l freedom. The Spanish Consul offered to provide Him a safe
passage to any foreign port He cared to select, but this offer He
gratefully but firmly refused, saying that whatever the consequences, He
must follow in the footsteps of the Bab and the Blessed Perfection, Who
never tried to save Themselves or run away from Their enemies. He
encouraged most of the Baha'is, however, to leave the neighborhood of
Akka, which had become very dangerous for them, and remained alone, with a
few of the faithful, to await His destiny.

The four corrupt officials who constituted the last investigating
commission arrived in Akka in the early part of the winter of 1907, stayed
one month, and departed for Constantinople, after finishing their
so-called "investigation," prepared to report that the charges against
'Abdu'l-Baha had been substantiated and to recommend His exile or
execution. No sooner had they got back to Turkey, however, than the
Revolution broke out there and the four commissioners, who belonged to the
old regime, had to flee for their lives. The Young Turks established their
supremacy, and all political and religious prisoners in the Ottoman Empire
were set free. In September 1980 'Abdu'l-Baha was released was prison, and
in the following year 'Abdu'l-Hamid, the Sultan, became himself a
prisoner.

Western Tours

After His release, 'Abdu'l-Baha continued the same holy life of ceaseless
activity in teaching, correspondence, ministering to the poor and the
sick, with merely the change from Akka to Haifa and from Haifa to
Alexandria, until August 1911, when He started on His first visit to the
Western world. During His tours in the West, 'Abdu'l-Baha met men of every
shade of opinion and amply fulfilled the command of Baha'u'llah to
"Consort with all the people with joy and fragrance." He reached London
early in September 1911, and spent a month there, during which, besides
daily talks with inquirers and many other activities, He addressed the
congregations of the Rev. R. J. Campbell at the City Temple, and of
Archdeacon Wilberforce at St. John's, Westminster, and breakfasted with
the Lord Mayor. He then proceeded to Paris, where His time was occupied in
giving daily addresses and talks to eager listeners of many nationalities
and types. In December He returned to Egypt, and next spring, in response
to the earnest entreaty of the American friends, He proceeded to the
United States, arriving in New York in April 1912.