h;id a spiritual
> cause; it often originated in grief; the cure therefore must be spiritual.
> The cause of insanity was spiritual. A dear woman present, '"'áho had
> been a Christian Scientist, brought up the question of healing extreme
> physical cases, such as broken bones, through the power of mental
> •
> suggestion.
> " If all the spirits in the air," laughed Abdul Daha, " were to con-
> gregate together, they could not create a salad{ Nevertheless, the
> spirit of tnan is powerlul. For the spirit of man can soar in the
> firmament of knowledge, can discover realities, can confer life, can
> r<:ceivethe Divine glad tidings. Is not chis greater than rnaking a
> salad? "-,vith anotl1er happy laugh.
> One more s,vccr thing. The .servants were rather late bringing in one
> of the coutses. Florence Khaoun1 made so1ne laughing apology for
> keeping every one waiting, whereupon little Rahim spoke up.
> " Even the King of Persia has to wait, does n't He, mother? "
> (" Rahim, dear," said Florence:, "Abdul Baha is the King of the
> whole world."
> .. Oh I " said Rahim, very much abashed, " I forgot."
> After the luncheon a meeting had been arranged for three o'clock,
> to ,vhich a number of very distinguished people came, among thern
> Zia Pasha (the Turkish minister) and his entire family, Duke Lita
> and his ,vi(c, Peary, Alexander Grahan\ Dell, and a nu1nber of other
> wc:11-known people. The h,f:isttr, when at J;ist He came do,vnstairs,
> after having rested a litclc: and given several private intervie,vs,
> addressed the people, standing in the doorway in the sin1plest and
> freest of attitudes and speaking wirh a captivating sweetness, a
> startling clarity, and the un:tnswcrable logic and app:1lling sin1plicity
> of the Prophet's basic te;1ching. Zia Pasha stood near Hi,n, his eyes
> fued in an intent regard lull of deep wonder on chac pure and noble
> figure. \Vhen the discourse was ended he turned to me. " This is
> irrefutable:. This is pure logic," he said ...
> After the meeting at the Persian embassy, one was itnmcdiately held
> at Mrs. Parsons', in her beautiful Georgian house. It is a house of
> rare rcfinenicnt and dignity, and there, in a toom designed specially
> for this purpose (since the house has been recently built), Abdul
> Daha held daily meetings, receiving all the notables of \Vashington.
> l think I must describe: that room: A long and lofty hall, imtnacu-
> lateJy white, its ceiling, paneled walls and high mantel carved
> delicately and ornamented with white garlands; pale, green curtains
> of Jun1inous silk :lt the many windows, and in front of the mantel a
> -e( 14 ):-
> platform always banked high with criuison roses-wonderful
> American beauties, in tall glass vases . . .
> And . . . the M4.rltr . . . entering that room of studied simpli-
> city and conventional elegance with the free step of One ,vho ,vas
> king and yet Friend of all; walking with His natural majesty, yet
> with the simplicity of His great realness, to one of the ,vindo,vs,
> standing by the fluttering silk curtains and, ,vhile He talked ,vith
> that matchless case to the asse1nblcd people, gazing out into the
> light. Turning fro1n the window, striding to and fro (still pouring
> forth His heart-stirring utterances) with a seep so vibrant it shook
> you; piercing our souls with those strange eyes-uplifcin.g His eyes
> till glory streamed upon the1n-talkjng-talking-moving       back and
> forth incessantly with restless gestures-pushing hack His turban,
> revealing the sweep of the line of His forehead-chat great donie;
> pushing it forward again almost do,vn to His eyebrows-which gave
> Him a peculiar majesty; charging, filJing the room ,vith m:igoetic
> currents, with a 1nysterious energy. Once He burst into the room,
> a chiJd upon His shoulders. For a moment He held her, caressing
> her wich radiant love. Then He sec her down :unidst che roses.
> ( On Thursday Abdul Baha dined at the Turkish embassy and it
> was my privilege to be there.
> To give you the picture:-Ncver, I think, have I seen a table so
> beautiful. It was like a rose-garden. Roses lay in melting loveliness
> its whoJe length, rising in a great rose-pink mound in the center-
> where sat Abdul Baba, facing Zia Pasha. Florence Khanum and
> Carey, Mada1nc Ibrahim Zia Bey (daughter-in-la,v ofZia Pasha),
> the American wives of Oriental diplomats, were placed on either
> side of the Master and I sat next to Carey.
> 'fhere are times when Abdul Baha looks colossal-when His holi-
> ness shines dazzfiogfy. That night He was in white, wich a pale,
> honey-colored aha. Zia P:isha, opposite Him, watched Him ,vith
> heightened color and tear-filled eyes, his keen, old face strangely
> softened.
> Abdul Baha gave a great address on the civilizations built on the
> basic teachings of the Prophets; then He spoke of the dinner as
> -::( l5 )>
> " a \vonderful occasion." "'the East and the \Vest," He said, " arc
> met in perfect love tonight."
> There was a something in His words as He spoke them-a some-
> thing so poignant, so revealing of the realities of things-so creative
> of fla,nt, that rears rushed to my eyes and for a 111omentI was over-
> come.
> Later He spoke of the deep significance of the two international
> marriages represented there. Ca.cey rnade me very happy by saying:
> "Juliet Thompson told tne long ago of your teachings, when I was
> only fifteen years old." \Vhat fruit that seed had borne-sown in a
> child!
> Zia Pasha made a great address. Turning the face of a lover to the
> Master, as he stood before that wonderful seated Figure, across the
> mound of roses, he caJled Abdul Baba " the Unique One of the age,
> who had come to spread His glory and perfection amongst us."
> ( á• I am not worthy of this," said the Master, simply.
> Oh, the meekness! I used to hate that word meekness, espcciaJly
> in connection ,vith Christ-tiJI I saw the ~laster. Then l realized
> this: that it is one of the essential attributes of God'ás Manifesta-
> tions-and a ray of intense and unique power ...          of such power,
> indeed, that l have seen it changtthe a11110Jph,re.I am not speaking at
> random. This happened at Acea, when the Master said: "Jesus ,vas
> the Bread that came do,vn from Heaven., but I am the Food prepared
> by the Blessed Beauty,Baha 'o'Jlah. '' A Something celestial,affecting
> me like Ji/v,r light, fiJled the rooni. Perhaps I sbould put it in this
> way-chat it is one of the attributes of the Servant, and when the
> Manifestation in the Station of the Servant shows forth this attri-
> bute, which is identical with self-effacement-and all traces of the
> Servant disappear ...      then the Station of the Glory alone is seen.
> •• There was God and there was nothing with Him.••
> As I bade Zia Pasha good night, loolcing at me through a mist of
> tears, he said:
> á• Truly, He is a Saint."
> ONn     day Mrs ...    invited the Master to drive \vich her, and ,vas
> good enough to ask me, too. \Ve drove to the Soldiers' Home. The
> family of Mrs ...     have been terribly persecuted by the newsp:1pers
> -though     prior to Abdul Baha's visit to this country. Oh, the
> wonderful Mascerl Scarcely had He taken His seat in the mocor ,vhen
> He said to Mrs ...
> " How the newspapers here: persecute one I "
> It was such a sympathetic subjcct!-at once Mrs ...         opened her
> heart.
> "Come away!" said Abdul Baha. "Elude these journalists! Come
> to Haifa, where there is peace. Juliet will tell you there is pc.ace in
> Haifa."
