On our way to Baghdád we had to put up with
unbearable hardships. At one time a Turkish soldier of the Ottoman army
appeared before us. Mírzá Yahyá, on seeing the soldier sitting on the horse
with majesty and dignity, cried out with great grief and despair, `Oh! Where
were we? Where are we now going? They say that all heads will bow. When shall
it be?' I said to him in reply, `When the divine bounty attains perfection,
persons greater than this soldier will bow their heads under the shadow of the
Word of God.' Where is Mírzá Yahyá now? Let him come and see how the power of
Bahá'u'lláh has so inspired humility in these Americans, who consider the Turks
as nothing, that a person like Mr. Maxwell, an American, is with deference
serving Mírzá Ahmad, a Persian.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha’s remarks to a group of believers
while touring Montreal, August 31, 1912, Montreal, Canada)
