O my well-beloved daughter of the Kingdom! The letter thou hadst written
to Dr. Esslemont was forwarded by him to the Land of Desire [The Holy
Land]. I read it all through with the greatest attention. On the one hand,
I was deeply touched, for thou hadst sheared off those fair tresses of
thine with the shears of detachment from this world and of self-sacrifice
in the path of the Kingdom of God. And on the other, I was greatly
pleased, for that dearly-beloved daughter hath evinced so great a spirit
of self-sacrifice as to offer up so precious a part of her body in the
pathway of the Cause of God. Hadst thou sought my opinion, I would in no
wise have consented that thou shouldst shear off even a single thread of
thy comely and wavy locks; nay, I myself would have contributed in thy
name for the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar. This deed of thine is, however, an
eloquent testimony to thy noble spirit of self-sacrifice. Thou hast,
verily, sacrificed thy life and great will be the spiritual results thou
shalt obtain. Rest thou confident that day by day thou shalt progress and
wax greater in firmness and in constancy. The bounties of Baha'u'llah
shall compass thee about and the joyful tidings from on high shall time
and again be imparted unto thee. And though it be thine hair that thou
hast sacrificed, yet thou shalt be filled with the Spirit, and though it
be this perishable member of thy body which thou hast laid down in the
path of God, yet thou shalt find the Divine Gift, shalt behold the
Celestial Beauty, obtain imperishable glory and attain unto everlasting
life.