> Then He gave a wonderful talk. He spoke of how I loved her and of
> my praise of her. He clothed my 11n11tltrtd    1ho11gh1.r
> in His words.
> Think how sweet to be exprt.r.rtdby Hi,11!He spoke of her philan-
> thropic deeds and prayed that these might increase.
> "Nothing endures," He said, taking her dear, but conventional
> hand-seizing     and keeping it-while she covered the joined hands
> with her cloak-" nothing save the Love of God endures. Look at
> these trees, all in blossom no,v I .. And, in words v,hich I ,vill not
> attempt to quote, He described the inevitable coming of autumn.
> " This is a symbol of human life," He said." Remember Babylon."
> He drew vividly for us a picture of the former Babylon, its stateli-
> ness and splendor; then of Babylon today ...       the ruins of today,
> e1npty of life save for the hyena, " pro,vliog among its crumbling
> stones," silent, except for the vioce of the O\Vlby night, or the lark
> in the lonely sunshine. "Remember Tyre," He continued ... Here,
> too, was beauty and splendor and pomp. Think of Tyre now! I
> have been there- I have seenl "
> He spoke of my mother that day.
> "She is good-very good. Her heart is very pure. When we met her
> face became radiant."
> ... 1 was so thankful to be in Washington I At the daily meetings
> at Mrs. Parsons• there would be glimpses of many dear faces and, to
> my unspeakable joy, I found hoses of the friends of my childhood
> -:( 17 ►
> there. The dear friend with who,n I was staying went with me to áthe
> mt.t.\ings nt:).t\)' t.áit.t)' O::t)'-!.t::tn~ing 'i>Ometime-s
> '/.Dtoug'n tbe who\e
> afternoon, iJl though she was, because of her intense interest.
> ( One day, however, ~he was not with me. She was giving a dinner
> that night and we were going to the opera afterward and she had to
> rest for this, so; being free for an hour or so, ;1.fterthe meeting I
> staid to have a 'lisit with Edna, who was serving the Master at the
> telephone upstairs. \Vhile Edna and 1 \Vere talking, suddenly the
> Master came into the room.
> "I was just going out for a drive," He said, " but stay till I return,
> Edna, and you too, Juliet, stay. I will see yoll when I return."
> ( So I waited; J waited-and waited! Half-pas~ six came seven.
> Our dinner, on account of the opera, was to be at half-t>ast seven-
> My hostess lived a Jong way off, rather indirect on the car-line, and
> I had not kept the motor.
> •á Go, Juliet, I will explain," urged Edna. But I could not. He had
> told me co stay.
> And now I am going to digress and tell you what stems another
> story.
> l was certainly no more than ten years old when a ~ery presumptuous
> aspiration took _possessionof my infant brain. I f:>cganto dream of
> some day paintiflg the Christ. I even prayed for itl Child though I
> was, I violently bated the accepted conceptions of the Christ-sweet,
> effeminate, ineffc-ctual. " I will paint a Kint.I " l said, "The King
> of Love I"
> .And I never lost this hope till I saw the Master. Then I knew thilt
> 110 one could everpaint the Christi The life of the Spirit of life-th11t
> animation !-the endless reveaHng-rhe Glory-how could these be
> captuted in mate,ial? Can you pai.at the lightning?
> Imagine my wonder-my almost dismay-my mingled Tear aod
> rapture at the news that was given rne by Mrs. Gibbons when the
> Master fuse arrived in America. The night before .He landed she had
> received a Tablet, in which He had said: "On my arrival in Ame~-
> ica Miss Juliet Thompson shall paint a wonderful portrait of me."
> ( It was a little after seven when the Master catne baclc from His
> -tf18)>-
> drive. Entering the room where He had left me, and where, of course,
> I was still waiting, He said:
> ... Ah, Juliet! For your sake I returned. Mrs. Hemm.ick wanted co
> keep me, but I had asked you to wait. Therefore, I returned." After
> a slight pause He added: •á \Vould you like to come up and paint me
> to1norrow? "
> So I learned the reward of obedience. \Vhat a re,.vard for such simple
> obedience I Once in Haifa He said to me:
> •á Keep my words; obey my commands and you \viii marvel at the
> results."
> By a miracle I was not late for my dinner engagement. The dinner
> -at the last moment-was postponed, by another guest, a half-hour I
> ( The next morning I went to Him early with my box of pastels, but,
> though it was only eight o'clock, quite a cro\vd had already garherc:d
> and I felt that our morning was doomed to be a broken one.
> Not only that, but the light in all the roo1ns ,vas vtly poor ancl,veak,
> and the delicate wall-papers with bunches of flo,vers on them you
> could not think of putting behind His head! For a while I \Vas in
> despair, for I dared not offer the suggestion that was in my mind. In
> the end, however, the artist overca1ne the disciple in me and, beg-
> ging the Master to forgive me if I were doing a wrong thing, I asked
> if He would pose in New York instead. This He consented to do so
> freely and sweetly that I had no more qualms :ibout it ...
> The next day I went to Mrs. Parsons, having promised to meet Lee
> McClung there-the treasurer of the United States, ,.vho had asked
> me to arrange an interview with A.bdu1 Baha for him. 1 arrived a
> little in advance of hin1, and \vhile I was waiting in the hall to be
> announced, a door opened and there stood the Master, beckoning to
> we. He w.ts alone, so we had to fall baclc.on His English and my
> Persian! h precious little talk it was! ...
> When the transJaror appeared: .. Tell Juliet," began rhe t-.i:iscer at
> once, '' that she teaches well." (I repeat this praise only because it
> is Ilisl) " I have met many people who have been affected by you,
> Juliet. You arc not eloquent; you are not fluent, bur your h,art
> teaches. You speak with an emotion-a feeling ,vhich makes people
> ask, • What is this that she has'? • Then they inquire-they seek and
> -:(19)>
> /ind. It is so, too, with Lua. You never find Lua speaking with dry
> eyes! You will be confirmed; a great bounty will descend upon you.
> You will become eloquent. Your tongue ,vill be loosed. Teach-
> always teach. The confirmations of the Holy Spirit descend upon
> those ,vho teach constantly. Neverfeel fear. .The Holy Spirit will give
> you the words to say, Never/ear.You will grow stronger and stronger."
> { His vibrant power as He spoke thrilled me and fear wa.s forever
> banished from my mind. The great courage of that erect head aod
> uplifted hand-the absolute confidence in God for mel I ;im sure I
> shall always sec this when in the future I begin to speak.
> 
> WeEN      Lee McCJung dined with us that night I asked him:
> ( .. ln what way did Abdul .Baba impress you~ "
> He began shyly: " f seemed to be in the presence of one of the great
> old prophets-Isaiah-Eliiah-Moi;es.     And yet-it was more th.r.n
> that-He was like Christ . . . No-now I have itl-Hc seemed ,o
> me like my Divine Father."*
> 
> •Two years later~   Mc0u11gdied.
> -c( 10 ):-
> ~'lf"-"o/:}}gN         Saturday the Master returned to Ne\v York-
> -.,,&~K)         Saturday, May 11th-jusc one month from the
> n-,,,,,._ ~          day of His first arrival.
> ~ ,,;<..a. A few of us prepared His rooms and filled them
> t>i~~~J              with flowers for Hi1n-Carrie Kinney. Lua Gc:t-
> ;ḥ7~.A,---uh,~ singer, rvtay Maxwell, Kate Ivc:s, Gr:ice Roberts
> and I. lvlr. Mills and Mr. \Voodcock ,vere also there ,vaicing.
