(by May Maxwell)
How poignant are the records of the early days of the Baha'i
Faith in the West, when the freshness and beauty of the spiritual Springtime
awakened the souls and led them, quickened and aflame to the knowledge of
Baha’u’llah, often to the very Presence of ‘Abdu'l-Baha in the Prison of ‘Akka.
Such is the record, the divine significance of the conversion of Thomas
Breakwell, a young Englishman living in the Southern States of America, holding
an important position in a cotton mill, spending his long summer vacations in
Europe. During his vacation of 1891 he crossed on the steamer with Mrs. M., and
as she found him interested in Theosophy she mentioned a group of friends in
Paris whom she said were interested in kindred subjects. Although she knew
nothing of the Baha’i teaching and had closed her ears to its message, yet she
was impelled to bring this youth to see me on their arrival. I was at that time
in a small apartment connected with the beautiful home of Mrs. Jackson – which
she had placed at my disposal, when my family had left for the summer.
My dear Mother -- although broad and fine in all matters, had resented my
constant work in the service of the Baha'i Cause, especially since my
pilgrimage to the Prison of ‘Akka, and when ‘Abdu'l-Baha had refused, at her
urgent appeal, to permit me to accompany her during the summer to Brittany,
saying that I must on no account absent myself from Paris, my unhappy and
indignant Mother had closed our home and left me alone.
Thus it was on a lovely summer day that, in response to a knock I found Mrs. M.
and Thomas Breakwell standing at my door, and my attention was riveted on this
youth; of medium height, slender, erect and graceful, with intense eyes and an
indescribable charm. As they entered, Mrs. M. said smiling, "He was a
stranger and she took him in." We spoke together for about half an hour of
Theosophy -- his work, his projected trip through Europe, and I discerned a
very rare person of high standing and culture, simple, natural, intensely real
in his attitude toward life and his fellowmen. Although no word of the divine
Revelation was spoken, and he assumed I was interested in Theosophy, yet he
studied me with a searching gaze, and as they left, he asked me if he might see
me the following day. He arrived the next morning in a strangely exalted mood,
no veil of materiality covered this radiant soul – his eyes burned with a
hidden fire, and looking at me earnestly he asked if I noticed anything strange
about him. Seeing his condition I bade him be seated, and reassured him, saying
he looked very happy.
