Bahá’í World/Volume 13/In Memoriam

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IN MEMORIAM

VALiYU’LLAH VARQA 1884—1955

Profoundly grieved loss outstanding Hand Cause God, exemplary trustee Huql'iq, distinguished representative most venerable community Bahá’í world, worthy son brother twin immortal martyrs Faith, dearly beloved disciple Center Covenant. Shining record services extending over half century enriched annals heroic formative ages Bahá’í Dispensation. His reward Abhá Kingdom inestimable. Advise erect my behalf befitting monument his grave. His mantle as trustee funds Huqt’iq now falls on ‘Ali Muhammad, his son. lnstruct Rowhani Tihran arrange befitting memorial gatherings capital provinces honor memory mighty pillar cradle Faith Bahá’u’lláh. Newly-appointed trustee Huqi'iq now elevated rank Hand Cause.

SHOGHI November 15, 1955.

A utobiograph y

“Some time ago the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tihran asked me to write my autobiography for them. In reply, I explained that during my youth I had had the privilege and honor to be in the blessed presence of His Holiness ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and to be one of His attendants during His visit to America. I had always seen and witnessed His utter self-abnegation in words and deeds. When I stop to ponder the resplendent services rendered by the early believers of the Faith and their heroic sacrifices, I do not see how I can give any account about myself.

“I was born in Tabri'z, 1263 Persian solar calendar (1884). My father, ‘Ali Muhammad Varqa, a martyr of the Cause, was the third son of Hájí Mullá Mihdi Yazdi, known as Atri, and my mother, Fátimih, was the daughter of Hájí Mirzá ‘Abdu’lláh Khan NL’lri of Mézindaran. These two grandparents

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were both staunch believers of the Cause, which they most earnestly served. 1 had three brothers. (My mother gave birth to four children.) The eldest was named Mirza ‘Aziz’ullah Khán, the second was named Rfihu’llah, who was martyred, the third was myself, and the fourth was called Badi‘ulláh, who died in childhood. As a family we all lived in Tabri’z in the household of our maternal grandmother in perfect love and harmony and in complete ease and honor.

“This happiness was, however, upset and shattered in consequence of some false reports submitted by certain enemies of the Cause to the Prince Regent, Muzafiari’d-Din flab, to the effect that Mirza ‘Abdu’lláh _K_hén, my grandfather, who was then a member of his court, was acting against the Government and had put his house at the disposal of Bahá’ís gathering there to conduct anti-government activities. My grandfather was obliged, therefore, to escape to Ṭihrán, and in his absence, my grandmother, who was a fanatical Muslim, found the opportunity to exert her enmity by opposing my father so strongly and relentlessly as to compel him to leave his home and native town, accompanied by his two eldest sons. My junior brother, Badi‘ullah, and myself, being too small, were left behind with our mother in the same house where my grandmother lived. This did not, however, appease my grandmother. She had such a deep hatred of the Cause that she began to make evil suggestions to me against my father and to sow the seeds of hatred and enmity in my soul against him. She was able to impress my tender soul to such an extent that in my Islamic prayers, which I was obliged to say, I wept in bitter grief for my father’s deviation which had earned him so much hatred from the public.

“Up to the age of sixteen, I lived with my grandmother in an atmosphere charged with such fanaticism and hatred towards the Cause. Then my uncle, Hájí Mir Husayn, a sincere believer and teacher of the Cause, took steps

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to transfer me from Tabríz to Miyanduab. where I lived under his care and love for some years until I became a believer.

“During my stay in Miyanduab, the late Siyyid Assadu‘llah Qumi visited there and was a guest of my uncle. Feeling that I was extremely anxious to visit the Holy Shrines and the Center of the Covenant, he promised me, when leaving Miyanduab, that whenever he intended to leave for the Holy Land he would inform me that I might join him at Tabríz. Shortly afterwards I received his message telling me that he was ready to leave. Filled with great enthusiasm for this auspicious journey I did not even inform my uncle of my intended departure, since I thought he would definitely not allow me to make the journey because of his great af’fection for me. l forthwith left for Maraghih in company with one of the aged believers, and thence I proceeded to Tabríz. At Tabríz l was summoned by the Local Spiritual Assembly, who, after holding consultation regarding my aim, informed me .that they had decided I should go to Tihran to stay with my brother Mirza ‘Azizu‘llah flan. To persuade them to revise their decision was out of the question and l was therefore obliged to leave for Tihran, where I stayed with my dear brother and meanwhile took up my studies in the Tarbiyat School. At the same time I began to study English outside the school and took up a course in Arabic with Bahá’í scholars. I spent a few years also in the American High School in Tihran to advance my general education.

“The long-cherished time now came when with the consent of my dear brother I left for ‘Akká, where I had the great privilege olvisiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant. Following this auspicious occasion I proceeded to Beirut where I took up my studies with the aim of finishing the college course and continuing them in a university in England. During my stay in Beirut l was summoned by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to ‘Akká every summer and there I had the opportunity to study the Cause and take teaching courses with Other students under the late Hziji Mirza Haydar-‘Ali.

“In the summer of the year 1909, while I was in ‘Akká, l was instructed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to return to Tihran to fulfill a mission which He so kindly entrusted to me. In Tihran, after having carried out His mission, I married

THE Bahá’í WORLD

Bahíyyih Khánum, daughter of the late Sani-us-Sultan, surnamed Sani lllahi, of whom I had ten children. Seven of these children, three sons and four daughters, are now living and they are: ‘Ali Muhammad: Mihdi; Malihih (Mrs. Qubad); Munirih (Mrs. Farzar); I’arvin (Mrs. Muvafiq): MalJmt'Jd; Lami (Mrs. Nikanpt'tr). I thank God that they are all Bahá’ís and are firm in the Cause.

“I must express my great appreciation to my wife, who has sincerely collaborated with me since our marriage and who had, in fact, a greater share than myself in training the children in the Bahá’í spirit.

“After my marriage I took employment in the Russian Embassy as a secretary, but when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was about to leave for America l left for ‘Akká with His permission and had the great honor of attending Him on His historic journey. After my return to Tihran, l was employed as First Secretary Translator by the Turkish Embassy. My daytime was spent working at the office and at night I was happy to serve on the Spiritual Assembly and on various Bahá’í committees. At both the Embassies I had made it a condition with them not to require me to do anything concerned with politics. After many years of service, however, I was asked to do a service which slightly touched on politics, whereupon 1 tendered my resignation.

”For the last twelve years I have had the inestimable honor to serve as Trustee of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, having been appointed by the beloved Guardian, and it is my utmost wish that l may be able during these last days of my life to render befitting service to our Holy Cause and give satisfaction to our beloved Guardian."

The spiritual services of the Hand of the Cause Mr. Valiyu‘llah Varqa, which began at the early age of twenty and ended with his death at the age of seventy-one, were characterized by evcr-increasing zeal and enthusiasm throughout his life. His efforts in the Cause were redoubled particularly after the passing away of Mr. Amin Amin in 1938, when Mr. Varqa was entrusted by the beloved Guardian with the dutyoftaking care of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh. His elevation later to the rank of Hand of the Cause inspired in him a new spirit and stirred him to a still higher degree of service to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. In 1953 he prepared

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Valiyu’llah Varqa

himself, under instructions from the Guardian, for participation in the Intercontinental Conferences. He first attended the Kampala Conference and then the Conference in Chicago. During the interval between the latter and the Conference in Stockholm he was directed by the Guardian to proceed to South America, where he visited the area between Brazil and Santiago in Chile within forty-six days. His mission was to meet the friends and to give the Message to the people. On July [0, 1953, he left for Europe and, after participating in the Stockholm Conference, he visited a large number of cities in Germany by the order of the Guardian. In Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Esslingen he met many Bahá’í friends and others. In Stuttgart the preliminary signs of his illness began to appear. He stayed in a hospital for a week in Stuttgart and then for a further month in Ulm, where he underwent an operation.

Mr. Varqa’s request to Shoghi Effendi for a visit to Haifa had been granted for the time

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when the New Delhi Conference, in which Mr. Varqa was to participate, should have been concluded. He therefore left soon for New Delhi, not waiting to complete the convalescence period, and consequently had a very hard time during the days of the Conference. He then received the Guardian‘s instructions to proceed to ‘lraq, Egypt and Syria on a teaching mission. He forthwith left New Delhi for ‘Iráq. In that country his illness took a serious turn and he suffered extreme pain. He was therefore obliged to stay in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Baghdad. After a while, when he felt himself slightly better, he left for Cairo, Ismailia, Suez, Port Said, and Alexandria, where he visited the friends and gladdened their hearts by giving them an account of the magnificent results of the Conferences and of the rapid progress of the Cause in the world.

He then left for Turkey, where he visited the towns of Qazi Antap, lskanderun, Adana and Istanbul, and met the friends. The unexpected cold weather in Turkey that year and Mr. Varqa‘s ill health caused him a great deal of suffering. He now reported to the beloved Guardian an account of his journeys and was then kindly instructed to return to Iran. After his arrival in Tihran the Guardian appointed a time when he could visit the Holy Land. This visit to the Holy Shrines and to the beloved Guardian, which lasted about two weeks, inspired him with a new life and revitalized him for still further activities. He was then instructed by Shoghi Effendi to proceed to Germany so as to join the Hands of the Cause and at the same time to complete the course of his medical treatment. From there, on the Guardian's instructions, he departed for Austria and stayed in Vienna for some time, where he started teaching the Cause and giving public addresses to large crowds of searchers for truth. He then returned to Iran.

In March 1955 he felt very severe pain which made him extremely uneasy. He therefore left for Europe again for medical treatment, visiting first Paris and then Italy. While receiving treatment he did not forget his teaching mission whenever he found an opportunity. He then proceeded to Germany and went to a hospital in Tfibingen where for forty-one days he passed the last part of his brilliant life. Even during these last days

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he did not neglect his teaching duty. Whenever he felt a mitigation of pain and suffering he called to his bedside both friends and seekers of truth and spoke to them of the Teachings. But the light of his life was steadily fading, and it was on Saturday, November 12, 1955, that he passed away and joined the concourse on high. He was a drop that fell in the Great Ocean, a beam of light that attained to the luminous Sun.

After Mr. Varqa’s death the beloved Guardian ordered that a memorial be erected at his own expense, at the grave of Mr. Varqé in Stuttgart. The design was made by Mr. Seyhun, architectural engineer, and while this account is being written the construction of the roof is nearing completion, under the supervision of Mr. Bauer, a beloved German friend. After it is completed the monument will bear evidence of the grace of God to His devoted servants.

After the passing of Jinabi Varqa the following letter was received in Germany: Haifa, Israel December 3, 1955

To the Bahá’ís who were gathered at the funeral of the Hand of the Cause, Valiyu’llah Varqa, in Stuttgart, November 17, 1955:

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your message touched our beloved Guardian very much, and he was happy to see that so many of the believers, both eastern and western, had been able to gather for his funeral, and honor this greatly-loved and staunch pillar of the Faith.

We are assured that, after so much sufl‘ering during the last years of his life, he has gone to receive a great reward in the Abhá Kingdom.

The Bahá’ís could not have a better example before them of nobility and faithfulness than this distinguished Hand of the Cause; and it is a blessing for the German friends that their country should have received his dust. The Guardian urges you all to follow in the footsteps of this beloved Hand, and to redouble your efforts to achieve the goals of the World Crusade apportioned to the

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German believers. He assures you all of his prayers for your success. With Bahá’í greetings, R. RABBANI

Assuring you of my deep and abiding appreciation of the sympathy you have expressed for the great loss sustained by our beloved Faith, and of my fervent prayers for the success of every effort you exert for its promotion.

Your true brother, SHOGHI

AMELIA E. COLLINS 1873—1962

“O thou lady of the Kingdom!” With these words ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed Amelia Engelder Collins in His Tablet to her, dated December 6, 1919. It was an answer to the longing of this newly awakened heart to serve the Kingdom of God. The “hope” of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as expressed in the Tablet became fulfilled in fullest measure in the life of this devoted Bahá’í:

“In brief, from the bounties of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, My hope is that thou mayest daily advance in the Kingdom, that thou mayest become a heavenly soul, confirmed by the breaths Of the Holy Spirit, and may erect a structure that shall eternally remain firm and unshakable.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921. Amelia used to say that, “After the provisions of His Will became known, my whole heart and soul turned to that youthful Branch, appointed by Him to watch over and guide the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. How I prayed that God would help me to make him happy!”

This became her guiding light, to serve the beloved Guardian and make him happy. She often said that to see the Guardian smile just once was worth a lifetime of suffering. To this end, then, she poured forth unstintingly her love, her strength, her means, throughout the remaining years of her life, often and increasingly, at the cost of great physical sacrifice. Her personal possessimis, art treasures, life itself, had meaning only as they

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could be used to serve the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and the one on whom had fallen the responsibility of carrying forward “the great work entrusted to his care.”

Amelia E. Collins

As the years passed, in numerous letters and messages to her, the Guardian referred to her “indomitable spirit of faith and love”, her “indefatigable services”, her “singleminded and wholehearted devotion” to the Cause of God, her “self—sacrificing efforts”examples which “will live and influence many a soul.” These services were crowned by Shoghi Effendi in January 1951 with her appointment as member and vice—president of the newly-appointed International Bahá’í Council, “forerunner” of the Universal House of Justice, and in December 1951, with her appointment as one of the first contingent of living Hands of the Cause.

At the time of her passing in Haifa, the Hands of the Cause cabled:

“With deepest regret share news Bahá’í world passing dearly loved Hand Cause

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outstanding benefactress Faith Amelia Collins. Unfailing support, love, devotion beloved Guardian darkest period his life brought her unique bounty his deep affection, esteem, confidence and honor direct association work World Center. Signal services every field Bahá’í activity unforgettable. Purchase site Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Mount Carmel, generous gifts hastening construction Mother Temples four continents and acquisition national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds endowments, constant support home front world-wide teaching enterprises among her magnificent donations. Urge national assemblies hold memorial gatherings, particularly Temples commemorate her shining example ceaseless services maintained until last breath.”

Amelia Engelder Collins was born on June 7, 1873 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Catherine Grofl‘, was born in the United States; her father, Conrad Engelder, emigrated from Germany at an early age and became a Lutheran clergyman. Amelia was brought up in a strict Lutheran atmosphere. She was the seventh child in a family of nine sons and five daughters. Her early married life was spent in Calumet, Michigan, and Bisbee, Arizona, in mining areas where her husband, Thomas H. Collins, had interests. After her husband’s death she sold their home in California, and devoted all her time and means to the Faith.

During the last twelve years of her life the effects of arthritis became increasingly painful and crippling, but she did not allow them to interfere with her services; her life became completely dedicated and the qualities of spirit with which she was endowed blossomed and bore fruit. Depth and clarity of spiritual insight, wise and loving counsel, childlike faith in prayer and in the working out of God’s Will, wholehearted sacrifice of earthly comforts, a real love for her fellow human beings, integrity in holding herself, and others, to the highest standards, were qualities which reached the heart and illumined the way for many. .

Early in 1923 Milly, as she was affectionately known, made her first pilgrimage to Haifa, accompanied by her husband, who was not a Bahá’í. She often spoke of the great kindness shown by Shoghi Effendi to Mr. Collins. At

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the time of her husband‘s death in 1937 Shoghi Effendi comforted her:

“Greatly distressed sudden passing beloved husband. Heart overflowing tenderest sympathy. Offering special prayers. Advising Geyserville summer school hold befitting memorial gathering recognition generous support their institution. May Beloved aid him attain goal he was steadily approaching closing years of his life."

That same year she made her second pilgrimage to the Holy Land. A closer tie was forged with the beloved Guardian and the beginning of a deep and significant relationship to his wife, Amatu’l-Bahá Rt’ihiyyih Khánum, a relationship which drew her closer to the Guardian himself. After this pilgrimage he wrote to her:

“The days you spent under the shadow of the Holy Shrines will long be remembered with joy and gratitude. l have during these days increasingly appreciated and admired the profound sense of devotion, the passionate fervor, the intense love and attachment that animates you in the service of this Holy Cause. For such noble qualities I feel thankful, and I am certain that the fruits they will yield will be equally outstanding and memorable. Rest assured and be happy."

Three years later he wrote:

"How pleased the Beloved must be! How proud He must feel of your truly great achievements! The soul of dear Mr. Collins must exult and rejoice in the Abhá Kingdom. Persevere and be happy."

And again that same year:

“Dearly beloved co-worker:

I am deeply touched by your repeated and most generous contributions to the institutions of our beloved Faith established both in the United States and the Holy Land. .. I shall gladly and gratefully expend your two most recent donations for the alleviation of distress as well as for the initiation of fresh activities, institutions and enterprises in the Holy Land as well as in the adjoining countries. May the Beloved bless you a thousandfold for the powerful assistance you are extending the Faith in so many fields of Bahá’í activity and aid you to fulfill your highest hopes in its service."

Only brief mention can be made here of Milly‘s many services. In 1924, while on a cruise to Iceland with her husband, she met

THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

Hélmfridur Arnadottir, who became a good friend and made the first translation of Bahá’í literature into Icelandic. Publication of Miss Arnadottir’s translation of Esslemont‘s Balzd‘u‘l/a'lz and the New Era in Icelandic, in Reykjavik in 1939, was made possible through Milly‘s generosity.

Milly was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Of the United States and Canada in 1924. Except for the years 1933—1938 she was a member of this body until she was called by Shoghi Effendi to serve at the World Center of the Faith. She was also an active member of the National Teaching. Assembly Development, and lnterAmerica Committees. She visited most of the Bahá’í centers in the United States and Canada to assist their consolidation, and most of those in Central and South America to promote the teaching work, during the First and Second Seven-Year Plans, 1937—1953.

The Guardian‘s appreciation of this work was expressed through his secretary:

“It comforts him greatly to know that you are in a position to help watch over and safeguard the interests of the Cause and the believers. Your calm sanity, your great faith and devotion are assets of outstanding value to the Faith, especially at present.”

The Guardian in 1937 sent through Milly a sacred gift to the American Bahá’í Community. The cablegram announcing this gift to the Annual Convention of 1938 said:

“As token my gratitude to such a community entrusted beloved co-worker Mrs. Collins locks Bahá’u’lláh’s most precious hair arranged preserved by loving hands Greatest Holy Leaf to rest beneath dome of Temple nobly raised by dearly beloved believers in American continent.”

She presented to the Convention the Guardian’s gift, which she had had beautifully framed and placed in a special silver case. This was the first sacred relic sent by the beloved Guardian to be retainedin the American National Bahá’í Archives.

After the second World War Milly was invited by Miss Arnadottir to come to Iceland. Milly asked the Guardian’s advice and received this reply, through his secretary:

“As he cabled you, he feels your presence in America more important than Iceland at this time. . . The small assemblies in America are badly in need of Bahá’í education. People

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like you, who are loving, tactful and wise, to help them see their problems and the solution for them, should be in continual circulation, so to speak. Again he would remind you not to overtax your strength or wear yourself out in your desire to do all you can for the work. Your services are too much needed for you to jeopardize your health. . .”

Milly was one of the first to do something about teaching the Indians in America, as urged by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Divine Plan Tablets. Over a period of many years she deputized Bahá’ís to teach the Omaha Indians in Macy, Nebraska, often visiting the group herself. ln 1948 the first Indian Bahá’í Assembly on the American continent was formed there.

Milly lived simply, allowing herself no luxuries, denying herself what many would consider necessities. She rarely spoke of the many generous contributions she made: the Guardian himself learned of some of them only through the National Spiritual Assembly minutes or reports of the National Treasurer. Many of her donations were in response to the Guardian‘s mere mention of a needed development in the Faith. Frequently Milly‘s was the first response to reach him. Of one ofthese he wrote in 1944, through his secretary: “I am enclosing a receipt, at the instruction of our beloved Guardian, for the sum you so spontaneously and generously sent to him to be used for the construction of the Superstructure of the Báb's Holy Tomb on Mt. Carmel.

“He wants you to know that this is the first contribution he has received for this glorious undertaking, and he is not surprised that it should come from you! You lead the way, in devotion, loyalty and self-sacrifice, in many fields of Bahá’í service, and your spirit of dedication to our beloved Faith and its interests greatly endears you to him.”

On one occasion when the Guardian‘s and Milly’s contributions coincided in being first, he cabled her:

“Our recent contributions teaching campaign synchronized evidence our hearts attuned noble Cause.”

In 1939 he wrote:

“Your very generous offerings enable me, in these days of stress and trial, to extend the range of the work of the Cause at its World Center, to reinforce the activities initiated at the various national centers. . ."

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Also about this time, he wrote:

“Though you yourself are in America, yet the range of the services which your contributions render possible is far-reaching. You should feel greatly encouraged, thankful and happy for being able to lend such an impetus, in these days of stress and peril, to the worldwide activities of so precious 3 Faith."

Many, many of Milly's services are known only to God, the beloved Guardian and herself. Indeed, she herself could not remember them all. In most instances her outstanding gifts were acknowledged by Shoghi Effendi in his general letters or cablegrams. Among those were:

Purchase of property on Mt. Carmel (1926); development and extension of summer school properties at Geyserville, California (1936) and at Davison, Michigan; publication of Bahá’í literature for the first time in Amharic (1934); first contribution to the Bahíyyih Khánum Fund toward the erection of the Mother Temple of America (1939); contribution to the Temple Fund in Persia (1939); defraying cost of publication of four recent volumes of The Bahá’í World; repeated contributions to teaching work and to the Mother Temple of America; gifts ofproperties near this Temple, as well as donations to the first Temple Dependency; donations toward purchase of nineteen supplementary Temple sites in Latin-America, Europe and Asia; contributions to aid embellishment of the area surrounding the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí and erection and furnishing of the International Archives building on Mt. Carmel. In 1956 Shoghi Effendi wrote to Milly: “Dear and prized co-worker:

I will devote a part of your very generous contribution to the purchase of a few Chinese and Japanese cabinets, panels and ornaments for the International Archives now nearing completion, the exterior and interior of which will, to a very marked extent, be associated, for all time, with your munificent support of the rising institutions of the Faith at its World Center. I am sure you will be highly pleased, and the spirit of dear Mr. Collins will rejoice in the Abhá Kingdom.“

Pre-eminent among the gifts of one called by Shoghi Effendi “outstanding benefactress of the Faith” was the donation of the entire sum for the purchase of the Temple site on Mt. Carmel, acknowledged by Shoghi Effendi

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in his October 1953 cable and in his message to the twelve Annual Conventions in 1955. In the latter he also acknowledged Milly’s assistance in the purchase of many national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and endowments on five continents. Shoghi Effendi’s last Convention message of 1957 referred to this devoted believer’s “munificent donation” toward the building of the Mother Temples on three continents (Europe, Australia and Africa).

The beautiful “Collins Gate”, the main gate leading to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, was named in her honor by Shoghi Effendi himself.

Milly’s travels for the Faith were far more extensive than can be recorded here; many were undertaken at the request of the Guardian. To her he entrusted delicate tasks which he knew would be carried out with the greatest discretion and devotion.

In 1942 she represented the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada in connection with the erection of the memorial to May Maxwell, Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s mother, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The monument, designed by Sutherland Maxwell, was erected by Shoghi Effendi. It was Milly’s first trip to South America; it was war time, and she was alone, embarking on a mission for which she felt unfitted. When at last she arrived at her hotel she was handed a telegram which read:

“Prayers accompany you always, everywhere. Deepest loving appreciation. Shoghi.”

Milly remained in Buenos Aires until the model was made and approved and arrangements completed for its execution and erection in Quilmes Cemetery. She had selected the sculptor and located a block of Carrara marble of sufficient purity and size. She then flew to Rio de Janeiro, her mission accomplished. In Rio, faced again with war-time difficulties of civilian travel and inability to obtain plane reservations, while praying she saw “blazoned in light” before her eyes the words: “Put your whole trust and confidence in God.” In two days she was flying to Miami.

Of this mission the beloved Guardian wrote to her: “Dear and prized co-worker:

Your voyage to South America at this critical hour, the efforts you have exerted for the initiation of the construction of May’s

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memorial are indeed outstanding and neverto-be-forgotten achievements that enrich still further the magnificent record of your services, local, national, as well as international, so nobly rendered to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and its rising institutions. The Bahá’ís, East and West, North and South, admire and are thankful for such signal services. . . Be happy, and persevere in your exemplary and historic services. Affectionately, Shoghi.”

Milly made two subsequent trips to LatinAmerica. In January 1946 she attended the first Latin-American Bahá’í Teaching Conference in Panama City, as representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada and of the Inter—America Teaching Committee. In January 1949 she attended the third South American Teaching Congress in which seven South American countries participated. This was held in Sao Paulo and resulted in the first Bahá’í summer school in Brazil.

The Guardian’s letters expressed continually his deep appreciation and gratitude to this devoted “co-worker”.

Such an outpouring of love, of self—sacrifice and heroic effort as was Milly’s stemmed from her great love for the Cause of God and an inner deep spiritual relationship and devotion to the one on whose shoulders rested the burdens and responsibilities of the Faith. In January 1947, Milly received a letter from the beloved Guardian, the contents of which were cherished for many years, unspoken of, in the secret recesses of her heart. The first part, through his secretary, read:

“He wants to make clear to you that when he said, in his recent cable, that your example might well be emulated by the nine Hands of the Cause, who will in the future be especially chosen to serve the Guardian, he meant that the very services you have been recently renderingthe Cause, because of their nature and their intimate association with him, are of the kind which one of these nine might well be called upon to render. So you see you are not only worthy to be a Hand of the Cause, but have rendered a service which ordinarily would be performed by this select body of nine. You must realize that his conferring this rank upon you is not as an inducement to you to perform future tasks, but as a welldeserved recognition of those already performed!”

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The Guardian’s postscript:

“Dear and prized co-worker:

With a heart overflowing with profound gratitude, I am now writing you these few lines to reaffirm the sentiments, expressed lately on several occasions and in a number of telegrams, of heartfelt and unqualified admiration for your magnificent services, rendered in circumstances so exceptional and difficult as to make them doubly meritorious in the sight of God. You have acquitted yourself of the task I felt prompted to impose upon you in a manner that deserves the praise of the Concourse on high. The high rank you now occupy and which no Bahá’í has ever held in his own lifetime has been conferred solely in recognition of the manifold services you have already rendered, and is, by no means, intended to be a stimulus or encouragement in the path of service. Indeed the character of this latest and highly significant service you have rendered places you in the category of the Chosen Nine who, unlike the other Hands of the Cause, are to be associated directly and intimately with the cares and responsibilities of the Guardian of the Faith. I feel truly proud of you, am drawn closer to you, and admire more deeply than ever before the spirit that animates you. May the Beloved reward you, both in this world and the next for your truly exemplary achievements. Gratefully and affectionately, Shoghi.”

In 1947 Milly Collins was made a Hand of the Cause; this, he wrote to her, he would himself announce at the right time in the future. This distinction alone singles her out as one uniquely loved and privileged. This explains the allusions in the above letter.

Later that year he wrote:

“Dear and prized co-worker:

The memory of the services, assistance and support you extended to me in my hour of anxiety and stress a year ago at this time, is still vivid, and evokes my deepest admiration and gratitude. Your services in other fields, and in the course of many years have, moreover, served to deepen my feelings of affection and gratitude for so distinguished a handmaid Of Bahá’u’lláh and Hand of His Cause. . . Gratefully and affectionately, Shoghi.”

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After the second World War Milly’s travels took her several times to Europe. In October 1949 Shoghi Effendi wrote to her:

“I greatly welcome the splendid opportunity you now have of contributing your share—substantial and abiding I am confident it will be—to the progress of the Faith and the edification of the believers in Great Britain, Poland, Switzerland and Germany. I have already informed the German and British National Assemblies, and I am sure the friends will be delighted to meet you, and will be greatly stimulated by the news you will impart to them, as a result of your wide experience, and particularly by the spirit which so powerfully animates you in the service of our beloved Faith. This latest journey you undertake for the spread and consolidation of the Faith at such important European centers constitutes another chapter of the truly remarkable and outstanding record of your eminent international services to the Cause of God. . . Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi.”

Milly was invited to Turkey and Egypt in December, 1951, to carry out special requests of the beloved Guardian. When it was time for her to leave for Turkey she was ill, but this did not keep her from setting out on the long and arduous journey in mid-winter. In Cairo, when she could hardly stand, she addressed a large public meeting in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. It seemed as if this was to be Milly’s role from this time on—to ignore illness and her increasingly crippling arthritis, and to go forward, usually in pain, putting her whole trust in God.

With her appointment by Shoghi Effendi in January 1951, as vice-president of the International Bahá’í Council Milly was called to Haifa to live. Haifa was now her “home”, the Guardian told her. She received his permission, however, to return to the United States in summer for treatment of her arthritisand for attending to her business affairs.

When Shoghi Effendi launched the TenYear World Crusade, with four Intercontinental Conferences, in 1953, he appointed a Hand of the Cause as his representative to each Conference. For the All-America Conference in Chicago he chose Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, accompanied by Milly Collins.

[Page 840]840

For the midway point of the Crusade, Shoghi Effendi again called for Intercontinental Conferences, this time five in number. To the European Conference, in Frankfurt, Germany, he appointed Amelia Collins as his representative. When the time came for holding the Conference, in July 1958, the beloved Guardian had ascended to the Abhá Kingdom.

At the close of Milly‘s tribute to Shoghi Effendi, given at this Conference, she said:

“We are all, in a way, Shoghi Effendi's heirs. We have inherited his work. His plan is completely laid out. Ours is the task to fulfill it. We must, each of us, complete our share of the World Crusade. This is the memorial we must build to our beloved Shoghi Effendi.

“Let us love him more now than ever before, and through the power of our love attract his love to us, and bring his blessing on our labors.

“Let us not fail him, for he never failed us. Let us never forget him, for he never forgot us.”

On November 20, 1960, at the laying of the cornerstone of the European Temple, this heroic representative of the Guardian was able to complete the sacred task entrusted by him to her of placing some earth from Bahá’u’lláh’s Holy Shrine in the foundations of the Mother Temple of Europe. In rain and sleet, Milly stood throughout the ceremony, completing her mission for the beloved Guardian.

Throughout the sad and overpowering days following the passing of Shoghi Effendi from this world, Milly was sustained by words he had spoken to her when he left Haifa in June, 1957. He had taken her hand and looking deep into her eyes had said: “Don‘t be sad, Milly.” His ringing words and his radiant smile would be with her and sustain her always. However much she had been enabled to do, she felt it was never enough; nothing could ever be enough to do for one who himself had sacrificed his life in loving service.

It was in November, 1957, that heroic Milly, determined to be in her “true home" when the Guardian returned to Haifa later in the month, had hastened to the Holy Land. Instead of standing at the door of his home to receive him, she heard the calamitous news

THE Bahá’í WORLD

of his sudden passing which shocked the entire Bahá’í world. Milly, who had arrived the night before in Haifa, left at once for London to join Rúḥíyyih Khánum in her hour of greatest need. This was perhaps one of the greatest acts of her life, that ill, 01d, prostrated herself with grief, she should think only of the woman who had become like a daughter to her and rush to her comfort and support. Through the dark hours of London, at Bahjí where the Hands of the Cause gathered immediately after the Guardian’s passing, for the four years following his death, Milly was Rt'ihiyyih

Khánum‘s greatest comfort, — and indeed, the greatest comfort to all her fellowHands.

increasingly in constant pain, her love of the Faith and her inflexible determination to serve it, kept her going; she attended the meetings of the Hands in the Holy Land, met with and inspired the pilgrims, forced her failing body to keep going when every movement hurt.

How well she had lived up to the words written to her in 1924 by Shoghi Effendi:

. . It is our duty and privilege to translate the love and devotion we have for our beloved Cause into deeds and actions that will be conducive to the highest good of mankind. .

In October‘ l96l, Milly returned to Haifa for the last time. Her sense of duty was so strong that in spite of the fact that she had recently fractured her arm in a serious fall and been in hospital, she managed to get home, accompanied by a close friend. Her intention was to attend the meeting of the Hands in Bahjí, where important decisions were to be made regarding the election of the Universal House of Justice. lllness kept her from all but one of the sessions — the most important. It was pitiful to see indomitable Milly carried on a chair to the meeting and then back to her car. On her last full day in this world she had a cable sent to her old, and always dear, National Assembly of the United States concerning assistance she wished to give to a pioneer.

On the afternoon of January 1, 1962, Milly passed away, held in the arms of Rúḥíyyih Khánum. She is buried in the Bahá’í cemetery at the foot of Mt. Carmel. She outlived her beloved Guardian, who had written to her many years before:

[Page 841]IN MEMORIAM 841

“Your constancy in service and your singleminded and wholehearted devotion to the manifold interests of our beloved Cause are truly an example and an inspiration that will live and influence many a soul. Your endeavors will eventually be crowned with success and I trust you will live to witness the fruit of your indefatigable services to the Sacred Threshold.”

Surely she had fulfilled the hope of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,

“that thou mayest daily advance in the Kingdom, that thou mayest become a heavenly angel, confirmed by the breaths Of the Holy Spirit, and may erect a structure that shall eternally remain firm and unshakeable.”

BEATRICE ASHTON

GEORGE TOWNSHEND

T0 Bahá’u’lláh

Only beloved! With a heart on fire And all my longings set in one desire To make my soul a many-stringed lyre For Thy dear hand to play, I bend beneath Thy mercy-seat and pray That in the strength of perfee‘t love I may Tread with firm feet the red and mystic way Whereto my hopes aspire.

I have forgotten all for love of Thee

And ask no other joy from destiny

Than to be rapt within Thy unity And—whatsover befall To hear no voice on earth but Thy sweet call,

To walk among Thy people as Thy thrall

And see Thy beauty breathing throughout all Eternal ecstasy.

Lead me forth, Lord, amid the wide world‘s ways,

To bear to Thee my witness and to raise

The dawn song of the breaking day of days. Make my whole life one flame

Of sacrificial deeds that shall proclaim

The new—born glory of Thy ancient name;

And let my death lift higher yet the same Triumphal chant of praise!

George Townshend, circa 1924

No other words are worthy to describe, or indeed can convey an image of, the allconsuming, ever-burning fire of devotion that dominated, governed and so remarkably sustained my father‘s life. Driven always by a restless urge to seek, to study and later to proclaim the Day of God, he seems not to have known real contentment nor, despite the tributes paid to him, to have realised what he had done or been aware that his prayer was granted. His great humility blinded him to his achievements. He saw only unattainable goals ahead.

Born in Dublin, where his father was a wellknown figure and had a large family, he won a scholarship to Uppingham School and two exhibitions to Hertford College, Oxford, where he was awarded his half-Blue for long distance running and was graduated in Classics in 1899. In 1903 he was called to the Irish Bar, having served for some time as leader writer on the Staff of the Irish Times.

He was troubled, however, by a feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction, and his father having offered to send him to any country of his choice, he arrived in Provo, Utah, in the Rocky Mountains in 1904. Here he worked as a missionary among the Mormons, initiating a movement for the building of a church, and was ordained a priest in 1906. Four years later he joined the staff of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, as Assistant-Director of the University Extension Department, and in 1912 was appointed Assistant-Professor of English.

In the summer of 1916, after he had experienced a strange conviction that he was going to leave America, all his holiday plans fell suddenly through and he decided to come home.

My father stood on deck on the early July morning to take in the scene as the boat, driving westward, approached the harbour in Dublin Bay. Before he reached home he had decided that America, whose nationality he had embraced and where his possessions remained, would claim him no more. In the autumn he undertook the duties of a curate at Booterstown, County Dublin.

The Hill of Howth, with its seagulls, the scene of earlier holidays, had symbolized Ireland in my father‘s mind while he had been away, and it was Howth he chose forvhisrfirst holiday after his return. On one of his first

[Page 842]842

days there — it was July again —— there reached him, from a friend in America, one or two pamphlets containing some words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and as he himself expressed it, “When I looked at those, that was the beginning and the end with me.”

“To his honour Mr. George Townshend, Galway, Ireland; Upon him be greeting and praise.

HE Is GOD!

“O thou who art thirsty for the fountain of Truth!

“Thy letter was received and the account of thy life has been known. Praise be to God that thou hast ever, like unto the nightingale, sought the divine rose garden and like unto the verdure of the meadow yearned for the outpourings of the cloud of guidance. That is why thou hast been transferred from one condition to another until ultimately thou hast attained unto the fountain of Truth, hast illuminated thy sight, hast revived and animated thy heart, hast chanted verses of guidance and hast turned thy face toward the enkindled fire on the Mount of Sinai.

“At present, I pray on thy behalf . . . Upon thee be Bahd’u’l—Abhá’.

(Signed)—‘ABDU’L-BAHA ‘ABBAS”

July 24, 1919.

Translated by Shoghi Rabbani

To ‘ABDU’L-BAHA *

Hail to Thee, Scion of Glory . ..

Thy words are to me as fragrance born from the garden of heaven,

Beams of a lamp that is hid in the height of a holier world . . . Lo, Thou hast breathed on my sorrows the sweetness of faith and of hope,

Thou hast chanted high paeans of joy that my heart’s echoes ever repeat,

And the path to the knowledge of God begins to glimmer and ope before my faltering feet.

GEORGE TOWNSHEND

THE BAHA’I WORLD

George Townshend

“H is honour the Rev. George To wnshend, Ireland. Unto him be Bahá’u’lláh-el Abhd!

HE IS GOD!

“O Thou illumined soul and revered personage in the kingdom!

“Your letter has been received. Every word indicated the progress and upliftment of thy spirit and conscience. These heavenly susceptibilities of yours form a magnet which attracts the confirmation of the Kingdom of God; and so the doors of the realities and meanings will be open unto you, and the confirmations Of the Kingdom of God will envelop you. . .

“It is my hope that your church will come under the Heavenly Jerusalem. . . .

“Unto thee be the glory of Abhá'!

(Signed)—‘ABDU’L-BAHA ‘ABBAS.”

Dec. 19, 1920.

Translated by Lutfullah S. Ḥakím

' The entire poem appears in The Mission of Bahá’u’lláh, published by George Ronald. 1952.

[Page 843]IN MEMORIAM

In January, 1919, within a year of his marriage, my father had taken up residence as Rector of Ahascragh (ford of the sandhills), County Galway, a country parish in the west of Ireland where a large Georgianbuilt rectory 'looked out over a lawn surrounded by beech trees. Soon after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá he wrote: “While I see in bold outline the forces and methods at work and constantly forecast how the attackonrush— and victory of the upwelling and descending powers will be achieved, I am drawn to wonder how in particular these legions of the Unseen will make their activity manifest in Ireland and also in this Church (as in others). I consider what may be my part, as foretold by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá...” At present, it seemed to him, the preparation lay in working among the people entrusted to him, and he continued to be a loyal servant of the Church.

He was elected, one of eight of all Ireland, a Canon of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, by his fellow clergy, by some of whom he came to be regarded as the best preacher in the Church of Ireland. After he became Archdeacon of Clonfert (also in 1933) the honour of a bishopric was twice suggested to him, but he declined to let his name go forward.

Meantime, after nine years’ study of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, he published in 1926 a book of prayers and meditations entitled The Altar on the Hearth and sent a copy to the Guardian who wrote: “The enclosures you have sent me I will treasure, particularly the little book which I conceive as an exquisite expression of lofty thoughts impregnated throughout with the Bahá’í Spirit.” Some of the contents reappeared in The Mission of Bahá’u’lláh, a miscellany of his writings published in 1952.

Ten years later, after publicly identifying himself with the Faith —~ a decision inadvertently thrust on him at short notice — at the World Congress of Faiths in London, he declared to the Guardian his eagerness to leave the Church and devote his energies to the service of Bahá’u’lláh. Eleven restless years, however, were to pass before this wish was fulfilled.

Before long my father became absorbed in his next book The Heart of the Gospel (1939), The Promise of All Ages having appeared

843

under a pseudonym in 1934, and would speak of it in enthusiastic terms in reply to my inquiries on my return from school.

While Germany over-ran Europe in 1940 he concluded a sermon on world perplexities by saying that he personally had found no answer to the problems of the modern world except that given by Bahá’u’lláh, the sound of Whose Name I can still hear as it was uttered by my father’s voice that day amid the echoes of the great cathedral of the pioneer of Christianity in Ireland.

The following is recorded in his own hand: “Tuesday eveg. Nov. 3rd. 1942 at 8.30 [in a room at the Rectory] Nancy, Una and I conjointly presented the Message to. . ., a total party of nine. The Message was well received and all went away taking Bahá’í literature and promising to come next week and bring friends.”

When it is remembered that my father, who for years wrote for the Church of Ireland Gazette, had also formed a Clerical Union in which the local clergy would meet informally each month in a hotel in Ballinasloe and each in turn prepare and read a paper on a topic of interest, it is clear that while he remained in it he did all he could do to bring his church “under the heavenly Jerusalem.”

Haifa, July 7, 1947, “Dear and valued co-worker:

I am thrilled'by the news of your resignation — a truly remarkable and historic step. Your past and notable services, . . . your bold and challenging act at present in dissociating yourself from the Church and its creed, to accomplish better the purpose of that Church, and your subsequent resolve to pioneer in Dublin and help in establishing the administrative basis of the Bahá’í New World Order in Ireland are deeds that history will record and for which future generations will be deeply grateful and will extol and admire. . .

Your true and grateful brother, SHOGHI.”

My father’s first experience of taking part in Bahá’í teaching and administrative activities came after thirty years of purely academic study and contributed greatly, as he said, to the development of his thought.

[Page 844]844

A statement which, under the title “The Old Churches and the New World Faith,“ he now addressed to all Christian people on the relationship of the Bahá’í Faith to Christianity, was circulated to 10,000 leaders of thought in the British Isles. A copy was sent to the Bishop of Utah, where he was ordained, with a letter relinquishing his American Orders:

“. . . My motive is to be loyal to Christ as I know Him and to give to His Church the best service which in the special circumstances I have to offer. It is my settled conviction that the Glad Tidings brought by the Prophet of Persia, Bahá’u’lláh, represent the promised return of Christ; that Christ is and has ever been through all our difficulties in our midst though we have recognised Him not; that the Christian Churches in recent years have missed their way, and have lost their hold on human hearts because they are out of touch with their Lord; and that the path back to Him and to His Father lies wide open before them though they have not chosen to walk in it. I feel I must make any sacrifice in order to be free to help in transmitting to my fellow-Christians a Message which presents the one and only hope of respiritualising mankind and rebuilding the social order. .