> His little apa.rc1nenc (at the Hudson Apartment House, on River-
> side Drive) was high above the world; ics windo,vs framed the sky.
> Now they were all open and the breeze blc:w in freshly from the
> .
> river.
> About five o'clock He came. Oh, the Coming of that Presence! If
> only-only I could convey co the future the great vibration of it!
> The hearts arc almost suffocated with joy-the eyes burn ,vich tears
> at that step! It is futile to cry co express it. Sometimes when the sun
> breaks through clouds and spreads a great glo\v, like a pouring ouc
> of fire from its be:,.rt, I get so1nething of that feeling.
> Taking a seat by the windo\v the Master began to talk to us, with
> supreme love and gladness-witti\y-eloqucnt\y-tenderly---carr)'-
> ing us up on wings of lire to the apex of sublin1e feeling; then turn-
> ing our tears to sudden little ripples of laughter as an unexpected
> gleam of wit flashed out; then melting our hearts with His yearning
> affection.
> Lua, May and I, the three closest sisters I believe in chis Cause,
> bound together by our rapturous memories of chose early days of che
> Cause in Paris. when the Faith, the Knowledge and che Lo,áe of
> Abdul Baha were just dawning on the three of us-Lua, r.fay and I,
> for the first time together in the glory of His Presence, sat in a cor-
> ◄ 1.1 ):-
> ner oo the floor, gazing through tears at Him, and whenever we could
> tear our eyes from the sorrowful yet radiant beauty of that Face,
> silhouetted against the sky, gazing at each other, speechless, in
> wonder too deep {or words ...      still through tears.
> 
> Day after day I was with Him there. Lua and I had permission to be
> always with Him. He would seod for me agaio and agaio.
> "My Lord," I would plead, .. I should not cake your tin1e. I do not
> want to take your time. I am only too thankful to be here-serving
> at a distance-somewhere in your atmosphere."
> " I know you are content with whatever I do; therefore I send for
> you." He said.
> On the 13th of May a meeting of the Peace Conference was held at
> the Hotel Astor, at wbich Abdul Baba was the Guest of Honor and
> the chief speaker. Dr. Grant was one of the speakers. He sat at the
> right of Abdul Baha, Rabbi \Vise at the left. The Jewish rabbi, the
> Christian clergyman IAh,the symbolism of tlut trio sitting together
> in the foreground of the platform of the World-Peace Conference,
> with the Center of the Covenant for its center! He who had come
> to unite the Je,vs and the Christians!
> Abdul Baba was really too ill to have gone to that meeting. He
> bad been in bed all day, suffering from complete exhaustion. I had
> been ,vith Him all day. Once during the day I asked Him: " Must
> you go to the Hotel Astor when you are so ill?"
> á• I ,vork by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit," He answered.
> " l do not work by hygienic laws. If I did I would get nothing done.á•
> ( On Friday, May 14th, a native of Indi.a came to sec me, sent by
> Mr. Barakat-'Ullah,-Kahn        Bahadur Allah Bahksk of Lahore. I
> asked him to return to my meeting that night. He did so and beá
> came enchanted with the teachings. Immediately he went to the
> ?vfaster. Three days later he wrote to me:
> " Abdul Baba is the Divine Light of today."
> A few perfect days, thco the Master went to Boston.
> Io the meanwhile He spoke at the Church of the Divine Paternity.
> This was unbearably beautiful.
> My impres$ioo, as I look back, is that the Church was Byzantine,
> -c( 2.1.)>
> recalling the worship of early Christians. The interior was of gray
> stone.
> Ah, the look of Him that day I
> Then, more vividly than ever before, He shone out as the Divine
> Shepherd, come at .last to His flocks. I have said this before-I had
> felt it before, but never so overwhelmingly as now. I ,vept through-
> out tlie service. In front of tne sac Lua, her eyes fixed in rapt regard
> on the Master, her face stilled and immeasur:ibly greatened by ics
> look of recognition-of profound re:ilizacion.
> Soon I caught a glimpse of another face-a man's. He was a friend
> of mine, Mt. Bailey, a dear Mid-Victorian, inordinately proud of
> his nineteenth century acheism and in mortal terror of his inevitable
> twentieth century conversion I And now-his hour had come! Never
> have I seen a face more couched I It was very wistful-very soft,
> the eyes, curiously limpid and with a sort of shy reverence in them,
> fastened on the Mas_ter.
> He met me at the Master's apartment that µternoon, making •his
> entrance with these words:
> " I have been thinking since this morning that the way to the at-
> tainment of greatness is through elimination."
> (This was his opening remark-uoprefaced-don't             you love it?)
> ( " You felt," I ventured, •• the simplicity of the Master? ••
> "One would naturally feel the simplicity of Niagara! " almost
> resentfully.
> '' Did you feel-the beauty of His face?áá
> " The patriarchal grandeur of His face can not be denied."
> Later, how his eyes hung on that face!
> 
> ONthe 1.1st of May Mrs. Tatum• had a reception, co ,vhich the
> Master came. The people who were there were of thefashionable,vorld
> wicha sprinklingoftheartistsand the literary set. Mrs. Sheridan ,vas
> • Io December of that ycáar Mrs. Tatum came to sec me. "The !',f:istcr," she told me.
> " said such a s~raoge tbjog to me just before H_eleft _America.I_ had bcco ci,:prcssiog
> my regret to Him that l liad noc my automobile this autumn 1n Ne,v Yori.: to put
> at His disposal again, and He answered, 'Sooo you will have oo use for ao automo-
> bile, Mrs. Tatum, for sooo you will be ri<liog in a chariot of 6rc. • l wonder what He
> meaot?" Withio a vay kw weeks dear Mrs. Tatum passed suddeoly from this world.
> -:(2.3 ►
> pouring tea. Louis Potter was there-dear Louis Potter.• " Oh,
> a11gu11 Juliet! "he exclaimed when he caught sight of me and at once
> attached himself to Lua and me. The house was very large, airy and
> beautiful !-with a great white staircase in the center and big rooms
> branching out from this central hall.
> Suddenly there \Vas a stir an1ong the people ...       and ...   Abdul
> Daha ,vas in our midst.
> He walked over to a big, yellow couch in the bow window and sat
> do,vn. I think I must tell you how He looked there. His s.urroundings
> were all wbire; sunlight streamed in; the shadows on His face were
> transparent; His profile \vas outlined with a lun1inous penciling; His
> background was the crystal of the wide central window pane-the
> sky beyond. Behind Him stood the Persians.
> •• Come, Louis,'' I. said to Louis Potter, 11 let us go to the Master."
> Louis had never seen the Master till then and he went skipping
> fonvard like a little, buoyant faun, his head on one side and his
> hands outstretched,
> "Ah-h-h," he s2id, as if he could not help it,-it was a little cry
> {rom his soul-as though be were just tornint ho,n,-and ,vas so t,laJ.
> And the t.1ascer too, said, " Ah-h-h! " His voice thrilling with
> love beyond our understanding-with          a recognition-a     welcome
> beyond our understanding-His        arms open wide.
> Soon Dr. Gr.ant arrived. As soon as He appeared in the room the
> Master rose almost eagerly, smiling and holJiog out His hand.
> £ááAh! Dr. Graotl" He said.
