The stage beyond the village of Mílán was the city of Tabríz itself. As the news spread that the Báb was approaching the city, the Bábís there tried to go out to meet him, but they were stopped and sent back. Only a youth managed to break through the cordon of guards and soldiers. Barefooted, he ran more than a mile till he reached the Báb and His escort. Such was the state of his ecstasy that he flung himself forward in the path of one of the horsemen, caught the hem of his cloak and eagerly and fervently kissed his stirrup. Addressing them all, he cried out: 'Ye are the companions of my Well-Beloved. I cherish you as the apple of my eye.'[5] And when he came into the presence of the Báb, he fell prostrate on the ground and unrestrainedly wept. The Báb dismounted, raised him up, embraced him and wiped his tears. The Báb's entry into Tabríz, the scene three years later of His martyrdom in its public square, bears close resemblance to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, less than a week before He was led to Golgotha to be crucified. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna! Blessed _is_ he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed _be_ the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest![DC] [Footnote DC: Mark xi, 9-10.] That is how St. Mark recounts the joy of the people who gave Jesus a regal welcome into Jerusalem. When the Báb was brought into Tabríz the streets were crowded, and amongst the surging mass were Bábís who had been deprived of coming close to their Master; but vast numbers were there who were not His followers. Those narrow thoroughfares echoed with the cry of `Alláh-u-Akbar'--God is the Greatest--the opening line of the A[_dh_]án, the call to prayer which every devout Muslim repeats time and again in the course of his devotions. Officials were alarmed by this wonderful and unprecedented reception, and sent town criers to warn the people against attempting to gain access to the Siyyid-i-Báb. `Abdu'l-Bahá states that the Báb was kept for forty days in Tabríz.[6] During that time He was strictly secluded, and His only visitors were Ḥájí Muḥammad-Taqíy-i-Mílání, a well-known merchant, and Ḥájí `Alí-`Askar.[DD] When they first approached the house where the Báb was lodged, guards stopped them, but Siyyid Hasan asserted the authority of the Báb and gained them admittance. After that no one ever tried to bar their way, and they attained the presence of the Báb several times. [Footnote DD: Persecution forced him to abandon Tabríz. With his family he went to Adrianople and was exiled in the company of Bahá'u'lláh to `Akká. He features in the _Memorials of the Faithful_ by `Abdu'l-Bahá (pp. 161-4).]