To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful in the East and in the West.
Dear fellow-workers:
It is with feelings of overwhelming sorrow that I communicate to you the news of yet another loss which the Almighty, in His inscrutable wisdom, has chosen to inflict upon our beloved Cause. On the 22nd of November, 1925, that memorable and sacred day in which the Baha'is of the Orient celebrated the twin Festivals of the Declaration of the Bab and the birthday of Abdu'l-Baha, Dr. John E. Esslemont passed on to the Abha Kingdom. His end was as swift as it was unexpected. Suffering from the effects of a chronic and insidious disease, he fell at last a victim to the inevitable complications that ensued, the fatal course of which neither the efforts of vigilant physicians nor the devoted cares of his many friends could possibly deflect (97:7)

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