Archdeacon Bulkley replied:

“Dear Townshend,

Bishop Moulton has just turned over to me as Secretary of the Convocation of Utah two of your letters asking for deposition. . . As an old l‘ellow-worker with you in Utah 1 wish to state my confidence in you and your conscientious withdrawal from our Church to accomplish better the purpose of that Church. God be with you and bring you happiness in success."

At the same time he produced a compilation for the Wisdom of the East Series, The Glad Tidings of Ba/Ié'u‘llzi/i. Booklets, articles and contributions made over many years to Bahá’í publications remain to be collected and enumerated. His witness to Bahá’u’lláh seemed indeed to have travelled through the wide world, where many who had never met him, and even whom he did not know. felt a sense of personal gratitude towards him and would speak of him with the greatest tenderness and afl‘ection. Some fulfilled at

THE Bahá’í WORLD

wish and came to see him, greatly treasuring the memory of their visit. “There radiated from him such a penetrating love,” says a letter that has come from Bermuda, “that one was immediately at ease. He seemed to understand so much so quickly. His love seemed to see into one’s inmost spirit. He was unforgettable in the extreme.” Fresh signs of the believers’ regard for him were continually appearing, and it became clear that in the hearts of more than a few he was already numbered among those — how many ? — who can truly say, and by their lives proclaim, “l have forgotten all for love of Thee.”

He suffered more and more from a sense of loneliness, and as this feeling found no adequate solace, inhibitions and infirmities began to grow upon him, though when it was possible to make him happy they could almost disappear.

He was one of the first to be appointed a Hand of the Cause during his lifetime, in December, 1951, and his presence at national gatherings, which included five summer schools, came to be greatly valued. He would hold a well-attended study class and help with the program of morning lectures, as well as take a full part in the life of the school. His last attendance was the Intercontinental Conference at Stockholm in July, 1953. Thereafter, while he always hoped for recovery, he continued to inspire the friends, as he had always done in individual letters, by messages addressed to the various conferences and schools.

He was past his seventy-eighth birthday when he began a version of his last great work, Christ and Bu/Id‘u‘l/a'h, which his continually developing illness did not later compel him to abandon. By this time, however, he could speak and write only with difficulty, and this difficulty increased as the months went by. Near the end he seemed to be retaining and working out in his head whole portions of the book, or even the whole book, and then condensing it in his head into lengths he would be able to dictate, which he then, it was clear, memorised, fighting all the time a battle against his steadily failing strength. Without this great determination of my father‘s to give it to mankind, this highly valued work would not be ours to-day.

And yet in many ways the most lingering, the most remarkable, the most worthy of his

[Page 845]IN MEMORIAM

achievements, to me at least, was his reaction to his own infirmities and, particularly during his last years, the influence one felt from his presence on entering his room. While he sat there, he was conscious, from his deeper understanding, that he had much of unique value and real urgency to proclaim, for which eager hearts were waiting; and, though burning with desire to serve mankind, he was denied, without hope expressed of his recovery, all means of adequate communication of his thoughts. Yet he shed around him a gentle. benign radiance which conveyed comfort and cheer and affected all about him. Surely his soul was now a lyre on which the hand of the Almighty played. A Persian student, the last stranger to visit him, has said he will never forget how my father, from his bed, waved, and waved 'again, as the younger man withdrew, reluctantly, through the door. And while his presence made this unforgettable impression, elsewhere, in the words of the Bermuda correspondent, “His name mentioned at a convention immediately caused a cathedral stillness."

As 1 look back on this time now and ponder his obvious, though not physical, sufl‘erings, I am made to think of some of the words Bahá’u’lláh has written:

“O Son of being! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. . .”

“O Son of Man! For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.”

“O Son of Man! Write all that We have revealed unto thee with the ink of light upon [/19 table! Oft/1y spirit. . .”

0n hearing of the passing, on March 25, 1957, of George Townshend, Hand of the Cause of God, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith telegraphed:

“Deeply mourn passing dearly loved, much admired, greatly gifted, outstanding Hand Cause George Townshend. His death morrow publication his crowning achievement robs British followers Bahá’u’lláh their most distinguished collaborator and Faith itself one of its stoutest defenders. His sterling qualities, his scholarship, his challenging writings, his high ecclesiastical position unrivalled any Bahá’í Western world, entitle him rank with Thomas Breakwell, Dr. Esslemont, one of three luminaries shedding brilliant lustre annals Irish, English, Scottish Bahá’í com 845

munities. His fearless championship Cause he loved so dearly, served so valiantly, constitutes significant landmark British Bahá’í history. So enviable position calls for national tribute his memory by assembled delegates, visitors, forthcoming

British Bahá’í Convention.Assure relatives deepest loving sympathy grievous loss. Confident his reward inestimable Abhá Kingdom."

His fellow Hands of the Cause have paid their tributes:

“The passing of our dear revered great friend has deeply moved my heart. Let us endeavor to feel and see merely his radiant soul, his lofty station, his splendid example, his everlasting love."

“I shall never forget him and he will always rank among my most intimate dear ones.”

“Dear George Townshend's sweet smiles and kindness will remain in my heart for all my life."

These words testify, along with the others. to an imperishable quality of his pure, kindly and radiant heart.

Close to Ireland‘s capital a gently rising hill dominates the city and the landlocked bay. Across the water lies the Hill of Howth. On its northeast side a tree-lined avenue, where my father held his first appointment in the Church of Ireland, runs in a straight line to the sea. Near the summit, to the northwest, stands the bungalow where he spent his years of unfettered service to the Cause; where, on his desk, the assembled friends signed the declaration of the first Spiritual Assembly in the land. Away to the south rises the dignified outline of Slieve Cualin, the most distinguishable peak alike from sea and land, standing over the village (Enniskerry — the rugged ford), where my father was welcomed on his return from across the Atlantic. Now, beneath this mountain, my father lies buried, while in the churchyard around him continue sounds of nature which he knew while he lived in the West.

The burial service, attended, at short notice, by seventeen persons, was conducted through church precincts, according to the requirements of the Bahá’í Faith, blending the customs of the followers, not yet united, of Christ and Bahá’u’lláh. Memorial meetings were held in local communities and in the

[Page 846]846

London Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, and his former parishioners in County Galway gathered to hold a memorial service in the Church where he had ministered, when a worthy tribute to him was paid.

His body proved, unexpectedly for him, unable to retain a little longer a soul eager for further service on earth to Bahá’u’lláh — a disquieting event of this strange and not easily forgotten springtime, when the daffodils bloomed in the garden along with the last of the earlier season’s roses and the may came out in March.

BRIAN TOWNSHEND

CORINNE KNIGHT TRUE

“O ye who are set aglow with the fire of God’s Love./ Blessed are ye for having been chosen by God for His love, in this new age, and joy be to you for having been guided to the Great Kingdom! Verily, your Lord hath chosen you to show the path to the Kingdom of God, among the people. . .”

It was thus that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in one of His Tablets addressed that luminous soul, Corinne Knight True.

Mrs. True was born in Oldham County, Kentucky, on November 1, 1861, and moved to Chicago with her family as a young girl. On June 22nd, 1882, she married Moses Adams True. She passed to the Abhá Kingdom April 3, 1961 — having been spared to work for the Kingdom of God on earth until her one hundredth year.

During her life she gave birth to eight children — four boys and four girls. The oldest daughter (Harriet Merrill) died in 1892, when nine years old, as the result of an accident. In Mrs. True’s deep sorrow over this, she started her search for Truth and her investigations of “Unity,” “Divine Science,” and “Christian Science.” In 1899 she first heard of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh which was being given by a group of Persian teachers in Chicago. She immediately became interested and commenced to study the Bahá’í Teachings.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

The successive deaths of four sons and her husband between 1899 and 1909 caused her to turn more and more to, and to become further and further immersed in the Faith. Among her more than fifty Tablets from the Master, some of the most beautiful and certainly the most tender are those sent by Him at the time of these continuous bereavements.

Her childhood upbringing was strictly orthodox, with a father who was a Presbyterian minister. She would laughingly explain that her unusual knowledge of the Bible was because she was disciplined by having to read it —— “so, I must have been a naughty little girl.” She was always known for her independence in thinking, and often remarked as a child, “How wonderful it must have been to have lived in the days when Christ was on earth.”

It was in 1899 that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent successive teachers — Hájí ‘Abdu’l—Karim, Mirza Asadu’llah, Mirza AbL’i’l-Fadl —— and others, to the United States because of the defection of Dr. Igbayru’llah. Mrs. True was told of these teachers, who were then in Chicago. After accepting the Faith she turned at once to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, asking Him for a set of guiding principles to live by. She received the following Tablet from Him:

“O thou dear servant of God!

Thy letter was received and its contents

noted. As to instructions which thou

desirest, they are as follows:

Believe in God; turn unto the Supreme Kingdom; be attracted unto the Beauty of Abhá; remain firm in the Covenant; yearn for ascending into the heaven of the sun of the universe; be disinterested in the world; be alive with the fragrances of holiness in the Kingdom of the Highest; be a caller to love; king to the human race; gentle with humanity; interested in all the people of the world; wish for harmony and seek friendship and honesty. Be a healing for every wound, a remedy for every sick, at source of harmony among the people; chant the verses of guidance; pray to God; arise for the guidance of the people; let thy tongue explain and thy face illumine with the glowing love of God. Rest not a moment and breathe not a breath of repose until thou becomest a sign of God’s love and a banner of God’s favor.”

[Page 847]IN MEMORIAM

Corinne Knight True

She at once broke away from the traditions and orthodox teachings of her early life and from then on lived in complete dedication to the service of the Bahá’í Faith, following, for the rest of her life, those guiding principles given her by the Master.

Successive Tablets show that she turned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in every phase of her life, and followed implicitly His loving counsel and advice. Her complete acceptance of and obedience to the Master’s guidance, and her steadfastness in the Covenant, helped her to make the transition after the indescribable loss of the Master in 192], and to understand and accept fully the station of the Guardian. She met the irreparable loss of the Guardian in turn with the same strength, courage and faith, saying, when told of his passing, “But we must know it is the will of God.”

Although outstanding in her spiritual greatness, she possessed infinite love and tenderness for everyone, continuously doing little things at a telling moment which made the act live forever in the heart of the recipient.

847

As Financial Secretary of the Bahá’í Temple Unity she acknowledged every donation with a loving personal note, sharing with the friends the progress of the Temple Project, and news of some special event of development —— letters which have been preserved by the recipients throughout the years.

She was held in such love and affection by the friends around the world that quite spontaneously came that precious, endearing title, “Mother True.”

Her home in later years in Wilmette became a “mecca” for searching souls, and all who went there were revived, encouraged and inspired by the love, the kindness and the wisdom she bestowed upon them.

Early in 1907 (February 27 to March 24) Mother True realized her heart’s desire and made her first pilgrimage to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This was during the time of the Second Commission of Investigation by the Turks, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had again been confined as a prisoner to ‘Akká by order of the Sultan of Turkey. On this visit Mrs. True took a petition to the Master asking permission for the American Bahá’ís to begin planning for the erection of a “House of Worship.” This petition was in the form of a parchment containing the signatures of over a thousand American believers. She tells the story of putting the parchment behind her on the divan and first presenting the little gifts sent by the loving friends. But the Master strode across the room, reached behind her and grasped the parchment, holding it high in the air. “This,” He exclaimed, “this is what gives me great joy.” “Go back,” He told her, “go back and work for the Temple; it is a great work.” How she longed to do this work, but it seemed such a great task. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, looking at her with deep intensity said, “Devote yourself to this project — make a beginning, and all will come right.” He then proceeded to give basic instructions about its design. It was to have nine sides, nine gardens, nine fountains, nine doors, nine walks, etc. And so a vision of the first Bahá’í Temple in the Western Hemisphere was born.

Mrs. True made nine pilgrimages in all, of which the following seemed to have special significance. Her first, in 1907, for reasons already stated. Her pilgrimage in 1919 at the close of the first world war was the last time she was to see her beloved Master. Early in

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1922 she again made a pilgrimage. This was soon after Shoghi Effendi had become the Guardian of the Cause of God, at which time he instructed her, together with Roy Wilhelm, Mountfort Mills, and others then in Haifa, to return to the United States, as the first Convention for the election of the first American National Spiritual Assembly was to be called during Riḍván. Corinne True was the first to be elected to this body.

On February 29, 1952, the Guardian bestowed upon Mrs. True the supreme honor of appointing her as a Hand of the Cause of God, so she made her last pilgrimage in this year, as the invited guest of the Guardian, and as a Hand of the Cause of God. The beloved Guardian was especially endearing to her during that last visit, losing no opportunity to show his love and high regard for her, presenting her with a precious gift — the Master’s purse which He carried while in the United States (1912) and which contained a golden English coin bearing the same date (1907) of her first visit to the Master. It was at this time that the Guardian paid her a noble tribute, saying, “Mrs. True is to be regarded as the most venerable figure among the pioneers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the West.”

Although Mrs. True was perhaps best known throughout the Bahá’í world for her unparalleled service in the development of the first Temple of the Western World, her record in the field of teaching is equally glorious. In her early and middle years in the Cause, while arduously working for the Temple Project, she also devoted time to teaching the Faith in Chicago, and in the towns between Chicago and MilwaukeeKenosha, Racine and Waukegan. She introduced the Faith in the State of Michigan. In addition, she did a great deal of public speaking for the Faith, a difficult task for her. When asked by the Master to do this, she explained that she was without special training and was shy before the public. Then the Master told her to speak freely, never to be concerned, but to turn her heart and mind to Him, and He would never fail her. This she did with complete confidence and faith, and became an outstanding and effective speaker. For those who were present at the European Teaching Conference in 1950, in Copenhagen, it was an unforgettable expe THE Bahá’í WORLD

rience to have heard Mother True’s words as she spoke at the Unity Banquet at Elsinore. The friends listened, spellbound. The atmosphere was charged with light and spirit. Mother True was transfigured and the words fell from her lips like jewels. Asked afterwards where she gleaned such wisdom, she replied: “It was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaking, not 1. He told me when I said I could not speak. ‘Get yourself out of the way and 1 will come through,’ so I did just that.”

In later years, under encouragement from the Guardian, she concentrated her efforts more on teaching potential ‘teachers, and carried out regular fireside study classes in her home where the basic and most profound Teachings were enthusiastically and thoroughly studied.

When returning from her various pilgrimages to Haifa the Guardian always asked her to speak to the friends about the Covenant. This she faithfully did, and it became a subject which she conveyed to others with remarkable wisdom and clarity.

During the years 1948—1952 Mrs. True visited many new centers in Western Europe. In April 1957, when ninety—five years old, she was requested by the Guardian to act as his representative to the historic Convention of Greater Antilles, to be held in Port-auPrince, Haiti. (Because of political reasons the Convention was actually held in Kingston, Jamaica.)

Mother True’s entire Bahá’í life was closely bound to the building of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West. From the time of her first pilgrimage when she presented to the Master the appeal of the American believers to begin this enterprise, through the selection and purchase of the site and the various stages of construction, to the completion, she was an ardent and steadfast participant in the many triumphs and difficulties encountered. Certain events connected with this lifetime service proved to be of special significance.

From the outset Mrs. True felt that the Temple Project could not be carried entirely by the local believers in Chicago, so she wrote to the Master suggesting that the work of the administration be shared with believers from other parts of the United States.

The Master replied as follows:

“. . . . Concerning the members of this

[Page 849]IN MEMORIAM

spiritual meeting, you suggested that they be selected from all the spiritual meetings of the other cities of America. I quite approve and am very much pleased with this plan. This will become the cause of harmony in the Word in all America. Therefore, ask every spiritual meeting in the other cities that they will each select one and send him, and from these selected ones and with those who are selected from the Chicago meetings, establish a new meeting for the provision of the needs of the Temple. If this be established with perfect fragrance and joy, it will produce great results. In this new meeting, especially for the establishment of the Temple, ladies are also to be members.”

In November of the same year, representatives from various parts of the country met in Chicago and appointed a “Temple Site Committee” to locate a suitable piece of land on which to build the Temple. Corinne True, with Cecilia Harrison, found the present site, submitted it to the Committee, and it was accepted by unanimous vote. The Bahá’ís of Chicago immediately responded and in the words of the Guardian, . .arose, despite the smallness of their numbers and their limited resources to initiate an enterprise which must rank as the greatest single contribution which the Bahá’ís of America, and indeed of the West, have yet made to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.”

In 1909 representatives from all centers of the United States of America, following instructions from the Master (39 delegates from 36 cities) assembled in Chicago on the very day the remains of the Báb were placed in His Tomb on Mount Carmel, and “established a permanent organization known as the Bahá’í Temple Unity which was incorporated as a religious corporation functioning under the laws of the State of Illinois, and invested with full authority to hold title to the property of the Temple and to provide ways and means for its construction.” Corinne True was elected Financial Secretary of this Bahá’í Temple Unity and served as such until the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1922.

It had been in May, 1912, that the chosen site was blessed by a visit from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Who dedicated the Temple grounds. During this visit to Chicago, Mrs. True had the

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supreme joy of receiving the beloved Master as guest in her own home at 5338 Kenmore Avenue.

Her crowning joy was to see this House of Worship, the Mother Temple of the West, completed in 1953 and to be present at its dedication on May 2nd of that year.

A few weeks after her passing, and at the request of the Hands of the Cause in Haifa, a memorial service was held for this revered and venerable maidservant, Corinne Knight True, in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár during the 53rd National Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States.

One remembers the words of the beloved Master addressed to this pure and selfless soul:

“Verily, your Lord hath chosen you to

show the path to the Kingdom of God,

among the people.”

HONOR KEMPTON

HORACE HOTCHKISS HOLLEY April 7, 1887—July 12, 1960

Horace Holley was a tall, spare man with a pleasant, intellectual face and singularly luminous light blue-green eyes which regarded the world and his fellow man shrewdly and openly. Anyone who is unfamiliar with the people of New England cannot expect to fully grasp his nature for he was a typical example of that race of hardheaded, independent, humorous and yet taciturn people, descendents of the first colonizers of America, who are renowned for their rugged individualism, who were largely responsible for winning the United States its political independence and who later played no small part in abolishing slavery from their nation. Of such a largely Puritan stock was Horace, whose ancestors included many educators and Congregational ministers. Born in the town of Torrington, Connecticut, he attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, going back to New England for his higher education, where he studied at Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from 19061909, majoring in literature and becoming a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He was also a member of the Gargoyle Society.

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There were two strongly defined sides to Horace Holley’s personality, and part of the spiritual triumph that was his before he passed away, at the age of 73, was that these two sides of his nature flowered into a third creation, more beautiful and powerful than either of the others had ever been. To understand this process one must go back to the forces that shaped his life. Not only did he possess a brilliant, analytical mind, but at the same time he was a dreamer, idealist and mystic. His strong personal bent was literature and those of the Bahá’ís familiar with his books, his letters, articles and speeches as a Bahá’í, are perhaps unaware of the fact that he was a poet and had published between the ages of twenty—one and thirty three volumes of verse. His capacities and interests led him amongst a circle of artists and writers, progressive, independent, often Bohemian, but also astir with the new social concepts, the exploring and questing ideas so characteristic of the generation to which he belonged.

When he left college in 1909 he went to Europe where he travelled, studied and worked until war broke out in 1914. On that voyage two major changes in his life were to take place. He met a young artist, Bertha Herbert, who lent him a book to read; and shortly afterwards he married her in Paris. The book was Abbas Effendi, His Life and Teachings by Myron H. Phelps. Compared with the literature now available in English it was inaccurate and inadequate, but it opened a new world to the mind of the twenty-twoyear-old young man who read it.

Years later, writing of this event in his life, Horace said:

“That was my first encounter with the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. The wisdom, the universality of spirit and the profound love expressed in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, persecuted leader of a new religion, captivated me. He stood apart from the epic heroes and thinkers of history and brought a new dimension to my inexperienced, naive liberal culture. Without knowing what it meant I had become a Bahá’í. The pattern of life since then has been a series of efforts to find out what the Bahá’í World Faith is, what it means, and how it functions.”

From that day he never turned back. His seeking mind and strong spirit had not only found personal answers to the problems of

THE Bahá’í WORLD

Horace Hotchkiss Holley

life but also the arena in which he was to express himself, to labour, to be tested, to suffer and win his victories for over half—acentury. His own attitude to the metamorphosis which took place in him over the years, he expressed in 1956: “At first it seemed possible to encompass the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh by reducing it to a formula or confining it within a well-tumed phrase. Gradually my ventures proved to me that I myself was to be encompassed, re-oriented, re-moulded in all the realms of my being. For religion in its purity reveals God, and only God can reveal man to himself.”

It was while Horace and his wife were living in Siena, Italy, in 1911, that he heard of the arrival of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his party in Thonon-les-Bains, France. As they had been hoping to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to meet the Master they lost no time in seizing this golden opportunity to attain His presence and left immediately for the small watering place on Lake Geneva, where they arrived on the afternoon of August 29th. Horace, in his account of this meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, wrote that he had felt that if he could only look upon the

[Page 851]IN MEMORIAM

Master from a distance, this would satisfy his pilgrim’s heart. He then goes on to describe what this privilege of spending a few days near ‘Abdu’l-Bahá meant to him:

“I saw among them a stately old man, robed in a cream-coloured gown, his white hair and beard shining in the sun. He displayed a beauty of stature, an inevitable harmony of attitude and dress I had never seen nor thought of in men. Without having ever visualized the Master, I knew that this was He. My whole body underwent a shock. My heart leaped, my knees weakened, a thrill of acute, receptive feeling flowed from head to foot. I seemed to have turned into some most sensitive sense-organ, as if eyes and ears were not enough for this sublime impression. In every part of me I stood aware of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s presence. From sheer happiness I wanted to cry—it seemed the most suitable form of self-expression at my command. While my own personality was flowing away, a new being, not my own assumed its place. A glory, as it were from the summits of human nature poured into me, and I was conscious of a most intense impulse to admire. In ‘Abdu’l-Bahá I felt the awful presence of Bahá’u’lláh, and, as my thoughts returned to activity, I realized that I had thus drawn as near as man now may to pure spirit and pure being . .. I yielded to a feeling of reverence which contained more than the solution of intellectual or moral problems. To look upon so wonderful a human being, to respond utterly to the charm of His presence—this brought me continual happiness. I had no fear that its effects would pass away and leave me unchanged. I was content to remain in the background . . .‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered questions and made frequent observations on religion in the West. He laughed heartily from time to time—indeed, the idea of asceticism or useless misery of any kind cannot attach itself to this fully-developed personality. The divine element in Him does not feed at the expense of the human element, but appears rather to vitalize and enrich the human element by its own abundance, as if He had attained His spiritual development by fulfilling His social relations with the utmost ardour . . .”

When the time drew near for them to leave, Horace, (like others), having received a gift of .a Bahá’í ringstone, requested ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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to take it in His hands as he wanted to give it to his child “-a blessing”, as he wrote, “for my baby girl who thus, as it were, accompanied us on our pilgrimage and shares its benefits”. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in Paris, Horace again had the privilege of meeting Him and hearing many of His intimate daily talks. Doris Pascal, later to become Doris Holley, remembers being present on one of these occasions and seeing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá holding on his knee Horace’s daughter Hertha. This contact with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the early days of Horace’s Bahá’í life left a deep mark on him. The Master had entered the door of his heart and never left it again. Through many of the trials and bitter experiences of life this core of sweetness left by that great privilege sustained and nourished him.

It was during the years in Paris, before the outbreak of the war, that Horace’s first two books of poems, The Inner Garden and The Stricken King were published. He had become the founder and director of the Ashur Gallery of Modern Art, situated at 211 Boulevard Raspail in Paris. It is clear that in spite of a mind preoccupied with the social and economic problems of the world, the arts were the predominating influence during these early years. Paris has always been known for its small but élite American colony and the days of the salon had not yet been swallowed up in the bedlam of the post-war years; Horace and his wife must have enjoyed the entre’e to many interesting circles of artists and intellectuals, an environment eminently congenial and natural to them both in every way.

In 1913 Horace’s first book on the subject of his new-found Faith was published in New York under the title Bahá’ísm—The Modern social Religion. A copy of this was forwarded to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and on the twenty-second of September, 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent to him from Ramleh, Egypt, the first of the two Tablets He wrote to him, praising his book highly and stating that the friends were busy reading it and that He Himself hoped it would be translated so He, too, could read it. He addresses Horace as “O Son of the Kingdom!” and goes on to say, “Thank God . . . thou art confirmed and assisted, thy aim is to render service to the Kingdom of Abhá and to promote the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Although the glory and greatness of this

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service is not known at present, in future ages it will assume the greatest importance and will attract the attention of learned men. Therefore strive thou ever increasingly in such service in order that it may become the cause of thy everlasting glory . . . and thou mayest shine like a star on the Abhá horizon.”

Returning with his family to the United States in 1914, Horace moved in New York City in very much the same circles as he had in Europe; he was engaged in writing a second book on the Bahá’í standpoint which appeared in 1916 under the title The Social Principle. It was during this year that he received his second letter from the Master, written from Haifa and dated March 20th, 1916, in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addresses him as “0 tree of the Abhá Paradise laden with fruit.” From the tone of this Tablet it is clear that Horace had been passing through deep waters in his own personal life. Unfortunately Horace’s letter to the Master is not available, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s letter says: “All that thou hast written was a cry from the depths of a sincere heart.” He goes on to say, in sum, that although Horace has been silent, once again his voice is raised in new melodies and that every wayfarer must expect to be tossed on the rough seas of life; tests are stimulating and a sea with no storms brings stagnation and complacency.

In 1917 Horace’s pen was again active and he published two books, one of poems, entitled Divination and Creation and a prose work Read-Aloud Plays. They were his last flights in poetry and prose to go to press. The present world is not too hospitable to poets or dreamers and the struggle to earn a living, to support a wife and now two daughters, Hertha and Marcia, as well as a growing unhappiness in his domestic life, all combined to clip Horace’s wings.

I remember Horace from this period. My mother and he and his wife were old friends, joined in their common devotion to the Faith, the very essence of which had been poured into them through their meetings with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Our association lasted until his death in 1960, so one can only take this as a personal impression.

These were the years, I believe, when Horace changed. It is hard to define in words. A race-horse has to give up racing and learn to pull a load; an artist, full of creative

THE BAHA’I WORLD

impulses, inherits a farm, needs a means of support, goes and farms and in the endless round of pressing chores all his practical, inherited farmer-ancestry comes out in him. Every now and then the dreamer inside turns over restlessly in his sleep. Such to me is what happened to Horace. But at the end of his life the dreaming Horace awoke again and the two men became one, a much greater person than either could have been alone.

From 1918 to 1920 Horace went to work for the Iron Age Publishing Company in New York in its sales promotion department. These were the years when his marriage to Bertha came to an end and he married Doris Pascal, with whom he lived for forty-one years, serving the Cause constantly together. In 1921 he left the publishing firm and became chief of the copy department at the Redfield Advertising Agency, where he remained until 1925.

His preoccupation with serving the Bahá’í Cause was steadily growing. In 1922 the first American National Spiritual Assembly was elected. In 1923 Horace became a member of that body, on which he remained until 1959, serving as its secretary for thirty-four of those thirty-six history—making years. It was in 1921 that he wrote Bahá’í—The Spirit Of the Age. His own spirit is revealed by the words in which he dedicated a volume of this work to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s much-loved sister: “Will the Greatest Holy Leaf lay this book in the dust of the Supreme Threshold as an offering of humility, of love, of evanescence from the servant of Bahá’u’lláh, Horace Holley, New York City, December 20, 192l.” During that same year he edited the first comprehensive compilation of the Bahá’í Teachings in the English language, entitled Bahá’í Scriptures. a thick volume that for many years served as a sort of Bahá’í bible and was of inestimable assistance in educating the Bahá’ís themselves in a better understanding of their Faith. This book was later revised by him and published as Bahá’í World Faith.

At the very outset of Shoghi Effendi‘s ministry Horace’s relationship to the young Guardian of his Faith was established, a relationship the importance of which to the development of Bahá’u’lláh’s Administrative Order cannot be overestimated. As early as 1923 Shoghi Effendi wrote to the American Assembly in connection with the Star Of the

[Page 853]IN MEMORIAM

West: “I have been impressed by the beauty and force of the various articles contributed to the Journal by Mr. Horace Holley and Mr. Stanwood Cobb and would indeed welcome 'with genuine satisfaction an even more active participation on their part in the editorial section of the Bahá’í Magazine.” And in 1924 he wrote to Horace: “My most precious brother: The recent activities of the Publishing Committee with you as its central figure and moving and directing force, are indeed worthy of the highest praise. Words are inadequate to express my admiration, gratitude and appreciation.”

Shoghi Effendi highly valued the qualities of Horace’s mind and throughout the years encouraged him to write. “I am gratified”, he wrote during those early years, “to peruse the able and masterly work of my dear fellowworker, Mr. Horace Holley, a work which I have no doubt will by virtue of its subject matter, its comprehensiveness and uniqueness, arouse widespread and genuine interest in the Movement.”

The relationship between Horace and the Guardian was an extremely interesting one. Shoghi Effendi desperately needed capable, loyal workers to assist him in his tasks. Such people, from East or West, were for the most part lacking, and of the few, relatively speaking, giants in the Cause, many instruments he seized upon crumbled in his hands, proving themselves sick of the disease of self and becoming Covenant-breakers and even bitter enemies. Other capable lieutenants, like Dr. Esselmont, died. Shoghi Effendi’s work was staggering and the workers possessed of any real capacity were tragically few. Horace was therefore doubly precious. In 1925 Shoghi Effendi refers to him, in writing to the American National Assembly, as “Your distinguished secretary”, and calls him “that indefatigable servant of Bahá’u’lláh, my esteemed brother, Mr. Holley The Guardian at this time was himself in desperate need of secretarial assistance and his thoughts naturally turned to this man of such marked ability. He writes to him, in May, 1926, very revealingly on this subject:

“My dear and valuable friend: I wish to re-assure you of my keen appreciation of your continuous efforts for the consolidation of the work of the Cause throughout America. I have often felt the extreme desirability of

853

having a collaborator like you working by my side here in Haifa. The loss of Dr. Esslemont is keenly felt by me and my hope is that the conditions here and abroad will enable me to establish the work in Haifa upon a more systematic basis. I am waiting for a favorable time.”

But the Guardian realized that to bring Horace to Haifa was a solution to his own personal problem which the work in America could not afford. A month later he wrote to two of Horace‘s old Bahá’í friends: “Horace of course is the ideal man, but he mustn‘t leave his position at the present time.”

Shoghi Effendi’s attitude to what Horace was accomplishing in America and its relation to his own needs is fully clarified in his letter to Horace written in September of that same year: “My dearest co-worker: I have lately followed your activities and efforts, as reflected in the minutes of the meetings you sent me, with true satisfaction and pleasure . . . I have read with deep interest the article you wrote on Green Acre and published in the Star. Your personal contribution to so many aspects and phases of the Movement, performed so diligently, so effectively and so thoroughly are truly a source of joy and inspiration to me. How much I feel the need of a similar worker by my side in Haifa, as competent, as thorough, as methodical, as alert as yourself. You cannot and should not leave your post for the present. Haifa will have to take care of itself for some time. Your grateful brother, Shoghi.”

It never materialized. In 1925 Horace gave up earning his living in various companies to devote his entire life to Bahá’í activity. It must never be thought that this was an easy step for a man of his character to take. It is always difficult for devoted Bahá’ís to accept support from Bahá’í Funds. It was only Horace’s passionate conviction of the rightness of Bahá’u’lláh's Teachings that persuaded him to give up all thought of a personal,‘ independent career and become the full-time servant of an administration in which all too often his fellow believers criticized him for doing so. Shoghi Effendi was well aware of all this; his sympathy, understanding and approval were reflected in the letter he wrote to the National Assembly at that time: “I rejoice to learn that ways and means have been found to enable the National Secretary,

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who discharges in such an exemplary manner the manifold and exacting duties of a highly responsible position, to devote all his time to the pursuit of so meritorious a task. I am fully conscious of the privations and sacrifice which the choice of this arduous work must involve for him, as well as his devoted and selfless companion; I cannot but admire and extol their heroic efforts and wish to assure them both of my continued prayers for the speedy fruition of their earnest endeavors.”

With this instrument, the most powerful national body throughout the Bahá’í World, a national body responsible for the execution of the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá given to the American believers as their unique distinction and sacred trust, with a man of Horace’s calibre devoting his entire time and energy to its work, Shoghi Effendi found that he could set the forces of Bahá’í Administration in motion. Halfway across the world there was a collaborator who grasped the import of his instructions and interpretations of the Teachings and who, as the “indefatigable and distinguished” secretary of that Assembly, as Shoghi Effendi characterized him, in conjunction with its other eight members, and backed up by a devoted and enthusiastic Bahá’í community, not only saw they were implemented, but expounded and classified them.

This partnership was of an importance impossible to overestimate. That it worked so well, bore such fruit and survived the acid test of time, is a great compliment to the two people involved. For Shoghi Effendi was not dealing with a sycophant but a man of strong personality, views and capacity, and Horace was not dealing with a mere leader but a divinely inspired, infallibly guided spiritual ruler. The execution of the tasks set by the Guardian for Horace was therefore not without its hazards. But the loyalty of Horace on the one hand and Shoghi Effendi’s patience and tact on the other, avoided situations which in other circumstances might have led to difficulties.

In Shoghi Effendi’s life there was a tragic lack of stimulating, creative individuals. Horace drew out of the Guardian many things that would have otherwise remained hidden or pursued some other course. It was Horace who really conceived the idea of some form of publication that would reflect the

THE Bahá’í WORLD

world-wide activities of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi reacted enthusiastically to this idea and the series of Bahá’í World came into being. The Guardian was in reality the Editor—in—Chief, Horace the executor. At the Guardian’s request, Horace, until he passed away, wrote every International Survey of Current Bahá’í Activities. The material was largely forwarded to him by Shoghi Effendi, together with pages and pages of instructions and not infrequent cables similar to this one sent in 1932: “Detailed letter mailed for International Survey confident your masterly treatment collected data”. As this added periodically a tremendous amount of extra work for Horace, he was often behind schedule in writing these surveys and it was suggested to Shoghi Effendi that someone else should do the survey, a suggestion he would not hear of, as he considered no one else as qualified to produce such a key article for the Bahá’í World. In 1932 in a letter of the Guardian to Horace, Shoghi Effendi’s secretary writes: “Were it not for your competence and his reliance on your efficiency and judgment he would have to do the work of the Balzd’z’ World alone and thereby neglect many of his other duties. He is still more thankful to God when he sees you hunger for service and enjoy being over-burdened.” And in 1933, in his own hand, Shoghi Effendi wrote: “Dear and precious co—worker: I am deeply conscious of the complexity and strenuous character of the work you have undertaken for the Bahá’í World. I trust and pray that the forthcoming volume will be such as to fully repay your painstaking and valuable efforts. I am eager to receive a few copies of your survey as soon as completed.”

“Your contributions to the Biennial”, Shoghi Effendi wrote in 1933, “are outstanding, unique and exemplary. The more you contribute the greater my eagerness to have you add to the output of your already remarkable contributions;”

It was Horace who so brilliantly titled the wonderful general letters of the Guardian to America and to the Bahá’ís of the West, picking out from the text silch key, eyecatching phrases, as “The Promised Day 15 Come”, “The Goal of a New World Order”, “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh”, and so on, and put subtitles throughout the texts to facilitate the study of such weighty, thought [Page 855]IN MEMORIAM

provoking material. Shoghi Effendi approved of this and it was a major service to the Bahá’ís everywhere.

One of the bonds that linked the Guardian and Horace was their common overwork. In one of Shoghi Effendi’s letters to Horace his secretary writes: “He is always happy to hear from you, as he has a great deal of sympathy for what he fully realizes must be your continually overworked state. Hardpressed for time as he himself constantly is, he well knows what it means!” And “he hopes you yourself are keeping in very good health and not overdoing ?— Though he knows from long experience that it is almost impossible not to overdo when the work of the Cause keeps on piling up!”

The Guardian had the habit of addressing his letters to National Assemblies to their secretaries; usually this meant that they started “Dear Bahá’í brother”, but there are dozens and dozens of letters to the American Assembly that just start “Dear Horace”. It was a very personal relationship.

The evolution of the Administrative Order and the part Horace played in its unfoldment is too vast a subject to be dealt with here, but the messages sent to him by Shoghi Effendi adequately testify how great a role he played in the early history of the Formative Age of our Faith and how deeply the Guardian valued his services and constantly encouraged him: “Your ready pen, your brilliant mind, your marvellous vigour and organizing ability, above all your unwavering loyalty are assets that I greatly value and for which I am deeply grateful . . .” he wrote in 1931. In 1932 Shoghi Effendi wrote to him: . . your active share in the administrative activities of the Cause, your splendid letters of appeal in connection with the Plan of Unified Action, your wise leadership of the New York Assembly—all testify to your marvellous efficiency and your high spiritual attainments.” That same year he cabled him: “May the Almighty sustain you in your stupendous efforts .. .” Another cable, in 1933, testifies to the esteem of the Guardian which Horace was winning for himself: “Assure you my ever deepening admiration your unrivaled services”, and the same thought was echoed five years later: “Assure you my ever deepening admiration your unrivaled services love abiding gratitude.” In this same year Shoghi

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Effendi wrote to Horace: “Be assured and persevere in your historic services.” And in 1943 Shoghi Effendi reiterates these sentiments in even warmer terms: “I greatly value, as you already know, your presentation of the various aspects of the Cause, for whose expansion, consolidation and defense you have, during so many years, laboured so indefatigably and served with such distinction. I will, I assure you, continue to pray for you and your dear collaborator Mrs. Holley, that you may both enrich still further the record of your past services.”

Needless to say Horace’s road was a thorny one. Periodically he had battles to win with himself, like most of us, and he usually had a lot of battles to win for the Cause. A time came when Shoghi Effendi wished the National Secretariat to move to the vicinity of the Temple in Wilmette, so that in the heart of the American continent the spiritual and administrative centre could be fused into one. It was not an easy thing for Horace to pull up stakes and leave New York, the biggest city in the world, where he had long lived in a congenial atmosphereand with some degree of privacy—and take up residence in the middle west, in a small town, where his home would be constantly invaded by visiting Bahá’ís and the public who came to see the Temple. Shoghi Effendi appreciated all this and cabled him in 1939: “Aware, profoundly appreciate sacrifice personal convenience involved transference Temple vicinity deepest love.” Having accepted to do it he put his heart into it; in a letter dated 1940 from Shoghi Effendi his secretary wrote: “The Guardian was particularly gratified to know of the arrangements you have made in connection with the establishment of the National Office in Wilmette.” His qualities were soon appreciated by a new circle of friends and he was made a Rotarian and founded the Wilmette Historical Commission, acting as its chairman for many years.

Horace was a Clever, witty and distinguished lecturer. He had a rather high voice with a slight Yankee twang, which added spice to his clear, dry, gripping delivery of his subject. Throughout the years he was one of the finest speakers the Bahá’ís had in North America and, in addition to a great many public lectures to Bahá’í and non—Bahá’í audiences,

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and participation in various symposiums, he frequently gave courses at Bahá’í Summer Schools, particularly Green Acre where he and his wife had a cottage of their own.

On Horace‘s initiative the American Bahá’í News was created and met with the Guardian’s enthusiastic approval. “The first printed issue of the National Assembly’s News Letter”, he wrote in 1925, “prepared and signed on behalf of the Assembly by its capable secretary, stands as a bright and eloquent testimony to his thoroughness, his industry, his conspicuous ability, his undoubted self-sacrifice.” Horace contributed many articles to World Order Magazine, and to various volumes of Bahá’í World (in addition to his Surveys).

To many people he was many things. Much loved by his personal friends who understood and enjoyed his often caustic wit, his intense independence and individuality, he was not always understood by others. Nevertheless his comprehensive knowledge of the Teachings, his mastery of correct Bahá’í procedure, and the lucidity of his mind were invaluable assets to the Cause. It was Horace who was largely responsible for drafting, in conjunction with a Bahá’í lawyer, the American Declaration of Trust of the National Assembly and the By-laws ofa Local Assembly which have been made by Shoghi Effendi the pattern for all such legal instruments of the Faith in other countries.

This great servant of the Faith, with just that kind of mind, ground a lot of edges off the administrative machinery of the Cause in America and in this process, lasting thirty-six years, had a lot of the sharp edges ground off his own nature and mind. Undoubtedly the greatest factor in his life, next to his having accepted so wholeheartedly the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, was Shoghi Effendi. Horace loved Shoghi Effendi's ideas. He grasped, perhaps better than anyone else, just what the Guardian was constructing through the erection of the Administrative Order. He assisted in this through all the powers of his mind, giving, year after year, an unstinting service to its realization.

In 1944 he suffered a heart attack and was in hospital for some time. The Guardian was distressed by the news of this illness and

THE BAHA’l WORLD

wrote to him in August of 1944: “I am so glad and relieved to learn you are on the road to recovery. I trust, however, you will not overtax your newly-found strength, and I feel confident that you will render our beloved Faith services as outstanding and unique as those that will remain associated with your name during the Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh”. His continued solicitude for Horace‘s health and services is reflected in a letter to him written in 1945: “ . my prayer to the Almighty is to give you all the strength you need to enable you to win still greater victories in the course of your historic labours for the establishment of His Faith and the consolidation of its nascent Institutions. Be happy, rest assured, and persevere. Your true and grateful brother“.

In spite of weakened health Horace was present as representative of the old, outgoing National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, at the convention held in Montreal to elect the first independent Canadian National Assembly in 1948. In 1951 he and Dorothy Baker, acting as representatives of the United States National body, attended the convention held in Panama City to elect the first Central American National Assembly, and in 1957 Horace, in his capacity as Hand of the Cause, and acting as Shoghi Effendi‘s own special representative, attended the convention in Lima, Peru at which the northern countries of South America elected their new National Assembly.