> I fclt in Dr. Grant a great Jcf..:rcncc-ycs, even 1norc-affcction, real
> affection. They stood for some ti1ne, their bands clasped in one
> another's. Dr. Grant is taller than the Master and that so erect
> head of his ,vas bo,ved with great gencfcness-tcnderness, even-
> -to\\•arJ the t-.1aster, ,vhose vibrant Presence dominated the whole
> scene. A Persian was translating, but tbe \vords ,Ycrc so low that I
> could not catch them. The greeting at an end, D,. Grant sat down
> close to the Master on the curved white window seat.
> ----
> • Louis Pocrcr, a great sc11lptor,died very tragica.lly in August of that year, 1911.
> He had nor y.ct accepted the 111:istcr,but he loved Hin1 and was beginning to study
> the Tc-2chin,:s. The last thing fro111his gifted hand was a tiny bas-relief of Abdul
> Bah.a-a medal.
> Soon Abdul Baha began to speak.
> He \Vas very happy to be with us, He said. "Think of the contrast I
> For years criminals had been His associares and now He ,vas asso-
> ciating ,vith us (how sweet to 11scriminals!). His ouclook for years
> had been from :t prison window and He had been conttncJ ,vithin the
> litnits of :t fortress; now He found Hirnsel( in spacious honics ...
> ( His talk, at first appa.rently desultory, gradually shaped itself
> toward some distinct point, which, ho,vever, He kept veiled until
> the end. l wondered ,vhat was corning. \Vhcn it came it was like a
> thunderclap.
> " Think of itl " He said, " T,vo kings ,vere dethroned in order chat
> I might be freedI This is naught bur pure destiny."
> I looked toward Dr. Grant. Instead of the skeptical expression I
> had expected to find, l s;tw th:ic he ,vas strangely moved. He had
> been listening, still with that expression of tender dc(.:rencc, his
> head slightly tipped to one side, looking, as he has each time I have
> seen him in the Master's presence, singularly young, singularly
> softened-but      now there was a ,,isibJe stirring of his souJ through
> his face.
> " And now," ended the ~-laster, rising to His feet with che action of
> a king, " you here in America must ,vork with me for the peace of
> the world and the oneness of humanity."
> And with this He left us-the roo1n seeming strangely empty after
> He had gone.
> the next morning early I had a ,velcome visitor, dear Ho,vard
> MacNutt. He greeted me with a radiant face. I knc,v he had good
> news! Then he told me. He bad just bec:n breakfasting w,ich Dr.
> Grant and the Master was to speak again in the Church of the
> .Ascension-in      the Forum I The meeting had been arranged for
> June 1.nd.
> They had a deep talk-Howard        tvfacNutt and Dr. Grant. Dr. Grant
> had talked freely about the day before. He had spoken of the Master's
> address and of its great climax.
> " As I listened," he said, " I realized profoundly that this \Vas a
> historical moment; that before me sat One who, imprisoned for the
> ..;(1.5)>
> cause of humanity, had been freed by the power of God alone,
> through che dethroning of two kings,"
> t 1nust paint one word-picture-a morning in-how curious, I
> started to say " the Rizwan I " I mean-Riverside Drivel-in that
> hallowed little strip of a parkwhich.\ve all love cocall" His garden,"
> into which He escaped so often to rest-,vhich is holy with His
> prayers; or where we sometimes walked with Him in the evenings,
> or He took his daily exercise. Just a gravel p:ith, some benches and
> young trees and a low stone walJ shutting off the slope co the river
> far below-but unspeakably beautiful forever to me. Morning, as
> I started co say, in our Riz~van; Abdul Bah a in the sunJight, His
> turban glistening white in it, pouring attat of rose on our hands
> and heads, pouring it out lavishly and with an incense of love
> breathing frorn Him as I-le did it, which it is impossible to describe,
> a very rapture of love, as though love indeed were the one detect•
> able thing in the univetsc and the soutcc of all joy. Oh, that lovel-
> the pale, sparkling, early n1orning sunshine, the perfume, th.it
> figure in the graceful flowing robes and the glistening turban . . .
> the Center of a Force which made everything around Him u noná
> existent!
> There is something almost miraculous in the way the Master takes
> the sunlight. No one else looks so bright in it. It makes Him trans•
> lucent, like. a shining mirror.
> Yesterday Jnorning Qune 11, 1911.,) I went up early to the Master's
> housc-th;it    house ,vhose door was opened about eight in the
> n)Ornin~, or earlier, and kept open all day, ,vich no one to guard it,
> till midnight.
> He had been away and I h:id not seen Him for three days. I had
> brought my p:istcls, thinking He might want to sit for me, but I
> found Him looking utterly spent. He was in the lower reception room,
> or hall, the English basemeni of the house, and Valiolah Khan was
> with Hi1n. He looked up with brilliant eyes.
> " \Vhat do you want of us, Juliet? á• he smHed.
> "Only to he near you! áá-(1 had hidden my pastels).
> " You must excuse me from sitting for the portrait today. I am not
> able today,"
> Then He talked to us a little, but soon went out alone, to " the
> garden," leaving Ruth, Valiolah and me together.
> " It is Wonderful, .. said Ruth, as Abdul Baha went, " co see ho,v
> the world is quickened today in all directions."
> "And to know," I nddcd," that the voice rbat is quickening it, so
> ..
> powerfully quickening it, is that tender voice that s1,oke to us just
> now.
> Toda:y-(June 11.)I went up early to His house, but not early enough.
> As I turned into 78th street I saw Him at the other end of the
> b\ock on His way to the garden, His turban a dazzling spot in the
> sunlight, His robes floating out ,vith great grace as He ,valkcd.
> ( Lltcr he returned. ~fiss Duck ton had arrived by that tin1e and a
> poor little waif of humanity, a Jewess. She was all in black, this
> poor child, with a little, pale face, careworn and teanvorn.
> I had been in the kitchen \Vith Lu:1. I carne out upon a scene domin-
> ated by the Master. He ,vas sitting, as usual, at the ,vindo,v, the
> strong carving of bis (ace thro,vn into rclic:f by masses of shado,v,
> his turban and white aba bright in the sunlight. On one side sat
> Miss Buckton, on the other, this poor, stricken child. While the
> biggest tears I have ever seen splashed from her eyes she told him
> her hopelessly dismal story.
> ••Don• t grieve no,v, don' c grieve," he said. He ,vas very, very still,
> and I think he was calming her.
> "My brother has been in prison for three years. He was imprisoned
> unjustly. It ,vas not his fault; he ,vas led; he ,vas ,veak, a victim of
> others. He has four n1orc years to serve. My father and mother arc
> depressed all the time. ~1y brother-in-Jaw who ,vas our support h:is
> just died."
> There it was, the sum of human misery: poverty, weakness, disgrace,
> sorro,v, desp:iir and the maddening pall of gloom.
> •• You must trust in God," said Abdul Daha.
> á• Dut the more I trust the worse things become! " she sobbed.
> ( " You have never trusted."
> " But my mother is reading the psalms all the time. She does not
> deserve that God should so abandon her! I read the psalms myself,
> -:( 1.7):-
> the ninety-first psalm and the twenty-third psalm every night before
> \ go to bed. \ pr.ay, too."
> " To pray is not to read psalms. To pray is to trust in God and to be
> submissive in all things to Hi1n. Be submissive, then things will
> change for you. Put your family in God's hands. Love God's will.
> Strong ships are not conquered by the sea; they ride the waves!
> Now be a strong ship, not a battered one."
