ecstatic
joy which seized them as they drew near the scene of their death; the
jubilant shouts they raised as they faced their executioner; the poignancy
of the verses which, in their last moments, some of them recited; the
appeals and challenges they addressed to the multitude of onlookers who
gazed with stupefaction upon them; the eagerness with which the last three
victims strove to precede one another in sealing their faith with their
blood; and lastly, the atrocities which a bloodthirsty foe degraded itself
by inflicting upon their dead bodies which lay unburied for three days and
three nights in the Sabzih-Maydan, during which time thousands of
so-called devout _Sh_i'ahs kicked their corpses, spat upon their faces,
pelted, cursed, derided, and heaped refuse upon them--these were the chief
features of the tragedy of the Seven Martyrs of Tihran, a tragedy which
stands out as one of the grimmest scenes witnessed in the course of the
early unfoldment of the Faith of Baha'u'llah. Little wonder that the Bab,
bowed down by the weight of His accumulated sorrows in the Fortress of
_Ch_ihriq, should have acclaimed and glorified them, in the pages of a
lengthy eulogy which immortalized their fidelity to His Cause, as those
same "Seven Goats" who, according to Islamic tradition, should, on the Day
of Judgment, "walk in front" of the promised Qa'im, and whose death was to
precede the impending martyrdom of their true Shepherd.

Chapter IV: The Execution of the Bab

The waves of dire tribulation that violently battered at the Faith, and
eventually engulfed, in rapid succession, the ablest, the dearest and most
trusted disciples of the Bab, plunged Him, as already observed, into
unutterable sorrow. For no less than six months the Prisoner of _Ch_ihriq,
His chronicler has recorded, was unable to either write or dictate.
Crushed with grief by the evil tidings that came so fast upon Him, of the
endless trials that beset His ablest lieutenants, by the agonies suffered
by the besieged and the shameless betrayal of the survivors, by the woeful
afflictions endured by the captives and the abominable butchery of men,
women and children, as well as the foul indignities heaped on their
corpses, He, for nine days, His amanuensis has affirmed, refused to meet
any of His friends, and was reluctant to touch the meat and drink that was
offered Him. Tears rained continually from His eyes, and profuse
expressions of anguish poured forth f