Across the Sea on the Cedric

*A retelling for children, based on **Mahmúd's Diary**, from the entries written during the sea voyage of March and April 1912.*

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On the morning of 25 March 1912, a great ship called the *Cedric* left the harbour of Alexandria, in Egypt. On board was 'Abdu'l-Bahá, with six friends who travelled with Him. One was His young grandson, Shoghi Effendi. Another was Mírzá Maḥmúd, who wrote down what happened each day.

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It was a sad goodbye. One of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's daughters was very ill, and the friends who came to see Him off cried as they left the ship.

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The friends' cabins were in a cheaper part of the ship, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá arranged for them all to eat with Him. In the mornings, when they gathered, Shoghi Effendi chanted a prayer. 'Abdu'l-Bahá went from cabin to cabin, asking each friend how he was.

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Other passengers began to notice Him. One lady from New York said she had guessed who He was when she saw Him from far away. She asked Him for a message to take home to her church, and He gave her one that began:

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> Glad tidings, glad tidings, the Sun of love has dawned.

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Some passengers put up a notice on the ship, and one evening more than five hundred people came to hear Him speak.

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Then came a sad day. When the ship stopped at Naples, in Italy, some doctors came aboard. They said that the eyes of three of the friends, Shoghi Effendi among them, were sick, and that they would not be allowed into America. No one could change the doctors' minds. The three friends had to leave the ship. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was very sad, but He said that there was a wisdom in it that would become known later.

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At Naples some other Bahá'ís, from Canada, America and England, came aboard to travel the rest of the way with Him. The passengers said they had never seen the ocean so calm at that time of year.

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On 11 April the *Cedric* sailed past the Statue of Liberty into the harbour of New York, and telegrams of welcome came from Bahá'ís all over America. The crossing was over, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's journey through America was about to begin.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["The Crossing on the Cedric"](/stories/md-cedric-arrival-october-1912).*

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