By the righteousness of God! We were in no
wise connected with that evil deed, and Our innocence was indisputably
established by the tribunals. Nevertheless, they apprehended Us, and from
Niyavaran, which was then the residence of His Majesty, conducted Us, on
foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet, to the dungeon of
Tihran. A brutal man, accompanying Us on horseback, snatched off Our hat,
whilst We were being hurried along by a troop of executioners and
officials. We were consigned for four months to a place foul beyond
comparison. As to the dungeon in which this Wronged One and others
similarly wronged were confined, a dark and narrow pit were preferable.
Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor,
from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of
confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and
Our fellow prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves,
assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the
passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue
describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor
bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most
foul-smelling and gloomy place!

Day and night, while confined in that dungeon, We meditated upon the
deeds, the condition, and the conduct of the Babis, wondering what could
have led a people so high-minded, so noble, and of such intelligence, to
perpetrate such an audacious and outrageous act against the person of His
Majesty. This Wronged One, thereupon, decided to arise, after His release
from prison, and undertake, with the utmost vigor, the task of
regenerating this people.

One night, in a dream, these exalted words were heard on every side:
"Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen. Grieve
Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for
Thou art in safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures of the
earth--men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy Name,
wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have recognized Him."

And when this Wronged One went forth out of His prison, We journeyed, in
pursuance of the order of His Majesty the _Sh_ah--may God, exalted be He,
protect him--to 'Iraq, escorted by officers in the service of the esteemed
and honored governments of Persia and Russia. After Our arrival, We
revealed, a