> At noon 1 took Dr. Grant co Hirn. A,5we sat alone in the library,
> waiting for Abdul Ba.ha to return from the garden, I said:
> " I think what He said at Mr. Gifford Pinchot's last week was very
> interesting, that the people were rising like a great tide, wave upon
> wave, and unless the capitalists realized soon, they would be driven
> out ,.,ich violence; that the people in the future would not work for
> wages, but for an interest in the concern."
> Just then Lua appeared at the door of the room where she had been
> sitting, bending toward the stairway with beautiful reverence.
> " The !\{aster is coming? " I asked.
> '' Y cs, He is coining, Juliet."
> He came into the room with both hands extended, and in a voice lilce
> a chin1e from His heart He said:
> " Oh-h, Dr. Grant, Dr. Grant."
> Such love, such gladness, such sweetness, such welcome!
> Then I sJippcd out.
> When 1 re-entered the room Abdul Baba was signing a photograph
> {or Dr. Grant, rather, ..vriting a prayer on it .
> .. And now," Abdul Baba said, as He presented it; "you must give
> me your photograph. I ,vant your face. I have given you mine, now
> .
> you roust give me yours.
> ..
> " I will pray for you," He added, as He said f~ewell to Dr. Grant.
> " I will mention you daily in my prayers."
> Abdul Bah a detained me .i. moment. As l re}oincd Dr. Grant, in the
> Automobile, VaHolah Kb.in was entering the house.
> "Do you see that young man going into the house? " I asked.
> "That is Valiolah Khan. His father was cut into pieces alive while
> his o,vn little son, V aJioJah •s youngest brother, was forced to look
> oo at the but<:hery.
> " • If you will deny Daha'o'llah," the executioners said to the child,
> • We will take you to the Palace of the Shah and honors and wealth
> will be heaped upon you!•
> " • Bue I do not ,vane these things,' the little fello,v answered.
> " • Then-if you do not deny Him,' they continued, • we will kill
> you worse than your father (I am expressing this just as V aJiolah
> Khan did, in his English).
> " ' You may kill 1ne a thousand times worse,' was the reply, • Is my
> life of more value than my father's? To die io the parh of Baha'o'llah
> is my supreme desire! •
> " Then they fell on the child and choked him co death.
> "A day or ~vo ago," I continued," Valiolah Khan asked me about
> the portrait of Abdul Baha-ho,v it was getting on?
> " • One should paint the soul in a portrait, I think,• he said.
> { " But who could paint the soul of Abdul Baha? " I asked.
> " He dre,v himself up, his eyes kindling.
> " • \Ve can paint it ,vith our blood I • " he replied.
> The next day, Wednesday,June IJth, as usual,! ,vent very early to
> the Master's house, so early that no one was there-th:tt is, no callers.
> Some of the Persians, of course, were ,vith Him-Valiolah Khan and
> ~lirza Ali Akbar. I found them in the lo,.,.er reception hall, the
> English basement. Abdul Baba was sitting in the big chair in the
> corner near the ,vindow. He called me to a scat near Him, then began
> smilingly-to speak His clear words of divine encouragement to me.
> "Juliet is absolutely truthful ... For chis I love her very much."
> After a moment He added: " She tells me everything. She conceals
> nothing from me I "
> "My Lord," I said, "it would be useless to try to conceal any-
> thing from you. I coulJ hide nothing I "
> "That is true," said the Master, raising one hand, " nothing-
> nochingl "
> Soon He rose." Stay here," He bade me and went out with Ahmad.
> • • •
> After He had returned and given some private inrervie,vs to those
> waiting, He talked to the people assembled on the first floor, sitting
> at the far end of the room, His back half to the window into which
> -<{2.9)>
> the sun poured. The strongest i1nage in my memoty is this lu1ninous
> one of rite M.1scer sitting by the window, the tnaicscic head domina-
> ting the holy figure, reaching us with smiles and gestures divine.
> C The meeting over, a few of us we.at upstairs co Mrs. Cliampney's
> toom, to unite in a healing prayer for Mrs. Hinkle-Smith, but no
> sooner had Lua begun co chant it than there came-a divine inter-
> ruption I The Master looked in at the door, calling "Juliet!•á
> Whereupon I joyously deserted Mrs. Hinkle-Smith and ran out to
> Hirn.
> " Bring your things in here," He said, pointing to the front room,
> the library.
> Oh, these sittings, so wonderful, yet so difficult! We move from
> room to room, from background to background, light to light. He
> has given tne three half-hours, each time in a dilTerent room! And
> Abdul Ba.ha-who could paint Him?
> The next morning, Thursday, l went up very early to the house, but
> did .not see the ~faster. But Lua and I had a wonderful talk with
> Valiolah Khan.
> "I\1y father," said VaJiolah Khan," was tnuch with Baha'o'llah.
> One oighc Baha'o'Jlah, as He strode back and forth in His room,
> said co my father: • At scared periods souls are sent to earth by che
> l\lighty God with what we calJ the Power of the Great Ether. And
> those ,vho possess this Power can do anything; they have all power.
> Even this walk of mine,' said Daha'o'llah, •has an elfect in the world.
> His floliness Jesus Chrisc had chis Power. The people of His time
> thought of Him as a poor youth whom they had cruci.ficJ; but He
> possessed the Pol,áer of chc Grcac Ether; therefore, He could aoc
> remain underground. This etheral Power rose and quickened the
> world. And now look to the Master,' said Baha'o'llah, ' for this
> Po,ver is His.'
> ••.Baha'o'llah," added Valiolah Kh:tn, .. taught myfathet much about
> Agha. Agha (M;ister), yo11know, is one of the titles of Abdul Daha,
> and the Greatest Branch is another and the Greatest Mystery of God
> another. By all these we call Him in Persia. The Blessed Perfection
> (Baha'o'llah) revealed the Station of Abdul Baba to my father.
> And my father wrote many poems to the Master-though                 the
> -<(30):-
> Master would scold him and say: •You must not write such things
> to Mel • But the heart of my father could not keep quiec. He once
> wrote:
> "0 Dawning Place of the Beauty of God,
> I know Theef
> Though Thou sbroudest Thyself in a thousand veils,
> l know Thee!
> Though Thou shouldst assume the tatters of a beggar,
> Still would I know Theel''
> In the l:ttc afternoon I returned ,vith my mother. He received us in
> His room, full of toses and lilies and carnations.
> •• Ah-hi Mrs. Thompson! Mahraba! M,ahrabal"
> The intonation of that M,1braha-a ,velcome from a heart deeper
> than any hutnan heart-:1 ,,,clcome, indeed I Only this generation
> may kno,v it on earth, but it is before all the world and the future
> at the threshold of Heaven I ...
> The next morning I sa,v the Master alone and V\'C spoke of a friend,
> who h;2d /:ijJcJ to understand Abd uJ .B:1h:1    ás me.ailing the othc.r
> day, thinking He meant to teach ascctism, that the spirit and the
> Oesh were t,vo separate things.
> " That is not ,vh:tt I said;' replied Abdul D:1.ha,•• I said that the
> spiritual man anJ the materialist wetc two different beings. The
> spirit is in the flesh," He added.
> " Yes, I know," I ans,vered, beaming at the beauty of this and its
> deep significance, for there it all was-everything was s:iid in those
> six ,vords.
> j,,ly Jth .
> . . . . . . Tnosu precious sittings, so few-,vich dear Lua and May
> praying beside me ,vhile I worked-perceiving       and encouraging
> inc while I painted with a blind aoJ breathless speed, lificd up on
> a wave of inspiracioa-on!y /((lint.