In a cable to Horace, dated December 24, 1951, Shoghi Effendi announced to him his appointment as one of the three Hands in America, chosen by the Guardian:

“Moved convey glad tidings your election rank Hand Cause stop Appointment officially announced public message addressed all National Assemblies stop May sacred function enable you enrich record services already rendered for Bahá’u’lláh”. It was received at the National Office during his absence and when Mrs. Holley met him at the airport with this momentous news his first reaction was to push from him this station, so utterly unexpected and overwhelming. The dreamer and mystic, essentially humble before his God, shied away from the glorious rank so suddenly thrust upon him. But of course

[Page 857]IN MEMORIAM

there was really no question, for any of the Hands, of accepting or rejecting the honour their Guardian had seen fit to confer upon them; whether they felt themselves worthy or not they bowed their heads in submission. Like yeast the- new office fermented in the character of Horace, bringing out the depths of his spirituality, raising him to newheights, releasing, after so many years of grinding routine and administrative work, that other side of his nature which had prevailed in his youth. Under the influence of this new form of service Horace mellowed and softened. Now he had another function to fulfil. For years he had instructed, admonished, fought for adherence to laws and principles, blended himself into the consultative process of the National Assembly as a body. Now he was called upon as an individual, one man, a high-ranking officer of the Faith, to work in a different way; to protect, to teach, to heal the hearts of the believers, to lead and help as Horace Holley, the Hand of the Cause, operating under the direction of the Guardian himself as part of his own Institution.

In 1953, during the Holy Year celebrations, and pursuant with the request of the Guardian that the Hands of the Cause attend as many of the Intercontinental Conferences as possible, Horace was present in Kampala, Stockholm, Chicago and New Delhi. In December, 1953, at long last, and for the first time, he came to Haifa as a pilgrim and met face to face the man he had served for the best years of both their lives. My own impression of the significance of that meeting is, of course, personal, but it seemed to me that Horace, who had always been a man standing alone in his own wilderness, bowing only to his God, and vigorously protecting his inner independence, had been a little afraid, probably sub—consciously, of meeting this Shoghi Effendi. I think he suspected his soul would be seduced by that meeting, and to me that is what happened. Horace surrendered completely to love. As to the Guardian, he too had been aware of the intense independence of this rare Bahá’í giant and wondered what their meeting would be like. I remember the first night something prevented Shoghi Effendi from going over to the Pilgrim House and so he did not meet Horace until the second night of his pilgrimage; but then the last barricades of Horace’s heart went down like

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a sand fortress when the tide comes in, and I suspect this must have been a great inner release for this essentially sensitive, deeply spiritual man.

When Shoghi Effendi passed away in November, 1957, Horace was again ill in hospital and unable to attend the funeral in London.. Increasingly for some years he had been suffering from some impingement on the nerves of his legs and towards the end of his life he was almost constantly in pain. This condition, combined with his weakened heart, now left him near to being an invalid, yet in spite of his frailty he attended the tragic and historic first gathering of the Hands of the Cause held in Bahjí in December, 1957 after the passing of their Guardian. To me, it was here that Horace crowned his lifetime of service to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh by producing the finest fruit of his knowledge and understanding of its teachings——the Proclamation issued by the Hands, the first draft of which and major portion, we owe to his pen alone.

His fellow-Hands desired that he should come and serve as one of the nine Hands in the Holy Land, and after returning to America to get his afi‘airs in order and resign from the American National Assembly, he and his wife arrived in Israel on December 31, 1959. As his wife later wrote, “When he was in Haifa he was so ill and so depleted by pain that he was hardly a shadow of his real self.” Indeed, little time was given him to serve in this new capacity, for six months later he died, suddenly and peacefully, and is buried at the foot of Mount Carmel, not very far from the resting place of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself.

It was very touching to see how Horace, so frail that one felt a breeze would blow him away, would cross the street and struggle up the short flight of steps to the Hands’ meeting room. He listened attentively to the discussions, signifying agreement through a nod of his head or raising his hand, saving the very little strength he had left to express his opinion in words should the need arise. In spite of his extremely fragile condition he was still the old Horace, and his clear mind and wisdom were of inestimable help in our decisions and his personality a joy to me.

No account of this great Bahá’í would be complete if it did not cite at least a few of

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his delightful bon mots, gathered from the recollections of one of his fellow-Hands and long—time fellow—member of the American National Assembly: one midnight, when the members of that Assembly were still consulting at the end of a long week-end of constant meetings, this friend, trying from a tired-out mind to express himself, apologized in advance if he did not succeed in conveying his thought lucidly; Horace remarked, “I assure you, my dear boy, you have more capacity to give than we have to receive.” Being called upon late at night by a Bahá’í woman, who volubly expressed, at great length, what she thought should be done about a certain administrative problem that had arisen in her community, Horace informed her, “You are very sincere, dear—but you are sincerely wrong!” On the occasion when, after months and months of patience, during which the man concerned had insisted on his own rightness and the National Assembly’s wrongness and had been an ever-increasingly disturbing element to the American Community, this individual had at last been deprived of his voting rights. Horace pronounced the following obituary: “Mr. So and So has been unable to adapt the Bahá’í community to himself.”

His fellow-Hands, deprived of his counsel and support, paid a last tribute to his memory and services in the message they sent to the Bahá’í world at the time of his death: “Grieved announce passing Haifa much loved dis THE Bahá’í WORLD

tinguished Hand Cause Horace Holley outstanding champion Faith since days Master praised by beloved Guardian for unique contribution development Administrative Order. His indefatigable services protection teaching administrative fields culminating service Holy Land inspiring example present future generations Bahá’ís.” Great as this tribute is, one cannot help wondering what the golden pen of Shoghi Effendi would have written, on such an occasion, of such a man as Horace Holley. But let Horace’s own words reveal him as he was during the end of his life: “Now what we have here is, indeed, a Divine creation. It is humanity being raised toward God and the Divine grace of God descending to humanity . .. therefore in our daily lives, when we have troubles and difficulties of an administrative nature, let us not be too impatient or too easily discouraged because we are in the process of making possible the formation of that spiritual body of the Universal House of Justice. There is the basis of the world’s peace. There is the order and security of the world. There is the nobility and enlightenment of the human race . . . if by the purity of our motives, by the depths of our self—sacrifice, we could hasten by one year or one month the establishment of that body, the whole human race would bless us for that great gift.”

RUHiYYIH

[Page 859]IN MEMORIAM

CLARA DUNN 1869—1960

As with several distinguished Bahá’í pioneers gone before her, Clara Dunn arose to undertake her life‘s main work at an age when many women are thinking of “some time for themselves” after years of devotion to their families. The decision she made at the age of fifty, to leave American shores for Australia with this mightiest of all Revelations, the Bahá’í Faith, was, and still is, the greatest thing that has ever happened to that continent; further, it constituted a major decision in the history of the world.

Little did the London policeman, Thomas Holder, and his Irish wife, Maria, guess that when they gave birth to their sixth child, Clara, in London, England, on May 12, 1869, they had brought into the world a girl destined to become the “mother” of a continent! For that is what she did become, in spirit and in word. To Bahá’ís the world over, and to Australians in particular, Clara Dunn was our most loved and revered “Mother". It was not until some time after coming to Australia that Mother received a letter from an early believer which began, “Dear Mother, (May 1).” It was then that Mother recalled a dream that she would be widely called mother some day, and from that time she and her husband, John Henry Hyde Dunn, became known affectionately among Bahá’ís, not only in Australia but throughout the world, as “Mother” and “Father” Dunn.

It was when she was in her late thirties that she first met John Henry Hyde Dunn and upon joining in conversation with her he asked her if she were interested in spiritual things. With delicate humor she replied, “I would be if I knew of any spiritual things.”

He then told her of the Bahá’í Faith and invited her to attend a lecture that evening. Before ever hearing of the message, Mother’s outlook was a universal one: she has said that she was interested only in a religion that was “for everybody in the world, of every kind and colour.” After hearing Father Dunn’s message, Mother said, “I’m sure it’s from God.”

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The strength of this conviction was well and truly put to the test in Seattle, Washington, where Mother spent the next five years teaching tirelessly on behalf of the Faith with absolutely no seen result. Such was her mental anguish during this time that she suffered a nervous breakdown and had to enter a hospital. Some friends eventually took her from the hospital and cared for her. Unfortunately, not all Mother’s “friends” at that time were sincere. Her landlady “loved me as much as she could love her own daughter” and provided her with an attic in which to sleep when Mother had no money, having had to give up the good job she had with the doctors. This same landlady, however, carefully warned all who came in contact with Mother that she was mad and belonged to a crazy religion about which she wanted to tell everyone.

It was at this unhappy time that Mother learned that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’. was coming to San F rancisco and she determined, in response to a telegram from a San Francisco believer, to travel there to meet Him. That she was penniless did not deter Mother one instant and she eventually arrived in San Francisco, hungry and in low spirits. She had no idea where to go beyond the name of the street where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was staying, so she asked a tram conductor if he knew where there were Persians staying in Market Street, San Francisco. The tram took her right to the door of the Very house in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was staying, and feeling her journey accomplished, Mother knocked thankfully at the front door, only to receive no answer. Time and again she knocked and rang but to no avail. “So I began to cry and then I got mad,” Mother recalled with a chuckle. She pushed the door, found it unlatehed and entered.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá had just completed a press conference when Mother arrived and He was exhausted. Mother left His presence and only twenty minutes later was recalled by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, now completely refreshed, to join the company at His dinner table. Mother’s memory of that meeting was one of such laughter and joyousness as she could never before remember. “Oh, His smile was so beautiful!” Mother said, and it was also at that meeting that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “radiant and glorious looking”, told a story with

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Clara Dunn

profound happiness and ringing laughter, looking at Mother all the while. It was not until Mother and Father had brought the light of His Message to the Australian continent, that she realized that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s story was, in fact, telling of their most glorious destiny. No wonder He was happy! (‘Abdu’l-Bahá had said, “Unless your love attracts me, I will not come to the West.” Father and two other believers had stayed up all night and prayed that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would come.) To have met souls of the calibre of Mother and Father Dunn and to have known their sincerity and courage must indeed have gladdened ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s heart; for here was not only the love which He sought to bring Him to the West but also a devotion and servitude that would carry the Message of His Father to a distant land where He Himself could not go.

How often we can look back and see in a train of seemingly unconnected events a very orderly plan. Consider the events which immediately preceded Mother’s visit to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Had she, for any reason, been unable to reach San Francisco that night, the present history of the Bahá’í Faith in Australia might never have been written. For at nine o’clock the following morning‘Abdu’l THE Bahá’í WORLD

Baha left San Francisco. As it happened, Mother not only achieved her personal wish to hear the Master, — she was the last person from anywhere in the world to arrive in San Francisco for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s last night there —but she also received at that meeting the spiritual stimulus that was to send her to Australia, together with Hyde Dunn whom she married on July 9, 1917, as pioneers to that continent.

On His return to the Holy Land after His visit to America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed the Tablets of the Divine Plan in which He called upon the believers in America to arise and spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the world. He expressed the longing to travel “if necessary on foot and with the utmost poverty” and raise the cry “Yá-Bahá’u’l—Abhá” and regretted that “now this is not feasible for me . . .”

In 1919 Mother and Father Dunn were holidaying at Santa Cruz when Dr. D’Evelyn returned from the 1919 Convention where the Tablets of the Divine Plan had been unveiled; and when Mother read the penetrating call to open the Australian continent to the Faith, she said to Father, “Shall we go '3” and Father replied, “Yes.”

True to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s call to action, Mother and Father began making preparations to leave for Australia immediately after returning from their holiday. For a moment Mother was uncertain whether ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would wish for both Father and herself to go but she prepared nevertheless and was, in fact, “waiting in the wee garden” when “a telegraph boy appeared with a cable from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá containing these words ‘Highly commendable’.” They were delighted, for, as Father wrote, “This made our future an open door for service on this (Australian) continent.” They finally set sail aboard the S. S. Sonoma early in 1920, arriving in Sydney on April 18, 1920 after spending two months in Honolulu.

The first two years on Australian soil were trying ones for these pioneers. Soon after their arrival they established their home in Sydney, New South Wales, but Father took ill and Mother was obliged to take a job until Father‘s health was restored. This accomplished, Father joined the Nestlé‘s Milk Company as a travelling salesman and in this role he was able to cover the whole of Aus [Page 861]IN MEMORIAM 861

tralia, Tasmania and New Zealand, with Mother accompanying him from place to place. Arriving in a city she would set up housekeeping and while Father was away during the week on his business throughout the surrounding towns she would make friends, entertain and teach the Faith. She would then have meetings arranged for Father to address during week-ends, and in this way the Teachings spread throughout the breadth of the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, it was two years before the first believer accepted the Faith — in Sydney. The loneliness, determination and courage of that first “breakingthrough” period was matched only by the unflinching Faith that Mother and Father held, that they would be assisted and victory would most certainly come.

And how. truly it did come! Leaving Australian shores for a brief period, Mother and Father crossed to neighboring New Zealand in 1923, not knowing that there was already a believer in that country. That believer was Miss Margaret Stevenson, who had spoken of the Faith to many people, but it was, as she said herself, “not until Mr. and Mrs. Dunn’s visit that the Cause in Auckland grew.” In late 1923 Mother and Father went to Melbourne where they established the Faith, leaving behind them Australia‘s first Spiritual Assembly when they went to Adelaide a year later. In Adelaide, where they stayed for some time, the Faith was firmly established before Mother and Father returned to Sydney where, except for brief periods, they spent the remainder of their lives. Thus in three years two major countries had been opened to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh by these gallant souls. In 1932 Mother interrupted her teaching activities for a time to go, alone, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While there she signed the visitors’ book at the Mansion of Bahjí on January 15th of that same year.

Returning to Australia she renewed her teaching activities and in 1934 witnessed the fruits of this work in the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand, and by this time Spiritual Assemblies had been established in several states in Australia and in Auckland, New Zealand.

Then, for the second time in her life, Mother became a widow when John Henry Hyde

Dunn passed away on February 17, 1941, leaving Mother to carry on alone. This she did with, if possible, even more vigor than she had done before. Where Father had many times shouldered the public meeting responsibility, Mother was now left to hold the platform herself. This she did with the vigor and forthrightness that characterised her basic personality. She was now Australia‘s last remaining direct link with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and, until the time of her death, she continued to impart to the believers of that continent the same spiritual impetus that she had received from the Master Himself. How else could the miraculous development of the Faith in that land in just over a quarter of a century have been accomplished?

The consummate honor bestowed on Mother in recognition of her sterling service to the Faith came on February 29, 1952 when she was elevated to the station of Hand of the Cause of God by the Guardian. Father Dunn was subsequently elevated to the same rank, posthumously, when the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia received the following cable, “Hyde Dunn regarded Hand. Shoghi”. At the age of eighty-four, Mother was frailer in body but her remarkable memory and vibrant personality had never been more alert. In 1953, she attended the first Intercontinental Conference held in Delhi, India. How her heart must have filled with happiness to have witnessed that truly universal gathering under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh! Here was the first material evidence of the gradual fulfillment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan: an assemblage of Bahá’ís representative of world-wide communities the fruits of pioneers such as herself gathered together to stimulate even further the teaching efforts which would eventually fulfill the goal of the Divine Plan.

The following year 1954 saw Mother as a Hand of the Cause of God, once more in New Zealand. This time it was to attend the New Zealand Summer School at Henderson Valley. The visit was commemorated by the planting of a Kauri tree on the Hyde Dunn School property there.

Towards the latter part of the same year, and despite her advanced years, Mother visited all the states of Australia. Three years later,in 1957, Mother returned to New Zealand for a third time; on this occasion as the rep [Page 862]862

resentative of the Guardian at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of that country. Upon the passing of the Guardian, Mother, as Hand of the Cause went to Haifa where she attended the first Conclave of the Hands of the Faith in the Mansion of Bahjí, Israel. Although physically now very weary, Mother’s desire and determination to serve was as strong as ever.

The closing years of Clara Dunn’s life witnessed many wonderful things. Not only did she behold the growth and development of her own spiritual children around her, but she also saw the fruits of her service reflected in the islands of the Pacific, as pioneers from the Australian continent arose with equal devotion to open the territories virgin to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, These teaching efforts culminated in the establishment of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Islands. Further, from the days of teaching the Faith without books or any material assistance for guidance, Mother witnessed the rearing of two National Spiritual Assemblies, Australia and New Zealand, as well as a National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. She was further to see the crowning glory of Australia — the erection of the first Mother Temple of the Antipodes, set within these shores. It was, in fact, in March 1958 and at the request of the Guardian, that Mother placed “plaster from the Castle of Méh-KI’J” in the foundation of the Australian Bahá’í House of Worship during the Australian Intercontinental Conference.

The remaining years of Mother’s life were spent in a flat at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Sydney. Until the time of her passing on November 18, 1960, at the age' of 91 years, Mother never lost her scintillating Irish wit which seized upon anyone and everyone, sometimes with fiery pointedness, sometimes with most delightful and delicate subtlety, but always with twinkling enjoyment. Fresh to the end, too, was her remembrance of many of the beautiful Bahá’í prayers, her favorite among them seeming to.have been. . . “O Lord, my haven in my distress! My shield and shelter in my woe. . .” for she was reciting it up to her last breath. How many occasions must Mother’s heart have been heavy for that to have been her favorite prayer; but how faithfully was her prayer answered to have enabled her to persevere for forty—one

THE BAHA’I WORLD

years in the quest that she started at the age of fifty.

The Guardian said of the Dunns that they were the true conquerors because they stayed where they pioneered.

On November 28, 1960 after a befitting ceremony at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, Hand of the Cause of God Clara Dunn’s cortege left for the Woronora Cemetery, Sydney, where she was laid to rest beside her husband. Unique in the annals of the Bahá’í Faith is the fact that two souls, both Hands of the Cause of God and pioneers of a continent, should lie together.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

JULIET THOMPSON

“Deplore loss much-loved, greatly admired Juliet Thompson, outstanding, exemplary handmaid ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Over half-century record manifold meritorious services, embracing concluding years Heroic opening decades Formative Age Bahá’í Dispensation, won her enviable position glorious company triumphant disciples beloved MasterAbhá Kingdom. Advise hold memorial gathering Mashriqu’l-Adhkár pay befitting tribute imperishable memory one so wholly consecrated Faith Bahá’u’lláh fired such consuming devotion Center His Covenant.

SHOGHI.”

At a memorial service, held on February 9, 1957, two months after her death, tributes were offered by several people who had known her well.

At an early age Juliet became interested in painting. She studied at the Corcoran Art School in Washington and at seventeen was doing portraits in pastels professionally. By the middle 1890’s, when in her early twenties, she had already made a name for herself.

Around the turn of the century the mother

[Page 863]IN MEMORIAM

J uliet Thompson

of Laura Clifl‘ord Barney invited the young artist to come to Paris for further study. Juliet went accompanied by her mother and brother.

V It was there that she met May Bolles — the first Bahá’í on the European continent — and through her, accepted this new Faith. Mrs. Barney wrote of Juliet that she had accepted it “as naturally as a swallow takes to the air.”

Juliet became one of that first group of Paris Bahá’ís, which included Mrs. Barney. Enthusiasm and activity were at a high point, partly because of the presence of Mirza AbL'l’l-Fadl, whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had sent to France. His lessons, together with May Bolles’ influence, were very confirming to Juliet, and the process was completed when Thomas Breakwell, the first English believer, gave her Count de Gobineau’s stirring description of the Martyrdom of the Báb.

From the beginning of her acceptance of the Faith, Juliet served it. Following her Paris sojourn she spent most of the rest of her life in New York, and her studio there became a center for Bahá’í meetings. Juliet’s great love for and devotion to the Master made her a natural channel for the spreading of the Faith. Her enthusiasm was so soul-warming and contagious that, through her, many people

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accepted the Cause. She also made it a practice to hold a weekly meeting for the believers.

“Never,” wrote one of her close friends, “will these meetings be forgotten. Those who were fortunate enough to assemble there in those pioneer days were tasting the spiritual happiness they had always read about, which sings on in the heart regardless of the turbulent waters of the outer world... .. Every evidence of a worldly atmosphere was absent. . .”

The year after the Master’s release from the prison city of ‘Akká, in 1908, Juliet was one of the Kinney party who made the pilgrimage to Haifa. It is not difficult to imagine her exaltation on attaining this longed-for goal.

On her return to New York, her meetings were resumed. Pages of a new volume were being written in the lives of many devoted American believers; all were looking forward to a possible visit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the United States. But in Juliet’s case the interval of waiting seemed to be too long; in the summer of 1911, when the Master was in Europe, she again sought His presence, first at Thonon-les-Bains, France, and then in Vevey, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Eagerly she listened to His vivifying words, and faithfully she recorded in her diary the priceless impressions of those days.

On April 11, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in New York, and when He stepped oh” the steamship Cedric one of those who met Him was Juliet T hompson. She followed the Master everywhere, attending all meetings in New York, Brooklyn and New Jersey, and the Master graciously addressed a gathering in her studio. Several times He called her to walk with Him on Riverside Drive, accompanied by Valiyu’lláh Varqa as interpreter. It was through her efforts that the rector of the Church of the Ascension in New York received ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at a Sunday evening service, seating the Master in the bishop’s chair beside the altar. Here ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered many questions about the Teachings that were asked by the congregation.

Juliet reached the pinnacle of success and happiness when the Master granted her request to paint His portrait. This she executed in pastels, unfortunately a somewhat perishable medium. Photographic reproductions of the portrait are to be found in many Bahá’í homes, but the original has been lost.

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Miss Thompson was by now a well-known portrait painter, executing many commissions in New York and Washington. Among these was a portrait of Mrs. Calvin Coolidge.

Juliet kept a complete diary of the tremendous events that transpired during‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit in and around New York. Her article, “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant,” gives examples of the response of people from all walks of life to the dynamic personality of the Master -— responses which in most cases she herself witnessed.

Then came World War I — which the Master had prophesied would occur — when all communication was severed between ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Holy Land and the friends in the United States. Throughout this time of trial and testing, Juliet did not lose the vision of the Bahá’í promise of peace. In collaboration with her spiritual mother, May Maxwell, she collected the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on this subject. These were published in 1918 under the title, “Peace Compilation.”

Because of her ardent advocacy of peace, Juliet attracted the attention of federal agents, some of whom were present at Bahá’í meetings in her home. She was never afraid; she knew she spoke the Teachings of God for this day. Throughout her entire Bahá’í career she was courageous, staunch, and firm as a rock in her faith.

That Juliet was a sensitive writer was demonstrated in her book, “I, Mary Magdalen,” published in 1940. Here she paints with words a portrait of the woman whose life was deeply influenced by the teachings of Jesus the Christ, just as Juliet‘s own life had been galvanized by the radiant loving-kindness and wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This book has been characterized as “one of the most graphic and lofty delineations of Christ ever made in literature.”

Juliet was for many years a member of the Spiritual Assembly of New York and a delegate to the annual convention. In 1926 she made, with Mary Maxwell, the daughter of her beloved friend and teacher, a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After years of service in New York, and not long after Shoghi Effendi had sent the first Bahá’í pioneer teachers to Latin American countries, Juliet spent over a year teaching in Mexico.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

In the later years of her life, she was incapacitated physically; nevertheless, wherever she was, there was a center around which Bahá’í thought and activity revolved. Doubtless many of her friends did not realize the seriousness of the heart ailment that afflicted her because her spirit was so alive and vibrant. Although she was then in her early eighties, those closest to her never thought of age in connection with Juliet; she seemed ageless. Her earthly life came to an end on December 9th, 1956.

CARRIE KINNEY 1878—1959

Mrs. Carrie Kinney, whose maiden name was Helene Morrette, was born in New York City in 1878. After more than two years of serious illness she passed from this life to the heavenly realm on August 16, 1959, there, as she often expressed it, to meet her Lord.

She was affectionately known to the believers from all parts of the Bahá’í world as “Vaffa”, a name bestowed upon her by the beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Her many years of constant, loyal, devoted and loving service to the Cause extended to many channels. Her feelings of universal love and affection encompassed all those who were privileged to enter her home, a home truly dedicated to the service of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the beloved Guardian.

VaITa and Edward Beadle Kinney met in 1893 and two years later were married. That same year Mr. Kinney attended a Bahá’í meeting at the home of Howard MacNutt where for the first time he heard the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. He accepted what he heard immediately and rushed back home to tell Vaffa about it, saying excitedly, “I have just heard a wonderful story. Our Lord is on earth. I must write to Him at once and plan to go to see Him.” Coming from a strong Catholic background, Vafl‘a wasa little afraid of this announcement and ran and hid in the closet. However, several days later Mr. Kinney took Vafl‘a with him to the next Bahá’í meeting and immediately she, too, accepted the Faith and together they wrote a letter to ‘Abdu’l [Page 865]IN MEMORIAM

Carrie Kinney

Baha who was still held a prisoner in ‘Akká. Palestine.

After 13 years their cherished longing came true and they, with their children, found themselves on the way to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Their visit was an extended one, a period of some eight months, and during their stay they expressed the wish that when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to America He should make their home His place of stay.

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá paid a visit to America in April of 1912 there were many friends at the dock to greet Him. ‘Abdu'l—Baha however, sent word for the friends to leave the dock and that He would meet with them at the Kinney home in the afternoon. He then called for Mr. Kinney to come onto the ship to see Him, and later that afternoon the first meeting with the Master in America took place in the Kinney home. During His stay the Master told Mrs. Kinney, “I am returning your visit, but while I am in your home I will be the host and you will be the guests.“ For many days and nights people came to meet with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the Kinneys spared neither time. effort nor money to have everything as well arranged for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as possible.

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The Kinneys‘ last place of residence, after living for some time in Boston. was the Woodward Hotel Annex in New York City and here they continued to carry on the weekly meetings. Shortly after her husband‘s death. VafTa responded to the call of the beloved Guardian to pioneer, and in 1952 moved to River Edge, New Jersey, where she established her home. There, with a devoted friend and believer, Mrs. Maud Gaudreaux, weekly firesides were again held and through this teaching effort several friends were attracted to, and accepted, the Faith.

ln 1956 Vafl‘a became seriously ill. but after a serious operation she appeared to be recovering very well and was longing to return to active teaching. At this time the news ol‘ the passing of the beloved Guardian reached her and it was such a shock to her that her physical health and vitality never fully returned. and she was taken to her son‘s home where she spent the last two years of her life.

When the friends would call to see her they would talk about the Cause and this would always brighten her spirits, but on the morning of August I6. 1959 her son. entering her room‘ found that she had quietly ascended into the Abhá Kingdom.

ValTa was not an eloquent speaker but no one who met her failed to hear about the glorious Message and to be brought close to its spirit. She followed the instruction of the Master explicitly to “ . consider her audience like beautiful birds waiting to hear a wonderful melody, and herself like an organ played on by invisible hands, and be sure to take this attitude because you are alive by the breath of the Holy Spirit." Both Vafi‘a and her husband were designated as “Pillars of the Cause of God", by the Guardian, who had written to them a letter in which he stated. “The Cause of God in North America will remain strong in the hands ol‘ such lion-hearted and staunch believers as yourselves."

CURTIS D. KELSEY

[Page 866]866

HARLAN FOSTER OBER 1881—1962

Harlan Foster Ober came into the Faith a young man just out of college. At that time there were no Spiritual Assemblies, local or national, and all teaching was on an entirely individual basis, guided by Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The fire of the love of God reached the hearts that were open; Harlan’s was one of these. He lived to take an active part as a pioneer in Shoghi Effendi’s Ten Year plan, to see the growth of the Administrative Order from its beginnings to a structure of fifty-six National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies at the time of his death, and to see the Faith established all over the world. Harlan was always actively engaged in Bahá’í service. The period of this service covered fifty-seven years, a unique and outstanding record as Bahá’í teacher and devoted, steadfast, inspired and inspiring worker in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to Harlan on June 24, 1919:

“Today the stirring power that exhibits itself throughout all regions is the power of the Covenant which, like unto the artery, beats and pulsates in the body of the world. He who is firmer in the Covenant is more assisted, just as ye are manifestly witnessing how firm souls are enkindled, attracted and confirmed.

“Strive, therefore, day and night that ye may cause the hearts to become firm and resolute. The journey of teachers to different parts is like unto the rays of the sun which radiate from a central point to the surrounding regions and undoubtedly great illumination will be obtained.”

Thus Harlan Ober’s path was early charted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

In a Tablet sent at the same time “T0 the members of the Executive Board of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár”, of which Harlan was then president, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote:

“Praise be to God, that ye have been confirmed with such a supreme bounty and have arisen with all your power in the service of the Kingdom, which is no other than service to the oneness of the world of humanity. The magnet attracts unto itself the iron, while

THE BAHA’I WORLD

this promulgation of divine teachings attracts heavenly confirmation. Soon ye shall consider what a profound effect it shall exert and what a manifest sign it shall display.”

On May' 1, 1912 Harlan was present at the laying of the foundation stone by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá'. of the Mashriqu’l-A¢kar in Wilmette; on May 1, 1953, just forty-one years later, he took part in the program of dedication of this “Mother Temple of the West.” And in January, 1958, he was present at the laying of the cornerstone for the Bahá’í House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda the “Mother Temple of Africa.”

Harlan was born on October 6, 1881 in Beverly, Massachusetts, in a well-known and highly-respected New England family. His mother, Marcena Harmon Ober, was a school teacher before her marriage. His father, George Oliver Ober, was in the shoe business which fluctuated considerably in these years. Harlan earned his way through college and graduated from Harvard University, receiving his B. A. degree in 1905. In his biography for the Harvard Class of 1905 Fiftieth Anniversary Report he wrote:

“Although lectures had been given on this subject [the Bahá’í Faith] at Phillips Brooks House, I had not heard of it while at college. After about nine months of investigation, I recognized the truths unfolded in its movement. During the following year I travelled to the Holy Land, Egypt, India, and Burma which gave me an opportunity to discover at first hand the application of the Bahá’í Faith. I also lectured on the Bahá’í Faith in colleges, in Young Men’s Christian Associations, forums and other public meetings.”

Harlan was not only a graduate of Harvard University but held a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts,

On July 17, 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself united in marriage Grace Robarts of Canada and Harlan Foster Ober. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggested this marriage and these two devoted believers were immediately and joyously obedient to His wish. The simple Bahá’í service took place at 309 West 78th Street, New York City, and was followed later that same day by a legal ceremony performed by the Reverend Howard Colby Ives (not yet a Bahá’í), in the presence of friends from East

[Page 867]IN MEMORIAM

and West. Description of this event stated in part (Star of the West, V01. 3, No. 12, p. 14):

“Never before in America had such a wedding as this been witnessed. A11 seemed to feel the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The prayer, chanted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was revealed for Harlan and Grace:

“Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Verily, this Thy servant and this Thy maid-servant have gathered under the shadow of Thy mercy and they are united through Thy favor and generosity. O Lord! Assist them in this Thy world and Thy Kingdom and destine for them every good through Thy bounty and grace. O Lord! Confirm them in Thy servitude and assist them in Thy service. Suffer them to become the signs of Thy Name in Thy world and protect them through Thy bestowals which are inexhaustible in this world and the world to come. 0 Lord! They are supplicating toward the Kingdom of Thy mercifulness and invoking toward the realm of Thy singleness. Verily they are married in obedience to Thy command. Cause them to become the signs of harmony and unity until the end of time. Verily Thou art the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent and the Almighty!”

The marriage certificate was signed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, M. Hippolyte Dreyfus—Barney and the Reverend Howard Colby Ives. Several years after their marriage Harlan and Grace adopted three children, of English, German and Russian backgrounds. There are now seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s stay in America He visited Green Acre, in August, 1912, the nineteenth year of its existence. Of this visit Harlan wrote:

“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rescued the Green Acre Conferences from oblivion . . . His talks dealt with reality and gave a new direction to Green Acre.”

With this new direction Harlan and Grace and Harlan’s close friend and classmate, Alfred Lunt, had an increasing amount to do, as they were for many years active in the Bahá’í conferences and schools carried on there.

Harlan’s early services to the Faith included, besides those as president (1919—20) and secretary (1918—19) of the Bahá’í Temple Unity Executive Board, membership on the

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National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Of the United States and Canada for three years (1938—41) and on several national committees.

The Bahá’í Temple Unity Board’s constitution states that it was drawn up by “the Bahá’í Assemblies of North America, in unity convened at the City of Chicago, to the end that we may advance the Cause of God in this western hemisphere by the founding and erection of a Temple with service accessories dedicated to His Holy Name, and devoted to His love in the service of mankind.” Its object was “to acquire a site for and erect and maintain thereon a Bahá’í Temple or Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, with service accessory buildings, at Chicago, 111., in accordance with the declared wish of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.” The Executive Board consisted of nine members, elected at the Annual Convention. This work was taken over by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada when it was established in 1922.

It was from Harlan and Grace’s home, at 37 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, a room of which was given over to the office of the National Teachin g Committee, that the first Teaching Bulletin, dated November 19, 1919 was issued. This bulletin evolved into the US. Bahd’z' News.

Harlan was chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly in several cities as he moved about. As such he was instrumental in obtaining the incorporation of the Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Boston, Mass. and of Beverly, Mass. He also assisted in obtaining the marriage license issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1946, authorizing the Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Massachusetts to solemnize Bahá’í marriages.

Numerous teaching trips were made by Harlan over a period of many years throughout the United States and Canada. Early in his Bahá’í life he planned to spend half his time in teaching and in the affairs of the Faith and the other half in earning a living. He was confirmed in this endeavor at every step throughout his life.

His close friendship with Louis Gregory, outstanding Bahá’í teacher, who was appointed posthumously first Negro Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi, took him on many teaching trips to the southern states.

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Harlan was constantly in demand as a speaker at Race Unity Conferences, at Bahá’í Summer and Winter Schools and Conferences held in the United States and Canada. Of one of these John Robarts, formerly of Toronto‘ nephew of Grace Robarts Ober and now a Hand of the Cause in Africa, writes:

. . With a little persuasion Harlan would begin to tell a story about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a hush would settle on the gathering and all eyes and ears would be turned to him. Then I knew the conference had begun. The Holy Spirit, with all its glory andjoy, had descended upon us. Sometimes we wouldn‘t let him stop and he would go on and on telling us those beautiful stories, bringing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá right to us. What times these were! I am sure I owe my love for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to dear Harlan."

ln 1906. Harlan was one of the first American Bahá’ís to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who was still confined in the Turkish prison city of ‘Akká, After returning. Harlan gave a talk from the notes of which the following facts emerge:

When the need arose to send American Bahá’ís to India to spread the teachings and show that the Bahá’í Faith was accepted in the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá inquired of Mirza AbL’J‘l-Fadl who should be sent. The latter recommended Mr. Hooper Harris, whom he had taught in New York City. In due time a Tablet came to America from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asking that two teachers be sent to India, Mr. Hooper Harris to be one and a companion to be chosen to go with him. Dr. William Moore, brother of Mrs. Lua Moore Getsinger, was chosen. When Dr. Moore suddenly died. Mrs. Getsinger suggested to Harlan Ober that he should go in her brother‘s place. Harlan was delighted at the prospect, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá approved the plan. Harlan‘s family, however, had not accepted the Bahá’í Faith and opposed his trip to India, with its dangers from plague, cholera and cobras, and Harlan did not have the means for financing such a journey. But money was borrowed by Mrs. Getsinger and on November 10, 1906 Hooper Harris and Harlan Ober sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey, for Naples and ‘Akká.

They arrived in ‘Akká after dark. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to welcome them that evening, He told them He was giving a Feast for forty pilgrims from Persia who were leaving the next day, and He invited the two

THE BAHA’l WORLD

Harlan Foster Ober

newly-arrived pilgrims to the Feast. Harlan continues:

“It was about ten-thirty in the evening. It impressed me because it was like the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went around the long table, heaping high each plate. Then when all were served He walked back and forth, the lights showing on His face and flowing robe, and gave a talk which He repeated for us the next morning at breakfast. While He was seating us at the Feast, two young Persian men chanted poems and Tablets. The large room, the long table. the varied Oriental costumes, the wonderful faces of the believers, the spirit that was present as everyone turned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá etched an unforgettable picture on our hearts.“

It was at this table that Harlan was introduced to, and seated next to, Mirzá Haydar‘Ali’.

As time passed the two pilgrims from America grew anxious because nothing had been told them about their trip to India and what they were supposed to do. Twice they spoke to the interpreter (Miss Laura Barney) and asked her to speak to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá about

[Page 869]IN MEMORIAM

it. He replied that He would send for them later. On the third day He asked them to come to His room. He then said:

"I will,now speak to you about India. In lndia people believe that God is like the sea and man is like a drop in the sea, or that God is like the warp and man is like the woof of this coat. But the Bahá’ís believe that God is like the sun and man is like a mirror facing the sun.”

After this was translated to them, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá began to repeat the statement. Miss Barney said: “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. l have already

told them." Then He said: “Tell them again." Which she did. Then He ended by saying:

"Whenever difficult questions or problems come to you, turn your hearts to the heart of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and you will receive help."

This was all that ‘Abdu’l-Bahz’l told them about teaching in India but it was adequate. By following His instructions, every question was answered, and often the answerer was as astonished as the questioner. The Indian Bahá’ís were delighted, and on one occasion when Mr. Harris was speaking to members of the Arya-Somaj they were astonished at the answers. These few words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were like seeds coming into fruition whenever the hearts were turned to Him.

Later ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Harlan: “Serve the people. speak in the meetings, love them in reality not through politeness, embrace them as l have embraced you. Even if you should never speak, great good will be accomplished."

Concerning this visit to India, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote in a Tablet to Harlan and Grace Ober dated July Il, 1916: “Truly 1 say Mr. Ober rendered a great service to the Kingdom of God and undertook a long and arduous trip to lndia." The beloved Guardian wrote in God Passes By that this trip lasted “no less than seven months".

Harlan‘s second pilgrimage was in July 1920, when, with Grace, he visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa. They returned via Germany and England. where they had the privilege of meeting Shoghi Effendi, then a student at Oxford University.

In Germany, at the suggestion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Harlan and Grace went to Leipzig to speak on the Bahá’í Faith. At a public meeting

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at the Theosophical Society, two listeners became convinced of the truth of Bahá’u’lláh's Message: one was Dr. Hermann Grossmann, now a Hand of the Cause; the other was Frau Lina Benke, who told her husband, (absent from the city when the meeting was held), of what she had learned. He later became the first European Bahá’í martyr.

Harlan's third pilgrimage to the Holy Land was made in 1956, to visit Shoghi Effendi. On this pilgrimage Harlan was accompanied by his second wife, Dr. Elizabeth Kidder Ober. She and Harlan had been married in Beverly, Mass. on June 2|, l94l. (Harlan had been widowed in 1938). After their pilgrimage they went to South Africa as planned, and were able to carry out the wish of the beloved Guardian to help form the first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly in Pretoria. They returned to the United States to settle their affairs and, in December 1956, settled in Pretoria as pioneers. At that time the Guardian spoke of Harlan as a champion of the Cause of God.

Harlan was appointed a member of the Auxiliary Board for Protection in Africa in October, 1957. He served on the National Teaching Committee of South and West Africa for two years. In November, 1957 he flew from South Africa to attend the funeral service of the beloved Guardian in London. On his way back he visited the friends in Douala, Cameroon, and Luanda, Angola.

John Robarts’ letters tell of the spirit that animated Harlan‘s services:

“Harlan wrote inspiring and most loving letters to the friends in his territory. He brought ‘Abdu’l-Bahá close to us with his wonderful stories about Him. He had great knowledge, wisdom, life-long experience in the Faith. He loved to answer questions and to help others to a better understanding of the Faith, its significance in the world, its history, its teachings, its believers, its administration. He was dedicated, devoted, living a life of service. His perception of the inner meanings of the teachings was keen and he could clarify them, often very vividly, so that others could perceive them. He always had a ready, merry laugh. He visited the friends whenever possible. He read and studied the teachings constantly and could relate them to whatever was the problem at hand. His approach in helping others to see

[Page 870]870

their problems in perspective was heartwarming. He left one free, after looking squarely at various aspects, to think out a solution and make one’s own decision.”

Another friend writes: “Harlan never tired of trying to find common ground between the believers on which he could build unity. . . Harlan would be aglow with joy when he spoke about his association with the Master; so alert was his mind that he would speak of those experiences of nearly fifty years ago as if they were matters of just five years earlier.“

At the end of a few days spent by Elizabeth and Harlan in Lourenco Marques, Mozambique, a young African friend said: “Tears wing their way across my heart at your going.”

When Harlan passed away, on July 20, 1962, the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land sent the following cable, befittingly summing up almost half—a-century of service to this Faith:

“Deepest sympathy passing dear Harlan Ober, devoted, distinguished American believer both Heroic Formative Ages Faith. Early global travels, membership Temple Unity Board and later National Assembly, historic services Africa pioneer Board member unforgettable. Assure loving prayers Shrine. Handsfaith.”

He is buried in Zandfontein Cemetery, Pretoria, next to an African Location in a valley surrounded by lovely hills.

During a period of over thirty years Harlan received letters from Shoghi Effendi which guided not only his own services but also illumined the path of newly—formed administrative bodies, of committees and of individual Bahá’ís. The first of these, dated February 14, 1924 read:

“. . . Just a word to assure you in person of my affection and esteem and constant prayers for your welfare and success in the service of our beloved Cause! May your beautiful spirit kindle many a receptive heart and may the radiance of such lives illumine all the continent of America. I have great hopes in both of you and you may rest assured that our beloved Master is with you always.“

“I am adding a few words in person in order to assure you of my great love for you, my deep-felt appreciation of your past and present services, and of my constant prayers for your spiritual advancement and success.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

The Beloved, whose Cause you are serving with distinction and exemplary fidelity, will no doubt continue to bless your high endeavors.”

In October, 1937 after the passing of Alfred Lunt, Dr. Zia Baghdádi and Mrs. Mary Hanford Ford, “outstanding figures in the Cause in America,” the Guardian, writing through his secretary, advised Harlan to “remain in the United States and assist in the teaching work there. Your presence in America, he feels, is now absolutely necessary, as the friends can ill afford to lose the varied and rich experiences which they can draw through their close association with an old and outstanding teacher like yourself.”

Shoghi Effendi wrote to Harlan on June 30, 1938:

“Dear and prized co-worker:

The vigor, the zest and fidelity with which you are discharging your duties, in spite of the severe and crushing blow you have recently sustained, heighten my admiration for you and reinforce the ties of brotherly affection that knit our hearts together. I greatly value your observations, your accomplishments, your motives, your example and the hopes you cherish. .

And on June 30, 1939:

“Your letters are so illuminating and so reassuring in the spirit of selfless devotion, and of exemplary loyalty which they invariably breathe. Your activities, strivings, Vigilance, patience and accomplishments are invaluable assets for which I feel genuinely grateful. May the beloved, whose Cause you are furthering in so many ways and with such a noble spirit, cheer and sustain you always, and reward you a thousandfold.”

