Christmas Eve at Cadogan Gardens
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When in Bahá'í history
London (today: London, UK)
When the Master completed His historic journey throughout the United States of America He sailed for England to arrive at Liverpool on December 13th, 1912 and in London three days later. Staying at Lady Blomfield's flat in Cadogan Gardens as before, 'Abdu'l-Bahá again received a constant stream of visitors. The Hand of the Cause Hasan Balyuzi records this delightful incident that took place there:
“When 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat down to dinner on Christmas eve, He said, playfully, that He was not hungry, but He had to come to the dinner table because Lady Blomfield was very insistent; two despotic monarchs of the East had not been able to command Him and bend His will, but the ladies of America and Europe, because they were free, gave Him orders."
(Adapted from 'Some Early Bahá'ís of the West', by O. Z. Whitehead, and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá - The Centre of the Covenant’, by Balyuzi)
Source: H. M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, ch. 19, “The Second Visit to Britain,” p. 350; also in Annamarie Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Found via the Baha'i Stories Blog (https://bahaistories.blogspot.com/2021/07/an-example-of-abdul-bahas-humor.html).
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