> " The Holy Spirit alone can paint this portrait," I s:iid to the
> M.i.ster one day, "All confum.i.tion comes from Theel Oh, inspir:
> mel"
> "You will be inspired," the Master replied, "for you are painting
> only for che sake of God."
> Then-I let go I-relying on His promise: and on the prayers of May
> and Lua, and then a great wave of inspiration ca1ne, lifting me up to
> unimagined heights of confidence-endowing me with clear, sure
> perception-above all, filling-thrilling me with feeling so profound
> and immense that my hand, strangely certain-as direct as though
> guided by a more powerful one-trembled so it could scarcely
> execute.
> In five half-hours the portrait ,vas done (all except a sitting for
> a fe,v last touches), each day in a different Hght and environment.
> ( To be painting fron1 the Face of God and realirting this I Oh
> artists of the future, thi11k,,vhat that n1cans!-and forgive the in-
> adequate expression I h:1ve left to you. Dec:1useof these difficulties
> I could not n1ake a studied portrait-it is only an impression. The
> light was unspeakably weak and poor-everything txternal was
> against me. But they say it is really like the Master. He says so. He
> said, " It is the very nature." Due 11othi11gis like Hirn to me! That
> imrnortal flash of the eyes-that rnouch, supc:rhurnanly 1nobilc-
> the piercing brilliancy and sweetness of the look-the celestial light
> of the ever-changing (ace-who clould paint? An emanation of
> holiness that is almost visible-I find it in none of the photographs
> -I can find no words for it- ....        You will have: to wait-oh,
> peoplc-,vho are to co1nc-till you sec Hi1n in theSuprcrncConcourse.
> ( There was that other day, ,vhcn in His address to the believers
> Abdul B.tha declared Himself the Center of the Covenant. The words
> are on record, though not all,some He Himself struck out when the
> notes were presented to Hiln, so that the record is less strong, more
> guarded than the spoken ,vords were. They were uttered with a great
> calm. That day was the 19th of June.
> On June 2.1stAbdul Baha went to Montclair. Two <bys later Lua,
> Georgie Ralston and I were with Him there.
> He served at the table chat day. I shall never forget His look of
> mystery as He entered with a dish of fruit. le was a glass bowl,filled
> with golden peaches. Without turning His head-His face was set
> straight before Him and was strangely and majestically still in ex-
> -cf31)>
> pressioo-He turned a piercing glance on Lua and myself. It ,vas a
> glance like a. sword, strangely watchful, as it flashed from the cor-
> ners of His eyes, while His face ,vas turned aln1ost profile.
> Before lunch, having banished Lua, Georgie and me to the back
> porch, He joined us there, striding up and do,vn and talking to us.
> As He walked He shook us ,virh His po,ver. I felt myself rene\ved in
> the currents of life eddying fron1 liin1. I felt myself sparkle with this
> vi"ific:1tion, this exhilaration.
> His eyes-chose eyes of light, which seen1 to be, :rnd are, ever look-
> ing into heaven, into that mysterious plane hidden from our sight,
> and when they alight for an instant upon earth glance a,vay at once,
> back to the mysteries-,vere more than ever brillianrly rcsclcss rhat
> day; l!is '"hole being, indeed, ,v:is restless ,vith a strange force. It
> scemecl as though the li.f!htning of the Spirit could scarcely endure
> to re1nain harnessed to the body. His whole bearing "'á:is unusually
> foreign to earth. He seemed almost out of the body.
> \Vhile we ,vcrc sitting :,round Him on the porch I told Him that a
> wotn;,n I knew, ,..,ho h:\J seen Hi,n once but knc,.., nothing of Hitn,
> had s:iid she would like co á• live nc:tr Him."
> He laughed, "She does not ,vant to Jive near ~fe. She only ,vaots a
> good time."
> .
> Then He gre,v serious. "To live nc:tr Me," He said, "one n1usc h:tve
> t.,[y :tin,s and objects. Do you rernenihcr the rich young m:in \\'ho
> wanted to Jive near Christ, anJ ,,áhen he found out ,vh:1c it cost to
> live near Hi,n-that      it n1eant to give a\vay all his possessions, and
> to take up a cross and follo,v Christ-then,"        the Master laughed,
> " he fled a,vay I "
> " A1nong the disciples of the Bab," continued Abdul Baba, " ,verc
> two, his a1nanuensis and a fir1n believer. On the eve of the Bab's
> martyrdom, the believer prayed, • Oh, let me die with you! '
> " The amanuensis said, ' \Vhat shall I do? •
> " • \Vhat shaJJ I do? • laughed the Master, in gentle mockery,
> • What do yo1,1want Mc to do? •
> " The Bab said, ' Protect yourself.'
> " The disciple died with the Bab, his head upon the breast of the
> <f33 ):-
> Bab, and their bodies were mingled in death. The amanuensis died
> in prisoo, anyway, but think of the difference in their stations I
> "There was another martyr," continued AbJul Daha, after a moment.
> "Mirza ...      of Shiraz. He saw Daha"o'Jlah only once, but he so
> loved the Dlc:ssedBeauty that he could not help but follow hitn to
> Teheran, though Baha'o'llah had told him to remain in Shira.z
> with his aged parents, who h:1d also beco1ne believers. Still he
> follo,ved ! And when he reached Tehcran it was just at the time that
> a great persecution had fallen upon the Dahais because of the
> attempt on the life of Nassir-id-Din Shah by two fanatical believers.
> And Baha'o'llah had been cast into a dungeon. And it was in the
> Jungton that Mirza ...       Shira:zi found Him again when he-
> asking for Daha'o'Jlah-was led to the dungeon to be chained with
> eleven ocher disciples to his Master! So he found Him again! The
> disciples were all bound by the san1e chain to Daha'o"llah. Set into
> the chains were iron collars which were fastened by iron pins around
> the neck, and each day a believer \.vas unchained and blled, till
> Baha'o'lJah alone was left, and none kncv, whose turn would be
> next. The ftrsc intimation one recci\áed that bis time had come was
> when the gaoler took out the pin from the collar. Then Mirza ...
> Shirazi stepped joyfully forward. First he kissed the feet of the
> Blessed Beauty . . . and then. . . . "
> Suddenly Abdul Baha's whole aspect changed. It was as though the
> spirit of che martyr had entered into Him ... With His head
> thrillingly erect, snapping His fingers high in the air, beating on
> the porch with His foot till we could scarcely endure the vibrations
> set up-such electric po,ver radiated from Him-Hesangthemartyr's
> song, ecstatic and tragic beyond anything I had ever he.ard.
> This was \vhat the Cause meant then I This was what it meant to live
> near Him! Another realm opened co me-the realm of Divine Tragedy.
> { " And thus," ended Abdul Baha, " singing and dancing he went
> to his death-and a hundred executionc:rs fell on him!
> "And later his old parents came to Baha'o'Jlah, praising God that
> their son had given his life in the Path of God! "
> He sank back into His chair. Tears swelled io my eyes, blurring
> everything. When they cleared I saw a yet stranger look on His.face.
> ◄ 34 ►
> His eyes were unmist:ikably fixed on the Invisible. They were as
> brilliant as jc,vcls and so filled ,vith delight that chey almost m:idc
> His vision rc:il to us. A s1nilc of exultation played on His lips. \'cry
> low, so chat it sounded Jikc an echo, 1-lehu1nn1cd the martyr's song.