And on November 18, 1939:

“You are often in my thoughts, in these days of anxiety, stress and turmoil, and your work, as a devoted, capable and zealous member of the National Spiritual Assembly I profoundly and increasingly value. I will continue to pray for you from all my heart, and trust that your highest aspirations in His service will be fully realized. Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi.”

In October, 1941, after Harlan was not re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, the beloved Guardian wrote in his postscript:

“Now that you are relieved of national administrative responsibilities, I look forward to an intensification of your devoted and

[Page 871]IN MEMORIAM 871

highly appreciated efforts in the teaching field —— a field in which the American believers can achieve, in these concluding years of the First Bahá’í Century, their most brilliant and memorable victories.”

In this'same letter the Guardian stated, through his secretary:

“Shoghi Effendi entirely approves of the manner in which you conducted your marriage and feels you did entirely right. . . not having any church ceremony or minister to unite you. The more we associate with churches and other religious bodies the better, but we should not in any way identify ourselves with their doctrines and usages.”

In his letter of December 30, 1945 Shoghi Effendi said:

“I was very happy to hear from you and to learn of your continued and highly valued activities in the service of our beloved Faith. You are, I assure you, often in my thoughts and prayers, and I will continue to pray from the depths of my heart for the extension of your labors to which I attach the utmost importance. Persevere in your valued activities, and rest assured that the Beloved is well pleased with the long record of your distinguished and meritorious services.”

After the launching of the World Crusade the Guardian wrote to Harlan, through his secretary:

“If by any chance it should seem economically sound and feasible for you to go to Pretoria, and assist in the establishment of an Assembly there, he feels this would be highly meritorious.”

Accordingly Harlan and his wife Elizabeth went to Pretoria the following year. In the Guardian’s last letter to them dated January 4, 1957 he said:

“May the Beloved bless your meritorious services, aid you to overcome all obstacles, and enrich the record of your past achievements for the promotion of His Faith and the consolidation of its institutions.”

ELIZABETH KIDDER OBER MATTHEW W. BULLOCK BEATRICE ASHTON

HUSAYN USKULi 1875—1956

At the time of the passing of Husayn Uski’ili to the Abhá. Kingdom two messages were received from the beloved Guardian:

“Deplore loss ardent steadfast servant Faith. Fervently supplicating progress soul Kingdom. His services unforgettable.”

“Grieve passing dear steadfast promoter Faith Uskuli. Reward great Kingdom. Praying progress soul.”

Husayn Uskuli, a faithful and dedicated Bahá’í and pioneer, was well-known for his steadfastness, simple life, and his hospitality to friends and non-Bahá’ís, whether in Tabríz, ‘Ishqábád or China. He was born in UskL’I a township in Adhirbáyján, not far from Tabríz — in 1875, and passed away in Shanghai, China, on February 25, 1956. His mortal remains were laid to rest in the Shanghai Kiangwan cemetery.

He heard of and accepted the Faith through a noble soul, Mirza Haydar-‘Ali, of the same town of Usku, at the age of eighteen. He was born to a moderately well-to-do family, but in accepting the Faith had to pay the price of severe trials at their hands. They opposed him bitterly and persecuted him to the extent that, after giving up all his inherited possessions, he left his native place for good. He stayed for a while in Tabríz, enjoying his newly-born life amidst the friends. Soon after, he attained the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and returned from this pilgrimage with fresh zeal; wherever he settled he soon distinguished himself by his active service and devotion.

After marrying he moved with his family to ‘Ishqábád, remaining there many years, and serving as a member of the Spiritual Assembly, the Bahá’í School committee, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and Welfare committees. One of the joyous experiences of those days in Turkistan, our father often used to relate, was the visit of a group of American Bahá’ís in 1908 to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and the friends in ‘Iflqabad, when father with some other friends went to Krasnovodsk, a Caspian seaport, to welcome them.

In 1914 Husayn Uskuli traveled to Shanghai, China, first with two Bahá’í friends and later with his family. He settled permanently in

[Page 872]872 THE BAHA’l WORLD

Shanghai, except for an interruption of a few years, and remained there to the end of his life. During the first World War he was one of the mediums of intercourse through Shanghai, between the Eastern friends and the Holy Land.

Prior to the change of regime in China. there were resident Bahá’ís and visitors in Shanghai, chiefly Americans. Most of them, however, dispersed and left the country and Husayn Uskuli’ was the only known Bahá’í to remain: he self—sacrificingly kept the lamp of the Faith unwaveringly alight. During the last years of his life the situation there, in regard to contact of Chinese citizens with foreigners, became difficult and open to suspicion on the part of the authorities. ln order to avoid misunderstanding, he wrote in one of his last letters, that all contact was nearly at a standstill. While he had many contacts in normal times, as the situation gradually changed, fewer and fewer people sought intercourse with him to avoid suspicion. He wrote that some of his contacts were more daring and still visited him once in a while: when one of those few also stopped coming Mr. Uskt’tli, thinking that he might have fallen ill, decided to visit this man. When he did so, his friend tenderly explained that lately he, too, had fallen under suspicion and was subjected to an inquiry as to his relations with the foreigner and the reason for his visits.

It is surely significant that Husayn Uskuli, in playing his part in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan for the redemption of mankind, passed away in China, the “land of his choice," which he so dearly loved. The memory of his dedication to the Cause and his tender affection for the people of China will remain.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá honored Mr. Uskt’ili with numerous Tablets, in one of which He wrote: "0 Namesake Of the Best Beloved!

“May my soul be a sacrifice to your name. May many lives be sacrificed for your name. May the bird of love sing upon your home, and may the bright dawn break your dark nights. These are because your name is famous, you are well esteemed, and you have achieved eternal happiness. You are under the shadow of the blessings of the Beauty of Abhz’i and the recipient of the bestowals of God. Be steadfast in servitude to the Greatest Name like this Servant so that your name may

Husayn Uskt'ili

become great and respected also in the Kingdom of Abhá."

Husayn Uskuli has many times been graciously mentioned in the beloved Guardian‘s loving messages. One of these reads:

“Please assure dear Mr. Uskuli that his devotion and his services are deeply appreciated and the Guardian attaches the greatest importance to his remaining in Shanghai. He strongly advises him, however, to be very discreet and to have as little as possible to do with the government authorities lest he jeopardize his position there as a Bahá’í."

In another message, written by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum on the Guardian‘s behalf on July 1, 1955 and signed by him. are these lines:

“Dear Spiritual Brother:

“Shoghi Effendi was very, very happy to hear from you after all these years. and to know that you are well, and still in Shanghai. He wants you to know that he admires your wonderful, selfless devotion to the Blessed Beauty, and the way you have remained in Shanghai, the land of your choice, through

[Page 873]lN MEMORIAM

all the changes the years have brought. He also greatly admires your devoted daughter and son—in-law. He hopes you will keep in good health, and that you will meet with success in your work, and assures you of his prayers. . . .

“May the Almighty bless your highly meritorious efforts, guide and sustain you in your historic task, and enable you to enrich the record of your splendid services.

Your true brother. SHOGHI."

With what joy and radiant spirit Husayn Uskt’lli must have ascended to the Kingdom Beyond on his release from the mortal cage in his eighty-first year, with such a blessed record of services to the Holy Threshold!

R. AND S. A. SULElMANl

ALBERT R. WlNDUST 1874—1956

“Deeply grieved passing much loved greatly admired staunch ardent promoter Faith. Albert Windust, Herald Covenant, whose notable services Heroic Formative Ages Faith unforgettable. Assure friends relatives fervently supplicating progress soul Kingdom.

SHOGHI"

Albert Robert Windust was born on Chicago's west side near Hull House on March 28, 1874. His parents were Thomas and Sarah Sheflield Windust. His father was a printer, who, shortly after Albert was born, moved with his family to a section of Chicago known as Woodlawn. They were members of the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Windust, a school teacher and a very active church worker, was the founder of the First Christ Church of Woodlawn (Episcopalian).

In his early years, Albert Windust was not physically strong and this may have accounted for the fact that he had very little formal schooling. He was tutored in his early years by his mother and entered a public school at

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Albert R. Windust

the fourth grade level. He ended his formal education in the sixth grade. Despite this. Albert Windust during his life attained a depth of knowledge and spiritual wisdom reached by very few.

At the age of fourteen Albert became an apprentice in the printing firm where his father worked. The following November his mother died.

His interest in nature awakened a desire to draw, and he became a pupil at Chicago's Art Institute. Through associations made in the printing business, he illustrated stories of many authors, including Opie Read and H. Rider Haggard.

Albert had an inquisitive and questioning nature. He learned of and became interested in the Bahá’í Faith. Word of this came to the ears of the minister of the Methodist Church of which he was a member. The sermon the following Sunday dealt with following false gods. While the sermon thundered around his ears, Albert Windust heard the words of the Lord that had been said to Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father‘s house, unto a land that I will shew thee." He left the church.

Thornton Chase, the first American believer,

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became instrumental in attracting a small group, among them Albert who, in 1897, became a Bahá’í and gave undeviating devotion to the Faith until the day of his death. He was unquestionably one of its strongest and most competent servants. No activity that concerned the Cause in America but was strongly influenced by his devoted efforts.

In 1900 he married Lucy Roberts and they had three daughters, Sarah, Isabelle and Ethel.

The list of Albert Windust’s achievements for the Bahá’í Faith is a long one. He was a member of the first Spiritual Assembly (Chicago). This body enjoyed the distinction of bearing the name of Baytu’l—‘Adl (House of Justice) and was so addressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a series of Tablets, the first of which, before it was dispatched from the prison of ‘Akká, had been engrossed by Miflkin-Qalam, the celebrated Persian penman, in all the known forms of Persian writing.

As a member of that first Assembly, Albert was active in carrying on correspondence with the Bahá’ís of the Orient which led to building the Bahá’í House of Worship in the United States. Through letters between the Bahá’ís of ‘Iflqabéd, Russia, and the “House of Spirituality” in Chicago, news was received concerning the erection of the House of Worship in ‘I$qabéd. This activity had been initiated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and was a marvelous means of stimulating the work of the Cause in America. Albert Windust was a member of the committee which drafted the supplication to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asking permission to erect a Bahá’í House of Worship in the United States.

Albert became the first publisher of the Writings of the Faith in America. He printed booklets, early editions of prayers, and the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh; in 1910 he founded and started printing the first Bahá’í monthly publication, Star of the West. In its early years this publication carried a Persian section. The Star of the West was circulated in the Orient and thus served to bring the oriental and occidental Bahá’ís into close contact. He gathered and published the wellknown three volumes of Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ from Tablets written to the Bahá’ís in North America. He also assisted Howard MacNutt in publishing the addresses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivered in the United States and Canada, in 1912, under the title Promulga THE BAHA’I WORLD

tion of Universal Peace. Albert also helped in the compilation and publication of the first five volumes of The Bahá’í World for the years 1926 to 1934.

In 1931 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. to Visit the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb and to see the Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi. He deemed it a privilege he was chosen by Shoghi Effendi to carry to the Holy Land the twenty original Tablets of the Bab reproduced in Shoghi Effendi’s translation of The Dawn-Breakers, published in 1932.

Albert, from the moment he heard of the Bahá’í Faith, was active in spreading it in America. He was a deep student of the Writings, an able speaker, a profound teacher of the Laws and Ordinances. His classes on the Covenant and Bahá’í Administration were most helpful both to newcomers and Bahá’ís of long association with the Faith. There was a freshness and vigor in his teaching; he radiated a love that reached the hearts. In his every-day life he demonstrated the power of the revealed Word of Bahá’u’lláh.

Albert Robert Windust will long be remembered. The inspiration of his faith and devotion has without doubt moved a great many souls into the orbit of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Here was a man who was truly a channel of a great spiritual force — it shone in his countenance. Its radiance was felt by all who knew him and its influence spread to all with whom he came in contact.

PRITAM SINGH 1881-1959

Professor Pritam Singh will always occupy a unique position in the history of the Bahá’í Faith in the Indian subcontinent as the first member of the Sikh community of India to accept Bahá’u’lláh as the Promised One. After accepting the Faith he devoted his entire life to the promotion of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. A very great number of people of this country who have heard about the Faith did so through Professor Pritam Singh, for he traveled far and wide to the remotest corners of this country in its service.

[Page 875]IN MEMORIAM

Professor Pritam Singh was born on November 16, 1881, in the family of ajudge in Sialkot City, now in West Pakistan. He studied in Amritsar, the holy city of Sikhs, and later on in Lahore he received his higher education in the University of Punjab. From 1905 to 1908 he was a teacher in the Achison College, Lahore. It was during this period that he came in contact with Mirza Mahmud Zarqani, a distinguished Bahá’í teacher and the compiler of the famous diary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels to Europe and America.

Later on in Bombay he met Mirza Mehram, and through the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh was won over to the Faith. Meanwhile, in 1909 for his postgraduate studies, he went to Calcutta to receive his Master’s Degree in Economics from that famous University. He became Reader of Economics in the University of Allahabad from 1917 to 1920. Up to 1927 he continued to be a professor in various universities, but his main interest was to teach the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh to his colleagues and students and to spend most of his time in promoting its interests. Therefore, he gave up his profession and served Bahá’u’lláh.

Professor Pritam Singh belonged to a wealthy family. His family was embarassed that he, with all his brilliant career and bright future, should leave not only his comfortable way of life, but also his hereditary religion. Therefore, they started to place Professor Pritam Singh under economic and other pressures. However, when their persuasions, flavored with the promise of a large fortune to be bequeathed to him by his father, failed, they even begged Professor Pritam Singh to remain a Bahá’í if he wanted to, but at least for the sake of the reputation of the family, to give up his public lectures and teaching tours. But the love of God was more precious to him than all the fortunes of the world. His firmness in the Faith did not waver with all these threats and persuasions. He asked his brothers to take care of all the wealth belonging to him and he, with freedom from all worldly attachments, engaged himself in the service of Bahá’u’lláh to his very last breath. On August 25, 1959 he died as a pioneer in Amritsar in the vicinity of the famous Golden Temple of Sikhs. He was buried as a Bahá’í.

He was one of the earliest secretaries of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India and continued to be a member of the

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Pritam Singh

National Assembly for a number of years. His contribution to the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh in this land is as outstanding as his teaching work.

Professor Pritam Singh has left a lasting impression in the pages of the history of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Cause in the Indian subcontinent. He, almost singlehanded, established a Bahá’í weekly, to be numbered among the first Bahá’í periodicals of the world. The name of this periodical was “The Bahá’í.” He was a distinguished writer. Some of his articles have been printed separately after their publication in various Bahá’í magazines, such as “The World Order,” “Kaukab-eHind,” “Payambar,” etc. Being well-versed in Persian, he acted as a unique interpreter to famous Bahá’í teachers of iran, visiting India. He was also a companion of Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler, Miss Martha Root, Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher and others in their Indian tours. Perhaps nobody else in this subcontinent has visited so many universities, colleges, clubs, societies, regional and national

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conferences throughout the length and breadth of India, Burma, and Pakistan, as Professor Pritam Singh did.

As a token of the appreciation of the Bahá’ís Of the country for his memorable services to the Cause of God, the National Spiritual Assembly has made plans to erect a tomb for Professor Pritam Singh in Amritsar.

On hearing the news of his passing to the Abhá Kingdom, the Bahá’ís of the subcontinent held memorial meetings and prayed for the progress of this precious soul, who was lovingly called by them “Pritam Kaka” (Uncle). The Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land communicated to the Bahá’ís of India the following cable expressing their sorrow over the loss of such a distinguished servant of Bahá’u’lláh:

“Grieve loss outstanding lndian believer Pritam Singh, distinguished teacher administrator Faith much loved praised by beloved Guardian. His devoted, untiring services so long period so many fields unforgettable. Praying shrines rich reward Kingdom.”

H. M. lLMt S. H. KORESHI

LOUlSA MATHEW GREGORY 1866—1956

“Grieved news passing faithful, consecrated handmaid ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Confident rich reward Kingdom. Pioneer serViees highly meritorious.

SHOGHI”

This cablegram attests the value of the teaching services performed by Louisa Mathew Gregory in the pioneering field of the Bahá’í Faith.

Born Louisa Mathew, on February 1, 1866 in southern England, she was raised in a large, comfortably wealthy family. Her parents were very advanced and liberal in their attitude toward education. Louisa not only received the conventional education of a girl of that time, but was permitted to attend Cambridge University. There she studied economics and languages, as well as voice culture. She received her Certificate of Education in 1895,

THE BAHA’l WORLD

following which she spent several years in social work.

Possessing a beautiful lyric soprano voice, she left England to pursue her musical studies in Paris. It was here she learned of the Bahá’í Faith. In a short time, after she had become a deeply confirmed believer in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, she was inflamed with a desire to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, who was at that time in Egypt. She wrote to Him, expressing her longing to see Him, and her happiness knew no bounds when she received permission to make the pilgrimage.

Time and again her carefully laid plans to travel to Egypt met with delays, but at last she set out to realize her fondest desire. From this moment her will was gently laid at the feet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Henceforth He was her guide and her Master.

From America there came to Egypt a tall, dark. Negro Bahá’í, his heart burning with love and an all-consuming desire to serve the Faith. He too had met with many delays in his attempt to reach the goal of his heart‘s desire, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Thus Louis Gregory and Louisa Mathew's pilgrimages coincided.

Louisa had to return to Paris before sailing to America. Thus it was that she met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá again in France, and came to America in 1912.

It was in America that one day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá summoned Louisa and Louis Gregory to His presence. He asked Louisa if she liked Louis. She stammered, “Yes." He further questioned her, “Do you love Louis?" She replied, “Yes, as a Bahá’í friend." To Louis, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá put the same questions and received similar answers. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá placed their hands together and married them in New York, on September 27, 1912. This became a tangible evidence of the power of the Bahá’í Faith to wipe out the barrier of color in marriage, a symbol of the Will of God as expressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and a living demonstration of the keynote of the unity of the races as sounded by Bahá’u’lláh.

Many were the cruel strictures which an unthinking and blindly prejudiced generation inflicted upon them. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was once informed by a visitor in Haifa that,“lt is not easy for them to travel together, and sometimes they cannot go to the same hotel." The Master replied emphatically that at Haifa they would be received with open arms.

[Page 877]IN MEMORIAM

Throughout the many years of their marriage, whether together in the northern states or in Haiti. or separated as they followed their individual paths of service in the southern states and in Europe, these two radiant souls kept the underlying significance of their union forever in their hearts. In a letter of July I, 1916, Louis wrote:

“My darling Wife:

Received a long, interesting and beautiful letter from Mrs. Brittingham. . . Reading this, I was most happy. as well as thankful to recall what was once told me by Mrs. True. She says that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked by someone about our marriage and replied: ‘Those two souls found each other.‘

“How grateful we should be to God for'

His great bounty and protection! This also explains some difficulties we have had, and how by divine favor, our lives grow more and more harmonious. . In 1920, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to Louisa:

"O thou revered wife of his honor, Gregory! Do thou consider what a bounty God hath bestowed upon thee in giving thee a husband like Mr. Gregory who is the essence of the love of God and is a symbol of guidance. .

In addition to the many bounties bestowed upon her by ‘Abdu'l—Baha and Shoghi Effendi during the lifetime of her dear husband, she was destined to survive him and witness that the Guardian of the Faith had conferred upon him the highest rank possible: after his death he became the first Negro Hand of the Cause.

In 1927, when Louis was devoting every moment of his time to extensive teaching trips throughout the United States, Louisa turned her steps toward Central Europe and joined Marion Jack in Sofia, Bulgaria. In April, 1928 with Martha Root, she attended the Esperanto Congress at Prague. It was in Sofia that Louisa used a technique of finding believers which has subsequently been used by Bahá’ís throughout the world. She gathered about her young students and business men. who were interested in learning French. English or Esperanto. After her classes were firmly established, she selected those who were receptive to the Faith, and from these she formed a new class to study the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

Summer, 1928 when the heat of the city became almost unbearable, Louisa wrote to Shoghi Effendi asking permission to return

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t0 the United States; she indicated in her letter that she would remain at her teaching post if he so desired. So confident was she that the Guardian would grant her permission that she booked her passage. But on the day before she was to leave, a letter came from Haifa saying that he wished her to remain in Sofia, and that he hoped there might be a strongly confirmed group of believers before she left. Hé wrote that he hoped Bulgaria would become illumined and illuminate all the Balkans. Although Louisa had believed that the group could carry on without her. she cancelled her passage and made plans to be away only for the summer months. She wrote to a friend, “I could not leave after such a message!"

Again she joined Martha Root, this time in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. From Belgrade she journeyed to Vienna to render much-appreciated assistance, later returning to Sofia, where she remained until sure the foundations of the Faith were secure.

In 1932, after attending the German Bahá’í Convention at Esslingen, Louisa returned to the States. She and Louis then spent their summers at Eliot, Maine, near the Green Acre Bahá’í Summer School, and eventually

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this became their permanent home. Here they welcomed people of all races and religious backgrounds, and furnished a unique inspiration to all who came in contact with them.

Louisa Gregory was shy and modest. She felt that her contribution to the Bahá’í Faith was to be made through “living the life.” Whether in Europe or America, her teaching work was always with individuals or small groups. She wrote:

“I feel that our unimportant selves can somehow achieve more than we dream of, even by the fact of trying our little best to lead a Bahá’í life and our feeble efforts to give the Message, even without being speakers in large gatherings. . .. We must all do our best to proclaim the Cause to the extent of our capacity, and feel the importance of this time when the urgency is so great.”

There existed for Louisa two great shining loves which dominated her life — her love for the Faith and her love for her husband. One could almost say that they were synonymous.

The life of Louisa Gregory is one which will continue for generations to inspire others. She walked the thorny pathway of life, serene in the knowledge that God had ordained for her that path and no other. Never did her feet deviate. She walked unhesitatingly through the bigotry and prejudice which were freely strewn in her way. With consummate dignity she became an example of self-sacrifice and radiant yielding to the decree of God, living out the years of her long life far from the comfort and security she knew as a girl in her English countryside home, to stand hand in hand with the husband she felt was her “gift from God.”

The end of this earthly life for Louisa Mathew Gregory came on May 20, 1956. She was laid to rest beside her husband Louis, (see The Bahá’í World, Volume XII, page 666) in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Eliot, Maine.

JOY HILL EARL

THE Bahá’í WORLD

EDITH DE BONS & JOSEPH DE BONS 1878—1959 1871—1959

Dr. Joseph de Bons was born in Switzerland on July 31, 1871 where he later became very successful in his profession. Edith McKay de Bons had lived most of her youthful years in Paris with her widowed mother, Madame Marie-Louise McKay. Edith had studied at the Conservatory in Paris for several years and took singing lessons. She began her singing career with Madame Marie Roge of the Opera of Paris, and was also instructed by Massenet and Cavallo.

I will quote from Edith de Bons’ own diary to describe her life as a Bahá’í:

“It was in 1900 that I became a Bahá’í: I was 21 years old. One evening (it was Christmas) I was invited to iny godfather‘s home and on entering the salon I saw an angelic creature. It was May Bolles, who later became May Maxwell, the mother of Rúḥíyyih Khánum. A mysterious force drew me to her and I said: ‘I believe that you have something to tell me’. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I have a message for you.’ She then disclosed to me this secret, which was the Bahá’í Faith.

“1 saw her many times, and she taught me the marvelous story of the Faith: the advent of the Báb, of Bahá’u’lláh, of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá whom she had gone to see in Haifa. I accepted the Faith and became the first believer in Paris. I always considered Mrs. Maxwell as my spiritual mother.

“Later, my mother, Madame Marie—Louise McKay, also became a Bahá’í, as did my friends H. Dreyfus and his wife, Madame L. Dreyfus-Barney, Edith Sanderson, and others. Thus was formed the small group, fervent and full of zeal, to whom one day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent this message:

‘To the servants and Handmaids of God in Paris: He is God. O my dear Friends, all the peoples of the world seek the shade of the fig tree which Jesus condemned, but you are under the shade of the Tree of Life, in the Center of the Paradise of Guidance. How great is your favor in the Kingdom of God that such grace and such blessing have been vouchsafed to you! Know ye to appreciate them and arise to accomplish that which beseems such a condition. All men are asleep; you are awake. All eyes are blind; yours are

[Page 879]IN MEMORIAM

seeing. All ears are deaf; your hearing is clear. All tongues are mute; you are eloquent. A11 humanity is dead, and you are full of life, vigor and force through the benefits of the Holy Spirit. Render thanks unto God, and, according to His divine teachings, be merciful and benevolent to all. With all your soul and with all your heart, be kind to your fellowmen. My blessings and praise be upon each one of you.’

“Next year, 1901, I persuaded my mother to make a pilgrimage to Haifa, and after a short stop in Cairo, where we met other believers, we arrived in the Holy Land.

“Several Bahá’ís were waiting for us at the port, and brought us to the house of Dr. and Mrs. Getsinger. It was evening, and we were to meet the Master at noon next day.

“After a restless night, we gathered in the dining room, when suddenly we heard a sonorous voice which we were never to forget, saying: ‘Welcome, welcome!’ All on our knees, we wept with joy and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá received us with infinite kindness. We then took place at the table and He, having broken the bread, served us with His heavenly smile.

“Those were two wonderful weeks. We would go each morning very early to the Master’s house and He wbuld teach us, answering our numerous questions, explaining the scriptures and many things we had ignored. There were always two or three interpreters for different languages. After that, the Master would dictate His Tablets, often two or three at the same time, answering hundreds of letters which He received; then all of a sudden He would rise and go towards the door where a crowd was waiting for Him. He would then go to town, visiting the poor and the sick and healing them. I witnessed some of these miraculous healings.

“One day He invited us to come to Bahjí; another day on Mount Carmel to Elijah’s cave. He walked ahead of us, with a light brisk step, turning round once in a while, to address some words to us.

“Sometimes the Master would ask me to sing in the evening on the terrace of the house, so that He could hear my voice from His own house. I sang ‘Holy City’ which He liked very much.

“How many lessons were learned! How

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many questions asked and answered. We were children in the Cause and needed to learn very much. It was in Haifa that I made the acquaintance of those admirable womenthe sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Greatest Holy Leaf, and His wife, the Holy Mother. Our Guardian was then an adorable little baby, so charming and intelligent. The Master was always ready to give us an audience; sometimes He asked to be alone with us, and although we could not converse, they were heavenly moments.

“Then came the time to leave. . . to leave this Paradise. But we took in our hearts so many precious things that our anguish was appeased. I came back to Paris and we started again our meetings with the friends. A year later, my mother being very tired, we decided to go to Switzerland. We chose Sion in the Canton of Valais, where the friends had a little pension. It was there that I met him who later became my husband, Dr. Joseph de Bons.

“My husband belonged to a very Catholic family; his father was a judge. He was a great mountaineer and made twice the ascent of Matterhorn with Whymper. Very capable in his profession, he had the opportunity to treat at Zermatt the §héh of Persia, who decorated him. It was a Persian Bahá’í friend, member of the party of the Persian Embassy in Cairo, who solemnly handed to him the decoration.

“He was very fond of nature, especially of

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flowers. He had a deep faith, though detached from the Church. As soon as I gave him the Bahá’í message, he accepted it with enthusiasm. Two years after the birth of our daughter Mona, we both made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to see the Master. This time it was in ‘Akká that we found Him.”

In a letter from Hotel Carmel, Haifa, Palestine, on February 5, 1906 my mother wrote: “Here I am again waiting impatiently for the blessed hourl. . .

“...A believer came to tell us that the Master was waiting for us and we at once took a carriage for ‘Akká. The carriage bounced 0n the cobblestones and stopped at a kind of fortress. We got off and were met at the door by a believer who showed us into a large room placed at our disposal. We rested a little while, and then I went to greet the family. Presently I heard the voice! Oh that voice, so well known, the memory of which had never left me! My feelings were stifling me... At last He was before me, speaking words of welcome. l threw myself at His feet and kissed His hands which he stretched out to me in His loving kindncss. We passed to our room, where my husband was waiting. The Master came forward, while my husband prostrated himself and the Master embraced him with ineffable kindness; the emotion of the believers was indescribable. We passed to the table placed on a small balcony overhanging a kind of oriental verandah. At the table were the Master, a believer, an Italian governess who taught the believers’ children, and we two. The Master introduced us to this lady who'was a Catholic, saying that her heart was very pure and though she was of another religion, He considered her as one of us. For, said He, only forms change, but the basis of all religions is the same. We must love all religions and live in harmony and love with one another. The difference between the Bahá’í Faith and other Faiths is that these last detest one another while the Bahá’í Faith must love the Truth which is contained in all other beliefs. After these words the Master rose and retired.

“February 8th. This morning after breakfast, the Master came for a moment into our room. He spoke of the tests which we would have to face in the Cause, saying: ‘God will

THE BAHA’l WORLD

prove the believers in such a way that those who are not entirely sincere will not be able to stand the tests. A believer is like gold which is tested by fire; the more he is burnt, the more beautiful and pure he will become; but copper, passed through fire, becomes black and decomposes. The Cause is now like a tiny seed planted in the ground. It is invisible, but soon the seed will become a tree and its branches will overshadow the earth. A believer is like a soldier who goes into the combat: the brave one will resist all day, but the fearful one will run away at the first shot.’

“Today the Master distributed alms to a number of poor at His door. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to see this moving sight, for, because of the government, we must not be seen in the street with Him.

“February 9th. Alas, today is the last day !the end of this wonderful dream, for here, it seems that life ends and it is already the peace of heaven that begins.

“This morning I was permitted to come to the Master’s room very early; the family and the servants gathered there for morning prayers. The Master was sitting on the divan in the corner of the room, showing with kindness their place to each new arrival. Being placed almost directly opposite Him, 1 dared surreptitiously to lift my eyes to His countenance. No words are able to render the beauty, the holy radiance of that unique Being. The eyes especially were extraordinary: now penetrating and as piercing as steel, now of ineflable sweetness. A lofty brow, deeply furrowed — a brow of a thinker and a sage; the waving hair, almost entirely white, descending to the shoulders; a white heard, a thin ascetic face, a mobile and extremely sensitive mouth. Of medium height, the Master’s deportmznt had an extraordinary, superhuman majesty which strikes all those who see Him for the first time. He usually passes suddenly from absolute immobility to the highest point of activity. His voice is strong and deep and carries a penetrating authority. Five years ago I had never heard the Master laugh, though He always smiled when His eyes met mine. But this year He laughed frequently, especially when talking to my husband and Mr. Woodcock. He was made very happy, it was said, by the news received: the Cause was making great progress.

[Page 881]IN MEMORIAM 881

“These unforgettable days over, we returned to Switzerland, but the Orient drew us irresistibly, and presently we decided to settle in Cairo. My husband established there his practice as dental surgeon, and I opened a school of singing. Those were happy years. My little daughter was with us and we associated a great deal with Bahá’ís. ln Cairo we were surrounded by friends, and attended Bahá’í meetings every Friday. Among others there were Abu'l-Fadl, Ahmad Yazdi, Mrs. Stannard, Miss Hiscox.

“The Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, passed through Alexandria in l9ll and we visited Him. . . .

“When the war of 1914 broke out, we had to leave Cairo where there was no more work for us and the climate too trying for my daughter. We returned to Switzerland in 1916. .. I wrote to the Master, telling Him of my discouragement at my failure. He answered among other things: ‘. . . Thou hast written concerning the errors and negligence of the Swiss people. Before long, thou wilt see that the Light of attraction will become efficacious in that region and finally that country will be illumined. . . .’

“And finally, here we are at the end of our lives. My husband, bedridden and very sick, but more Bahá’í than ever. Myself, unable to do the work I should like to do for the Faith. Nevertheless, we both cherish in our hearts the memory of the happy days when the Master wrote to us:

‘O ye two lamps enlightened by the radiance of the love of God! Your letter has arrived and the contents understood. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has deep love for you and prays in your behalf that you be assisted in this life and in the

Kingdom. . .‘ " In November, 1959 in the presence of several Bahá’í friends, a monument was

inaugurated in memory of Joseph and Edith de Bons. The monument is a great block of silver granite surmounted by a bronze eagle, and the eagle was given by the American Government to Edith de Bons’ father, Colonel McKay, for services rendered during the War of Secession. Under the bronze eagle is a parchment roll on which are engraved the words of Bahá’u’lláh:

“Verily we are from God and to Him we shall return."

This beautiful monument, situated on the shores of the Lake of Geneva where ‘Abdu’l Baha once stayed, will remain as a witness of the fidelity of these two servants of God in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

MONA HAENNI DE BONs

DIA‘U‘LLAH ASQflARZADlH 1880—1956

Dia'u‘llah Asgharzeidih was born in Milan. Persian Aflirbayjan in 1880. His father was at that time already a believer, as were other members of his family. His mother‘s family were believers in the time of the Báb. In about 1895 the whole family migrated to‘lshqétbad in what was then Russian Turkistan, and there Dia‘u'llah was very active in the Bahá’í community, playing an important role on the committee responsible for the Bahá’í schools.

Mr. Asgharzadih made his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1903, where he spent several months in the presence of the Master. and in 1920 he was a pilgrim for the second time. It was on this occasion that he brought to Haifa the beautiful silk carpet which the Master personally laid in the Inner Shrine of Baha‘u‘lláh. This carpet had been specially woven for the Emir of Bokhara but on account of the Russian Revolution it could not be delivered. Dia'u’llah Asgharzadih bought it and brought it with great difficulty out of Russia and through India to the Holy Land. Some years later Shoghi Effendi, with Dia’s approval presented it to the Mother Temple of the West at Wilmette, where it now hangs in Foundation Hall.

After his second pilgrimage Dia went to live in London where he carried on business as a carpet merchant until he pioneered in the Ten—Year Crusade. He knew the beloved Guardian well, who loved and trusted him greatly.

In 1921 at the time of the passing of‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Mr. Asgharzadih had just received permission for a further pilgrimage and when he arrived in Haifa he was given by the Guardian the privileged task of making copies of the Master's Will and Testament, from the original document, to be sent to

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Dia’u’lláh Asgharzédih

Persia, Turkistan and other eastern communities.

A few years later he married an English lady and they had three daughters. Dia was an active supporter of the London community and was a member of the British National Spiritual Assembly for various periods from 1925 until 1941. When the Ten-Year Crusade commenced in 1953, he was eager to play his part and before the end of that year, though well over seventy years of age, he had left England and settled in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. There he worked actively to make the Faith known and made many friends for the Cause in the island.

He passed on, still at his post, after an illness of some length, in April 1956. His tombstone records that he was a Bahá’í pioneer and a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.

DOROTHY FERRABY

BEATRICE IRWIN 1 877—1 956

“Grieved passing steadfast devoted indefatigable promoter Faith. Reward assured Kingdom. Praying progress soul.

SHOGHI”

Such was the passport of Beatrice Irwin to the Abhá Kingdom, when, on March 20,

THE Bahá’í WORLD

1956 in San Diego, California, she departed from this world. She was born July 16, 1877 in the Himalayan mountains in the family of a British national of Irish descent. The granddaughter of a distinguished surgeon, Sir John Hall, K.C.B., she was educated at Cheltenham College and at Oxford. She was a member of the Illuminating Engineering Societies of England and of America, a founder-member of the Electrical Association for Women, an inventor of color filter illumination which she installed at the Barcelona International Exposition and in such world-famous buildings as the Palais de Glace, Paris; Shepheard’s Hotel, Cairo; the Berkeley Hotel, London; the Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco; and in hotels and expositions of many other countries.

She became a Bahá’í in Paris in 1911, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was there.

“Beatrice Irwin, a blond, young intellectual,” Mme. Laura Dreyfus-Barney has written, “had come to Paris to study her profession. .. She had an unusual gift for color and for the use of light and shadow. . . To her, beauty was an expression of spirituality. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to stay in Paris he held small gatherings. . . Beatrice Irwin was often present.” Many years later she recalled how she had been “privileged to meet Him daily. . . and to marvel at the universality of His knowledge. . . and the breadth and depth of His sympathy with the realities of existence.”

In 1914 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed for her one of His most important messages on war and peace. A closing paragraph contains the theme which, above all others, was the guiding star of her life:

“O people! . . . Hasten ye, hasten ye, perchance ye may become able to extinguish with the water of the new-born ideals of spiritual democracy and celestial freedom, this many-flamed, world-consuming fire, and through your heaven-inspired resolution you may usher in the golden era of international solidarity and world confederation.”

Miss Irwin had endowment and training for a bright and versatile career. At one time she was an actress and played with Sir Henry Irving and Sir Charles Wyndham. She was the author of two professional books, The New Science of Color and The Gates of Light; of a book of poems, The Pagan Trinity; and

[Page 883]IN MEMORIAM

of a collection of Bahá’í poems and essays dedicated to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entitled Heralds of Peace. Of her, Richard Le Gallienne wrote that she had the “right to a high place among living poets.” All her life she was moved by the Master’s wish “that you will continue to pour the pearls of your thought into poetry.” Through her attainments she had access to many important platforms and leading personalities. She spoke of the Faith to H.R.H. Feisal of Saudi Arabia, President Cardenas of Mexico, Rodin, Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Luther Burbank, Jan Masaryk, Mme. Chiang Kai-shek, and many others. In twelve countries of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America she spoke on the radio, gave public lectures, and arranged important book exhibits and exhibits of the model of the American Bahá’í Temple. She played an active part in the Bahá’í campaign during the first United Nations Conference in San Francisco in 1945. “Indefatigable promoter” of the Faith she truly was!

About 1930 she visited the Guardian in Haifa. Here her talents were galvanized and focused, for the rest of her life, on one supreme end. Her best and most fruitful years came after‘sixty. In four pioneer missions, at least two of which (Mexico and Tunis) were undertaken at the suggestion of the Guardian, she achieved historic services.

The first was her residence in Mexico, in 1937, when she broke the ground for the collective teaching under the first Seven-Year Plan, and widely scattered the seed for future harvests. In 1941—42, Miss Irwin spent six months in Brazil under the auspices of the Pan-Pacific Press Association. She utilized every moment and every opportunity to advance the knowledge of the Faith.

In 1948 she again preceded a teaching plan; this time the Five-Year Plan of the Egyptian NSA. When she arrived in Tunis there were only seven Bahá’ís. She became very active: weekly conferences in the Public Library were well attended by professional people, a broadcast was made, Feasts were re-established, the SpiritualAssembly organized, and a short circuit of southern cities of Tunisia was made during her five-months’ stay.

Miss Irwin was blessed to continue her pioneer services nearly to her life’s end. She

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Beatrice Irwin

returned to Spain in her mid—seventies, to the Island of Mallorca, in 1954. Despite two accidents, and her health being far from what she demanded of it, she visited many parts of the Island. The most happy outcome of her journey was that Dona Carmen Nieto de Miguel, first Spanish believer of the Balearic Islands and wife of a famous Spanish painter, in whose home Miss Irwin lived, became a Bahá’í.

Bold advocate, intrepid herald, brave soldier of Bahá’u’lláh, her thoughts were centered on the unfoldment of the New Day. She was a woman emancipated from the Victorian society of her childhood. Adventurous and fearless, she traveled the wide world, was known in professional and artistic circles, might indeed have gone far had she bent her will and intellect to personal success. But she chose the way of sacrifice, to walk ahead of her time, to expend her personal powers in the service of Bahá’u’lláh. Her life was not easy. She knew loneliness, insecurity, frustration. But this was not her true image. In the divinely inspired utterances of ‘Abdu’l [Page 884]884

Baha we may best seek and find the reality of Beatrice Irwin:

“. . . For the sake of the love of God thou art a wanderer and traveler over mountain and desert and art the wooer of the Heavenly Beloved. Today thou livest in the city and at night thou passest 0n the plain and beyond the hills. Thou hast no other aim save the diffusion of the fragrances of God and entertainest no other object except the enkindlement of the fire of the love of God. . . Because thine intention is sincere and thy aim high it is certain that thou wilt become confirmed in the service of the Kingdom of God."

MARION HOFMAN

VICTORIA BEDIKIAN 1879—1955

Mrs. Victoria Bedikian was one of seven sisters of the Schnabel family and was born in Boise, Idaho, February 9, 1879. All seven sisters were educated in art and music, both in the United States and in Germany.

While still young, she became deaf. This affliction caused her to abandon her musical career and to devote herself entirely to art. Her husband, Madris Bedikian, a native of Armenia, was an ardent admirer of Abraham Lincoln and, in accordance with her husband‘s wishes, Mrs. Bedikian painted many portraits of Lincoln which were given as gifts to the mayors of various cities in New Jersey for the city halls.

In 1912 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in the United States He sometimes visited the oriental art shop of Mr. Bedikian in Montclair, New Jersey. There Mrs. Bedikian had a memorable meeting with Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, with Whom she later corresponded, asked her to devote her art to the Faith, and this service was rendered gloriously and uninterruptedly to the very last day of her life.

At one time Mrs. Bedikian cared for as many as forty orphans in her own home. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at that time wrote to her: “None is more favored in the Abhá Kingdom than thee for the work thou hast done for the children. . .” It was this group of children

THE BAHA’l WORLD

Victoria Bedikian

who firstcalled Mrs. Bedikian “Auntie Victoria“ —the name which she cherished and was lovingly known by for the rest of her life. Having had no children of her own, she adopted one son.

Auntie Victoria never missed an opportunity to give the Message. She had a very keen sense of humor. She detached herself from everything save God. Her only material possessions were a tiny typewriter and her art materials and the little black books containing names and addresses of Bahá’ís all over the world which she guarded with her life.

After the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 192], Shoghi Effendi directed her continuously in her work, guiding her as had ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In 1926 he wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada: “I have specially requested that indefatigable pioneer of the Cause of God, our well—beloved Bahá’í sister, Mrs. Victoria Bedikian, to concentrate for the present all the resources of her mind and heart upon this vast and vital undertaking. I have urged her to direct her energies to this lofty purpose, and by the aid of her most

[Page 885]IN MEMORIAM

valuable letters arouse both the East and the West to a fresh consciousness of the significance and urgency of the object you have set yourselves to achieve." (The erection of the Bahá’í Temple.)

In the early days of her Bahá’í activities Auntie Victoria wrote to the children of many lands, organizing children‘s Gardens of Fellowship, giving each “garden" the name of a flower. The Guardian at that time told her that these gardens of fellowship would serve as seeds for future Bahá’í communities. Auntie Victoria also inspired the editing and publishing of a little magazine at this time called “Children of the Kingdom," in which the various children’s gardens all over the world were pictured and written about.

