sion and teach the Faith
to which he was so deeply devoted, and was for forty years a member of the
Local Spiritual Assembly of Kerman_sh_ah, also serving for a period on the
National Spiritual Assembly. His published works include two volumes of
reminiscences based on the principles of the Covenant and the history of
the Cause, whilst his much loved poem entitled "Hold Thou my Hand, O
'Abdu'l-Baha" is widely sung at gatherings of the Baha'is in Iran. Dr
Habib Mu'ayyad passed to the Abha Kingdom on October 29th, 1971.

Note 7. (Letter No. 16)

The Moslem calendar dates from Muhammad's emigration or Hijrah from Mecca
to Medina in 622 A.D. The Moslem year begins with the month of Muharram of
which the first ten days are observed by _Sh_i'ah Moslems as part of their
mourning period for the Imams. The tenth day is called A_sh_ura and
commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn, the grand-son of Muhammad, who was
cut down by thirty-three strokes of swords and lances and decapitated: his
clothes were torn from him and his naked body trampled by horses hooves.

Note 8. (Letter No. 23)

Mrs Emily Axford was born in Huddersfield, England on October 19th, 1870
and was an infant teacher before her marriage. In 1907, the family
emigrated to New Zealand where her husband practiced medicine in Te Aroha
until his passing in 1912, after which Mrs Axford moved to Auckland so as
to educate her three children. Having rejected conventional Christianity,
she was attracted by the New England Transcendental Movement until she
became aware of the Baha'i Faith through her friendship with Sarah
Blundell and was enrolled as a member in 1923. Three years later, Mrs
Axford was elected Chairman of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in
Auckland and for many years conducted classes in public speaking to help
the friends overcome their shyness and reticence so that they might teach
the Faith effectively. Emily was one of three New Zealand delegates who
attended the National Convention held in Sydney during 1934 and the
following year was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand. She continued to work staunchly for
the Faith, being appointed in 1946 to the Regional Teaching Committee
responsible for formulating teaching plans throughout New Zealand. The
following year, she assumed the delicate task of conducting negotiations
with the immigration authorities so that Baha'is from Persia might be
pe