> { " See! " I-le exclai rued, " the eCfect that the death of a 1narcyr
> has in the ,vorld. It h:is changed 111ycondition."
> There \Vas a rnoment of silence; then He s:1id:
> " \Vh;tt it is, Juliet, that you arc pondering so deeply? "
> .. I ,v:1s thinking of the look on your f:1ce ,vhcn you said th:it your
> condition ,v;is changed. J ,vas chinking I had seen a flash of the joy
> of God over those who die h:ippily for hun1anity."
> " There ,v:is one name," He said, " that al,v:iys brought joy to the
> f:icc of 13:1h:1'o'll:1h.His expression would ch:inge :ic the mention of
> it. It \Vas l\(;1ry of I\.Iagd:ila."
> I did not sec the ~faster a.gain till the 2.9th of June, the day of His
> fc:1st at \Vest Englewood. Then I entered His Presence in Roy \Vil-
> hc:l1n's house.
> I had gone to \\fest Engle,vooJ ,vith Silvia. \Ve ,v:ilkcd up fro1n the
> little sc-ation, dear Berthalin Osgood ,vich us, through the s,,ácct,-
> wilJ country, p:ist the grove ,vhere che tables ,vere spread for che
> feast-:1 great circle cleared of underbrush, sh:idy :ind fragrant ,vich
> tall pine-trees, in the n1idst of tangled ,voods-then     on up to the
> house \.vhcre f-le was-He \.vhose Presence fillcJ our -eyes \.vith light
> and without whotn our days had been very dim and lifeless!
> Ah, there He was again I-There in a corner of the porch that unique
> Figure in the flowing garrnents, which meant che heavenly garment
> to usl I sped across the lawn-forgetting      poor Silvia-forgetting
> everything! He looked down at me with eyes so grave, so deep in
> their regard-oh,     so wonderful-a profound welcome. Then ,ve sat
> on the porch with Him for a v.áhile.
> Later, He led us to the grove. There He talked to the people, sitting
> beneath a great tree, with a poor, old woman on one side-very
> poor and humble, but with the most shining faith, and on the other.
> side Mrs. Krug, With her radiant prettiness and rich cloches.
> His words have been preserved. I will not repeat them. I remember
> ,       ,:( 35 ►
> them, besides, very imperfectly. But He said one thing v,hich woke
> all my being:
> "This is a New Day; a New Hour."
> At the end of this divine talk the feast was ready; but no sooner
> had this been announced than a sudden storm blew up; there was a
> peal of thunder; the clouds rolled very ro,v. Abdul Baha stepped
> out into the road and ,valkcd to the extren1e cod of it, ,vhcre
> there was a cross-ro::id. There a chair had been left, and, as I
> watched Him from a dist.1nce,1 s.1,vHim sic down in jr, while the
> Persians s~ood around Him. I then sa,v Him lift His face to the sky.
> 1-lehad gone very far from the house. The thunder was still threat-
> ening and the clouds were ominously black. Su<ldenly a winád sprang
> up-the clouds began to flee across the sky-blue patches appeared
> -and the sun came out. Theo the Master rose and walked baclc
> to the grove. Thi1 I 11110.
> Later as ,ve sat at the table He anointed us ,vith rose-water.
> I ,vas not at a table but sitting on the ground beneath a tree, with
> one or t\VObelievers.
> •á Friends here/ " srnilcd che Mascer. In Hi.s voice was a deep and
> thrilling joy. The union of hearts gives Him such rest. Then with a
> heart-shaking look, ,vhich bad as it ,vere the musk of love in it, He
> rubbed my face hard ~vith the rose-perfume.
> So He p:isscd arnong all the tables anointing all the people-a
> divine figure in His flowing robes ,vith the gracious and gentle
> beauty of the Shepherd-touching         and caressing with those singu-
> larly tender yet vital fingers ...     all our blind faces! ...
> But the \vooderfu.1-the indescribably \vonderful time came later.
> The Master ,vent out alone and ren1aioed away hours, \Vhcn He
> r.cturned it was dark. A few of us were sitting on the porch, Lua,
> 1Iay, Silvia, Marjorie anJ myself, and a yo.ung colored n1an, Neval
> Thomas. Below us on the gi:ass sat the people-that is, those who
> had lingered-who could not teat themselves away. Their white
> clothes in the dusk were as soft as n1oth wings, In their hands they
> held burning tapers-really       to keep off the mosquitoesl~but    the
> effect was of tiny wands tipped with red stars and the incense was
> like some Eastern temple. It w-as a fairy-like picture. The Master
> -:( 36 ):-
> took a chair in the center of the step, and delicately holding a ta~r
> Hin1sclf, He spoke in ,vords of flame! I can sec it all vividly still-
> and shall through my life-those trcrnbling red stars an1ong che dim
> \\áhire figures on the gr:iss; behind them a most ,vonderful tall tree,
> luxurt:tnt, ,vich rolling outlines-now      a great black cloud against
> che silver st:trS.
> The ~f:tstcr I could not sec, as I stood at His back, but the ,vords ,vere
> the rnorc po,vcrful to rne for th:it. Often I lose the ,vords in g1zing
> at the F;ice. He had turned before beginning to speak, and given
> me a long and unfathomable look.
> Th:it speech, thank God, is reácorded-othenvise         the words could
> never be rcmcntbcrcd. le ,vas a re,ácrberating call to His disciples to
> rise in this Day of the Great Resurrection out of the tomb of self
> and gather around Him to revivify the world.
> Defore He had finished He rose from His chair and started do,vn the
> path, passing bet,veen the ,vhite figures ,vith their trembling red
> st:1rs..
> .. Pc:tt-e be ,vith you," He said as He recedetl into the darkness, the
> rich liquid Persian and the quivering tr:inslation floating back to us
> from His invisibility, " I will pray for you."
> Ah, the Divine Figure growing din1mer and dimmet till at last the
> darkness engulfed it! Ah, the voice that came back even when the
> figure ,vas beyond our sight I May I remember this in the future-
> nay, how could I forget it?
> 
> ONthe fourth of July my mother had her birthday dinner ,vith the
> rvfascer. Ho\v sweet He was to 1namma-fle led her to the sofa and
> with that ,vonderful freedom of 1-lis-frc:eclorn of che King and yet-
> of the Supren1e Friend-drew her down beside Him. Carrie Kinney,
> Georgie Ralston and I were sitting at a little distance ...
> " On the fourth of July three years ago," I remarked to the Master,
> .. Mrs. Kinney and I were with You in Acea. You took us to the
> Tomb of Baha'o'llah. I never dreamed I would keep an anniversary
> with You in New York." . . .
> At t-he table He joked with mamma because she would not eac.
> " I perceive you arc angel," He said, •á angels do not eat."
> ~◄ 37)=-
> •• The Master sees l am not an angel," I laughed, " because I ea.t
> everything He puts on my plate."
> •• I perceive you are a very clever person I Mrs. Thotnpson," He coná
> tinued, •á is going home to a luscious dinner and is saving her
> appetite for it! "
> " You are very 'kind to me," said maruma a little later.
> " God knO\VSthe degrees of it I " He :111s,vered. . .
> At another time that evening He spoke of tests.
> " Even the sword," He saiJ, " is no test to the Persian believers.
> They are given a chance to recant; they cry out instead,' Ya Baha
> El Abhal ' Then the sword is raised; they cry out all the more:,
> ' Ya Baba El Abhal' ••
> I write ,vords, but nothing can convey the subtle influence of Abdul
> Baha-the fragrance of His love, falling on our hearts like balm,
> e,chilarating our spirits, changing even our physical aspect-brightá
> e11ing the eyes, bringing color to the (aces, freshening all with joy.
