Abdu’l-Baha promptly slapped him on the face and ordered him to return to his room at once.

The next night Baha’u’llah and His family were consigned to the upper floor of the north-west wing. The south-west room of that wing, the unglazed windows of which looked towards the sea, was assigned to Baha’u’llah. The floor was of mud, there was no furniture and what plaster still remained on the ceiling was falling onto the floor.

Soon after their arrival the Governor of ‘Akka called at the barracks on a tour of inspection. His manner was discourteous in the extreme. He threatened to cut off the bread supply altogether if any of the prisoners attempted to escape. So insulting and provocative were his remarks that the young Husayn-i-Ashchi flung back, in Turkish, an equally ‘insolent reply. ‘Abdu’l-Baha promptly slapped him on the face and ordered him to return to his room at once. At that moment the Governor began to realize that he was not dealing’ with common criminals. He soon consented to change the inedible black bread for a small allowance and permitted four of the prisoners to go out each day, under guard, to buy provisions for the whole party.

(Day of Glory, The Life of Baha’u’llah, by Mary Perkins, George Ronald, p 131)