st in Him. Be sure you will be successful
at the end, for He has sent you and He will surely be with you and help
you always.

17: O my dear sister! Your excellent letter ...

(126) O my dear sister! Your excellent letter brought me much joy,
testifying as it did to your ardour and pure intent, and to your being
immersed in the ocean of God's heavenly love, and also to the harmony and
concord among His handmaids--which indeed is the greatest of God's
bestowals: for fellowship, closeness and love are glories of the Kingdom,
and richest gifts from the Lord of dominion and might. We thank Him then
for this great bounty.

To the honoured handmaid of God, Miss Barney, give my many and fond
wishes. I implore God to assist her and yourself to attain the greatest of
all His favours in His mighty Kingdom.

I conveyed the salutations from all of you, and your expressions of
devoted servitude, to Him Whom God hath purposed, the Centre of His
ancient Covenant.

From this imprisoned handmaid.

18: The Festival of Ridvan is come and the ...

(127) The Festival of Ridvan is come and the splendour of the light of God
is shining from the invisible horizon of His mercy. The overflowing grace
of the Lord of oneness is pouring down copiously from the unseen world and
the glad-tidings of the Kingdom are coming in from all countries. The
resplendent morn that betokens the advancement of the Cause of God and
heralds the exaltation of His Word is dawning in every region.

Praise be to God that the fame of the Ancient Beauty--may my life be
offered up for His loved ones--has been noised abroad in the world and the
glory of His Cause is spread far and wide throughout the East and the
West. These joyous developments will indeed gladden the hearts of His
loved ones.

19: You should not think that the record of ...

(128) You should not think that the record of those meetings can ever be
blotted out from the pages of history or that the memory of those
gatherings can fade from the face of the world. Nay every single act,
every deed or utterance is a seed sown in the garden of life. Ere long it
will grow and develop, yielding an abundant harvest even as a fruitful
tree....

Those sufferings were endured for the sake of God alone and for His love.
They occurred during this century in which the Manifestation of God has
appeared, and their underlying purpose was solely to glorify the Cause of
the Abha Beloved, and