During that period of anarchy the Báb was on pilgrimage and absent from [_Sh_]íráz. Ḥusayn [_Kh_]án arrived at his post in the early part of 1845, when the Báb was about halfway back to His native land. The new Governor set about with all dispatch to give the [_Sh_]írázís a lesson which he was certain they would take to heart. There were mutilations and executions until order was finally restored. But in little more than three years when Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh died, [_Sh_]írázís, headed once again by the astute Ḥájí Qavámu'l-Mulk and the headstrong Muḥammad-Qulí [_Kh_]án (the Ílbagí[BZ] of the Qa[_sh_]qá'ís), rebelled and forced the dismissal of Ḥusayn [_Kh_]án. [Footnote BZ: The chieftain next in rank to the Íl[_kh_]ání. The central government made these appointments.] * * * * * Ḥusayn [_Kh_]án was the first official in Persia to raise his hand against the Báb and His people. Having meted out cruel punishments to Quddús and the other two Bábís, and having acquainted himself with the identity of the Báb and ascertained that He had arrived at Bú[_sh_]ihr, Ḥusayn [_Kh_]án commissioned a body of horsemen to go to that port, arrest the Báb and bring Him to [_Sh_]íráz. In the meantime the Báb had completed His arrangements to return to the city of His birth. At Dálakí, some forty miles to the north-east of Bú[_sh_]ihr, where the coastal plain ends and the plateau begins to rise, Ḥusayn [_Kh_]án's horsemen encountered the Báb. He was the first to notice them and sent His Ethiopian servant to call them to Him. They were reluctant to approach Him, but Aṣlán [_Kh_]án, a man senior in their ranks, accepted the invitation. However, to the Báb's query regarding the purpose of their mission they evasively replied that the Governor had sent them to make some investigation in that neighbourhood. But the Báb said to them: The governor has sent you to arrest Me. Here am I; do with Me as you please. By coming out to meet you, I have curtailed the length of your march, and have made it easier for you to find Me.[13] CHAPTER 7 BELIEF AND DENIAL Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of Mankind is Man. Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: * * * Created half to rise, and half to fall; Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all; Sole judge of Truth, in endless Error hurl'd: The glory, jest and riddle of the world! --Alexander Pope