In 1927 Auntie Victoria spent three months in Haifa with the family of ‘Abdu’l-Bahz’t as guest of the Guardian, having traveled there with Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler. Her meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the United States, and the Guardian and the Greatest Holy Leaf (sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá) in Haifa, were the highlights of her life. Many were the times that these experiences were told with great fervor to the friends wherever she traveled.

After Mr. Bedikian‘s passing, Auntie Victoria made an extended trip, in 1945, from the east coast to the west coast and the south to the north of the United States, by Greyhound bus. She traveled four times around the entire country after she had reached the age of seventy years, visiting various groups and communities and encouraging them in their Bahá’í activities. In August 1952, she suffered a severe heart attack. She was obliged to settle down and spent the last three years of her life in Atlanta, Georgia.

Auntie Victoria‘s inspirational letters with Bahá’í quotations and her own artistically spiritual drawings continued to go out to all parts of the world, to the very end of her earthly life which came on the evening of July 3, 1955.

On hearing of her passing, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, sent this cablegram to the secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Atlanta: “Praying progress soul indefatigable, wholly consecrated promoter of the Faith. Her services unforgettable. Love.”

A beautiful funeral service was held in Atlanta for her on July 6, 1955 and her earthly

885

remains were laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery near where she had lived. The grave is on the side of a hill, facing the east as she had requested.

Memorial services were held for Auntie Victoria on August 14, 1955 in many Bahá’í communities of India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon, South East Asia, Indonesia and Islands of the Indian Ocean, where the loving influence of her letters had awakened many hearts.

DORIS EBBERT OLGA FINKE

ABBASALLY BUTT 1894—1959

Mr. Abbasally Butt, member of the Auxiliary Board of the Hands of the Cause in Asia and one of the stalwarts of the Cause in India, passed to the Abhá Kingdom on April 21, 1959 at Rangoon, Burma, where he had gone to help the Bahá’í friends in establishing the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Burma. The account of his unforgettable, untiring services and sacrifices will always adorn the pages of the history of the Faith from the closing phase of the Apostolic Age and the beginning of the Formative Age of Bahá’í history.

When a youth, Mr. Butt fell seriously ill in Calcutta and was taken care of by a Bahá’í friend in that city who served him till he regained his health. In order to repay his debt to this friend Mr. Butt asked what he could do for him. The friend requested him to help translate The Kittib-i-iqzin (Book of'Certitude) into Urdu. This was his first introduction to the Bahá’í Faith and the beginning of his career as an able translator of the Bahá’í Writings into Urdu. The Bahá’ís of India will always feel grateful towards Mr. Abbasally Butt who either directly enlightened them, or through his outstanding translations of Bahá’í literature, such as The Kitdb—i—itltin, Balid‘u'[hill and the New Era, Some Answered Questions and a score of other books and booklets, increased their knowledge of their Faith.

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Abbasally Butt

Mr. Abbasally Butt was born at Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 1894, in the family of a Kashmiri Muslim shawl merchant. He was a graduate in arts and also a bachelor of education. Later on he qualified himself in the Persian language in the University of Punjab. His first job was that of headmastership of the Muslim High School at Rangoon from which he was expelled by the school authorities for his being an active Bahá’í. Then he joined the St. Gabriel Mission High School, Rangoon, as a teacher of Persian. From those early days his attachment to and love for the Bahá’ís of Burma took deep root in his heart and he always longed to breathe his last when he was in Burma with Bahá’í friends there.

Mr. Butt was fortunate in having received close and constant companionship of early believers in Burma who achieved historic accomplishments in that country. Along with the friends of famous Siyyid Mustapha Rfimi who, after his death, was numbered by our beloved Guardian among the Hands of the Cause, Mr. Butt was fortunate to be among those few who had the privilege of carrying the marble box, prepared in Burma

THE Bahá’í WORLD

at the instructions of the beloved Master, to enshrine the precious remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel.

In 1913 he was again called by the beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to the Holy Land. There he was engaged in translating Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the Western friends and also translating their letters to the Master. However, when the first World War began, he was forced to leave Haifa and return to India to continue his meritorious services in various fields of activity.

His contribution to the Bahá’í administrative activities is no less outstanding than his teaching and translation work. For years he was the chairman or the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, Pakistan and Burma. He will be remembered as the first member of the Asian Auxiliary Board to be appointed in India. This gave him still another opportunity to increase his wonderful services in spite of his ill health and weak physical constitution.

The Bahá’ís will always remember Mr. Abbasally Butt as an example of devotion and sincerity to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and for his manifold services in this subcontinent.

As a token of appreciation for his long service, the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land cabled their decision to erect a befitting memorial on his grave in Rangoon, Burma: “Deeply regret passing distinguished member Indian community, long standing, faithful, devoted servant Bahá’u’lláh Abbasally Butt. Services National Assembly, Auxiliary Board, teaching field unforgettable. Passing Rangoon crowns selfless labors Faith. Praying Shrines progress soul joyful reunion beloved Guardian Abhá Kingdom. Advise hold memorial meetings. Hands Cause will build grave.”

H. M. ILMI S. H. KORESHI

ANTHONY YUEN SETO 1890—1957

“Grieved sudden loss dear husband, valued consecrated, high-minded promoter Bahá’í Faith. Record his deeply appreciated services, both America Asia unforgettable. Reward great Kingdom. Assure loving, fervent prayers progress soul.”

Cablegram from SHOGHI EFFENDI

[Page 887]IN MEMORIAM

Anthony Yuen Seto was born in Hanapepe, Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, November 18, 1890. He was descended from a long-lived family, strong morally, physically and mentally. In childhood he attended the public schools in Hanapepe and Honolulu, Hawaii, and later in San Rafael, California. In the year 1906, he went with his father to Detroit, Michigan, and there he entered Cass Technical High School. After graduation, he decided to study engineering and entered the University of Michigan. After two years’ study of engineering he changed to law and was graduated from the Detroit College of Law. He first practiced his profession in Honolulu, Hawaii, and later in the State of California. In 1950 he retired from his profession owing to a heart ailment. In his profession he was well versed in immigration law, and many of his countrymen will remember him for his able handling of their cases.

He was kind, generous, patient, with capacity for sacrifice. He possessed quiet courage, a characteristic of the Chinese, as I came to know them in their land. Besides being an attorney, Anthony was a business man and made wise investments in real estate and advised his people along business lines.

Anthony’s way of life was that of the pioneer. He was one of the first young men of Chinese ancestry to enter the legal profession and one of the first to practice law in the Territory of Hawaii. He was also one of the first Chinese attorneys to be admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of the United States. He was the first and only Chinese believer in the Bahá’í Faith in the Hawaiian Islands, and until a few years ago the only Chinese Bahá’í in America.

In the autumn of the year 1916, Charles Mason Remey, distinguished architect, and one of the first Bahá’ís in America, went to Honolulu together with the late George Latimer, and remained for six months for the purpose of teaching the Bahá’í Faith. Meetings were held weekly at the home of Dr. and Mrs. George J. Augur who were then residing in Japan and teaching the Faith in that land. These meetings were well attended. Here were gathered the humble, the well-known, artists, business and professional people. In addition to the townspeople, many tourists came to learn of this new Faith. In 1916 Anthony and I accepted the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. In

887

Anthony Yuen Seto

1917, the United States entered the first World War and Anthony’s time and attention were taken up with his work at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, where he was in training at the Reserve Officers Training Camp.

A group of devoted believers resided in Honolulu for a number of years, at whose homes the friends gathered for Bahá’í affairs. After we established a home our place was open for classes to study the Bahá’í teachings, and for meetings of various kinds, including the holding of Feast Days, Anniversaries and Holy Days. From then on, Anthony served in many ways: He was elected chairman of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Honolulu and served for several years thereafter in that capacity. He spoke at meetings for the believers and at public ones. He also aided with the work for the children.

In Honolulu, where Anthony was well known, he boldly proclaimed the Faith: Through him his business and professional associates, friends and others learned of this world religion. The degree to which he was recognized not only as a lawyer but also as a devout follower of the Bahá’í Faith is recorded in the following tribute paid to him in a resolution by the members of the Bar of the Supreme Court, Territory of Hawaii, on October 15, 1957:

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. . He was admitted to practice before this Court in 1916, and excepting for a period of two years when he served our Country in World War I, he carried on the legal profession in Honolulu very commendably until 1932. when he moved on to San Francisco, California, where he continued his legal career, retiring seven years before his decease on May 6, 1957, in Tokyo, Japan. A sincere disciple of the Bahá’í Faith, he taught, lectured, and practiced the ideals, precepts, and tenets thereof. In the last few years of his life he devoted his full time to disseminating the teachings of that Faith in the Orient, particularly in Hong Kong A man of strong religious convictions, he was honest. forthright, and scrupulous to a fault. For his hard work and conscientious efforts, he prospered in his business, and as a lawyer he was a credit to the profession.

“Now, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Bar of this Court, that out of respect to the memory of ANTHONY YUEN SETO, this memorial be spread upon the minutes of this Court, and that a copy thereof be forwarded to his widow and family."

In San Francisco, where we resided from 1932 through 1954, Anthony practiced law and engaged in real estate transactions. At the same time, he served faithfully the Cause he loved. Here was a wider field for his activities. He served from time to time as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly, spoke at meetings and gave talks at the Geyserville Summer School. He also assisted several Bahá’í communities with their incorporation papers.

We returned to Honolulu for the summer and autumn of 1941. At that time the Honolulu Bahá’í Community had set the date for the dedication of its newly constructed center. Anthony was one of the speakers on this important occasion. He prepared a very scholarly paper on the Faith, with an interesting background telling of the contributions and sacrifices of the early missionaries in bringing the Christian Faith to the Hawaiian Islands.

In the summer of 1943, the vsork of the Fiist Seven-Year Plan, launched in 1937, was nearing its close. There were places in Canada where Bahá’í teachers were needed. We volunteered and went to the Maritime Provinces. We taught in Charlottetown,

THE BAHA’l WORLD

Prince Edward Island; Moncton, New Brunswick; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. On this trip, Anthony‘s value as a pioneer became apparent. His genial manner made friends for him instantly. He could with ease become acquainted with people. In approaching editors, his friendliness won for us their help. These kindly Scotch editors printed every article presented to them without any change whatsoever.

With the launching of the Ten-Year Crusade in 1953, a plan designed to bring the Bahá’í teachings to all parts of the globe, there cam: the call for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh to go to near and distant parts of the world to teach the Faith. We planned to answer our beloved Guardian‘s wish. A year later, one of the places not yet open was the Crown Colony of Hong Kong. On a clear, bright autumn day in 1954 we arrived there.

Again Anthony‘s value as a pioneer became evident. In Hong Kong he met former classmates, clients and friends;toeaeh one Anthony gave the teachings and told of his reason for being in Hong Kong.

Early in 1956, Anthony became ill with a return of heart trouble and steadily grew worse, until in September it beeam: necessary for us to return to California. After five months‘ time, he improved in health and we returned to Hong Kong. On our return he expressed a strong desire to attend the Convention to be held in Tokyo for the purpose of electing the first Regional National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia.

He was the only Chinese believer present at the convention, which fact he mentioned many times and deeply regretted. All went well and he thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the trip and the interesting sessions of the Convention, particularly the uplifting message of our beloved Guardian covering the progress of the Ten-Year Crusade.

His last day on earth was a happy one. A trip to the ancient and historic town of Kamakura where we beheld the colossal statue of the Buddha, built in the twelfth century, and a happy dinner hour with fellow believers closed the day and we were ready to depart for Hong Kong, our home.

Then the airline limousine that failed to arrive and a taxicab that came fifteen minutes late caused a delay of forty minutes in starting for the airport. This delay shortened greatly

[Page 889]IN MEMORIAM

our time for clearing customs. The haste, anxiety and strain were too much for Anthony‘s weakened heart. On reaching the plane, he collapsed and died within a few minutes. So ended, on May 6, 1957, his service to the Faith that he had embraced as a young man and had served faithfully for forty years of his life.

Interment took place in Yokohama at noon on May 8. Nine believers representing iran and the United States were present and they chanted and read prayers and verses from the Holy Utterances. In the evening of the same day in an atmosphere of reverence, an impressive memorial service was held at the Bahá’í Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Tokyo; Twentythree believers representing Japan, iran and the United States gathered to hear the revered Guardian‘s loving cablegram of sympathy and appreciation, and to listen to messages from relatives and from believers in different parts of the world. After selections from the Writings on life eternal were read, a resume of Anthony’s life‘work for the Faith was given.

Laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery of Yamatemachi 0n the blufi” in the city of Yokohama, he sleeps in a country he admired and loved—Japan, Land of the Rising Sun.

Today believers and friends from Yokohama, Tokyo and nearby places come to his grave and keep his memory alive by their frequent visits, floral gifts and loving prayers.

A letter from the Guardian, through his secretary, to the newly-elected National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of North East Asia, gives a final tribute to the services of Anthony Seto:

“The work so faithfully carried on by the American and Persian pioneers, has born its first fruit. The long and loyal services of dear Agnes Alexander, who so faithfully carried out the beloved Master‘s wishes and served the spiritual interests of Japan for decades, has been richly crowned. Even the death of the devoted pioneer, Mr. Anthony Seto, has added a blessing to the work in that region, for he served in spite of failing health and remained at his post to be laid to rest in a distant land, his very dust testifying to the greatness of the love and nature of the ideals Bahá’u’lláh has inspired in His servants."

MAMu-z L. SETO

889

EDITH SANDERSON

Immediately upon hearing of the death of Edith Sanderson, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, sent this telegram t0 the Spiritual Assembly of Paris:

“Deeply grieved. Deplore loss staunch, courageous, tireless promoter Faith, Edith Sanderson, greatly beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Long record historic services covering heroic, formative age Faith imperishable, reward Abhá Kingdom great, assured. Urge believers centers France hold memorial gathering. extol exemplary spirit, emulate noble example. Exert utmost burial Paris execution Bahá’í laws."

Edith Sanderson, one of the first pioneers of the Bahá’í Faith in France, taught by that distinguished Bahá’í, May Bolles Maxwell, has finished her life on earth; but the Guardian assures us of her entrance into the Abhá Kingdom. Even in the sadness of separation, we must rejoice in her attainment to a higher state of being.

Her life among us was long and beneficent. An American, she passed her earliest years with her family in Sacramento, capital of California, where her father was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that State. After his death, Mrs. Sanderson took her four daughters to Europe to finish their education. They settled in Paris, where the eldest, Sybil Sanderson, became one of the great opera singers of the end of the nineteenth century. The composer Massenet dedicated to her several operas, in which she created the roles composed for her.

In 1901, the youngest sister, Edith, became a Bahá’í and went several times to the Holy Land, where she lived with the family of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. These visits were the happiest periods of her life. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to Paris in 1912, she had the joy and honor of receiving Him in the home of her mother on Avenue MalakoFf.

During the two world wars, Edith Sanderson did everything in her power to preserve in France the flame of the Bahá’í Faith. Her study of the teachings of the Báb, of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was continuous and profound, and with her growing knowledge of Persian she achieved an ever more direct comprehension of Their Writings. Although fragite in appearance, she had rare will-power

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Edith Sanderson

and fidelity, and she displayed a courage almost heroic in spreading the Bahá’í Faith in a country where it found littl: response.

From the time of her conversion to the end of her life, she gathered in her home seekers of the truth. She kept well-informed of the current writers of our epoch, such as Lecomte du Noiiy, Father Teilhard du Chardin, and Simone Weill, and consequently had contact with writers or groups who were interested in social and spiritual questions.

She was a force in these uncertain times, a hope in hours of desolation; she gave to the point of exhaustion of her time and her means.

Like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, she loved nature: flowers, trees, the sea, the beauty of clouds. She lived in a rarified atmosphere. Her many ordeals could not efface the charm of her countenance.

Let us give homage by our deeds to her whom we loved, who knew how to live as a true Christian and a true Bahá’í.

L. D. BARNEY

THE BAHA’l WORLD

ANNEMARIE SCHWEIZER

One of the earliest Bahá’ís in Germany, Annemarie Schweizer was affectionately known as “Tante Mariele” to many Bahá’ís throughout the world, as well as in Germany. She and her husband, Friedrich Schweizer had the great privilege of becoming Bahá’ís before World War 1. She followed the path of Bahá’u’lláh with great enthusiasm, and taught indefatigably in women’s clubs and associations and wherever there was an opportunity to do so.

In the years 1911 and 1913, in Paris, Stuttgart and Esslingen, Frau Schweizer several times met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who honored her by staying in her home in StuttgartZufienhausen, Friesenstrasse 26. Since that time this home has been a center of activity among the Bahá’ís in Germany. From here communications went out to the whole world. To this home came letters from Bahá’ís of all countries. Friends visiting Stuttgart found their way to this home. One could almost say, “Who did not know Annemarie Schweizer? Who has not already heard of her?”

Frau Schweizer taught the Bahá’í Faith in its early years in Germany; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá greatly appreciated her efforts. After His passing she held fast to His Will and Testament; all doubts which arose in those years rebounded from her as from steel. She became one of the mothers of the German Bahá’í community and a light in the European mother—community of Stuttgart.

In the spring of 1934 she was privileged to visit the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in Haifa. She returned with new impetus to activate the teaching efforts. During the prohibition of the Faith under Hitler she was taken by the Gestapo, was tried before a court and sentenced. After 1945 she was again teaching the Faith, and undertook trips to visit old friends and to contact and win new ones. Whenever there was a meeting in the German Bahá’í community—teaching conferences, summer schools, regional, national and intercontinental conferences—she was present. She was vivacious, generous and friendly to the last hour of her earthly life.

As she had always wished, death came to her among the friends at the Summer School in Esslingen, on August 23, 1957 in her

[Page 891]IN MEMORIAM 891

Annemarie Schweizer

seventy-third year. A sudden heart attack took her from our midst. Although in the spring she had for days hovered between life and death, she still spared no effort to help the friends and strengthen them in the teachings. Annemarie Schweizer is immortal in German Bahá’í history. Her home she gave in her will to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany.

When the Guardian was informed of her passing, he sent the following cablegram:

“Grieve passing distinguished handmaid Center Covenant much loved deeply admired Annemarie Schweizer. Record notable services closing years Heroic, three decades Formative Ages Bahá’í Dispensation imperishable. Reward great Kingdom. Fervently praying progress soul.”

MRS. ZARRINTAJ AFRUQITIH 1896—1954

“Grieve passing distinguished handmaid Center Covenant reward great Kingdom praying progress soul example she set worthy emulation spiritual sisters Persia,” is the text

of Shoghi Effendi’s telegram concerning the departed soul of Mrs. Zarrintaj Afrfifltih.

She passed away in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika, where she left a brilliant name and set a high example in the fulfilment of the wishes of the beloved Guardian. She was given the gift of being one of the pioneers of the early stage of our spiritual Ten-Year Crusade to Africa. With a weak body attacked by grave illness (cancer of the throat) and an exalted spirit inspired and blessed by the Blessed Beauty she rose and won the victory in the service of our beloved Faith.

She was a granddaughter of Razal-Rooh who was one of the renowned souls who served the Faith. Her father was Colonel Hadi gain, a high-ranking chemist in the Persian army. She married Dr. Youness Aer’ik_htih who was the personal secretary and interpreter of the Beloved Master for nine years in Haifa. She was well educated and received her diploma in midwifery from the American Hospital in Ṭihrán. She took an active part in different Bahá’í committee work in Ṭihrán and accompanied her husband in some of his teaching campaigns. She left two daughters who, with their families, are pioneering in East Africa.

Zarrintaj AfrfiLhtih

[Page 892]892

In spite of being in bed all the time, Mrs. Afrl’ifltih was crowned with an historic service in Dar—es—Salaam. For example, on her request and encouragement the Spiritual Assembly applied to the government for a plot of land for a Bahá’í cemetery and thus could receive the precious appreciation of the beloved Guardian for being the first community in the Ten-Year Crusade to secure a Bahá’í cemetery in Central and East Africa.

Her funeral set for the first time before non—Bahá’í onlookers was an example of racial and religious unity of people of different backgrounds.

A few months later one of the Bahá’í pilgrims returning from Haifa brought a bottle of attar-of—rose which Shoghi Effendi had specially sent for the grave of this dear pioneer. In accordance with his wish its precious contents were sprinkled on her tomb as a symbol to all the friends ofhow much the beloved Guardian had appreciated her spirit and services.

DR. K. M. FOZDAR 1898—1958

On the night of April 26, 1958, Dr. K. M. Fozdar, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, and the first Indian Parsi to accept the Bahá’í Faith passed away in Singapore suddenly, while talking with his wife Shirin.

Dr. Fozdar had accepted the Faith to which his wife belonged, soon after his marriage in 1925. Ever since then he had been devoted to it, and served it conscientiously. Within three years of his marriage he was employed as Medical Officer in the State Railways, which entitled him and his family to certain concessions in railway travel in different parts of the country. This opportunity he availed of for his wife, and sent her freely to all parts of India to teach the Cause. He stayed behind to look after his work and his children. The Cause in India has been linked in many cities with the name Fozdar.

I—lis acceptance of the Faith antagonized his mother and other relations, and he was persecuted by them for some years; but he remained undisturbed. When the Parsi priests attacked the Cause in the press he countered

THE Bahá’í WORLD

DR. K. M. Fozdar

them by logical replies and tried to preach the Cause among his Parsi friends. His first spiritual child was Mr. Ormsby Mollier, son of a high priest of the Parsis, and his schoolmate. Later another Indian Parsi who came into the Cause at Dr. Fozdar’s hand was Mr. Mani Mehta, the son of millionaire Sir Homi Mehta. Dr. Fozdar studied other religions and preached the Cause among Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists.

In 1935 on his return from Europe Dr. Fozdar visited the Holy Land. While on the boat, he taught the Cause to some German Jews who were visiting Palestine. They were so impressed that they also visited the beloved Guardian. The Guardian was very happy with him and assured Mrs. Fozdar that Dr. Fozdar was protected by God. This pilgrimage strengthened him further in the Faith, and on his return he advised friends to go and meet the beloved Guardian as “he gives new spiritual sustenance."

When the National Spiritual Assembly of India started its seven-year plan, Dr. Fozdar volunteered to settle in virgin territories and succeeded in establishing groups and assemblies.

[Page 893]IN MEMORIAM 893

In obedience to the call of the beloved Guardian for pioneers to southeast Asia, Dr. Fozdar resigned his government post in the railway, four years before the period of retirement, and went to Singapore. A complete stranger to that city he established himself as a medical practitioner. He gave the Message to the elite, to his patients who came from all walks of life, and to humble folk. He kept his home open for all who wished to know about the Cause and would discuss with inquirers until midnight. To guide souls to the Faith had become second nature and he was very often misunderstood and called a fanatic. The beloved Guardian at that time wrote to him through his secretary, “Your departure for Singapore and safe arrival there brought him great joy and he has high hopes for the success of your teaching work, particularly since receiving the article, published in the press there, which you recently sent him. The devotion with which you, your dear wife. and now your son and daughter-in-law serve the Cause of God is truly exemplary and cannot but attract the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh and His confirmations. Your heart must rejoice that God has so blessed you and favored you."

Dr. Fozdar was blessed with five children: three sons and two daughters, all Bahá’ís. He trained his children to be devoted to the Cause and encouraged them to play great réles in the field of teaching and pioneering: and he gave them all a very good education.

In order to prove to the people that Bahá’ís practise service to humanity, Dr. and Mrs. Fozdar started a free school in Singapore where 300 underprivileged women were taught to read and write. The people of Singapore were impressed by this spirit of sacrifice, and other organizations and individuals later followed suit and many more such free classes for poor women were started. The Cause became better known and in 1952, two years after his pioneering to Singapore, the first Spiritual Assembly was formed.

In 1953, Dr. Fozdar attended the Intercontinental Conference in New Delhi. When the appeal for pioneers was made for virgin territories, he volunteered to go to Andaman Islands; this pleased the beloved Guardian, and he received the title of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. After four months’ stay he succeeded in confirming four Bahá’ís, but had to return

to Singapore as the authorities on that island would not prolong his stay.

On his return to Malaya, Dr. Fozdar settled down in a virgin territory and within a year succeeded in forming three new Assemblies. His spiritual children settled in virgin territories and the Cause spread rapidly.

At a time when he was actively preparing to receive the guests to the Convention which was to be held in Singapore two days later. he was suddenly, but peacefully. called away to be the guest of God.

The name of Fozdar in Singapore and Malaya is a household word and is linked with the Bahá’í Faith, which in Malaya represents a progressive movement for humanity towards spirituality, morality, amity and unity.

Dr. Fozdar was sixty years old when he died in active service of Bahá’u’lláh.

MULLA AHMAD AL-MALLAH 18744957

Mulla Ahmad Al-Mallah was a steadfast believer “kindled with the love of God“ who had raised the banner of Bahá’u’lláh for almost half a century in Mosul, the largest city of northern ‘lraq. He was aware of the mysteries of the Bible, the Qur‘an and the Bahá’í Scriptures. He had taught the Faith to most of the Bahá’ís residing in Mosul; his explanations of the divine Scriptures had attracted the hearts of the people.

He accepted the Faith about 1895 through Mirza “Ali Zayn’l-‘Abidin Kashani, who had been banished from Baghdad to Mosul with many Persian believers soon after Bahá’u’lláh’s banishment to Istanbul.

Mirza ‘Ali was living in a room in the same inn known as Khan El Mufti in Sarai market, where Mulla Ahmad used to work as an ophthalmologist. When Mulla Ahmad embraced the Cause his family turned him out of his house and he was summoned before the Mufti (i.e., Head Priest of Islam) to answer questions regarding the accusation of embracing a new religion. Mulla Ahmad defended the new Revelation with such power and

[Page 894]894

Mullá Ahmad Al-Mallah

ability that the clergymen were astounded, as was the entire audience.

Mulla Ahmad dedicated his whole life to the sacred task of teaching the Faith. Completely dedicating his time to it, he led a long life of celibacy and detachment.

In 1928 Mullá Ahmad, in collaboration with the new believers, established the first Bahá’í Center in Mosul, to the bitter dissatisfaction of its fanatical population; armed with different weapons and tools of butchers, carpenters and blacksmiths, they marched on the Bahá’í Center and attacked and beat down Mullá Ahmad mercilessly.

Mullá Ahmad defended the Faith through writing excellent articles which he sent to Muslim periodicals in Mosul and Baghdad which had continually attacked the Faith.

On June 22, 1939 the police raided Mulla Ahmad’s house, gathered the Bahá’í books they found there, put the lot into a sack and obliged the aged Mulla Ahmad to carry this heavy load on his back to the carriage which took them to the custody of the Court Martial. He was detained for a fortnight with two young Bahá’ís, Héshim Rushdi and garif ‘Aziz. During the long process of the trial Mullá Ahmad courageously defended the Faith and proved the Lordship of Bahá’u’lláh by verses

THE Bahá’í WORLD

he quoted from the Qur’án. The two young men testified that it was Mulla Ahmad who converted them to the Bahá’í Faith, which they wholeheartedly embraced now. At last the court found them innocent and not guilty of any crime, and released them, declaring that there was not a single reason that Bahá’ís in Mosul and in another town, Ba‘qubah, should be regarded as communists.

In a special message from the beloved Guardian to the ‘Iráq National Assembly he glorified the courage the believers of Mosul and Ba‘qubah displayed during the trial and persecutions they suffered. In 1939 Mulla Ahmad received a cablegram from the Guardian expressing appreciation of his merits and beseeching for him heavenly blessings. In March, 1940 the Guardian mentioned the name of Mulla Ahmad before some ‘Iraqi pilgrims as being kindled with the love of God and corresponding to the believers of America.

Mullá Ahmad saved every penny he gained to support the Bahá’í funds at home and abroad. He was a salt-seller by profession and remained healthy and sound until the last moment of his life.

Two months before his death he suffered pleurisy. He did not wish to die in Mosul where the enemies would stone his funeral. He expressed his desire to spend the remaining few days of his life among the Bahá’ís of Kirkuk, a neighboring city. He actually spent ten days among the friends in Kirkuk and passed away peacefully on October 15, 1957. On October 31 the following telegram was received, which was really the last fragrance the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq had the privilege to receive from Shoghi Effendi:

“Deep sorrow passing distinguished promoter Faith Mulla Ahmad his services richly rewarded praying progress soul Kingdom.”

ALAIN LEROY LOCKE 1886-1954

Among the distinguished members of the Bahá’í Faith in its early days in America appears the name of Dr. Alain LeRoy Locke, noted American Negro author and educator.

Alain Locke was born in September, 1886

[Page 895]IN MEMORIAM

in Philadelphia, where he received his elementary and high school education. At the age of eighteen he entered the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy, and on graduation three years later he enrolled at Harvard College from which he graduated in 1907 with honors in Philosophy and English. In recognition of his outstanding ability and achievement, this same college, in 1918, honored Dr. Locke with a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

In 1918 Dr. Locke was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship which entitled him to three years at Oxford. This was followed by a year of specialization in philosophy at the University of Berlin.

Following his return home to America, Dr. Locke spent six months in the Southern States where, for the first time in his life, he came actually face to face with the race problem. From then until his death on June 9, 1954, all the while teaching philosophy at Howard University, Dr. Locke devoted his literary and avocational interests to the analysis, interpretation and recognition of the cultural achievements of the Negro and his relations with other races.

In the early 1920’s Dr. Locke came into contact with the Bahá’í Faith in Washington, DC. He immediately recognized and accepted its teachings as the only true solution to the problems arising from prejudice among men. This belief was reflected iIb his public appearances and in his writings wherein he continually pointed out that the rapid advance of the Negro was not a social and economic encroachment, which the prejudice of the whites fought to hold in check, but that it was part of the common advancement of all mankind, lifting the level of civilization as a whole.

During one of his travels abroad, Dr. Locke had the rare privilege of visiting Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, and the Sacred Shrines of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His experiences at this spiritual center are recorded in his article, “Impressions of Haifa,” which was published in Volume III of The Bahá’í World. A further statement of his conviction of the truth and power of the Bahá’í Faith appears in Volume V, under the title, “The Orientation of Hope.”

Dr. Locke’s books and poems on racial problems are numerous, perhaps the best known being The Negro in America, The

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Alain LeRoy Locke

Negro and His Music, and The Negro in Art. From 1948, in spite of failing health, until his death, he was a valued and active member of the Book Committee of The Key Reporter, the official quarterly of Phi Beta Kappa of which he was a member. At his death he held the title of Professor of Philosophy-Emeritus at Howard University, Washington, DC.

CHARLOTTE LINFOOT

F. ST. GEORGE SPENDLOVE 1897—1962

George Spendlove combined in his life and work the deeply spiritual and the brilliantly intellectual, and became distinguished and much beloved not only among the Bahá’ís but among his professional colleagues, as well.

His chosen profession was the world of art and archeology, in which he made a name for himself in America, Canada, Europe and Asia. The Foreword to his first book, The

[Page 896]896

Face ofEm'ly Canada, contains the following tribute, written by Lorne Pierce, editor of The Ryerson Press, publisher of the book:

“Both in what Mr. Spendlove writes and in the things he collects can be discerned the qualities ofhis character—his restless curiosity, his integrity, his dislike of all pretence. His thinking is warmed by deep emotional and spiritual attitudes. Aided by a phenomenal and photographic memory, by a vast capacity for patient and prolonged concentration, his uncanny instinct enables him to tell the good from the bad and the real from the shoddy. A specialist ofspecialists, with an almost fanatical love of the minutiae of evidence in his highly specialized world, he remains delightfully human because of his interest in people, and also because of his saving grace ol~ humor. This rich vein of humor is perhaps the best clue to his own personality. Certainly it is a clue to his vast interest in everything human in our history, in everything that in any way touches man. .

George Spendlove was born in Montreal. Canada. April 23, 1897; his family was well known in that city. He was educated privately by tutors; he showed particular interest in art history, and early acquired tastes which were to influence his future career. At 19 he enlisted for the war and served in Europe, suffering severe concussion which injured the nerves of his ears. The deafness which resulted was to plague him all his life. He returned to Montreal in 1919 but was unable to work for two years. It was during the latter part of this period that he became interested in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh through reading a book ori comparative religion.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rt'ihiyyih Khánum, wife of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and the former Mary Maxwell of Montreal, has written concerning this period ofGeorge‘s life:

“I remember George coming to the meetings in our home when l was a child. lt was after the first World War. . . He gradually accepted the Cause and was a devoted friend of my mother and of me as I grew up. .. George Spendlove was always a fascinating person. He had a most charming and individual mind; he was also a thinker and a man of great culture. To talk to him was always a treat for me, whether as a child, or here when he came on his pilgrimage, or in Toronto

THE BAHA’l WORLD

where I last saw him. He introduced me to many books and many thoughts and influenced my mind. [am not speaking ofhim as a Bahá’í, but as a human being. .. the man whose heart was healed, after the terrible experiences of war, by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, and who became His devoted follower. . ."

Many will remember George‘s telling that when he first began studying the Bahá’í Faith he got himself a large notebook in which to jot down, as a good scientific researcher, any question he felt could not be answered satisfactorily in the Teachings. After thirty years he referred again to this book, at Green Acre. and told that there was not a single entry in it! Again, several years later, he was asked about the notebook. He admitted there was still no entry.

George became a vital part of the Green Acre Bahá’í Summer School, in Eliot, Maine. During his summer vacations he taught courses which opened to many the depth and beauty of the Bahá’í Teachings. It was at Green Acre that he met Dorothy G. Spurr Of Sparkill, New York, and they were married in 1929. Their son David was born in 1933. and their daughter Dorothy Grace in 1936.

After being in business as a dealer in fine arts for several years he sold out and spent the year 1932—1933 travelling in Palestine, India and the Far East.

It was during this year that George made his first of two pilgrimages to Haifa. He visited not only museums and art collections. but many Bahá’í groups and communities. Shoghi Effendi wrote to him May 8, 1933:

.. I cannot refrain from acknowledging receipt of your welcome letter and from adding a few words in person as a token ofmy livelyappreciation ol‘your devotedand notable services to the Cause. I cherish happy recollections of your short pilgrimage, and trust the day may not be distant when you can make a longer visit to the holy shrines. May the Almighty keep and bless you, sustain and protect you, and assist you to achieve your heart's desire."

The year following his return from this trip George went to London to take a two-year course in Chinese archeology at the Courtauld Institute of the University of London. On completion of this course he was given the Academic Post-Graduate Diploma in Arche [Page 897]IN MEMORIAM

F. St. George Spendlove

ology. He was, moreover, recommended to assist the Royal Academy in preparing a catalogue Ofthe great International Exhibition of Chinese Art shown at Burlington House in 1935. George had prepared himself for working with Chinese art by teaching himself to read the printed language. He was appointed official lecturer for the Exhibition, as well as its assistant secretary and the editor of its catalogue.

Shoghi Effendi wrote to him, July 26, 1936 through his secretary:

“While he feels truly rejoiced over the news of the successful completion ofyour academic work at London, he cannot but deplore the fact that you have left England, as your presence in that country was of an immense benefit to the English Bahá’í Community, particularly now that the Administration is making a steady headway. .

In his postscript Shoghi Effendi wrote: “Dearly beloved co-worker:

I wish to assure you in person of the deep debt of gratitude that I feel I owe you in view

897

ot'your historic services to the Faith. You have upheld the principles of our Faith, spiritual as well as administrative, and with exemplary loyalty, courage and wisdom. I will, from the depths of my heart, supplicate for you the Master’s richest blessings. Persevere in your high endeavors."

After George‘s death, David Hofman wrote from London concerning these services:

“He was one of the first Bahá’ís, in the Maxwell home in 1933, whom I met and I was always running into him after that. He introduced me to the British community when I came home. . . He played a very great part in establishing the British N.S.A. on a firm foundation and beginning the Administrative Order here."

In November, 1936, George returned to Canada to join the stafi" of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, in charge of the Japanese and East Indian Collections. After several years he became curator of the Modern European Collections and was appointed special lecturer in the department of art and archeology of the University of Toronto.‘corresponding t0 the rank of associate professor.

The wide extent of his knowledge and of his interests is shown in the varied subjects of his lectures, given at art galleries, art museums and schools, in Chicago, Boston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Williamsburg (Virginia) in the United States, besides Montreal and Toronto. When asked for a copy of one of his lectures by a friend unable to attend it, his reply was, “I have it all in my head." This was true, whether the subject was Chinese art, his first love, or European furniture; Indian art, Japanese ceramics and lacquer, time pieces, glass, silver, or, later, Canadiana: it was all in his head. Nor were these dry lectures. They were leavened with humor and understanding. He had a vast fund of information at his mental and spiritual fingertips, coupled with a phenomenal memory. His impact on people everywhere was great.

In 1952 came his final appointment at the Royal Ontario Museum as curator of the Canadiana Collections. He resigned his other curatorships, though continuing to give lectures. In his new post he was in charge of the Sigmund Samuel Canadiana Gallery. housed in a new building. He had assisted

[Page 898]898

Dr. Samuel for many years in the collection of these historical treasures. George’s first book, The Face of Early Canada, published in 1958, is illustrated by examples from this collection. A second book, Cullectors’ Luck, followed in 1960.

Among the professional honors received by George Spendlove were Fellowships in the Royal Society ofArts, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Museums Association of London. He was charter member of the Far Eastern Ceramic Group, and was elected to membership in the Michigan Academy of Sciences, the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Royal Societies Club of London, and was moderator of the First International Wedgwood Seminar. Posthumously he was awarded a certificate of commendation by the American Association for State and Local History.

During all these years of intense application in his chosen profession, George lectured at Green Acre, nearly every year, and for over twenty years had a Tuesday night Bahá’í fireside in Toronto.

His courses on Bahá’u’lláh’s Book of Cerlimde (Kitab—i-lqan) and on Cleanings ji'om the Writings of Balid’u’lla’h will long be remembered. He was also generous with his time for individual consultation. His keen perception was active primarily in his understanding of the spiritual reality in man. The shoddy 0r superficial was stripped away within a few words. If you could not stand this searchlight of the spirit, it was your loss. If you came to him with a problem, he set you again on the path of love, service and obedience; the particular was gently but firmly put in its true proportion with the whole. His humor was ever present, wholesome and clarifying.

Many will remember his oft-repeated admonition, “Be very careful what you pray for; you may get it.” He was an ardent advocate of prayer, of the daily obligatory prayer, and of all the laws of Bahá’u’lláh. He was sure all prayers are answered, although the answer may sometimes be 'no.”

One Green Acre friend has written, recalling George‘s services:

“I often thought how aptly he was named, St. George. He seemed to me to have conquered his personal dragons with quiet dignity and to have dispatched them with

5

THE BAHA’I WORLD

circumspection, finesse, and even with a certain amount of dry good humor. What better way to dispose of dragons?

“He knew no compromise with the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. He was intolerant of second best. Having reached the City of Certitude himself, he was able to show the path and help smooth the way for others. It was almost uncanny how he could hold your gaze for a long, searching moment, then unerringly focus on the precise cause ofyour particularspiritual dilemma. It isn’t always easy to face up and look into the exacting mirror of truth. But somehow you were able to accept what you saw with better grace and firmer resolve to do something constructive about it because you knew he expected it of you."

George‘s firesides in Toronto literally sparked that community into activity and growth. One of those who for fourteen years regularly attended has written:

. . As the evening started one was aware of George‘s almost unbeatable fatigue from the efl'orts ofhis strenuous day at the Museum. and the struggle he would undergo within himself to draw on the opening prayer and his own inner supplieation for spiritual strength. Soon. it would come pouring out, and he would gain a mysterious momentum which carried us all into his rarefied atmosphere. . . We were all spellbound. . . The pristine words rolled out, and you plucked from a surfeit what your lesser mind could grasp. He repeated himself often. so that you could go back and tie the pieces together. but it was never boring to hear the same phrases over again; it only made you more aware of their simple truth. ‘It is always possible to do what God wants you to do,‘ he would say. And this was somehow annoying because you knew that it was. George put you on a close, intimate connection with God as a ‘dear friend, who loves you more than your own mother or father could possibly love you.‘ And George had a sense of humor that rounded out everything he said—the true mark of greatness. “Homo sap,‘ he would say. and then look around at us mischievously. He meant this in the sense that without God directing our lives we were nothing. With God in our lives, he would go on, we could become the most fulfilled, the most mature, the most happy people that it was possible to become. He stressed that there was no such

[Page 899][N MEMORIAM 899

thing as accident or coincidence, that God knew every line that our eyes would follow in the newspaper, that He was deeply interested in us, and waited only for us to want His love, and that' when we did, He was ready to shower and encompass us and enfold us in His perfect love. All we had to do was to ask. And the saddest thing in the world, George would often say, was that people did not want to turn to God. “They don‘t want to,’ he would say, over and over, in the saddest voice.

“George did not paint pretty pictures, either of world conditions or ‘what religion could do for you.‘ He knew this, and often he would try to temper his harsh statements, but he stressed that the age of the atomic bomb could never be complacent. He continually reiterated the Guardian‘s admonishment to act. ‘Let deeds, not words be your adorning,’ he would often quote.

“One of the last times we met, I asked George how he was.

“ ‘Well,‘ he said, “about six months ago I looked over my shoulder and I could see Old Age coming towards me from a long way off. Yesterday, I looked around, and he was standing right behind me.‘ He smiled at me, and his eyes twinkled."

In early February, 1956 George made a second pilgrimage to Haifa. His devotion and close bond with the beloved Guardian were ever present, although, as George said, in later years he had too great respect for the preciousness of the Guardian’s time to burden him with correspondence.

After George‘s return from this pilgrimage, he was looking forward to his retirement. He wrote to an old friend in February, 1962:

"I am leaving the Museum for good on June lst (what a relief!) and we are going to the farm for a couple of months. Some time in August we start on a ‘crawl‘ to the West coast, and take our ship for Sydney at Vancouver on September 8th. Our final port ofcall will probably be Seoul, and I am going to see (if God permits) if I can be of any use to the Koreans. They have had such a hard historyl. .. I am going to various places in the Far East, and [fl find a place where I can be of use to the Faith, even at my advanced age, it is my intention to stay there. However, man proposes and God disposes. .

On May 10, 1962 George passed away peacefully in his sleep in Toronto, seemingly

having been in excellent spirits, though complaining of tiring easily.

Rt’ihiyyih Khánum, after being informed of George’s death, wrote:

"So long the bird beat its wings on the cage, and in the end it was not the freedom he thought he was going to have, but the ultimate freedom which he received. George wrote me quite often; there was always this straining to be up and away, to go back to the East he loved and understood and there teach the Faith so supremely dear to his heart. The gentle dreamer, the charming critic and connoisseur. . .will be much missed and hard to replace in every way.”