> The fragrance of His Jove, the power of His peace, the currents of
> Life, streaming out from that strong Center-that calm .and glowá
> iog Center . . . \n \-\is "Presencewe are in Heaven.
> " And a man shall be as a shelter from the wind 1 as the shadow of~
> great rock in a weary land."
> 
> ON Monday, July 9th, I went with the Master and the little banc:l
> of Persians to the Natural Hiscory Musc:u111.It ,vas a very hot day.
> \Vben we reached che Ninth Avenue corner of theMuseun1, where the
> employees' entrance is located, there was still a long stretch of su.11
> between us and the main door and Abdul Daha was evidently so
> weary that I felt we rnust find some nearer entrance for Hin1. So,
> while He sat down to rest on a ledge of the cn1bankn1ent, 1 started
> off in search of one. The employees' Joor ,vas Jocked, so I hurried
> o.flfurther, even veniuring past a sign 1narked " No thoroughfare;''
> but, just a.sI succccdcd in passing this, I was stopped by a shrill
> whistle, and turned to lace the ,vatchman of the grounds. He was
> a little old Jew, ,vith a kind face. I explained why I was breaking the
> rules and asked if he could lead us to a door nearer than the n1ain one,
> He turned and looked at Abdul Baba, it that Figure from the East,
> <(38)>
> from the Past-not of this "vorld or this time at all-sitting so quiet
> on chc ledge of the e1nb.:tnkn1cnt;and His face softened curiously.
> "Corne with n1e," he s:1iJ. Then, as Abdul Baba, ,-.,ith the rest of
> us, follo,ved him: " ls He :l Jc,v? "
> •á No," I said," He is A\x\ul Ilaha, of Persia."
> The old Jew asked nothing rnorc-rhen-though              I sensed that he
> wished to, but I did not feel at liberty to spc:tk-Abdul Bah:i Himá
> self was there to speak.
> \Ve went through the l\1useurn, AbJu) Dab.a.being quite amused with
> the big ,vhalc, saying: " He could hold seventy Jon:ihsl "
> In the rvfcxican exhibit, ,vhich interested Hiin very much, He found
> traces of Persian ;1rt, and :ilso remarked on the close resemblance of
> the sculpture to \\'h:tt had ncen found in Egpyt.
> "Only 1hi1 is better," He said.
> "There is a tr:idition," I said, "of a connection between this
> country and Asia in the far past."
> "Assuredly," He answered, " before a great catastrophe there was
> connection bct,vecn Asia an<l A1ncrica."
> Though the Masrer had alreacly rested in the ~iuseum He sat down
> again just outside on a soft little curve of ground beneath a young
> trc:e. He sat some little time there, we standing behind on the flags
> of the ,valL:. Was He waiting for some one? .Byand bye the old Je,v
> stole up to us.
> " Is He tired? " he whispered softly to me. " \Vho is He? He look.s
> like a great m:10. "
> Divining that the Jew was a socialist, I replied that Abdul Baba was
> a great sufferer Cot the Cause of Brotherhood.
> Then I told him something of the story of the Master's sufferings.
> " I would like to speak to Him," said the Jew, so I led him to the
> Master.
> The Master loolce~ up, His brilliant eyes full of sweetness.
> "Come and sit by me," He said.
> " No, I must not," answered the watchman.
> •• Is it against the rules for me to sit on the grass?" asked the Master.
> {"Not      for.1011"(with tenderness).
> " If it is against the rules I will get up."
> -c(39)>
> "No,Jou may sit there all day."
> "You didn't sec the whole of the Museum," continued the old
> watchman. " \Vould you like to go back after you have rested?
> There are the fossils and the birds."
> " No," said the Master smiling, " lam tired of going about looking
> at the things of this world. I want to go above and travel and see in
> the spiritual worlds. \\ 1hat do you think about that? " He asked
> suddenly, with another luminous smile. The old watchman looked
> puzzled and scratched his head.
> " Which would you ratber possess," pursued the Master, " the
> material or the spiritual world? "
> "Well, I guess the material," the watchman answered seriously.
> " You 1:nO\Vyou havethat, anyway."
> " But you do not lose it when you attain the spiritual. When you go
> upstairs in a house you do not leave the house. The lower floor is
> 11nder you."
> "Oh, yes! " All of a sudden light broke from the old man's face.
> Then the Master rose and standing beneath that young tree, the
> sun shining on His- robes, taught the old Jew with His irrefutable
> logic, yet with irresistible smiles and charm, of the spiritual agree-
> ment of Christ and Moses. Oh, if only I could make you seethat
> picture-call it into life ag:iin for you-the old Jew and his un-
> recot,ni~,JMessialJ-tbis One of whotn he had asked, " Is He a Jew? "
> -who had so strangely magnetized him and inspired him with
> tenderness and awe; the touched, questioning face of the Jew ...
> and ...     the Radiant Stranger, like a vision of some long past
> prophet, " the Ancient of Days," aod .. the Divine Youth," in one,
> by some strange alchemy of the spirit. Surely the Jew must have felt
> something. Christians had said of this Visitor from the East, " that
> figure makes me think of the plains of Judea, .. _ .. I seemed to be
> talking with Moses or Isaiah." Race instinct, deep race-hopes must
> have stirred within thcjew.
> (I returned a number of times to the Museum to find the old watch-
> man, but I never saw bis face again. He must have been called very
> soon " upstairs in the house." )
> 'fIIE S1\N FRANCl~CO llAII,\'I 1\SSI::.\ICLY
> a111101t11ccs
> 1áwo S.EllIES OF LECTUHES
> by
> OAIIA'I CONVEN'ftON SPEAKEHS
> 
> CENER4L SUBJECT-1'/IE El'OLUTJON Of' Rt;LJG/0:V
> Friday Evenings at the Con1n1on,rcnlthClub,
> 3-15Sutter Street, ~an Francisco,
> at 8 o'clock-
> May 1-The Seven Day!l of Crealiori-lts Spiritual /11terpretatio11
> ~Ins. E1,1zAoET11 GnEENLEAF, i\lns. i\-(AY i\L\X\\"ELL,
> i\IR. Lot;rs G. GntconY
> "'Jayl'1--Harn1onizi11gthe Bible tt'itli !llodern Science
> l\á1n.A.tnrr.r ,•A11.
> M-ay21-The A-lostSucce!ls/ul Persons in Hun1a11llistory
> i\ln. AtnEnT VAIL
> May 28-The      Greatest Religious Discouery of ,l/ o<ler111'i111es
> ~IR. ALBERT \I AIL
> 
> Wednesday Afternoons al the Ouha'i Library,
> 2108 Scott Street, San Francisco,
> nl 3 o'clock-
> f\1'ay5-A Recent Visit to Palestine l\-lns.ELIZAllF.TII GnEE:'liLEAF
> May 12-T/i.e Spiritual 111.fluenceof Abdu'l Baha
> A-Ins.!\1.•1á J\l.-tx1r1::1.L
> May 19-The C.iy of lmn1ortality a,ul the Gate 1'fiereto
> l\ln. ALBERT   \' AIL
> 1\-lay26--The Scientific Laius of Prayer            ~In. ALBERT VAIL
> 
> You are cordiaJJy jnvHed
>
> — *Abdu'l-Baha's First Days in America (Used by permission of the curator)*