October 13, 2015

How the Master met a Western pilgrim for the first time

When luncheon was announced, Miss… came for me, and we walked across the courtyard to the small dining room where the Master was standing, waiting for us to appear. Shall I ever forget how he came and took me by the hand! It was not in the ordinary way in which one is greeted when meeting a stranger for the first time, but as though my host were continuing a friendship which had always existed. He took me by the hand, turned his back to me, and led me to my seat at the table, and not one word was spoken. The Master’s two youngest daughters were also at the table, together with Miss… and the man with the red fez, who met me at the gate.

The Master asked about my trip from Port Said, and I told him of the difficult landing the night before in the small boat, but that I had no fear because I knew I was coming to my Lord. He smiled and said, “Yes,” and told me a story of Baha’u’llah, how one man walked for days to see him, suffering hardship and fatigue. The Master said those who love feel no fear or fatigue.
- Mary L Lucas  (‘A Brief Account of My Visit to Acca’, Published by the Baha’i Publishing Society, September 1905)