JOSEPHINE SCOTT

Le 3 décembre 1955, Josephine Scott, veuve du peintre Edwin Scott, a quitté cette vie aprés avoir consacré de longues années a la Foi Bahá’íe.

Le Gardien a fait parvenir a Paris, le 5 décembre 1955, le radiogramme suivant:

“Attristé nouvelles départ Josephine Scott, longs, fideles services inoubliables, grande recompense Royaume Abhá.”

Depuis 1907 environ etjusqu’en 1948, Mme. E. Scott a accueilli avec cordialité et bien< veillance les croyants, ainsi que ceux qui désiraient se renseigner sur la Foi Bahá’íe. Elle les a recus, d‘abord a 17 rue Boissonade ou elle vécut jusqu‘a la mort d‘Edwin Scott en 1929, puis a 12 rue Victor Considérant ou elle s’installa aprés, dans un autre atelier. toujours entoure’e des belles oeuvres de son mari et dans un quartier qui lui e'tait familier.

Dans leur premiere demeure, M. et Mme. Scott eurent le grand privilege de recevoir deux ou trois fois ‘Abdu’l-Bahá quand il vint en France. ll s‘adressa dans leur grand atelier a un auditoire de cent a deux cents personnes. lls eurent aussi la joie de bien connaitre Shoghi Effendi: il venait les voir quand il traversait Paris pour se rendre a l’Université d‘Oxford.

Dans la seconde demeure de Joséphine Scott fut installe’e la bibliothéque Bahá’íe et cette demeure devint un centre de reunions. Mentionnons spécialement les conferences organisées par les Etudiants persans en

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Josephine Scott

Europe qui, de 1932 a 1938, eurent lieu une ou deux fois par an. Des questions importantes y étaient étudiées par dcs jeunes Bahá’ís iraniens. Des exposes étaient faits par diverses personnalités, notamment par l'historien du Bab, Nicolas, par Emile Schreiber, auteur d‘un reportage sur la religion Bahá’íe dans l’hebdomadaire L‘lllustration.

En 1948, pour des raisons de santé dues en partie aux privations de la guerre, Mme. Scott fut obligée de s‘installer dans unc maison de repos. Les Bahá’ís qui allerent la voir furent profondément touchés par la ferveur de sa foi et son intérét croissant dans le développement de la Cause a travers le monde.

Ce couple Bahá’í, si profondément uni repose maintenant dans le cimetiére de Sceaux, aux environs immédiats de Paris.

Des tableaux d‘Edwin Scott 5e trouvent dans plusieurs Musées d‘Europe et dans des établissements officiels, a Washington méme.

L. D. BARNEY

THE BAHA’J’ WORLD

ELSA MATl LDA VENTO 1886—l 955

“The soul that hath remained faithful to the Cause of God, and stood unwaveringly firm in His Path shall, after his ascension, be possessed of such power that all the worlds which the Almighty hath created, can benefit through him."

BAHA‘U‘LLAH

What proof we have already had of the truth of this statement! A power is stirring within Finland. People are definitely awakening. searching for the Light of Truth.

The passing of Elsa Vento in Kilo, Finland. on August 31, 1955 has left a great gap in the Bahá’í ranks in Finland. We did not realize how clear she was and how we all leaned on her and loved her until she was taken from our midst.

Elsa radiated a superb spiritual vigor that charged the atmosphere of our meetings. Her bright eyes danced and sparkled from sheer joy. Her weakening physical strength put into greater relief her sublime spiritual powers. All those who came into contact with her during her brief stay in a nursing home remarked about the great power of her beautiful eyes and luminous face. This somethingintangible, difficult to explain, this breath of heaven, was felt also on reading her letters, a true source of inspiration. The writer corresponded with her in Esperanto for twelve years before meeting her for the first time in May 1950 in Helsinki.

Elsa Vento was born in Tampere, Finland, on March 14, 1886 as Elsa Matilda Hellstrom. Being of an original bent of mind, an early searcher of Truth, she always blessed the day God led her footsteps to the glorious Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. She first heard and accepted the Faith in Toronto, Canada, in 1938. By 1944 she was pioneering in Prince Edward Island. She always longed to return to her native Finland to share her inestimable jewels. After twenty-six years in Canada, with her scant earnings, her dream was realized in the early spring of 1950. Financial pressure, however, made a return to Toronto imperative, but after putting aside penny upon penny, April, 1953 found her again in

[Page 901]IN MEMORIAM

Elsa Matilda Vento

her beloved Finland~this time to remain.

The following is the appreciative cablegram from the beloved Guardian: “Grieve loss precious pioneer Elsa Vento. Her historic services unforgettable. Praying progress soul in Kingdom. Love.”

From Gerd Strand of the Northern Countries Regional Committee: “We feel with you all in this terrible loss of our dear Elsa, a soul so devoted, so pure, so detached, so cleansed of all the worldly things. Her visit with us in the Regional Committee in Stockholm will be one of the most outstanding memories connected with the work on that committee. Her mind remained clear to the end because her light came from above, and in that direction her vision was never blurred. . .I was the one to get the greatest benefit from her burning Torch. . . she filled me with awe every moment of the time we spent together, and now that she is relieved of all pain, her help in the Cause she so dearly loved, will be indisputable.”

Elsa’s activities spread throughout Finland, even to Lapland. She wrote letters about the Faith and sent Bahá’í literature to clubs of all kinds: youth, scientifi :, labor, educational and women’s organizations. She worked quietly and unobtrusively, actively and persistently under the most trying conditions to within

901

three weeks of her passing. She was a pure, humble, self—sacrificing, noble soul, who never wished credit nor the limelight. She was dearly beloved by all the Finnish Bahá’ís.

From 1938 on, Elsa translated many of the Bahá’í writings and talks, which were published in Finnish newspapers in the United States and Canada. Many of her poems also appeared in newspapers, magazines and in pamphlet form. She was the means of confirming two of her sisters besides many others. Truly a great pioneer!

DR. JOHN GEORGE MITCHELL 190771957

"Greatly deplore loss much loved John Mitchell staunch, consecrated promoter Faith. Fervently supplicating progress his soul."

Thus read the cable received from the Guardian by the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles. John Mitchell was a much loved man, loved by the Guardian and all those who came into contact with him. He was known for his kindness, generosity and skill as a doctor. The most memorable event of his life came in 1953 when he made the pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines in Haifa and Bahjí, and had the privilege of meeting Shoghi Effendi. The Guardian thought very highly of him and entrusted him with his original map of the goals of the Ten-Year Crusade to take to Rome for printing.

He was born in Biddenham, Bedfordshire, England, on November 19, [907.0n the death of his father, when John was thirteen, his mother continued to run the farm on which they lived. John went to college and took his BA. at Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1932. He then entered St. Bartholomew‘s Hospital, London, and qualified from there in 1937 with the diploma M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. From May to November of that year he held the posts of non-resident anaesthetist and junior resident anaesthetist at this hospital, and gained his diploma in anaesthetics in June 1938.

He subsequently went to Worcester Infirmary and during the war years served in the Moggerhanger Park Sanitorium near Bedford.

[Page 902]902

where he was in charge. The Matron there said of him “he always thinks of his patients, never of himself”. Many workers in the nearby brickworks remembered him with gratitude as he it was who helped them recover from tuberculosis.

John heard of the Faith in the latter 1940's and became a Bahá’í in 1950. He soon took an active part and from 1951 to 1953 served on the Consolidation Committee. He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1952 to 1954 and during that period became national treasurer. He said that he felt he was then a part of history. During these years he toured the country, took the friends from one town to another in his car, opening up new territory to the Faith. As treasurer he worked hard, starting early in the morning and often missing his meals, trying to cope with the books and letters.

Upon his return to England from Haifa John pioneered in Blackpool for several months and then pioneered to Malta, becoming a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. It was in Malta that his illness became apparent and he was flown home early in 1956 for treatment in London. He seemed better for a while, but an operation on his brain became necessary, which left him partially paralyzed.

Having hardly any relatives left in England he then came to live with friends in Leicester and thus the Leicester Bahá’ís, few in number then, were privileged to get to know him and were helped by his presence amongst them. He died on February 19, 1957 and is buried in a Leicester cemetery, his body lying beneath a beautiful tree in just such surroundings as he would have wished.

His headstone aptly records: “A life for others spent.”

THE Bahá’í WORLD

MAUDE ELIZABETH TODD FISHER

Maude Fisher was the first pioneer to give her life for the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh amidst the sweet green hills of Swaziland, and one of the first to die at her post during the TenYear Crusade.

She was also among the first to arise and answer the call of the beloved Guardian. Shoghi Effendi, for pioneers to leave their homeland. Forgetful of age, inditTerent t0 weakening health. Maude Elizabeth Fisher was determined to reach her African pioneering post. Swaziland became her goal in life; then it became her home, the land that she loved most of all; then finally it became her last resting-place among the people to whom she had brought the light of Bahá’u’lláh.

Maude Fisher was born to the pioneering spirit. She drove her own covered wagon across the great western plains and into the mountain country of the United States. Her heart was restless, always moving on, always seeking that finer land, that freer life, trying to satisfy a longing thirst which was never to be quenched until she embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh many years later.

She was descended from English, Scotch and French ancestry, and it was said that the tall, dark, handsome and silent Frenchman who had married her maternal grandmother was part American Indian.

Her mother, Lydia Ann Slay, was a woman of unusual industry, vision and deep religious conviction. She understood the restless longing in her daughter’s heart and told her, “Don't worry, Maude; as you work your blessings will come.”

Maude Elizabeth grew up on her father‘s eighty-acre Kansas farm.

All his efforts went toward the education of his five sons. His four daughters, he felt, needed only a good home and a husband who would love and protect them. He had at least some rebels among his daughters. One was Maude Elizabeth. She had the same pioneering spirit which had led her grandmother to cast aside a useless life and sail for America. Her father always said laughingly that she was named for two queens. Maude Elizabeth‘s regal manner and diplomacy won him over until he agreed that she could have a limited education. By sheer determination and encouragement from her understanding

[Page 903]IN MEMORIAM

mother, Maude Elizabeth worked until she secured an elementary teacher’s certificate. This proved to be a wise investment, for one bitter winter when the crops all failed, it was the meager salary of Maude Elizabeth which helped support the family.

She also persuaded her father to let her take lessons in art. Maude was very gifted in this field and was soon making more money from her painting than she could make teaching school.

Maude Elizabeth married a young farmer from nearby whose name was Elmer Fisher. After the birth of two sons, they decided to “go west.” They purchased two fully equipped covered wagons and started westwards. The journey was exciting and thrilling, but it was also long and dangerous. Maude drove one of the wagons herself. At one time her wagon burst into flames; at another the children were desperately ill, and at still another her wagon was swept downstream while she was fording a fast-running river.

Maude and Elmer decided that Idaho was not the place they wished to bring up their children. They moved down to California where there were better schools. Here, at last, Maude’s longed-for dream of truly being able to work for the rights of women was realized.

She joined several political clubs; she became bi-county president of the Women‘s Christian Temperance Union.

She was in the midst of this work when she first heard of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, in 1927. Maude felt here was either the greatest truth or the greatest hoax that had ever been ofi'ered to mankind.

Soon Maude knew that this was the pure fountain of truth for which she had been seeking all these years. This Faith not only elevated women to their true station in life, but it exalted all humanity to a new dignity and stature by bringing them close to God.

Maude Fisher embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and began teaching it. She spoke out with the same courage and conviction which had carried her across plains, rivers, mountains and valleys, unafraid of any obstacle that stood in her way. She withdrew from the church. Her friends came to her in consternation. But Maude Fisher had found the lamp that was alight and she could no

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Maude Elizabeth Todd Fisher

longer be content to return to a darkened room. To help her friends, she began holding classes in Bible prophecy which she knew and loved. In this she was enabled to lead gradually and wisely those with pure hearts to the fulfillment of the promises recorded in that book.

In 1945 when her husband passed away, she went to live with her daughter and sonin-law, Valera and John Allen, and their three sons. Her daughter has stated: Her good humor, her understanding nature, her deep, steadfast belief in God and His Plan for this day had a profound influence upon the boys. She was an untiring worker for the Faith, serving on the Local Spiritual Assembly, teaching wherever and whenever she was needed, never missing a community function.

Her greatest days of service to humanity were yet to come. At the age of eighty-two, a grandmother and great-grandmother several times over, she was about to embark on her most exciting journey of all, a 12,000 mile journey into the heart of Africa to bring the light of Bahá’u’lláh to a land where it was yet unknown. Maude Fisher was going to pioneer in the greatest religious Crusade the world had ever known, and she would allow nothing to stand in her way.

[Page 904]904

She made her plans to pioneer in Africa following the great Bahá’í Intercontinental Conference in Chicago in 1953. She was going to Swaziland with her daughter Valera and her son-in-law, John Allen. The rest of her family, who were then not followers of Bahá’u’lláh, urged her to stay at home. They tried in every way to dissuade her. They pointed to her advanced age, her health, her home, her friends, her family; she would have nothing but suffering and hardship in a strange land, a people whose language she could not even speak, a backward and primitive country where even the strong and hardy would find it difficult to survive.

Maude smiled, thanked them for their conGem, and went on packing. Her health did fail her. John and Valera went on to Swaziland in order to reach their pioneer posts, but Grandma Fisher had to be left behind. She was determined to follow them. She finally reached the midwest, and was stricken with a complete breakdown. The doctors gave up all hope of her life. She rallied, borne along by her will to reach the goal set for her by her beloved Guardian.

Once again the family entreated her to turn back and remain at home where she would be safe and taken care of. The doctors pointed out that it would be impossible for her to survive the trip. Calmly indifferent to their lack of faith, Maude went resolutely on with her plans. By sheer will power, she forced an unco-operative body to press on, until at last after flying for over forty consecutive hours, she arrived at Johannesburg, South Africa, with her grandsons. There, joined by her daughter and son-in-law John, she made the final journey overland to Swaziland. Her heart was home at last.

She began teaching at once and because of her good humor, her simple, practical way of speaking, she soon won over the hearts of the African people she met. In no time at all she was plain “Grandma” or “Granny" to them all.

When John and Val were forced to return to the United States on business, they wanted Grandma Fisher to accompany them.

“I will,” she said, “but only on one condition: that you promise to bring me back here to my pioneering post and my home, even if I am unable to come by myself. Otherwise I won’t go.”

THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

They promised, and again, in the United States, she became ill. In great pain she made the long trip back to Swaziland to begin the last and most fruitful years of service. With a remarkable return to good health, she made teaching trips to Mozambique, Southern and Northern Rhodesia, and South Africa. She spoke to the friends wherever she went. She won their hearts by her courage, indifierence to fatigue. and dedication to the work of the Faith. It was her life. She helped to establish, and she served on the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Swaziland.

Even in her last illness, when her pain and suflering were great, her thoughts were on the progress of the teaching work. One evening at the hospital, she said to her daughter Valera:

“We must'keep the fire burning, so that the light can be seen everywhere. Not only in Swaziland, not only in Africa, but it must be such a big fire that it can be seen all over the world.”

She spoke of the beloved Guardian and of her deep love for him, then peacefully began another pioneer journey, this one to the Abhá Kingdom. She had fallen at her post. She had been the spiritual soldier so loved by the Master, the one who puts on his armor, goes into the field, never turning back, leaving all behind, and presses on to victory, or lays down his life upon the path which will point the way to those who will win the victory after her.

On her passing the following cablegram from the beloved Guardian was received by her daughter:

“Grieve news assure you loving fervent prayers progress soul dear mother memory her pioneer service imperishable reward great Kingdom.”

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum wrote: “The beloved Guardian has a list of the pioneers who pass away at their posts; 1 was touched to see him add your mother‘s name after he cabled you. We cannot understand yet the nature of these blessings because we are too close to it all. But in the future others will understand."

By the African people whom she loved and by whom she was loved in return, Maude Fisher was called in their own words, “a builder of the Bahá’í Faith.”

An African friend paid her this tribute:

[Page 905]IN MEMORIAM

“What a wonderful pioneer she was! How devoted to the Faith she was! How we miss her!”

Maude Elizabeth Todd Fisher was buried high up on a hillside looking down over a great green valley toward the Lobombo Mountains and the people she loved. The African people call this valley Ezulweni, which, like the word Riḍván, means “paradise.”

A small vial of attar-of-rose, a gift to her from her beloved Guardian, was placed in her hands.

Words were spoken in both the English and African languages on that sunny July day when the earthly remains of Maude Fisher were laid to rest; words that told of the happiness she had brought to the African people.

The ceremony was closed with a prayer of Bahá’u’lláh and these words spoken on behalf of all the African friends who loved her:

“Tsamaéa hantlé, ‘M’a rona kaofeela. Re U rata haholo.” (“Go well, mother of us all. We love you very much”)

WILLIAM SEARS VALERA ALLEN

‘ABDU’R-RAHMAN RUS_HDi ‘ABDU’L-FATTAH SABRl

The history of the Bahá’í Faith was enriched through the lives and the devotion to the Cause of God of two Egyptian Bahá’ís, brothers, the oldest, ‘Abdu’r-Rahman Rushd1’, the younger, ‘Abdu’l-Fattéh Sabri. When the Cause was still in its infancy in Egypt ‘Abdu’r—Rahmén accepted it during the first World War. In a small Muslim community such as that he lived in, in Tehel—Barroud, this was a sign of great independence of thought and spirit; he hastened to convey the good news to his brother, ‘Abdu’l-Fattéh Sabri, who likewise embraced the Faith with equal devotion and enthusiasm.

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‘Abdu’r—Rahmén Rufldi

Until the death of the older one, on November 7, 1954 and the younger one, on August 8, 1957 these two devoted men continued to serve the Egyptian Bahá’í community and to stimulate and inspire the believers in their country to ever greater efforts in the path of God.

After the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in 1921, a group of mischief—makers arose to oppose the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith; the two brothers, ever loyal and devoted, were instrumental in protecting the believers from these Covenant-breakers and in helping to create, under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, the present day administration of the Faith in Egypt.

Both brothers served at different times on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Egypt and Sfldan; both assisted in contacts with the authorities and winning a degree of recognition of the infant institutions of this Cause.

[Page 906]906

‘Abdu’l-Fattah Sabri

At the time when Mr. Rufidi and Mr. Sabri accepted the Bahá’í Faith there were very few believers of pure Egyptian background. The fact that they were, and that they had accepted this new religion, not only attracted many other Egyptians to the Faith but brought upon them much criticism and even persecution. Heedless of everything except their love for Bahá’u’lláh they served until the hour of their death with steadfast devotion and enthusiasm. Such was the quality of this devotion that their children arose to follow in their footsteps; many of them have pioneered outside of Egypt and are spreading the Message of God for this day in distant places.

Upon the death of ‘Abdu’l-Fattah Sabri, in 1957, the beloved Guardian sent the following cable:

“Grieve, deplore loss distinguished pr0< moter Faith. Long record services unforgettable. Reward great Kingdom. Praying progress soul.”

Although the words of the Guardian on the occasion of the death of the older brother are not available at this writing, we feel sure the same beautiful tribute applies to both of these devoted servants of the Faith.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

WILLIAM KENNETH CHRISTIAN 1913—1959

One does not expect death at 46 years of age; Kenneth had never had what might be called great material success or any degree of ease. His life was a torture of stress and strain in his profession. As a teacher in colleges, he found it imperative to earn a doctoral degree and this meant eight long years of carrying a full teaching load, doing his research and writing in his “spare” time. These, too, were the years during which he served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and it would have been understandable if he had died then from sheer fatigue.

In 1953, the beginning of the Ten-Year World Crusade, Kenneth'became inflamed with the desire to pioneer in a goal area. Kenneth wrote to the beloved Guardian of his hopes in this matter and when the answer was received, plans were made and finally he and his family set sail for Africa on December 10, 1953. For nineteen days at sea he talked, prayed and planned. Then there were six months of failure, six months of eternity in efforts to find a job, any job, and personal pride and faith was shaken to the roots. Here was Kenneth’s own Gethsemane, with agonies of mind, body and spirit to be continually wrestled. In retrospect he was probably truly born during those days and nights of despair. He was unable to find work and thus repay his debt to the National Spiritual Assembly; the largest barrier was that he could not teach the Faith in the only way he knew; Circumstances in Southern Rhodesia at the time made it impossible to boldly proclaim the Faith or to even openly try to find native Africans to whom the message might be taught. Until this time, “to teach" had meant “to talk”, and such restraint was almost overwhelmingly difficult to accept.

After a period of trying to get settled in Africa, unsatisfactorily as it turned out, Kenneth asked, and received, permission from the Guardian to go on to Athens, Greece,where through the help of another pioneer he found a job teaching in a small American-sponsored college. Since Greece was a goal country he was happy to again be on the way toward accomplishing what he had set out to do. With hopes soaring thus

[Page 907]IN MEMORIAM

began another period. But again there was frustration, fear, financial need and a government which made it unlawful for anyone to have people come to a home for the purpose of promulgating any religion other than the religion of the country. Again Kenneth's lips were sealed to teach the Faith without restraints. During three years he began to look inward; he went to his beloved books; he established patterns of prayer-campaigns; he sought understanding. His eloquence, his intellectual cleverness, his lightning-like thought processes and his tremendous knowledge of the teachings—all seemed useless. In short, during these times he began to become a growing spirit. It was also during this period that a pilgrimage was made to the World Center at Haifa, and to meet the beloved Guardian—a never-to-be—forgotten event. Also during these years Kenneth was accepted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Geographic Society.

At the expiration of his contract to teach in Athens Kenneth became acquainted with a man who persuaded him to apply for a position as a cultural affairs officer with the United States Information Agency. He was accepted and returned to Washington in 1957 for a five—months training and waiting period, at the end of which he was assigned to Djakarta, Indonesia.

While Djakarta was a goal area there was already an established Spiritual Assembly there and this disappointed Kenneth to some extent. However, by this time his attitude was very humble and his gratitude great; he was radiantly happy. At the peak of excitement and happiness, and a new beginning, came the news of the passing of the beloved Guardian. On the day of the funeral in London, Kenneth Christian, and his family, were again on the way to yet another pioneer post.

Kenneth found great difficulty functioning as one of the two western people on the all-Persian Spiritual Assembly in Djakarta. Those who knew him could imagine the inner effort it took for him to understand and live among this loving, enthusiastic, but to him incomprehensible group of eastern peoples. But Kenneth learned well and he came to dearly love each and every one of them.

His American friends never knew the entirely different person Kenneth became. He

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William Kenneth Christian

was truly happy and his relationships with the Indonesian people were thrilling to watch; they adored him, although he never was able to learn their language. The Americans with whom he associated at the Embassy, and at the USIS, loved_him too and called him “the little Doc,” an affectionate term for a man who had become a humble, sweet and outgoing person.

This is Kenneth’s story. The story of how God burned him and pressed him and sent him the thousand boils of Job; and how, in the end he became, truly, a Bahá’í.

There were many noble thoughts in his heart and mind as the result of his special hour of meditation in the dawn of each day which was his lifetime habit. On the early morning of May 4, 1959,1heard him choking. Going to him I quickly gathered him into a sitting position, trying to help him to breathe, but his spirit flew from its pain-racked body in a matter of fifteen minutes. His death was due to coronary occlusion. How merciful a death it was for him who had, most of his life, suffered physical pain or distress of one sort or another. To have been ill or to have

[Page 908]908

suffered for any length of time would, I think, have been difficult for him.

His funeral was attended by people of every conceivable color and rank—from Embassy official to native servant. The clear Persian Bahá’í men, who had once been such a source of mystification and irritation to him just eighteen months earlier, washed his body and anointed it with the attar-of-rose which Shoghi Effendi had placed in his hands during the pilgrimage, and read prayers at the house and at the grave. Kenneth Christian, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, was the first Bahá’í to be placed in the Bahá’í burial ground at Djakarta. Many people made efforts to learn just what the religion was that made so fine a man. Thus Kenneth learned that to teach is not always to talk and perhaps in having grown and learned so much, so fast, he was ready to enter into the next phase of life’s journey. His writings are a heritage that all can cherish and he also left in this world a legacy of love which he could never have dreamed ofbecause he threw himself so freely upon the altar of full sacrifice—and this recalls the recurring dream of his adolescence of the Phoenix who is consumed only to rise and soar heavenward again.

Someone has said that wisdom is “to see much, to study much, to suffer much.” Kenneth Christian became wise, indeed, in all of these ways—from theoretical knowledge to true reality.

Kenneth is best known through his many articles, poems, and essays. 1 submit here the last flowers of his brilliant and ever-developing mind in the form of jottings in. a little blue book of thoughts which he kept sporadically all the years I knew him.

On March 3], 1959, he wrote: “Life must have the principle of growth, not just action.” And—“We need to know how to call to our assistance the reinforcements of God.” And"A man must be ‘saved’ mlny times. This is true because change and growth are essential to life. Each time a man consciously recognizes and accepts a significant truth, he is saved from error and misunderstanding. Indeed, a man must be saved many times. If not, his whole view of life becomes frozen. He becomes a spiritual midget when he could be a giant."

April 4, 1959: “The life of faith involves moments of agony. Pain and difficulties of

THE BAHA’I WORLD

some sort are essential to growth. . .Burdens may be great, but God is greater. He not only creates the burdens, but He has created the strength to bear them.”

April 1959: “We should personally think in terms of ‘hopes,’ not ‘musts.’ If we think in terms of ‘I must have,‘ we cut off the subtle connection with God. The easiest thing in the world is to think that our wills are sacred. The greatest delusion is to think that we absolutely know our own needs.”

April 24, 1959: “Marks of Maturity: [the assumption of moral responsibility, 2the acceptance of the conditions of life, 3—the effort to grow in understanding, 4—the practice of social responsibility.”

April 25, 1959: “Any set of conditions in life can be a straight—jacket and a prison. This idea is expressed in the folk—saying: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” A person may be free, no matter what his circumstances if he (1) has really accepted life itself and (2) has understanding of life as a goal.”

ROBERTA CHRISTIAN

SALVADOR TORMO

The sudden passing of Sefior Salvador Tormo in an airplane accident on September 7, 1960 was a grievous loss of a noble and tireless servant of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh who died after carrying out a teaching mission in the Republic of Paraguay so triumphantly that his last mission may well have changed the course of Bahá’í history in that country.

Sefior Tormo’s long record of services to the Faith in Latin-America are too numerous to recount here in full. However, he and his dear wife, Adela, established the Spiritual Assembly on the Island of Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe Island) in 1953 and the annual International Bahá’í Summer School has been held on their property in Ezeiza, Argentina, for many years. Salvador Tormo, who was a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, served as chairman of the first Spiritual Assembly of Buenos Aires and was manager of the

[Page 909]IN MEMORIAM

Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Buenos Aires from 1957 to the time of his death. He was a constant translator of English teaching material and Bahá’í books into the Spanish language and included among these translations were the KItdb-i—iqtin and the Gleanings from the Writings ofBZz/zri’u’lld/z. He was also a member of the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from the time of its formation in 1957, and at the time of his death he was the elected secretary of that body. In his capacity as international teacher, translator and administrator, Salvador Tormo contributed inestimably to the establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in South America.

That Salvador Tormo was guided and blessed in his work for the Faith is very clear from the many letters received from the Guardian. One letter written to him, dated July 1, 194], reads:

“1 was truly delighted to receive your letter and I am truly proud of the work which you and your collaborators have thus far achieved. For the success of your efforts of your historic assembly (Buenos Aires) I will specially and fervently pray. Be assured and never relax in your meritorious efforts, which the Beloved, whom you serve so splendidly, will assuredly bless. May He enable you to follow the footsteps of that valiant soul, May Maxwell, whose dust reposes in your city and whose association with your Center through her self—sacrifice and death is an eternal inspiration to all who labor in your promising country.”

Salvador’s many friends will not forget his special qualities and characteristics, his unfiagging enthusiasm and cheerfulness, his delightful sense of humor and his eloquence and deep knowledge of the Teachings, with that power of conviction which could stir all who heard him speak.

Possibly these words which were received from the Hands of the Cause in the Western Hemisphere best exemplify this wonderful man: “According to the sacred writings, death is but an ascent from this material world to the spiritual one and an obvious progress, especially as in the case of our dear Tormo, who rendered such wonderful services which shall always make him immortal. Indeed he was a shining example to the Bahá’ís. He left the friends heart-broken, but took refuge with his Beloved in the Abhá Kingdom. What

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Salvador Tormo

greater glory than that, that he served the Cause with great devotion and love in the lifetime of the beloved of all hearts, Shoghi Effendi, and arose to serve, after the passing of our beloved Guardian, with greater measure in pioneering, administration and all other fields, gladdened the heart of the beloved Shoghi Effendi and now is alive in the Abhá realm, in his presence.”

ELLEN SIMs

MAX GREEVEN 1869—1951

Throughout a long life Max Greeven exemplified the Bahá’í standard of conduct in his personal and business affairs, although he had never heard of the Faith until he was fifty years old. This might serve as an illustration of what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá meant when He said we cannot make Bahá’ís, but rather go out and find them.

[Page 910]910

His first knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith came through Mrs. Grace Krug of New York, in March, 1920 when she was en route to Haifa with her party of twelve pilgrims. She gave a number of public talks during the fourteenday voyage to Naples, at which Mr. Greeven was present. It was for Mrs. Krug‘s ability to organize this trip in those early postwar years of difficult travel that she earned the name “‘Abdu”l—Baha's General," given her by the Master upon her arrival at Haifa.

After Mr. Greeven returned to his home in New York, he had no further contact with the Bahá’ís until a year later and only became a declared believer in 1927. Shortly thereafter, he was instrumental in putting into effect the desire of the Local Spiritual Assembly of New York to present a specially bound set of the Bahá’í Teachings to the Emperor of Japan. The protocol attendant upon the sending of a gift of this sort to the Imperial Household called for permission from the State Department in Washington, and only after nearly a year‘s correspondence with the proper authorities was Mr. Greeven notified by Dr. R. Masujima that the books were at last on the shelves of the Emperor’s library.

Mr. Greeven moved from New York to Bremen, Germany, in 1930, to become a partner in the firm of Clason & Burger, the European branch of the cotton firm of Anderson, Clayton & Co., Houston, Texas. He was authorized to reorganize the business, which had not recently been showing the profits of former years, and he adopted with great success the profit—sharing policy advocated in the Bahá’í Teachings.

During the next few years he was responsible for the publication in Holland of the following Bahá’í books, which had been translated into Dutch by Captain J. A. Liebau, a believer from Rotterdam: “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,” by Dr. Esslemont; “Hidden Words”; "The Kitab-i-Iqán.” The translation of“Some Answered Questions,” which had been completed, would have followed if the war had not prevented. The Guardian was deeply interested in seeing this work accomplished and, as each book was released, requested two hundred or more copies be sent to him. Unfortunately, many of the remaining books were stored at the warehouse of the publishing firm and during the bombing of Rotterdam, in the war of 1940, this building was burned.

THE Bahá’í WORLD

The Guardian wrote regarding these firs publications in Dutch: “You should res assured that your painstaking efforts will l1 time bear fruit. . .the harvest which the futurt shall reap will be incalculably rich, and great will also be your reward for having so unremittingly toiled in bringing it about.”

In March 1934, Mr. Greeven visited Haifa where some of the members of the German National Spiritual Assembly were already gathered. This was his first meeting with the Guardian, a long anticipated event. He was deeply touched by the heavy responsibilities carried by Shoghi Effendi, the enormous correspondence and the burden of family affairs, and his great desire was from then on to be of some service to him. The Guardian recognized certain qualities in Mr, Greeven and told the German friends he would be “pleased" if they should elect him to the National Spiritual Assembly. On March 27, he wrote a believer: “Mr. Greeven will greatly reinforce your efforts for the effective prosecution of your task. His attachment to the Cause and his realism combined with his remarkable capacity for appreciating spiritual values, all these are undoubtedly qualities which, if properly translated into action, can be of tremendous help to the general welfare and progress of the Faith.” The Guardian was not disappointed in his expectations, because a year later he wrote on March 6, 1935: “Dear and- prized Co-worker: The letters I have received from Germany bear witness to the remarkable impetus which your efforts in recent months have lent to the consolidation of the Faith.” Shoghi Effendi was eager to have the Summer School at Esslingen become firmly established, and urged Mr. Greeven to work towards that goal. He hoped that increasing numbers of Bahá’í travelers in Europe would find it “a center of profound attraction.” In referring to this School again, as well as the conference held in Northern Germany, he wrote on July 6, 1936, “My well-beloved Co-worker: I am delighted to learn of the splendid progress that is being achieved both in Northern and Southern Germany. To both movements you are lending powerful and unique impetus. I feel profoundly thankful for your increasing achievements. In return I cannot but pray that He who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift may rain down His blessings upon you, cheer your

[Page 911]IN MEMORIAM

cart and reinforce your high endeavors. With my best wishes for you. . . affectionately, ihoghi.”

By 1937 conditions in Germany had

yorsened and were particularly ominous for he Bahá’ís. Their books and funds had been .eized by the Government, and their meetings lissolved. The Guardian‘s concern for the ‘riends during this period was constant; one never knew from day to day what new test might befall them. He wrote that his only fear was “rather for those friends who, due to their insufficient realization of the divine power that mysteriously operates in the Faith, are prone to look at such developments as constituting the death knell of the Cause," whereas, in reality, he continued, “Trials and tribulations, as Bahá’u’lláh says, are the oil that feeds the lamp of the Cause and are indeed blessings in disguise." During this time the Guardian was directing Mr. Greeven‘s contact with the Ministry of Church Affairs, in an effort to have rescinded the edict curtailing all Bahá’í activities. Promises were made by the Government, but never kept. However, the Guardian never relinquished his purpose of pressing this matter, and meanwhile wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of America to intercede with its Government for assistance to the German friends, as by this time one of them had been interned. It was, as the Guardian wrote, a “delicate and difficult mission” and that he felt Mr. Greeven was “indeed the man of the situation, as his matured experien :9, wisdom and above all his unwavering loyalty and attachment to the Cause, eminently qualify him to undertake so delicate and difficult a mission.”

Although Mr. Greeven was forced to move to Holland in the autumn of 1937 due to business restrictions, he continued to travel to Germany to make repeated pleas to the Government, but always received promises without results. Finally, the Guardian wrote that further appeals might only have the effect of displeasing the authorities, and shortly thereafter the war closed all doors of hope.

Mr. Greeven never wished for any recognition for himself, finding his reward in being able to carry out the Guardian’s instructions and always hoping to be able to send him encouraging news. But the Guardian did

911

Max Greeven

reward him in the following words: “Dearest Co—worker: Just a word to assure you of my ever—deepening gratitude and admiration for the elTorts you are ceaselessly exerting on behalf of our oppressed brethren. Bahá’u’lláh is no doubt watching over you, and the Beloved is well bleased with your historic endeavors. Whatever the outcome, you have won for yourself an abiding place in the affections of the believers. Afl‘ectionately and gratefully, Shoghi."

lNEz GREEVEN

JENNIE OTTILIA ANDERSON 1884-1960

Jennie Ottilia Anderson was born in 1884 in Gammalkils. Ostergétlands, Sweden and came to the United States in 1901. She was

[Page 912]912

introduced to the Faith by her brother, Peter, who had settled in Seattle, Washington. This brother also introduced her to August Anderson, (not a relative), and also a Bahá’í, who became her husband in 1906. They had four children.

Jennie had always been active in Bahá’í activities and her greatest source of inspiration in the early days of the Faith in America was Isabella .Brittingham. While her family was growing up she never missed a local meeting, feast or other activity and was always on the “watch" for hungry souls, as she said, who might be in search of this great Message.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in September of 1919 wrote to her:

.. O thou leaf of the Tree of Lil‘el. .. Happy is thy condition for the thickly condensed clouds did not prevent thee from seeing the Sun of Reality. With thine own ear thou hast heard the call of the Kingdom of God and with thine eye thou hast witnessed the lights of guidance. Rest thou assured that thou art under the protection of the Lord of Hosts and art considered one of the daughters of the Kingdom. .

Jennie wrote of her and her husband‘s experience in meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Chicago during his visit in 1912 as follows:

“When we. . . received the news of ‘AbdulBaha’s intended visit to the United States joy and excitement filled us all. I can remember the meeting in Kenosha, Wisconsin where everyone was making some plans to go to Chicago so as to be sure not to miss ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. However, we lived in the country seven miles from Kenosha at that time, and had two small children, so I really didn't see how we could go. . . When the time came my husband said, ‘Let us get ready and go,’ so we left early on a Sunday morning, about five or six a.m., as we had two miles to walk to the North Shore train—and arrived in Chicago about 8 a.m. My husband then said, ‘Let us go into a restaurant and have a cup of cofiee.’ The restaurant that we entered was empty except for a Persian gentleman who was seated in a corner, enjoying his cofiee, and we decided to speak to him thinking that perhaps he might know something about where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was staying. I asked him and he said that he knew where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was and that he would be our guide throughout the day.

THE Bahá’í WORLD

“On Sunday morning our guide took us to a Congregational Church on Cottage Grove Avenue where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to speak. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had not yet arrived, when we got there. The church was completely filled with people and the atmosphere was indescribable, such a stillness as l have never experienced. [shall never forget the experience we had there seeing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the first time. While the organ played ‘Holy, Holy, Lord, God Almighty”, ‘Abdu'l—Baha, with His secretaries following, came walking down the center aisle. With the congregation standing the minister approached ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. with open arms, embraced Him and introduced Him, saying how very happy he was to have this man come from the Orient to speak in his church. In the afternoon our Persian guide took us' to another church where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke again. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been invited to this minister's home for dinner but at 5 o‘clock our guide, who is a rug dealer in Chicago, brought us back to the hotel where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was staying while in Chicago and here hundreds of friends had gathered in the lobby waiting for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival. Shortly after our arrival He came in and was escorted to His room, where He was to interview the Bahá’ís. Dr. Z. Baghdadi served as His interpreter at that particular time. It seemed as though ‘Abdu’l-Bahá knew that we had a long way to go back home since strangely enough He called on my husband and myself to be the first ones to come up to His room. Later I was told that He had asked for the man who had the Greatest Name tattooed on his hand, which was my husband, and his wife. We had never seen ‘Abdu’l-Bahá closely, nor had He ever seen us closely, yet He had called for the man with the Greatest Name on his hand. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warmly embraced us both, gave us His blessing, and said to my husband that his hand was the only hand in the world which had the Greatest Name written on it and that it was greatly blessed.

“Some time later ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to Kenosha. .. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went around the hall and shook hands with every one of the friends who were there. Before the friends seated themselves at the banquet table ‘Abdu’l-Bahá first seated Himself at the head of the table and beckoned the children to him, taking them one by one in His lap and giving

[Page 913]IN MEMORIAM

W

each one a piece of fruit. . . On Sunday morning He spoke at the Congregational Church in Kenosha on the subject of the equality of the sexes, and stayed at the home of one of the older believers in Kenosha.”

Having always in mind the love and burning desire to aid the people of her native land to gain their rightful place in the arena of Bahá’u’lláh’s glory, Jennie pioneered alone in Stockholm for two years, 1947 to 1949, and then returned to the United States to be with her family. In 1955 her husband, who had also served the Faith so well, passed into the Abhá Kingdom and Jennie returned to Sweden again, all on her own this time and not sponsored by the European Teaching Committee as her previous trip had been. She settled in Goteborg and while there Shoghi Effendi sent her the following message in January of 1957:

“Your letter of January 14th has been received by the beloved Guardian and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. “He is very happy to see with what devotion and tenacity you are persevering in the service of the Faith in Sweden, and he wants you to know that he attaches great importance to this work, particularly in view of the fact that the Scandinavian and Finland National Assembly will be formed this coming April. He feels sure that this will mark a new period of unfoldment for the Faith there, and you will have had your share in this wonderful work. He will pray for you and your success in the holy Shrines, and assures you that you are near to him in spirit.

With loving greetings,

R. RABBANI

“May the Almighty bless continually your meritorious endeavors for the spread of His Faith, guide every step you take, remove every obstacle from your path, and enable you to enrich the record of your deeply appreciated accomplishments.

Your true brother, SHOGHI” On October 2, 1960, while at her home

Jennie remarked that she had some pains in her chest and needed to lie down. She hurried

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Jennie Ottilia Anderson

over to the couch and then very quickly death overtook her; her well deserved rest had come and her soul found release. The Bahá’í funeral service for her served as a teaching medium, which was her heart's desire, and shall never be forgotten in the hearts of those who were present, for the spirit was heavenly.

Quoting a letter received from the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land, in part, is fitting:

“The soil where the remains of a pioneer are laid to rest is indeed blessed. Not only does the Bahá’í world today know and cherish the memory of pioneers gathered to the Abhá Kingdom, but future generations will recognize what they owe to the courage and the sacrifice of these valiant souls. . .”

LOUISE M. ERlCKSON

Louise M. Erickson was born in Sweden and with a healthy curiosity and interest in other lands travelled to the United States at the early age of thirteen. She heard of the Bahá’í Faith through some of the earliest believers, and had the privilege of knowing some of these wonderful Bahá’í teachers

[Page 914]914

Louise M. Erickson

while living in New York City before her return to Sweden. In 1912 she visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Chicago, New York City and Paris; He showed her great kindness.

Mrs. Erickson visited Shoghi Effendi in 1955 at which time the Guardian encouraged her to sponsor the translation and publishing of Bahd'u'lla’lz and the New Era in Swedish; this she did in co-operation with Mrs. RuddPalmgren. She traveled extensively throughout Sweden, presenting the Faith and giving the Message to everyone she could. At one time she gave the Message to the Crown Prince of Sweden, and also the Swedish Minister Carl Lindhagen. She had also informed the Mayor of the City of New York, when she had resided there of this Faith.

The steadfastness of Louise Erickson and her great wish to spread the Message were prominent qualities. Nothing could prove a hindrance to her desire to do this and she never missed an opportunity to bring forward and spread the knowledge of the Faith to which she was so deeply devoted. Carl Lindhagen, Minister of the State of Sweden, having heard the Message from her said: “Louise, the Crown Prince must know about

THE Bahá’í WORLD

this.” He then telephoned the Royal Palace and an interview was arranged limited to twenty minutes—the outcome was that the Crown Prince gave her two hours.

