The Third Wave of Attacks5

powerfully reminded him of his Beloved, he poured forth, as he sat at his feet in the closing moments of his earthly life, all that an enraptured soul could no longer restrain.

Before dawn 2 February 1849: Mullá Husayn is mortally wounded

Nabíl continues:

Soon after midnight, as soon as the morning-star had risen, the star that heralded to him the dawning light of eternal reunion with his Beloved, he started to his feet and, mounting his charger, gave the signal that the gate of the fort be opened.

As he rode out at the head of three hundred and thirteen of his companions to meet the enemy, the cry of Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán again broke forth, a cry so intense and powerful that forest, fort, and camp vibrated to its resounding echo. Mullá Husayn first charged the barricade which was defended by Zakaríyyáy-i-Qádí-Kalá’í

, one of the enemy’s most valiant officers. Within a short space of time, he had broken through that barrier, disposed of its commander, and scattered his men. Dashing forward with the same swiftness and intrepidity, he overcame the resistance of both the second and third barricades, diffusing, as he advanced, despair and consternation among his foes. Undeterred by the bullets which rained continually upon him and his companions, they pressed forward until the remaining barricades had all been captured and overthrown. In the midst of the tumult which ensued, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i-Láríjání

had climbed a tree, and, hiding himself in its branches, lay waiting in ambush for his opponents. Protected by the darkness which surrounded him, he was able to follow from his hiding place the movements of Mullá Husayn and his companions, who were exposed to the fierce glare of the conflagration which they had raised. The steed of Mullá Husayn suddenly became entangled in the rope of an adjoining tent, and ere he was able to extricate himself, he was struck in the breast by a bullet from his treacherous assailant. Though the shot was successful, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán was unaware of the identity of the horseman he had wounded.

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