[Footnote DW: This is a mistake. The two brothers, Siyyid Ḥasan and Siyyid Ḥusayn, were not put to death with the Báb, contrary to Browne's note accompanying this account.] It must have been sometime in the first days of August 1848 that the Báb was restored to [_Ch_]ihríq. From there, He addressed a letter to Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí: O thou who hast disbelieved in God, and hast turned thy face away from His signs![9] That letter, stern and unsparing, is known as the _[_Kh_]uṭbiy-i-Qahríyyih_ (Sermon of Wrath). The Báb sent it to Ḥujjat, who was still in Ṭihrán unable to return to his native town, to give it in person to the Grand Vizier. Hujjat carried out the task entrusted to him. By then Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí had fallen from power, to end his days in obscurity in `Iráq. Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh died on September 4th 1848.[DX] Less than a year later, Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí followed him to the grave. [Footnote DX: There was a certain Ḥájí Riḍáy-i-Qásí[10] in [_Sh_]íráz, always ready to start a riot or head a revolt. The present writer recalls being told by his paternal grandmother that one day, at dawn, Ḥájí Qásí came galloping past their door, rattling a long stick (or a lance) in a hole in the wall, shouting: 'O house of the Siyyids, may you rest in safety, Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh has gone to hell.' She remembered that incident very well, although at the time she was no more than seven or eight years old.] CHAPTER 12 THAT MIDSUMMER NOON Transcendent Star, past mortal ken The glory of your Life through all the spheres Bathes the unending vista of the years. The radiance of the Light you brought to men Has purified the planet's heart anew! Your blood was poured upon its dearth like dew, Ichor of God's decree, let each drop shed Raise up the nations, and the living dead, Revive the vision of the spirit's youth: Auroral is the fountain of your Truth. --Beatrice Irwin The death of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh and the downfall of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí were events of far-reaching consequence. The new monarch was very young and inexperienced, while the man who now occupied the seat left vacant by the disappearance of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was capable and uncorrupted, but self-willed and headstrong. Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án, the Amír-Niẓám (better known by his later title Amír-i-Kabír) had by sheer force of his abilities raised himself from humble origins to a position of power. His father had been a cook in the employment of the illustrious Qá'im-Maqám. And it had been that great minister who had first noticed high promise in the young Taqí. Although Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh now reigned over Írán, it was Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án who ruled it. * * * * *