Louise Erickson attended many Bahá’í functions, including Convention in the United States, Stockholm and Denmark, as well as summer schools in Green Acre, Maine, and Denmark. She loved the Faith and did all she could to support its activities and functions.

She passed away Oct. 12, 1960, in Goteborg. Bahá’í services were held for her, and she rests in the same cemetery with only a single grave between her and that of Jennie Anderson, another wonderful Swedish pioneer, whom she had known and loved. For Louise Erickson, too, the words of the Hands of the Cause can be quoted:

“The soil where the remains of a pioneer

are laid to rest is indeed blessed. Not only

does the Bahá’í world today know and cherish the memory of pioneers gathered to the Abhá Kingdom, but future generations will recognize what they owe to the courage and the sacrifice of these valiant souls.”

JEAN A. BONN

ELISABETH HOPE CHENEY 1895—1959

Severence is the quality that distinguished Elisabeth; single-minded devotion to her Lord. She expressed a shining courage in her domination of her weak physical body, and faced and solved incredible problems without fear, in her work for the Faith in LatinAmerica. Prayer and a deep abiding Faith were the standards proudly borne by this dainty little woman with her curly red hair. A flower, fresh as springtime placed upon her left shoulder, was her insignia.

Elisabeth became a Bahá’í April 19, 1937. She left her home in Lima, Ohio on November 28, 1940 to go to Asuncion, Paraguay, there to open a new country to the Faith and to help establish an Assembly. However, in 1941 she had to return to the United States because of illness.

Elisabeth regained her health to some degree, but during this time the death of her

[Page 915]IN MEMORIAM

mother occurred and so after this loss she left, for a second voyage, on November 28, 1944. During this trip she rebuilt the Assemblies in Caracas, Bogota, Lima, Santiago, Montevideo and finally returned to her beloved Paraguay, although some delay was encountered because of a shipwreck, arriving June 27, 1945. After rebuildingthis community she left in October to aid Central America, facing revolutions, and incredibly difficult problems within the Bahá’í communities.

On July 9, 1946 Elisabeth was recalled to Chicago, Illinois to serve as the Secretary of the lnter-America Committee and to help guide, inspire and encourage its members, for new pioneers were now arising to fulfill the second Seven-Year Plan. She organized and co-ordinated the Committee work which she was so eminently well prepared to do. Her ability as a writer and her brilliant mind were invaluable in preparing the South and Central American friends to form their National Spiritual Assemblies in 1951.

In October, 1949 Elisabeth made her third trip to Latin America, holding teaching conferences in Havana, Mexico City, Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Managua (Nicaragua) and Costa Rica, and arrived in Panama on February 13, 1950. Having fought illness all the way she finally took to her bed for five weeks and was very, very ill. But her courage and devotion helped her to publish Comunidml Bahá’í, and she helped prepare and publish El Plan Divino. She had formerly prepared the pamphlet, Prophecy Fulfilled for the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. In December 1950, she was again recalled to Chicago, Illinois to guide the formation of the two Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies, serving as Secretary of the Inter-America Committee. With the National Spiritual Assemblies of South and Central America elected in April of 1951 the Inter-America Committee ceased to exist.

As a memorial to her beloved spiritual mother Dorothy Baker, Hand of the Cause, Elisabeth set out on her fourth trip on August 27, 1954, having obtained a ten-month teaching contract in Monterrey, Mexico which was a goal city. The pupils of her school, ranging from twelve through eighteen years of age, offered Elisabeth a new field of service, and her knowledge and love helped to guide and orient these children.

915

On August 29, 1955 she came to live with me and continued to teach in the same school. Her work with the fourth grade for a period of three years was such that Elisabeth Hope Cheney will never be forgotten there. She gently but firmly guided the children to selfunderstanding and the right path.

Elisabeth made many teaching trips in the Dominican Republic and during 1957 when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Greater Antilles was elected, Elisabeth became a member, and the following year she was elected to serve as its Secretary. However, ill health was to prove too much of a barrier and she was soon unable to serve in the capacity of Secretary, although she continued to serve everyone through prayer and as much service as she was able to give.

On December 31, 1958, at the request of Horace Holley, the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, I brought Elisabeth to a hospital in Miami, Florida where, much to the amazement of the physicians there, she survived two major operations for cancer and then went to her home in Lima, Ohio. Her letters to me were always filled with the constant hope and desire to be able to continue to serve the Faith but this was not to be for her frail body was unable to withstand a third operation and on October 8, 1959 Elisabeth passed on to the Abhá Kingdom to join her Lord, and her adored Dorothy Baker.

SHEILA RICE-WRAY

EAWKAT ‘ALi FARAJU’LLAH

“In His service” is the simple but allencompassing inscription on the tomb of Shawkat ‘Ali Faraju’llah. erected in Tripoli in North Africa. Service characterized the thoughts and actions of this noble lady who was born in the cradle of the Bahá’í Faith, S__hiraz. In this southern Persian city flawkat Khánum first saw the light of day in the last decade of the nineteenth century. She lived there until around the age of three years and then was taken by her family to Egypt, first to Cairo and then to Mallawi.

At an early age she married the distinguished

[Page 916]916

Shawkat ‘Ali Faraju’lláh

Bahá’í publisher, flayfl Faraju‘llah Zaki al—Kurdi, who had been attracted to the Faith by Mimi Abfi‘l-Facjl, greatest of Bahá’í scholars. fiayfl Faraju‘llah as a young boy had left his native Marivan in Persian Kurdistan and traveled to Cairo where he became a student at al-Azhar, the thousand-year-old Islamic university.

flaylfl; Faraju‘llah was deeply loved by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and received many Tablets from Him; Shoghi Effendi mentions his name in his Ba/zd‘z' Adminislration letters. Shaylgh Faraju‘llah edited with meticulous care and published many Bahá’í books in Persian and Arabic. Associated with him at every step was flawkat Khánum. She proofread manuscripts and assisted in the multitude of tasks connected with the painstaking and arduous business of publishing. Her patience, perseverance, and serenity were valued assets in these activities.

The passing of flaym F‘araju’llah toward the close of 1937, marked the beginning of a new chapter of service for flawkat Khánum. In the spring of 1938, she joined her daughter, Bahia, in Baghdad, where she was of constant comfort and aid to Bahá’í travelers and

THE Bahá’í WORLD

pioneers. Her knowledge of both Persian and Arabic, her unswerving steadfastness and loyalty to the Cause of God and to His Sign on earth, h:: open-handed hospitality, her sympathy and understanding, were outstanding. It was fitting a memorial service for her should have been held under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq, in Baghdad.

Severe illnesses did not diminish her ardor for serving the Faith and the friends. In 1950 she journeyed to the United States, a nation whose customs and language were almost wholly new to her. She quickly attracted a throng of admirers and well-wishers, first in New York and then in California.

Shawkat Lhénum was eager to extend the range of her activities and it was with a happy heart that she hailed the prospect of settling in Africa. She accompanied Ella Bailey, Bahia, her grandson, and the writer to Tripoli in July 1953. The following Riḍván she became a member of the first Spiritual Assembly of Tripoli. Independent in outlook, wise in judgment, humble and gentle in manner, her virtues as an administrator were not inconsiderable. The one drawback was lack of freedom to teach, to use those wonderful talents that had attracted many people of capacity to the Faith in Egypt and ‘Iráq. Her humility and love for the Faith, her unfailing loyalty to the Guardian, and her daily life of sacrifice for His loved ones merited the praise and emulation accorded her by the friends in Egypt, ‘lraq, America, and Libya. They often remarked that she did not have a selfish bone in her body.

Her final illness in mid—February 1956 was short and her last words were of thanksgiving and gratitude. She kept repeating, “Thank you, thank you,” to the attendants at the United States Air Force Hospital at Wheelus Field. Her sweet Persian words to me will ever be graven upon my mind and soul. As oxygen was administered to her she said in Persian, “This is the door of Paradise.” Little did we realize that her earthly end would come in a brief hour or two.

The beloved Guardian cabled assurances of his prayers and the Secretary-General of the International Bahá’í Council wrote on March 10, 1956:

“The Guardian was very distressed. He asks that you assure her daughter and relatives

[Page 917]IN MEMORIAM

that he is praying fervently for the progress of her soul in the realms beyond. She will surely be richly rewarded by Bahá’u’lláh for the services which she has rendered so sacrificially and unselfishly all the years of her life. Her services reached their climax in her becoming a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Tripoli, one of the beacon lights of the Faith in that country.”

ROBERT L. GULICK JR.

ROQUE CENTURION MlRANDA

Roque Centurion Miranda, the first person to accept the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in Paraguay, died very suddenly of a heart attack on January 31, 1960. The history of the Faith in Paraguay will forever be associated with his name for he held the small band of believers together through the example of love and devotion for a period of nineteen years. He served on the Local Spiritual Assembly from the time of its formation. was their delegate to the Latin-American Congresses and was the Paraguayan representative to the Bahá’í Jubilee in 1944 in Wilmette, Illinois. He served on the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from the time of its formation in 1957 to the date of his passing.

He was a man greatly loved in his country and all radio programs devoted hours to eulogizing both his life and his theatrical achievements at the time of his death. He was the head of the National School of Theater in Paraguay and was known as an artist, playwright, poet and teacher. During his last year of life he was paid homage for some thirty years of devotion given to the culture of Paraguay. His body was laid out in state in the Municipal Theater, with the government of Paraguay taking charge of his funeral, in co-operation with the Bahá’ís, with Bahá’í memorial services held in the theater and at the cemetery. A grief-stricken country joined in a shared sorrow.

Roque was known for his great humility, compassion and sympathy toward the sufferings of his people. As he would walk down the streets of the city of Asuncion everyone

917

Roque Centurion Miranda

greeted him with big Latin embraces and to visiting Bahá’ís his name was an open sesame toward a warm welcome in Paraguay. Although renowned his life was characterized as one living almost in poverty and in the most humble of neighborhoods.

A Minister of the Government of Paraguay said of Roque that he was the true Guarani Paraguayan who represented the soul of his country. An Ambassador said that he was a personage who represented the new spirit of Paraguay and generations of Paraguayans will gratefully remember that such a man lived among them.

He gave numerous talks about the Faith on various radio stations and he spoke of the Faith constantly to the many daily visitors to his office. The Hand of the Cause Dr. Hermann Grossman said, “Does his country really recognize its great loss? He was truly a great soul.” An Auxiliary Board member, who knew him well, wrote that Roque‘s sacrifices and sufferings for the Faith had been intense and that it might well be that his death would prove a ransom for his country and bring a harvest of the masses into the Faith in the future.

[Page 918]918

Roque Centurion Miranda was like a father to the Paraguayans, and even during his last hours, ever mindful of the Faith, he kept repeating again and again, “What more can I do for my people? What more can 1 do for my Faith? What more can I do to serve Bahá’u’lláh ?"

ELLEN SIMS

FRITZ! SHAVER 1895-1958

Mrs. Fritzi Shaver, ardent follower of Bahá’u’lláh, left her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1943 to pioneer with her sister in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A nature sparkling with beauty, laughter and love, Mrs. Shaver attracted hearts and enkindled friendships. Her chosen professional fields were music and dramatics, and after becoming a Bahá’í, she augmented these with her greatest of all delights—namely, teaching the Faith. Hers was the gift of sensing deeply the spiritual needs and aptitudes of her listeners.

In 1946, when the beloved Guardian launched his Second Seven-Year Plan and called for pioneers to establish the Faith in the capital cities of ten Western European countries, the two inseparable sisters offered their services. The European Teaching Committee of America chose Bern, Switzerland, for them, and on April 7, 1947, they arrived at their post, overjoyed to be met by four of the Geneva friends who had so thoughtfully travelled to Bern to welcome them. On that same day—Easter Monday—the first Bahá’í Feast in Bern was held by this little group of six, in the sisters” room at the Kreuz Hotel. The story of the development of the Cause in Bern in those early days will be written by other hands.

After six years in Bern, Mrs. Shaver undertook pioneering in other cities, including Basel, where she again joined her sister, and from whence she left Switzerland in 1956 to pioneer in Luxembourg. Before many months Mrs. Shaver became seriously ill and was forced to return to her sister’s home in Basel. Intense suffering lay before her, during which she bore her affliction with undimmed sweet THE Bahá’í WORLD

Fritzi

Shaver

ness and patience, teaching from her bed to the very last. Her faith was indomitable and shed its radiance in her angelic submission to the Will of God. Deeply touched by the special prayers of the beloved Guardian, and by the love, helpfulness and generosity which streamed in to her from all directions, she would frequently remark: “It has been worth all of the suffering to experience this divine love!"

Two thousand friends from all parts of the world attending the Frankfurt Intercontinental Conference were witness to another rare privilege which God in His great bounty accorded our beloved “Fritzi“. On July 27, 1958, when the message of her passing was read from the podium in Frankfurt, this glorious assemblage rose to its feet and centered its thoughts upon her while prayers were being read. How unfathomable the spiritual forces which were released in those moments! In the words of returning friends, Fritzi was carried to the Abhá Kingdom on the wings of boundless love and devotion.

On August first—Switzerland‘s Independence Day—under blue skies and a smiling

[Page 919]IN MEMORIAM

sun, Mrs. Shaver was carried to her resting place in the beautiful Hornli Cemetery of Basel. The accompanying friends, heartbroken by the loss, yet gave silent thanks that God had released this faithful one from earthly limitations for activity in the timeless freedom of loftier spheres.

ELSA STEINMETZ

FARRUlfl lOAS 1920—1960

Farruk_h Ioas was gifted with a superior intellect, a warm and vibrant nature, with great personal charm and, above all, with spiritual capacity that was transmuted into service to the Faith which was the beacon of her life. Farrufl’s many friends felt the void that is left in the world when such a radiant personality passes on; yet the thought was expressed repeatedly, in the hundreds of tributes that poured in to her family, that now she could fully and joyously use all of the innate talent which she possessed to such an outstanding degree.

Farruk_h was born Mary Lorraine Ioas but was known from early childhood as Farrufl, a name meaning “Joyous One, — bestowed upon her by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—a name which she loved, She grew up in a family who were completely devoted to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, her paternal grandparents having been among the earliest believers in America. Her father’s life had been indelibly stamped, as a young boy, by his meeting the Master in America in 1912. He was to be called many yearslater by Shoghi Effendi to serve at the World Center, in Haifa, where he became secretary-general of the first International Bahá’í Council. Earlier he had been appointed a Hand of the Cause. In 1955, her mother, Sylvia, was also appointed to the International Bahá’í Council. Farrufl was aware of all these bounties; but she had, as well as a superior mind, an independent spirit and her conviction as a Bahá’í was not based upon acceptance but upon certitude. One who learned of the Faith from her and who herself became an outstanding teacher and pioneer has stated: “The quality of Farrufl‘s faith was unique in my experience among

919

Bahá’ís. It seemed to me that it wasn‘t an achievement——it was an endowment from God. She did not believe#she knew."

To a close friend Farrugh confided that her earliest and happiest Bahá’í memories were her summers at Geyserville Bahá’í School in California. She was present in 1927 at the official opening of the school and attended each summer thereafter for twenty years until her family moved to Wilmette, Illinois. She served on the school committee, taught classes. led many youth activities. An intimate friend of those days writes:

“She loved to sit and listen as a child for endless hours to deep and profound discussions- of the meaning of life and the thrilling way the Faith knits all the aspects of life together. She was passionate about discussions. and remained 50. She found it essential to follow a thing to its ultimate conclusion which made her a superb teacher."

She once said that in her early years she was engrossed mostly in the spiritual and social teachings but that her father's classes on administration had awakened a keen interest in her in this aspect and it became of deep and vital interest to her. She was an articulate exponent of the administrative order, its uniqueness, and of its eventual fruition into the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. She was deeply conscious of the historic period of the Faith in which she lived, spanned by the leadership of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi. At the time of his passing, while flying to London to attend his funeral, she wrote her thoughts of him: , .one whom most of us had never seen, but who was identified as an integral part of the very fabric of this our Faith, one who had been the very pulse of the word Bahá’í for those of us who were born and grew up under him alone.”

Farrufl was seventeen, ready to graduate from high school in 1937 when the first Seven Year Plan was announced. In January of 1937 Shoghi Effendi stated that to establish the Faith in thirty—four new states and provinces of the United States and Canada was the obligation of each individual as well as Assembly. Her thoughts and feelings had been galvanized by the Guardian‘s Plan and she put aside her education in 1942 and went to Boise, Idaho to pioneer in a state that did not yet have a Bahá’í Assembly. In April

[Page 920]920

Farruk_h 10a;

1943, Boise elected its first Local Spiritual Assembly.

Throughout her lifetime, FarrulQ was to respond in this way to the messages of Shoghi Effendi. A Bahá’í recalls vividly her enthusiasm when Shoghi Effendi announced the second Seven Year Plan: “Farrufl‘s joy and enthusiasm were all that our Guardian could possibly have desired. . .all of my Bahá’í life I have had a special feeling about pioneering because of the way Farrufl spoke of it. She made it seem that pioneering was life itself.”

Leaving Boise, Farrum returned to university life and graduated with distinction, a Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University in 1945. A fellow student at Stanford recalls this of her: “She had a wonderfully clear, incisive mind, capable of absorbing an almost unlimited number of facts, analyzing them, evaluating them and using them in new contexts. She was a joy to her teachers who on more than one occasion in my presence praised her attitude and ability.” As a Bahá’í she also felt that her university work was a reflection upon her Faith and her self—imposed standards were very high.

Her participation in the second Seven Year Plan began in the southwest, particularly in Texas. She followed a series of public meetings given by her father with a regular, weekly circuit of teaching that included

THE BAHA’I WORLD

several Texas communities; and in April of 1948 both Dallas and San Antonio formed their Assemblies.

During her years in Wilmette, Farrufl served in multitudinous ways: as a public speaker on many platforms and in Bahá’í Temple meetings held in Foundation Hall; on the Public Relations Committee; the Bahá’í World Editorial Committee; as an editor of Bahá’í News. She worked in the office of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Wilmette for over a year in an editorial capacity. She compiled The Drama of SalmIion used in institutes throughout the United States and other countries.

It was during her work at the publishing office that the message from Shoghi Effendi launching the World Crusade of 1953—1963 arrived. Her response was electric. Her mind leaped ahead, contemplating how this awesome Plan would affect the world, the Bahá’ís, her own life. She could not know then that she would pioneer once again on the home front, in two countries abroad, and finally be released to the Abhá Kingdom, before its final completion. She went to Texas again and helped to establish the first Assembly in Ft. Worth in April, 1955. Then late in 1956, she went to France at the request of the European Teaching Committee. Here she served on the Local Assembly of Paris. She became chairman of the National Teaching Committee and worked without cessation in developing an excellent teaching program that included all details of circuit teaching, workshops, and regional conferences with that rare quality of organization and follow-through that she had. Four Local Assemblies were formed in the provinces. She helped to locate the Bahá’í Temple site for France west of Paris on the Seine and the endowment property located in the southwest, central part of the country, both goals of the World Crusade. One of her last, magnificent services to a community which she loved was her indefatigable work in the preparation for the convention that elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1958. Throughout all of these years of service, made difficult after the loss of Shoghi Effendi, Farruk_h was outstanding for her absolute firmness in the Covenant, for her elucidation of and courageous adherence to the administrative principles of the Faith. There were times when her efforts in these

[Page 921]IN MEMORIAM 921

directions, coupled with her less than robust health, brought deep suffering.

Early in 1959 she returned to America for medical treatment. Though aware of the seriousness of her illness, she showed her moral courage at this time in insisting that her beloved parents should not know or be distressed at a time when they were overwhelmed with work at the World Center. Regaining some vigor, she once more responded to the call for pioneers and in the autumn went to Florence, Italy—her last post. Her health failed and finally she was prevailed upon to return to America early in 1960 for treatment, though adamant in her desires and plans to return to Europe. A few months later, on April 14, she passed away and was buried in Washington on a beautiful spring day that reflected in its bright sunshine, bird song, blossoming shrubs and flowers not only the radiance of her own spirit, but the promise of the world to come.

EUNICE BRAUN

AMY ISABEL MCALLISTER 1907—1960

Miss Amy Isabel McAllister was born on May 6, 1907 in Colon, Republic of Panama, the daughter of Emma Louise and George Alexander McAllister. She attended an English—language elementary school, the E. A. Kerr School, and afterwards completed her studies at the Uruguay School in the city of Colon. Then she further continued her education by taking up accounting at the Professional School in Panama City, graduating in 1927.

To her family and the business world Amy was thought of as a self—disciplinarian and was always methodical in her pursuits throughout her life. Her motto was, “There is only one way to do anything, and that is, the right way.”

In 1953, scarcely three years after entering the Faith—years which had been spent in stalwart and constant service to the Local Assembly and community of Colén—Amy

was elected to the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America, Mexico and Panama, which at that time also encompassed the Greater Antilles and a major part of the Islands of the Pacific. In 1954 she was re-elected and served as Recording Secretary.

Amy now decided she would pioneer to Escasu, Costa Rica, and offer what services she could in the consolidation of the Assembly and the community there. In 1960, however, she was again elected as a member of the Regional National Assembly and although still in poor health she voluntarily offered her services as Assistant Corresponding Secretary. After a year of very intensive Bahá’í activity in Costa Rica,Amy had to return to Panama for further medical treatment and because of physical complications it was not possible for her to return to Costa Rica. She knew for her health she should return to Coldn but she did not wish to leave the pioneer field, and her last request prior to leaving the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Panama to return to Colo'n was to be placed aboard a ship destined for Bluefields, Nicaragua which she hoped would fulfill her past assignment as a traveling teacher to a goal city which was so dear to her heart.

On December 17, 1960 Amy passed away during the time the Regional National Assembly was in session in Guatemala City; all the members present knew how much she had wanted to attend this meeting. It was decided that during the seven National Teaching Congresses to be held at the end of December, in each of the seven countries comprising the regional area, memorial services would be held in her honor.

Amy McAllister was a vital part of Shoghi Effendi’s World Crusade and she was dedicated to the beloved Guardian and gladly gave her life to the service of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. A most befitting tribute to Amy McAllister would be found in the words of the Master:

“The disciples of Christ forgot themselves

and all earthly things, forsook all their

cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and passion and with absolute detachment scattered far and wide and engaged in calling the peoples of the world to the Divine Guidance, until at last they made the world another world, illumined

[Page 922]922 THE BAHA’iWORLD

the surface of the earth and even to the last hour proved self—sacrificing in the pathway of that Beloved One of God."

JAMES V. FACEY DONALD R. WITZEL

ELLA W. DUFFlELD 1873—1962

Ella Warden Dutfield was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1873 of Scottish-lrish descent, the family name being Semple. Both of her parents were from the region of Newtownards and Belfast, Ireland, but they had come to the United States when they were very small children. Ella‘s parents were members of the Presbyterian church and she was reared in a family whose life was deeply influenced by the essential teachings of Christianity and a strong belief in God.

Ella had a great love for music and her ability to play the piano from an early age found her attracted more and more to the world of music. She also had a fine contralto voice and during a period of ten years was well known on the concert stage, and she sang in several of the largest churches in her native city.

She married Dr. Thomas McCann, a surgeon, and from this union a daughter was born. Her happiness in this marriage was shortlived for within four years her husband died. Three years later she re-married, this time to Dr. William Duffield, M. D., and they established their home in Los Angeles, California. It was during this time that Ella Duflield identified herself with the musical world of California and she composed many songs which gained her international recognition, one in particular being a book of songs called Songs 161' Children.

In 1933 Ella, accompanied by her daughter, first heard of the Bahá’í Faith at the home of Mrs. Martin Carter, and the speaker at the time was Beulah Storrs Lewis. Ella often said that she did not know the moment when she accepted Bahá’u’lláh, but that it happened very soon after she began reading the Teachings, every word convincing her of the station of Bahá’u’lláh.

From the time she accepted the Faith her life was spent in dedication to serving

Ella W. Duffield

it in every way that it was possible for her to do so. She was an avid reader and her constant study of the creative Word gave her a great reserve of power which served her particularly in her later years.

When the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, called upon the American believers to leave their country and to pioneer in foreign lands she asked to accompany her daughter in answer to this call. They arrived on the island of Madeira on September 30. 1953. Ten months after their arrival there they were asked to go to France by the European Teaching Committee of the United States, where the work of consolidating the Faith toward the formation of a National Spiritual Assembly had been inaugurated by the Guardian in his message to the United States of July 28. 1954. There were already two pioneers of the Faith on Madeira so Ella and her daughter accepted the request of the Teaching Committee and arrived in the city designated to them, which was Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), France in June of 1954.

Ella Dut’field was in very delicate health when she left her home, but in spite of this she was able to serve for nine years of the

[Page 923]IN MEMORIAM

Ten-Year Crusade instigated by the Guardian. It was during the last four years of her life, at a time when she was practically bed-ridden, that her great spiritual capacity was most strongly felt by everyone who came in contact with her, and although many of the people who visited her at this time did not speak her language, nor she theirs, they felt the great assurance in the Faith that she had and Ella, who knew that a new and happier world was being born, gave forth a quality of humor that was a delight to those around her.

In her 89th year, this Knight of Bahá’u’lláh passed into the Abhá Kingdom and she is buried in the Cimitiére de I‘Est, high in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean.

SARA M. KENNY

FRANCES WELLS 1906—1960

Frances Wells, née West, was a pioneer whose labors for the spread of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh took her far north to Alaska and then, much later, to Luxembourg in the heart of Europe, where, on December 27, 1960, she passed away and she was buried in her goal city of Difl‘erdange“. Her determined and dedicated services recall these words of Bahá’u’lla’th: “They who have forsaken their country for the purpose of teaching Our Cause—these shall the Faithful Spiri! strengthen through its power. N0 act, however great can compare with it. . .Such a service is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds.”

Frances was a child of six when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited Los Angeles. As was His custom, He called the children around Him and Mrs. Hattie Cline brought her nieces to Him. Little Frances, with her flaming red hair and green eyes received her gift of roses from the Master, but secretly, she told us, she wished they had been candy.

All her life Frances served the Faith, first in Los Angeles and in Big Bear and then in 1943 in Alaska where she pioneered for seventeen years. In Anchorage she worked with Honor Kempton helping with her famous “Book Cache”, giving radio talks, teaching, Visiting many cities, and engaging in many other Bahá’í activities. The beloved

923

Frances Wells

Guardian was particularly pleased with her achievement of being able to take the Faith to Point Barrow above the Arctic Circle, where, under most difficult conditions she worked among the Eskimos for three years, which led to the acceptance by the first Eskimo in that region of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

In 1958 Frances made the Pilgrimage to the World Center in Haifa. Stopping in the Benelux countries on her way back to Alaska, she decided to answer the urgent call to pioneer in a European goal city and on August 3, 1959 she arrived in Luxembourg and settled in the town of Difierdange. Although ignorant of the languages and customs, she followed in the steps of other pioneers and was able to gather a group of sincere friends around her. Frances was faced with many tests in her new post and handled them with the same courage and perserverance that she had shown in other adverse circumstances.

After attending the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone of the Mother Temple of Europe at Frankfurt, Germany. on November 20, the condition of great fatigue which Frances had been feeling suddenly became very acute. On December 7 she entered the hospital at Esch where her ailment was diagnosed as leukemia; she lived only three

[Page 924]924

more weeks. During that time she was lovingly attended and nursed by the Bahá’í friends until on the night of December 27 she quietly slipped away.

December 3], some seventy Bahá’ís and townspeople assembled to pay Frances homage at the service held in the open air before the casket. The Mayor of Difierdange was repre‘ sented and Mr. Donald Cruz, the secretary of the American Embassy, represented the United States Government. Mr. Ben Levy, Of the Benelux National Spiritual Assembly had been chosen as the spokesman of that group as it was through hearing Frances teach the Faith in Alaska that he had become a Bahá’í, and Honor Kempton, whom Frances had followed to Alaska, and who had introduced the Faith in Luxembourg in 1946, read the last prayer.

Frances Wells, pioneer, lies on the slope facing the Holy Land with the fields of flowers that she so loved spreading out in a bright carpet around the area, and the great iron mines toward the rear, symbols, perhaps, of her iron determination serving the softer flowers of spirit.

VIRGINIA ORBISON

HARRY EDWIN FORD 1892—1954

The little white signal flag went up in the window.

There was a shout, “Uncle Harry is well enough to have us come.”

Small feet hurried along the apartment corridors.

The children’s hour had come!

Up to the last day of his life on earth, Harry was with children.

How well he understood them, and how they in turn, loved him.

This understanding of children, and for the world of nature, were Harry‘s dominant characteristics.

Harry Edwin Ford was born in Rushford, New York, August 7, 1892. His father was a lumberman and their home was a cabin on the edge of the forest. Harry was the eldest of six children; the first little ones he loved and cared for. Much of his early youth was spent

THE Bahá’í WORLD

Harry Edwin Ford

in the woods with his father; the world of nature was his home.

He received his education in Upper New York, graduating with a BS. degree in education from Syracuse University. In 1910 he accepted his first official teaching position and from then until he retired in 1948, in order to devote all of his life to the Bahá’í Faith, he was a teacher and principal of schools.

When Harry first heard of the Faith about 1936, he said at once, “But 1 have thought out my own religion; it does not need a church and does not harm any living thing." In truth he had been waiting for the Bahá’í Faith! He became active at once. He taught at Green Acre, wrote short stories for children. served on national committees.

Upon the suggestion of Shoghi Effendi, Harry and Bahíyyih Ford moved from New York State to Colorado Springs in 1948. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews had asked them to help manage the International Bahá’í School. For five years Harry was active at the school in the summer months, then traveled extensively during the winters teaching the Faith.

In 1952, in response to a question from me, Shoghi Effendi again conferred a great blessing upon Harry by asking us to go to

[Page 925]IN MEMORIAM

Johannesburg, South Africa, to pioneer. Although Harry was ill he knew this was the crowning event of his life and with all his heart he prepared for the trip.

In July 1953, Johannesburg became his final home. In a small one-room apartment, he prayed to be allowed to find receptive hearts in this city of no friends.

His strength was rapidly failing but he could just manage a short walk each day. On these walks he met the children! Like a pied piper he found them. Soon they were overrunning the tiny fiat until his only way to have quiet was to put up the little white flag in the window when he was able to see them. He told them stories of all the growing things around them, and of the new Messenger for this Day. The children told their parents; the parents came to see the much loved “Uncle Harry.” Thus the first class on the Faith was established.

On January ll, 1954, Harry quietly passed from this world into the next. He is buried in Johannesburg.

The tributes he would have wanted most, followed his passing. A cable from the beloved Guardian reading: “Profoundly grieved passing devoted exemplary pioneer—reward Abhá Kingdom—praying progress soul. .

A lovely bunch of African flowers on his grave was marked: “From The Children.”

BAHiYYiH FORD

DULCIE BURNS DIVE

On Tuesday morning, 18th September 1962, valiant pioneer, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, Mrs. Dulcie Burns Dive, passed to the Abhá Kingdom in Auckland, New Zealand. The Faith has surely lost one of its most devoted servants in the Pacific area.

Mrs. Dive, after working with her own community in Auckland, moved to Australia, where she was active in the teaching work and served for some years on the National Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. When the Guardian called for pioneers to settle virgin areas Mrs. Dive left for the Pacific islands, where her services were invaluable. She served on the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific from the time it was formed in 1959 until her death.

925

The Bahá’ís of the Antipodes have cause to be grateful for her many services; her name will be forever remembered as one of the first pioneers of the Faith from this area.

CYRUS SAMANDARi 1934—1958

This radiant young believer received the approval of the beloved Guardian for his pioneer project to Somaliain 1955. Assured by the promise of success which Shoghi Effendi had given him, he arrived in Mogadiscio on Bahá’u’lláh’s birthday, and by his warmheartedness and beautiful chanting endeared himself to us all. His style of chanting was, indeed, unique and he became a nightingale.

He studied hard and learned to speak not only Arabic but sufficient Somali (which has, as yet, no script) to be able to teach the Faith. He taught with such love, patience and sincerity that he was able to attract many souls. He not only taught the Faith, but mathematics, Arabic and English to the many young men who were unable to study at school.

The first Riḍván after his arrival in M0gadiscio, he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly, and he was also an active member of the local teaching committee. He continued to serve on these two bodies until he fell ill.

He taught early morning, mid-day, evening and night, and even during work, fearlessly and with as much wisdom as his ardent nature permitted. He showered love upon his contacts and in less than two years brought six souls to the Faith, in a country where fanaticism and opposition made many difficulties.

Most young men would have been bored and complained of the dullness of their life here, but although he lived such a simple, restricted life, he was always radiantly happy, which, combined with his kindly, sympathetic nature, made him not only magnetic but a very successful teacher. Even the fanatical people who came to the shop to threaten him during his life, were shocked to hear of his death and declared that he was a very good young man.

One of his spiritual children transferred to Afgoi; together they started extension teaching, Cyrus traveling in the crowded

[Page 926]926

Cyrus Samandari

Somali bus or an open lorry. One of the contacts that he made in Afgoi moved to the bush; Cyrus found a young man who came from the same bush village and was returning on foot that evening; he insisted on accompanying him, although he was told that the way was rough and long. They arrived at nightfall and Cyrus went to the hut of his friend, shared his strange food and slept beside him on a mat. The other villagers were astonished to see a white man staying with them. Next day, very early in the morning, they made their journey back to Afgoi, the sun beating down on them 'and the dust choking them. Cyrus returned home, burnt by the sun, tired with the long walks but happy that he had obeyed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wish literally.

When Cyrus heard of the passing of the beloved Guardian, the radiant light was extinguished, and he said in a broken voice: “There is nothing to live for now. Life without the beloved Guardian has no meaning.” Not many days later he became unwell,

At first he was nursed at home, all this time receiving a flow of students and contacts, who came for lessons in Arabic or mathematics, or for “bedside firesides.” He continually apologized for giving trouble, though, in fact,

THE Bahá’í WORLD

he was uncomplaining and undemanding. When his condition suddenly became serious, he was hurried to a hospital. This was during the Kampala Conference, which he had so hoped to attend. A cable was sent, asking for prayers, and beloved Amatu’l-Bahá Ri'ihiyyih Khánum herself called upon the friends to join in praying for his recovery. The cable informing us of her solicitude for him came to lighten a very dark day of suffering. After the conference, his uncle, the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Samandari, visited Mogadiscio and gave Cyrus great happiness; some of his old radiance returned to his face.

It was discovered a serious operation would be necessary, and he was sent by air to Nairobi on March 19; with broken hearts his relatives in Mogadiscio helped the now frail and pathetic figure to board the plane—a shadow of the former finely built, handsome young man. The operation proved to be useless, as he was suffering from advanced cancer. Doctors and nurses were all deeply impressed with his gentle and courageous character. He slipped from this life to the next on the evening of April 5, 1958, with the Nairobi pioneers watching over him. Although it had been hoped that he could regain sufficient strength to pass his last days with his beloved mother, he was destined by God to serve the Faith in death as in life. The Nairobi friends were able to acquire a Bahá’í burial ground and obtain special permission to bury both black and white in the same area. Thus he helped to win another goal.

The Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land cabled: “Confident spirit devoted enkindled pioneer receiving reward presence beloved Guardian Abhá Kingdom. Praying Shrines.”

MEHDI AND URSULA SAMANDARi

EDWIN WHITAKER MATTOON

The high point in the lives of our parents was in the summer of 1921, when we all visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. in Haifa, Palestine. In a farewell talk, on July 23, 1921, He said: “You have journeyed from that long distant region and arrived in this Holy Land and you have visited the two Holy Shrines. You

[Page 927]IN MEMORIAM

must appreciate this gift. Not everybody has such a gift. You became confirmed in it with utmost sincerity and with your attention turned toward the Kingdom of God completely. While you were here, we were pleased with you and you with us. Visiting is good like this for it is of worship. This visit of yours is well accepted in the Kingdom of Abhá. Its results will remain with you forever. Therefore, you should thank God that you attained to such great Bounty.

“Now that you return, your going should be like the breeze that comes out of a rosegarden—the breeze that has a very sweet fragrance. You who return should be in utmost joy and mirth, and with great glad tidings be the cause of the happiness of the friends, that whoever meets you may be filled with joy.

“Convey to every one of the friends the message of kindness from me. You, yourselves, must be like letters, letters that speak. I wish to write to every one of the friends, but you know that I have no time. I am always with you. My heart is with you. I will never forget you.”

It seems to us this was true; our parents spent their lives in showing kindliness and thoughtfulness to people everywhere.

Dad was born on a ranch near Galatea, Colorado. His parents, Edwin Charles Mattoon and Mae Whitaker Mattoon, were pioneers to the West. With them he lived in a sod hut for a few years. Very early in life, Dad learned to recite and sing. One of his great pleasures throughout his life was taking part in and directing amateur dramatics and talent shows. His parents returned to Illinois when he was twelve years old. Dad received both his Bachelor of Science and his Master‘s degrees from the University of Illinois.

He married Annie Ellen Crathorne in 1912. They had a full and rewarding life together and shared the great experience of discovering the Faith. They first heard of it while attending a Sunday School class in the Methodist Church in Urbana, Illinois. Prof. Jacob Kunz was the teacher and he told them of a great prophet, Bahá’u’lláh, who had appeared in the East. Shortly after this, Dad read an announcement in the paper about a lecture at the Unitarian Church entitled “The Life of Muhammad.” Mother and Dad decided to go.

927

Edwin Whitaker Mattoon

When leaving this meeting, they received an invitation to a forum at which various religious subjects were to be discussed. At these meetings, they met some of the Bahá’ís who lived in Urbana. They developed a keen interest in the Bahá’í Faith. Whenever one of the friends received a letter from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, it was a treasure for all and everyone rushed to read.it.

Dad’s interest in the Faith continued to grow, as was shown by his correspondence with mother during the world war (he was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army). Many of his letters centered around his thoughts about the Faith and the Bahá’ís he met in other lands.

In the years after the war, the desire to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became stronger and stronger; finally, he wrote and asked for permission for him and his family to make the pilgrimage. A few months before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá died, their wish was granted; we remained in Haifa for nineteen days.

From 1920 to 1929, our father was the principal of the High School in St. Joseph, Illinois. He was instrumental in building a fine new school with beautiful grounds which is now the pride of the countryside. He was very interested in helping deserving students.

[Page 928]928 THE BAHA’IWORLD

In 1931, Dad accepted a position with the Chicago Public High Schools. In [935, we bought a home in Wilmette, Illinois. From then on, Dad’s activity centered around the Bahá’í House of Worship where he continually served as a guide. He was the chairman of the National Bahá’í Archives Committee from 1934 to 1947. He served on the InterAmerica Teaching Committee for many years. He visited most of the countries in Central and South America in the summer of 1949 assisting the Bahá’í activities. This meant much to him; he always wished to return. He also visited and worked with the Omaha Indians in Macy, Nebraska.

During all this time he was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He had a capacity for giving freely of his time and devotion and love. Nothing was ever asked for in return.

Dad had long desired to pioneer, and after the Guardian launched the Ten-Year Crusade this desire grew into a reality when he and mother arrived in Key West, Florida, in August 1954. There he devoted his energies to teaching. He had realized his dream and felt very grateful. He made many friends and gave the Message to everyone he could. He became well known to the Negroes in Key West and was asked on several occasions to speak to the students attending the Negro High School.

In February, 1955, he suddenly became ill but continued active in the Bahá’í community and to his great joy an Assembly was formed in April, 1956. The loving spirit of the Bahá’ís was a great solace to him. His spirit never faltered.

Mother has written: “During his last months, he was so unbelievably brave and. . . never complained. He never lost his desire to go to South America and when the Conference was in session in Havana, Cuba, he said he felt able to go. .. he surprised the friends there. He came back very happy about meeting them. Just a short time before he died he gave an inspiring talk to a group of Bahá’ís and guests in Key West. .

On December 24, 1956, Dad passed into the next world. Mother asked us to notify the Guardian. The Guardian’s reply, which was a great source of comfort, is as follows: “Grieved news dear Father’s death. Pioneer teaching administrative services unforgettable,

highly meritorious. Assure fervent prayers progress his soul Abhá’. Kingdom.”

His body lies in the cemetery in Key West. On the marble stone that covers the grave are engraved the words of Baha’u‘llz’th, “I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve?”

ANNAMARIE MATTOON BAKER FLORENCE MATTOON ZMESKAL

CARL SIGURD HOGBERG 1902—1962

On June 27, 1962, seated on a bus coming home at noon, Carl Sigurd Hogberg suffered a heart attack and died.

Born in Goteborg, Sweden, in 1902, Sigurd had gone to America at the age of 24. Having completed his school education and served in the Swedish Navy, he sought a wider field of opportunity.

Was it a foreordained plan which led him to the Bahá’í Faith, through his wife, AIethe Holsappie, and then back to his native land as a Bahá’í pioneer? At the time he became a Bahá’í in southern California in 1948 Sigurd’s work as a salesman took him through eleven western states. Earnestly he endeavored to apply the principles to business relationships and to put into action those Words of Bahá’u’lláh: “Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a center of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: ‘This man is unquestionably a Bahá’í'.”’ Over this widespread area he said many prayers and sowed many seeds. In order to attend Feasts he often traveled long distances to reach the nearest Bahá’í community.

What a joy it was to Sigurd when the first Spiritual Assembly in his home community, Culver Township, was formed! He felt his home richly blessed through Bahá’í firesides and by welcoming groups of Bahá’í youth and their friends.

In 1954 Sigurd suffered a serious illness and a period of discouragement followed. One

[Page 929]IN MEMORIAM

Carl Sigurd Hogberg

morning he awoke as though rejuvenated, saying, “The most wonderful thought was in my mind when I awoke, and now I know I‘m going to get well.” And he repeated the words of the Báb, “Put your trust wholly in Him, and be assured of ultimate victory." This was a deeply spiritual experience, bringing the conviction that his life had been spared for some purpose. Later. when the call came for pioneers to Sweden, Sigurd and his wife unhesitatingly gave up their jobs and the ranch, which had become a dearly-loved project, sold their possessions and made the journey back to Sigurd‘s native land.

Many relatives and friends heard of the Faith because of Sigurd‘s journey back. Resuming the Swedish language after 34 years and trying to express himself in language suited to the Teachings was not an easy task for him, but a limited vocabulary did not deter him—his warmth of spirit, his firm conviction and forthright manner attracted many listeners.

In his zeal to follow the directive of the Guardian, he endeavored as a pioneer to “dig his roots deeply,” to show courtesy to neighbors and business associates, to build friendships, and above all, he endeared himself to the children of the neighborhood, to all

929

of whom he was “Farbror” (Uncle). “Perhaps their parents will not accept the Faith,” he said, “but these children will one day be Bahá’ís.” The flowers brought by the children, and their parents, when they heard of his passing, testified to their genuine affection for him.

Sigurd was honored in being the first believer to lay down his life in Uppsala. Perhaps the type of teaching which Sigurd did was best expressed by the bus driver who, at the close of the Bahá’í service, laying a wreath at the foot of the grave as a tribute from all the bus drivers, said in part: “We have carried Herr Hogberg on many journeys and he was such a pleasant passenger, such a fine man, with always a cheery greeting for each of us, that we enjoyed having him ride with us—and now that his journey through life has ended, we wish him a happy passage and glorious transition to his eternal Home.“

From the grave of Dag Hammarskjold one looks through the lovely old birch trees toward the resting-place of “Bahá’í Pionjiiren Carl Sigurd Hégberg” whose monument also bears those immortal Words of Bahá’u’lláh, “Att Alla Narioner Ma Bliva Ert I Tron Och Alla Ma'rmiskor Sasom Bréder.” “That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers.”

ALETHE H. HOGBERG

MOLLlE ANKENY YOUNG 1867—1959

Mollie Ankeny Young was born in Clinton. Iowa, in 1867, of a pioneer family. Her maternal grandparents had been the first family to settle there. She often spoke of this maternal grandmother as being a tower of strength and calmness; these qualities she so admired seemed to pass on to her.

She was by birth an Episcopalian, but her religion was not of the Church, but of deeds. She never taught her children by words, but by the example of her upright and generous character. She never could bear to see others in need and not try to help them. She seemed to sense a necessity without being told.

Her early life was tragically touched by the death of her first beloved husband, James

[Page 930]930

Dwight Lamb, and later by the passing of a cherished daughter. Perhaps these were the incidents which drew Mother away from the social world to which she belonged. to search for the things of the spirit.

The friends she selected were sincere, forthright persons like herself. and with them she explored many avenues of religious thought. She had no use for sanctimonious piety and never considered that she had any special virtues, her sense of humor was too great for that.

She first received the Bahá’í Message in California in the early 1930‘s. but it was not until 1938 that she turned with all her heart to Bahá’u’lláh. She was seventy-one years of age at this time, a reserved. direct woman. Her love for Bahá’u’lláh now became such a force in her life that any former barriers 01' reserve were dissolved. She extended her love and friendliness to God's children of all races and nationalities. Her every thought seemed to be dominated by the example of ‘Abdu’l—Bahz’t. Her home in Beverly Hills, California was given over to innumerable Bahá’í activities as well as to regular Sunday evening "fireside" meetings. These meetings averaged from twenty to thirty persons, many 01‘ whom became Bahá’ís and are now serving throughout the world.

When attending the lntcr—American Conference in Chicago in 1953, she was quickened by the spirit of the world-embracing Crusade and especially with one of its most important objectives, of carrying the Message to every corner of the earth by 1963, the Centenary of the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh. She never thought of herself as a Bahá’í teachercoupled with her strong will there was always humility. When she heard Amatu’l-Bahá Rt’thiyyih Khánum, the beloved wife of the Guardian, who had come to the Conference as his special representative. she determined to leave her native land and do what she could to serve Shoghi Effendi in helping to fulfill the goals of the Crusade. She was cighty-six years of age at this time. The statement which had impressed her was the fact that all could serve regardless of age. Those who were too old could go to foreign countries. there by example, they could teach others and they could “lay down their bones" in these foreign lands.

She wound up her affairs, by the fall of

THE Bahá’í WORLD

1954 and, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bode, went to Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1955 Mother transferred to Costa Rica. For two years she assisted the work in Costa Rica, first in the City of Alajuela, and later in the village of Escazu, Costa Rica. At this time, as a result of her advanced age, her health began to fail. She was not one to complain but she deplored the check-rein it put on her being active. In 1957 she returned to Mexico, the country of her first choice, and there in January of 1959, she passed away.

At her memorial service, in the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Mexico, Dr. Edris RiceWray said of her: . .She seemed to love everyone and certainly everyone loved her. Her failing health even before returning to Mexico, made it impossible for her to serve the Faith very actively. However. she came, determined to do what she could. Even when she couldn‘t leave her bed at the last, she was constantly assisting in every way possible. . .

“I think one of the most striking things one notices about the Bahá’í Faith is the old people. They never appear senile, but are dynamic and alive until the last. It is their faith which makes a difference. It is one of the greatest proofs of the Faith. And Mrs. Young had it to a very great degree.”

Her grave stands high on the mountain slopes that overlook the Valley of Mexico. On the simple headstone the beautiful Words of Bahá’u’lláh are written in Spanish:

“0 SON OF THE SUPREME!

“l have made death a messenger of joy to

thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made

the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom ?"

VALERIA NICHOLS

LUTFU'LLAH ‘ALizADIH 1893—1959

Luṭfu’lláh ‘Alizadih and his wife came to Africa from Persia at the beginning of the Crusade and despite perpetual ill health “Lu” stayed in his pioneer post. He was born on March 9, 1893 in Tabri’z, Persia. One day he stood with a group of young friends watching a carpenter at work and this man began to speak to the group about the Bahá’í Faith.

[Page 931]IN MEMORIAM

Lutfu‘llah ‘Alizadih

Although Lutfu‘llah and the others were all Muslims. what was said by this man interested him and he kept going back again and again to hear more until the day came when he totally embraced it. This choice caused a great deal of unpleasantness in the family and finally he decided he would have to leave home. He first went to Russia where he witnessed the beginning ol’ the great revolution there. He managed to escape and made his way to Finland. Austria and finally, London.

When he arrived in London, he knew no English but regardless of this handicap he was soon giving his services to the Bahá’í Cause there and he was one of the handful of young people who started the first youth group of England. He worked and taught with the English Bahá’ís for fourteen years and then. with the Guardian's blessing, returned to his native country of Persia in 1936 where he remained for twenty years, carrying on his work for the Cause.

When he heard the Guardian wanted pioneers for Africa. he joyfully accepted this opportunity and arranged to go to Nairobi, Kenya. He became a member of the Spiritual Assembly and also of the Kenya Teaching Committee. Although for many' years his health was poor, the strength of his spirit

931

carried him along, enabling him to continue his service to the Cause.

The Bahá’í Cemetery, Nairobi, has been blessed to receive this second pioneer to give his life that the light of God might be ignited in Kenya. His funeral was truly international, attended by Africans of several tribes, Americans, Persians, Scottish, Irish and English friends who came to pay their last respects; the service was in Arabic, Persian, English and Swahili.

W. ‘ALizAnIH

MUSTAFA EFFENDl SALIM 18994962

Mustal'a Effendi Sélim passed to the Abht't Kingdom on 23rd November, 1962 in Tripoli, Libya. Born in Egypt on Oct. 17th, 1899. Mustafa Effendi embraced the Faith at an early age and rendered memorable services to the Alexandria Community, to the National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt and the St’ldan, and to the pioneering effort in Libya. His was the privilege to be in the presence of Shoghi Effendi in the Holy Land at a time when pilgrimage was permitted only in exceptional cases. His loyalty and devotion were shown at the start of the World Crusade when, alone and without employment, he pioneered to Benghazi and later became a member of its Local Assembly. the first one to be formed in Libya. In 1953 he went to Tripoli and became a member of that city‘s first Assembly, which was formed at Riḍván 1954. He was Vice-Chairman of the Assembly at the time of his passing.

KANlCHl YAMAMOTO 1879—l96l

By 1902, ten years after the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Thornton Chase, an American, had become the first from the western world to believe in Him; Robert Turner, the first American Negro: Thomas Breakwell, the first Englishman; Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first Frenchman and Kanichi Yamamoto, twenty-three years old, the first Japanese.

[Page 932]932

Kanichi Yamamoto

Kanichi had left his parents in the province of Yamaguchi, Japan and set out for a new world. He was an independent thinker, selfreliant, earnest and adventuresome. Brought up a Buddhist, he had become a devout Christian. In Hawaii on his way to America he worked for a Bahá’í family. Also living with this family was Miss Elizabeth Muther who helped "Moto" with his English. When Elizabeth became a Bahá’í, her first thought was to speak to Yamamoto.

Miss Agnes Alexander, Hand of the Cause, records the story:

“. . . the power of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to her and her own earnest prayer, brought about a great event in the spiritual world, and God used her as His instrument to confirm the first Japanese Bahá’í. . .When she asked him how he knew it was the Truth, he answered by putting his hand to his heart, and said he knew there."

Miss Muther wrote on September 8, 1902, “Now he has received the Message, and I thought this evening, for the joy expressed in his face as well as his words of gratitude for the Truth of God, that he must have forgotten everything but to rejoice in God.”

At once Moto wanted to write to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He rewrote the letter four times but still thought he had not adequately expressed his thoughts in English. Finally, Miss Muther told him to write in Japanese, for she "“9

THE Bahá’í WORLD

sure the Master would understand. He wrote then in his own language, humbly confessing his belief in the Manifestation of God and asking for ability to teach the people of his native land. When he received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in reply, Yamamoto felt he had been fully answered.

In February 1903 Moto received a second Tablet stating, “. . . there hath come a soul from the remotest horizon who hath entered the Kingdom of God.”

In the early days of the Bahá’í Faith in Honolulu there was no home where the group of four could meet. Agnes Alexander. Clarence Smith, Elizabeth Muther and Kanichi Yamamoto would go by trolley to Pacific Heights and there on the hilltop read the prayers and Tablets.

Moto stayed six months in the Islands to learn more of theTeachings, and left in 1903 to become not only the butler but “a member of the family“ of Mrs. Helen S. Goodall in Oakland, California. Mrs. Goodall wrote soon after Moto’s arrival that, “It seems wonderful to me how the Spirit has taught Moto as he does not understand English very well. . . . He is very happy and goes about the house as if he were walking on air, especially if a believer comes to see us or we have a meeting.”

On August 4, 1904 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed a third Tablet to Yamamoto, addressing him. “O thou who art the single one of Japan and the unique one of the extreme Orient!”

The familiar words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on marriage were revealed in a Tablet to Yamamoto, who was married in 1908 in accordance with American customs. An elaborate wedding was planned by Mrs. Goodall which was attended by all the Bahá’ís and the Japanese friends of the couple. After the ceremony, Moto said to his wife, “I don’t want you to be like a Japanese wife, always bowing. 1 want you to be like an American wife and boss me!”

In 1909 Mrs. Goodall moved to San Francisco but kept her Oakland home open for Bahá’í meetings with Moto in charge.

Then came the historic visit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He arrived on October 3, 1912, and His first talk was in the Oakland home that evening; this was followed by other memorable occasions at which Moto served with joy and radiance.

[Page 933]1N MEMORIAM

"The meeting arranged by Yamamoto for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to speak to the Japanese Y.M.C.A. at the Oakland Japanese Independent Church on October 7 gave Him special happiness, and He showed great favor to all the Japanese friends.”

During His northern California visit, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in the home prepared for Him by Mrs. Goodall and Mrs. Cooper; it was Moto who had the privilege of living in this home and serving his beloved Master during those glorious days. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá loved the three little Yamamoto boys, gave them Persian names and held them on His lap.

On May 1, 1961 Kanichi Yamamoto passed away. His Bahá’í children, now in business and the professions, came from different parts of the country to attend a special service arranged by the Berkeley Bahá’ís.

MARION YAZDl

JAHANGiR TA’YiDi

This devoted Bahá’í was a pioneer youth to Kuwait on the Persian Gulf. He arrived in Kuwait in 1953 and participated in the establishment of its first Spiritual Assembly, which was elected in Fahahil; and in the second, in Hawalli.

The services of Jahangir Ta’yidi will be remembered f orever. He courageously sufl‘ered all kinds of difficulties for the sake of pioneering, and settled in unfavorable and uneasy areas, simply in obedience to the hopes and wishes of the beloved Guardian.

On the day of Naw-Rt'iz, March 21, 1957, as he was leaving his house in the morning, he had gone only a short distance when he was knocked down by a heavy wooden vase full of dry earth which fell on his head from the window of a nearby house. He got up, with blood pouring from his nose and forehead, and managed to reach the house. Two passers-by witnessed the event and one of them hurried to stop a taxi and took the youth to the government hospital. A few moments later he lost consciousness and the sight of his eyes, so that he was unable to give his name and address. It was later announced that a fractured skull had caused

933

Jahangir Ta‘yidi

the hemorrhage. About twelve hours from the time of the accident his pure and courageous soul ascended to the Abhá Kingdom.

All the believers of the Persian Gulf prayed throughout that day for the recovery of this gallant pioneer, but it was the Will of God to have this ransom for the Cause in this part of the world. The Muslim magistrate of Kuwait wrote with his own hand a special permission for “the burial according to the Bahá’í rites in the Islamic cemetery."

A memorial meeting for him was attended by eighty Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’í friends who listened to the Bahá’í teachings on the immortality of the soul. Such a meeting had never been held in Kuwait before.

PAUL GOLLMER 1886—1961

The friends called him the “faithful St. George” of the Stuttgart Bahá’í community. His life had been devoted to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. He died on September 9, 1961 a few days before his 75th birthday. He longed for those everlasting realms into

[Page 934]934

which his clear wife Martha had preceded him the year before.

Paul Gollmer was born on September 24, 1886 in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstadt. When he was six his father died and his mother, a very pious Christian, brought him up in firm discipline and loving strictness. At the age of fourteen he went to work as a journeymanjoiner in Konigsfeld: an accident caused the loss of several fingers and he could no longer continue in this field of work so he returned to Stuttgart and found a post with the “Allianz,” a Stuttgart insurance company. Because of his willingness, industry, reliability and general ability he rose in the company.

From his early youth he had been a true seeker and in 1910 he had the great privilege to hear of the Faith. Heaccepted it immediately with zeal and enthusiasm and all his life he was a loyal, devoted and very active follower of Bahá’u’lláh; and to spread the Cause amongst his fellowmen was his most ardent desire. He was a member Ofthe German Bahá’í community which was founded in 1912 and at a later date became a member of the publishing house of the German Bahá’ís, becoming its head in 1928.

In 1913 he was blessed by a visit with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Stuttgart. In 1919 the beloved Master honored him with a Tablet, and in 1936 he went to visit the Guardian in Haifa, returning deeply impressed with all that he had seen and felt there.

For many years he was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria, and of the Stuttgart Local Assembly on which he served as chairman numerous times. He rendered unique services to the Faith in Stuttgart during the time of Adolf Hitler. Although always loyal to the government, he was never willing to compromise in any questions or matters concerning the eternal truths of the Faith. He also did a great deal in securing much of the Bahá’í literature and saving it from the Gestapo; he was indefatigable in continually strengthening the bonds between the friends at a time when they were not permitted to gather together in meetings.

After the war he tried his best to have the prohibition of meetings cancelled and with the help of John Eichenauer this request was finally successful. From 1945 the friends gathered at his home for there was no other

THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

Paul Gollmer

meeting place in the bombed town, and at that time he tried to have public meetings arranged. When he met with success these meetings were visited by many contacts. After his retirement he visited a number of Bahá’í communities, groups as well as isolated friends, all over Wfirttemberg whenever they were in need of personal or spiritual help.

When this ardent, enthusiastic, devoted and faithful follower of the Cause died it was a great loss for the friends of Stuttgart, and many others in that area, and he will always be remembered by the Bahá’ís grateful for the services he rendered the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

FRANK ASHTON

Frank Ashton was born in Frodsham, England, July 3, 1879. He attended school at Durham where he trained to be a machinistengineer. He came to the United States while still a young man and worked for many years in Panama for the United States Government. Later he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad and then by the General Electric

[Page 935]IN MEMORIAM

Company. During World War II he was in the employ of the Navy Department in the Navy Yards at Kittery, Maine, and toward the end of the war at Mare Island, California. In everything he did he had a high sense of perfection and of duty.

Frank was an expert cricket player and member ofchampionship teams in the United States. When over fifty years of age he was a member of a team which toured Canada and the eastern United States. He was an agreeable companion, a good sport, and he was humble: throughout his life he was a lover of the out-of—doors.

He heard ol'the Faithwhile living in Detroit, Michigan, from the well-known Bahá’í teacher, Mabel Rice-Wray lvcs and became a sincere, devoted and faithful believer, ever busy in the Cause. For many years Frank was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Philadelphia and, later, of Eliot, Maine, where he also shared in the activities of Green Acre. His services, though unobtrusive, were always constructive and wherever he went he was a stabilizing factor. He was firm in the Covenant. These qualities were a great asset when the call for pioneers came from the Guardian. It can be truly said of Frank that wherever he went, people were glad to have him arrive, and when he left, they were sorry to have him leave; his was a rare spirit. He had the most great faith in Bahá’u’lláh, and demonstrated this faith through many trials and vicissitudes. The soul of honor, he was dependable, generous, sacrificial in his attitude. He was greatly respected, not only by his fellow believers, but also by the people with whom he worked. They trusted him, and through the bounty and protection of Bahá’u’lláh their trust was alwaysjustified. Frank was a living illustration of the phrase “His word was as good as his bond.“

Possessed of an excellent memory and a clear, distinct voice, it was his joy to recite the Báb’s Address to the Letters of the Living, the Tablet of Ahmad, and other gems from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. The many hundreds who have heard him will never forget the spirit of love and devotion with which he spoke and the spiritual atmosphere that was created. His whole life revolved around Bahá’u’lláh and his greatest desire was to

935

Frank Ashton

serve the beloved Guardian and to carry out his wishes.

One of Frank's chief characteristics was his instant. unhesitating response to the calls of the Guardian. In the First Seven-Year Plan he came from Florida and pioneered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. where he became the mainstay ot‘the Spiritual Assembly. Later, when he was transferred to the West coast and was a member ol‘ the San Francisco Bahá’í community. he responded to the need for a pioneer in Laramie, Wyoming. and helped establish and maintain a Spiritual Assembly there. In the Second Seven-Year Plan he also went as a pioneer to Red Bank. New Jersey.

When his health became poor, the doctor advised him to go to a warmer area, so he went to Florida and settled in St. Petersburg where he was as active in the teaching work as his health would allow, giving the Message and arranging meetings.

Again, in the Ten—Year World Crusade. Frank could not resist the call for pioneers and he volunteered for the foreign field. Though ill and frail. he moved to Monterrey. Mexico, in July 1955. and there joined in forming a group which was destined to achieve Assembly status within a month after his death on March 23, [956. His life on this earth ended while he was serving in

[Page 936]936

the forefront of the pioneer ranks of the Cause to which he had dedicated his life. After his death the following message was received from the beloved Guardian: “Praying progress soul Kingdom. services meritorious.”

His

HARLAN F. OBER

MAYSIE ALMOND

In November 1923 a public meeting was held by a religious body—New Thought Society—in Adelaide, South Australia. The guest speakers were Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, recent arrivals from America and their subject was the Bahá’í Faith.

Seated in the audience were Mr. and Mrs. Percy Meade Almond, perplexed, seeking a faith, aware of something they one day hoped to find; and now they were waiting to hear yet another speaker. As they listened their thoughts rapidly turned to awe, and turning to one another they whispered, “This is it.” Their search had ended, their road to eternity had begun—they had found the Bahá’í Faith.

Just two days after this meeting Mrs. Almond and her husband entertained Mr. and Mrs. Dunn in their home and accepted the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and as a result there was formed the first Bahá’í Group in South Australia.

In 1927 Mrs. Almond was to see the result of her teaching work in her own home town. That year the first Local Assembly was formed in Adelaide. This devout soul then went farther afield t0 the State of Victoria, as a pioneer. The Faith became very precious to her as the years passed; the Continent was large, the laborers few and she realized there was much work to be done. When she returned to Adelaide she accomplished much useful work in goal areas of the SevenYear Plan. In 1955 she and her husband visited the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, and other places where they encouraged the pioneers in their work with the native population. Mrs. Almond’s letters were known far and wide for the encouragement and inspiration they contained to new believers, pioneers and those serving in isolated places both at home and abroad.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

Maysie Almond

Mrs. Almond carved a niche for herself in the early Bahá’í history of Australia: A Rose Garden School was established by her for children in and around Adelaide, her gift of music helping her very much in this work. Eventually she added something of wider value which was a Correspondence Rose Garden School and the lessons from this school were sent to all the states in Australia and as far as the island State of Tasmania where children were eager to get these wonderful lessons, so well thought out and well done. They were appreciated by adults, too, who kept learning about the Faith along with their children, and in this way Mrs. Almond literally sent the meaning of the Greatest Name to the Bahá’í children all over this vast continent. Today in Australia these same children have formed wonderful Youth Groups while others have become adult Bahá’ís.

At the time of her passing Mrs. Almond was a member of the Asian Teaching Committee, on which she had served since its inception in 1953, and she had devoted 37 years of her life to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. She had kept her wonderful sense of humor and every visitor to her home was assured a

[Page 937]IN MEMORIAM

happy time and always came away with a more intimate knowledge of the Faith.

On December 23, 1960 she died. One of her favorite verses from Holy Scripture was:

“Waft, then, unto me, O my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favours, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy heartless and Thy presence.”

Surely with these words in her heart Mrs. Almond passed to the Abhá Kingdom.

CLARlCE STANTON

‘AZiZU’LLAH SAMANDARl 1910—1956

‘Azizu’llah Samandari was born in the city of Qasvin, Persia, March 21, 1910. After finishing his primary education he went to the Bahá’í secondary school in Ṭihrán. As a student he showed such zeal and enthusiasm in teaching the Faith that ever since he was known as a very firm Bahá’í.

When the Persian government decided to send students to Europe fdr further studies he was one of those chosen. After years of study he returned to Persia a well—qualified engineer. Although he was well known as a Bahá’í he was immediately appointed as the head of all the sugar factories in different parts of Persia and he managed to conduct these factories, in different stages of development, and in spite of many difficulties, successfully. The government later appointed him as the general manager of the Industrial Bank and commissioned him to go to Europe and purchase factories for the country.

Wherever he went Mr. Samandari demonstrated the teachings of his beloved Faith by his honesty, upright conduct and pure character. Due to such excellent qualities and his being known as a Bahá’í—(for four years secretary of the Ṭihrán Local Spiritual Assembly)—he was the subject of many severe attacks by the people. In order to spend all his time and energy for the Cause of God he retired from all governmental ranks and

937

‘Azizu’lláh Samandari

positions, and with his wife, Bahíyyih, rendered wonderful services in the homeland of Bahá’u’lláh.

When they heard of the beloved Guardian’s call for pioneers the Samandari family left their home in Persia for Turkey and went to reside in the beautiful city of Izmir where they rendered wonderful service. Unfortunately Mr. Samandari was to be with his family for only one year-and-a-half in that pioneer post; at the age of forty-six years he was suddenly summoned to the Abhá Kingdom.

ROBERT S. BROWN 1891—1962

One of the very early believers of Australia, Mr. Robert S. Brown of Adelaide, South Australia, passed to the Abhá Kingdom July 8, 1962 after thirty-two years of faithful service to the Bahá’í Faith. He abandoned the physical garment happy in the knowledge that he had been spared long enough to enable him to donate all his worldly wealth to the Bahá’í Faith. He had made it his life’s work to support the Bahá’í Fund and this he did with unfailing regularity and great generosity.

[Page 938]938

Robert S. Brown

Mr. Brown was a member of the first Spiritual Assembly of Adelaide. Always practical and just in administrative matters he was, at the same time, kind and tolerant. His acts of kindness and generosity to those in need were too numerous to be counted.

He was a delegate to the first Convention of Australia which was held in Sydney in 1934 and elected Chairman of this Convention as well as Chairman of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand which was formed at that Convention. He served in this capacity with great distinction for several years.

Although the last twelve years of his life were ones of painful illness which made him unable to move about freely he never failed to deliver the message of the Faith to all with whom he came in contact and his enthusiasm never waned.

The devoted service of this staunch early believer of the Faith shines like a bright jewel in the early history of the Faith in Australia.

HILDA M. THOMAS

THEBAHA‘iWORLD

HUSAYN RUHi 1878—1960

Husayn Rt'ihi was born in Cairo, Egypt. in41878, the son of Haj Mulla‘Ali Tabrízr’. who was a Bahá’í teacher and pioneer sent to Egypt by Bahá’u’lláh. Rubi was a young boy when his father was killed during a teaching journey in Diar—Bekr, Turkey.

After the martyrdom of his father Rt’lhi stayed with his mother and then joined the household of Haj Mirza Hasan Lhurt’tsani who aided in his education at school, taught him the Persian language, taught him the Faith. thus preparing him for future service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

In 1899 Haj Mirza Hasan and others were sent by ‘Abdu’l-Bahz’t as special messengers to the United States and Husayn was chosen to be the interpreter for the group. They made their headquarters in Chicago. Illinois, and stayed in the United States until 1902, and Rflhi seized the opportunity during this time to continue his college education.

After his return to Egypt, Rt’ihi worked as a teacher of the English language at various schools and later published two bi-weekly magazines. Although these magazines were published to help teach English, every issue contained an articie which mentioned the Cause or its principles.

During the year of 1906 the great Bahá’í teacher Mirza Abt’i‘l-Fadl stayed in Cairo and Rt'lhi was one of his constant companions attending most of the meetings at which Mirza Abt’t’l-Fadl taught.

ln |9l0 Rt'lhi established Abbassia Schools, named after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbas, in Cairo. These were two schools, one for boys and one for girls in which both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í youngsters were enrolled. The schools continued to serve the cause of education until [919 when by force of circumstances they had to be closed.

In 1920 Rt'thi was offered the post of Inspector of Education in the newly liberated Palestine, an offer which he gladly accepted, because it meant being near his beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His post was located in Jerusalem and from there he paid frequent visits to the Master in Haifa.

After the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Rt'thi remained firm and faithful in the Faith and on the fortieth day of the ascension Rt'thi was

[Page 939]IN MEMORIAM

Husayn Rflhi

present to take an active part in the memorable meeting when the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was read and Shoghi Effendi was proclaimed Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. Rt’thi remained in Palestine, holding many important government positions, until 1935 when he was retired with a fiension. During all this time he was in constant touch with the beloved Guardian and was always glad to be the contact with authorities in the area on matters pertaining to the Cause when the Guardian requested him to do 50.

Upon retirement RL’ihi followed the Guardian‘s instructions and returned to Egypt where he devoted all his time and ability to the service of the Cause there, as a member of the Local and National Spiritual Assemblies, serving on various committees and aiding in the translation of the Writings from Persian into Arabic. He was always one of the teachers in the Bahá’í Summer Schools. In his last days he was quite happy because he had been able to complete extensive work of translation he had started and many of these translations are in manuscript forms.

On November 10, 1960 Husayn Rt'thi passed away at the age of 82 after a long life totally dedicated to the service of Bahá’u’lláh. His body was laid to rest in the Bahá’í

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Cemetery in Cairo, and may the Mercy of God rest upon his soul in the Abhá Kingdom.

‘ALi RUHi

CARL SCHEFFLER April8,1883 May 17, 1962

The passing of Carl Schet’fler marks the departure of yet one more from the rapidly thinning ranks of those who embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in its very early days in America.

About the year 1897 news of a “teacher" was brought to the Schemer family by a cousin who urged investigation so persistently that several members of the family, including Carl and his mother, went to hear what the teacher had to say. This teacher was Ibrahim l_(_hayru’llah who had come from Egypt on business associated with the Chicago World‘s Fair of 1893. The family attended his lectures and decided that what Dr. K_hayru‘llah was telling about the Message of Bahá’u’lláh was logical, and as one of them said, “made sense.” They attended Dr. K_hayru‘llah’s classes and eventually became firm believers and remained so despite Dr. K_hayru‘llah‘s own subsequent violation.

There was of course no administrative procedure as present-day Bahá’ís know it, but one of the t_ievoted believers, Mrs. Fannie Lesch, more farsighted than the rest, perhaps. kept a record in a large ledger of the name. date and numerical sequence of all enrollees. Carl Schef’fier, at the age of 16, was enrolled in 1899, the 665th to have declared his faith in Chicago.

One of the great bounties showered upon Carl Schemer by Bahá’u’lláh was that Thornton Chase, Albert Windust, Albert Greenleaf and others, staunch pillars of the Faith, all considerably older than he, took a great interest in this boy and exerted the most profound influence on his spiritual development. He had little formal education, but inspired by association with these great souls to study the Sacred Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, he became a truly educated man and a dedicated servant of Bahá’u’lláh, the Master. and later, the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

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Carl Scheffier

In 1907 Mr. Schet‘fier. in company with Mr. Chase and Mr. Arthur Agnew and his family had the great bounty of being permitted to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His prison home in ‘Akká, an experience which deepened still more his spiritual perception.

At an early age Carl Schef’fler became a member of the first “House of Justice" in Chicago, authorized and named by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Later he also served as a member of the Bahá’í Temple Unity, and in 1925 was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, on which body he served as a member continuously until 1938, part of the time as its National Treasurer.

He was an effective speaker and rendered valuable service in this field. As a teacher for groups and individuals he was unsurpassed. particularly with youth.

In his chosen field of secular activity. first as a commercial artist and then as owner and director of the Evanston Academy of Fine Arts and Director of Art in the North Evanston Public Schools, as well as some of the parochial schools in both Evanston and

THE BAHA’l WORLD

Wilmette. Illinois, he had great opportunity to exercise his rare gifts as a teacher—one whose teaching was always firmly based on the Bahá’í principles.

Characteristically, when Mr. Schefi‘ler was no longer able to teach publicly, he began to write. with the purpose of elucidating the application of the Bahá’í Teachings to daily living. These essays present the philosophy developed during a lifetime ofclose association with the Teachings of Baha'u'llah.

The grief occasioned by his loss is tempered by the knowledge that his service did not end with his departure from this world.

Following is the tribute Of the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land:

“Grieved passing much loved Carl Schefiler

steadfast devoted tireless servant Master

early days Faith America stop Outstanding services Temple Teaching administrative fields period beloved Guardian‘s ministry unforgettable stop Convey deepest sympathy family assure ardent prayers Holy Shrines." (signed) Handsfaith May 20, 1962.

SOPHIE LOEDING

ETHEL DAWE 1902—1954

Miss Ethel Dawe ascended to the Abhá Kingdom on September 18, 1954. Her passing was deeply felt by all who knew and loved her. Miss Dawe entered a hospital in Sydney in January, 1954, and during her prolonged illness demonstrated such sweetness, love and radiant acquiescence that she charmed all with whom she came into contact. Her remains were laid to rest in the Northern Suburbs Cemetery, Sydney.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand cabled the beloved Guardian the sad news of her passing and he replied:

“Grieve loss devoted capable promoter Faith Ethel Dawe notable services unforgettable reward assured Kingdom.”

Miss Dawe was born at Burnside, South Australia, October 17, 1902. Of her early experiences as a Bahá’í she wrote:

“I heard of the Faith in 1931 through my mother‘s cousin, Maysie Almond. She and

[Page 941]IN MEMORIAM

her husband were the first two people to accept the Cause in South Australia on hearing Mr. and Mrs. Dunn speak in Adelaide in 1924.

“After reading The Hidden Words, The Seven Valleys, and the Kirdb—i—iqa’n. l recognized in my ‘heart the truth of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. My active participation in the life of the Bahá’í Faith began at a meeting held as a memorial to the Greatest Holy Leaf in July, 1932, a serious illness ofmany months prior to this having caused me to miss the meeting held for Keith Ransom-Kehler whot however, had graciously visited me although I was not then a declared Bahá’í."

In 1934 Miss Dawe was elected a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Adelaide and attended the first Australian Bahá’í Convention held in Sydney.

Miss Dawe in 1937 was appointed temporary collaborator for Australia to the League of Nations and visited Geneva, Switzerland. While working at the League of Nations, she met Madame Dreyfus-Barney whose name had long been known to her through Madame Barney’s intimate association with the Holy Family at Haifa, and also as the doyen of women in the Intellectual Co-operation Section of the League of Nations. After visiting Budapest, Vienna and Germany, Miss Dawe was invited by Madame Barney to visit her in Paris,‘ at the time of the Paris Exposition of 1937 which was held in the Gardens of the Trocadero. It was in these gardens that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used to walk, where he would sit and overlook the playing fountains. The Exposition had raised the Pavilion of Peace—with its high column in which was placed the golden Star of Peaceovershadowing the whole of the Exposition. At the gate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used to enter, the Exposition had erected the Pavilion of Palestine. In a letter Miss Dawe wrote:

“Madame would take me to walk in the gardens, following the path she had trod with Him. Precious indeed were the words she spoke, telling what the Master had said. Scarce could we tear ourselves away from the sparkling, playing fountains which He had loved so much.

“Joyous indeed was the visit to Paris and also the association with the Bahá’í community there; a Feast at the home of Madame Dreyfus-Barney, a week at the studio of Mrs.

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Ethel Dawe

Scott, and a week at Edith Sanderson‘s apartment.

“From there I journeyed to London in December [937, and met with great pleasure the Bahá’ís of London. The greatest joy was an afternoon spent with dear Lady Blomfield, whose loving radiance still illumines my thoughts.

“Then I set sail in the Srratheden for Haifa at the invitation of the Guardian, arriving on January 6‘ 1938, for approximately ten days. How can I describe the Guardian? His power and his love surround all on this earth.

“The meeting with Rt’ihiyyih Khánum will remain as an inspiration with me all my life. The meeting with the Holy Mother—Munirih Khánum—was an inestimable privilege. I shall always hear her say as she folded me in her arms, 'Read the Words of Bahá’u’lláh. dear, read the Words of Bahá’u’lláh. They are creative Words. Blessed are the hours spent with the Word of God.‘

“The visits to the Shrines, to Bahjí' and to the Most Great Prison at ‘Akká. made so great an impression that life is forever changed.

“On leaving, the beloved Guardian entrusted me to carry to Australia a lock of the hair

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of Bahá’u’lláh. The Greatest Holy Leaf herself had arranged this lock. The Guardian was sending it to Australia, to the believers, because of their distance from the Holy Land. He especially wished Father and Mother Dunn to touch the sacred lock of hair.

“The precious lock journeyed with me to the friends in Port Said and Cairo where the Guardian had sent word that l was coming. Four memorable days were spent with the wonderful Bahá’ís there before joining the .vt/Ia/oja for Australia.

“Thus I was home in time for dear Martha Root’s last visit to Australia in 1938, which was of such benefit to us all.”

After Miss Dawe’s return from abroad she was appointed Talks Ol’ficer for the Australian Broadcasting Commission for South Australia. Although her home was in Adelaide, she was able to visit and assist the friends in Tasmania, Melbourne, Sydney, and also to attend the Yerrinbool Bahá’ísummer School. Several visits were made to Canberra. In 1947, 1948 and 1949 she made three visits to Perth in Western Australia, and in 1949 went to England for one year where she assisted in the British Six-Year Plan. Her services on the National and Local Assemblies and on committees, as well as in the teaching field, are, as the Guardian says, "unforgettable.”

Miss Dawe’s charming personality and wide range of knowledge and experience made her services very valuable in Bahá’í activities. As an executive officer of the Australian Broadcasting Commission her position as Talks Supervisor enabled her to meet many personages of high standing both nationally and internationally, to many of whom she gave the Bahá’í Message.

In 1953 Miss Dawe accompanied Mrs. Clara Dunn, Hand of the Cause, to the Fourth Intercontinental Conference in Delhi, India, and from there she again visited the beloved Guardian at the World Center of the Faith in Haifa, Israel.

H. C. FEATHERSTONE

THE Bahá’í WORLD

AMY DEWlNG

On September ll, 1959, New Zealand lost one of its earliest Bahá’ís with the passing of Mrs. Amy Dewing, at the age of 83. From the time when she first heard of and accepted the Faith from Father and Mother Dunn she was active in spreading its Message and in assisting in the establishment of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes. Her name will forever be remembered as one of the small and persevering band of New Zealand believers who remained firm and steadfast in the face of many obstacles and who lived to witness the emergence of the New Zealand community into an independent existence, separate from that of Australia, and with its own National Spiritual Assembly.

JEAN SILVER

Miss Jean Silver, who passed away in Lynn, Massachusetts, on August 14, 1959, was one of those ardent early pioneers who have lent distinction to the annals of the American Bahá’í Community. It was during the first great Seven Year Plan of Shoghi Effendi, when the objective was the spread of the Faith, according to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets of the Divine Plan, throughout Latin America, that Jean Silver went to Cuba to teach the Cause of God. Year after year she remained at her post until illness and advanced years made itimpossible for her to go on pioneering.

Together with Miss Josephine Kruka, Jean succeeded in establishing a flourishing community in Habana. She taught the youth and children as well as the adults and her merry personality, deep conviction of the truth of Bahá’u’lláh's Message, and shrewd mind, attracted to her many friends and admirers. Indeed, from the many letters she received from the beloved Guardian, it is clear he too admired her indomitable spirit.

After the Faith was firmly established in Habana Jean moved to Cienfuegos—“a hundred fires”— and there lighted the fire of the love of God in many hearts. Her name will forever be honoured by the Cuban believers as one of the trail-blazers in the history of the development of their Faith in their native land.

[Page 943]IN MEMORIAM

HOLMFRiDUR ARNADOTTIR 1873—1955

Hélmfridur Arnadottir has been accorded by the beloved Guardian the station of Iceland’s first Bahá’í. From her first contact with the Faith in 1924 until her passing in 1955, she was alone in her realization of the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, the only lcelander to hail the glad tidings Of the New Day. For this and for two memorable services she will ever be honored in Icelandic history. She was the translator of Dr. Esslemont's Balzd‘u‘l/a’h and the New Era into the Icelandic language, an enduring work of the greatest significance at this time when the Cause is beginning to grow in Iceland under the momentum of the Ten-Year Crusade. And she served tirelessly and with great devotion our greatest Bahá’í teacher, Martha Root, during her unforgettable visit to Iceland for one month in 1935, bringing her into contact with many leaders of thought and paving the way for Martha‘s public work through lectures, newspaper articles and radio talks.

The Message of Bahá’u’lláh came to Miss Arnadéttir through Mrs. Amelia Collins, who with her husband visited Reykjavik for two days in 1924. “Iceland made a holiday of the landing of our cruiser,” Mrs. Collins has recalled, as it was the largest to have entered the harbor to that date. Martha has written of this historic meeting in these words: “One should begin any saga, any article about Iceland with the name of Einar JOnsson; he is the greatest soul in Iceland today . . . It may have been only a coincidence, but it is like a confirmation from God that it was in this lofty Einar Jénsson Museum that the Milly-Hélmfridur flower of friendship was first planted in Iceland.” It was the planting of the divine seed in Iceland, beautifully and loyally tended by Milly for over thirty years; and the association of these two spiritual souls warmed and cultivated this vital Northern land for the rich harvest which even today may be glimpsed and confidently anticipated.

After a long and rich life devoted to humanitarian and spiritual endeavor, Hélmfridur passed to the Abhá kingdom at the age of eighty-two, in Reykjavik, on November 25, 1955. She was truly a universal soul, gifted

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with the assurance of the New Day dawning upon humanity, and Iceland in centuries to come will look back to her as to the morning star.

MARION HOFMAN

FREDERIKA AGNES CAREY 1879—1958

Frederika Agnes Carey was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 1, 1879. Her life was one of struggle and great determination to hold fast to the principles of the Bahá’í Faith during the time when it was first being introduced into Africa. Her early years were lived in Cape Town, and later Pretoria, where she trained as a nurse. She was keenly interested in helping women who were serving prison sentences; she was a member of the Pretoria Prisons Board and was responsible for finding suitable occupations for several women released from prison and seeking rehabilitation.

About 1920, she met an ardent Bahá’í, Fanny Knobloch from the United States, who proved to be a great influence in her life. Miss Knobloch visited her home in Arcadia, Pretoria, and also met her husband Harry Carey. The following quotation is from Miss Knobloch’s account of her experiences in South Africa: “In this city Mr. and Mrs. Carey generously supported the Cause by opening their home as the center of Bahá’í activities. The first South African Bahá’í Assembly was organized there in 1925.”

The members of the community established by Fanny Knobloch, gradually dwindled until only Agnes Carey remained, and for twenty years she saw no Bahá’í friend; but she kept in touch with the Bahá’í world through correspondence with our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, who proved to be her great source of spiritual comfort and inspiration. When she received the message from Shoghi Effendi calling the Intercontinental Conference in Kampala, Uganda in 1953, although she was then seventy-three years old, she determined to make thejourney. This greatjourney by air was the high point of her life.

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Frederika Agnes Carey

Soon after she returned from the Conference, her eyesight and health suddenly failed. After a long illness, Agnes slipped away peacefully in Durban on July 10, 1958. On the day of her funeral, her dear friend, Professor Bishop Brown, who was now pioneering in Durban, placed beside her in the coffin a green sprig from the grave of her beloved Guardian.

Agnes was a truly wonderful soul with an indomitable spirit. Alone, facing opposition however unspoken, with no one to succor her or bring her fresh news from the outside Bahá’í world, she kept the flame of Bahá’u’lláh burning in that dark land; those of us who came after her were merely to take a light from the flame she had protected and to ignite the surrounding countryside.

THE Bahá’í WORLD

Following is the cable sent from Haifa, July 12, 1958, by the Hands of the Cause at the time of her passing:——“Feel deep sorrow passing staunch devoted upholder Faith, Agnes Carey. Services greatly appreciated Beloved. Praying Holy Shrines.”

FLORENCE NORMAN WILLIAM B. SEARS

BERTHA PAPPILOUD

Mme. Bertha Pappiloud was a Frenchwoman who heard of the Bahá’í Faith in Asmara, Eritrea, accepted it with enthusiasm. and, when the need for service came, arose to respond to that need heedless of personal comfort and convenience. The need was in Djibouti, Somalia, one of the worst climates on the East Coast of Africa. Mme. Pappiloud moved there, accompanied by her daughter and grandson, despite her years and the difficulties she might have to face, and helped establish the first Spiritual Assembly in that city in 1961. She served as a member of that Assembly until her death on December 15, 1962 in Djibouti. She was also elected a delegate to the convention of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of North East Africa, held in Addis Ababa in 1962.

Upon being informed of her death the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land cabled:

“Grieved news passing valiant pioneer Bertha Pappiloud. Assure ardent prayers shrines convey loving sympathy bereaved family.”

When the history of the Faith in this area is written, and future generations of Bahá’ís look back on their spiritual antecedents, Mme. Pappiloud’s name and example will be revered and emulated,