In 1902 the late Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper
in company with a group of friends made the pilgrimage to Haifa. It was during a casual conversation with
an acquaintance at a hotel that she first heard of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Some weeks
later after making independent inquiries and carefully considering the real
purport of the account of this remarkable Personage, she decided to take the
journey with the intimate friends who had been fired by her enthusiasm.
They first went to Alexandria where they managed to secure
accommodation on a steamer which would call at 'Akka, the ancient seaport of
Syria. This was a notoriously rough sea passage at the best of times but on the
day of their disembarkation it was necessary for the ship to lower boats as she
could not make the port.
One can imagine the daring adventure for these ladies
accoutred in the voluminous apparel of that day when they had to make the
tricky descent into a rowing boat which had been brought alongside the ship on
the crest of an accommodating wave! Except for a soaking wet trip to the pier
the party were none the worse for their experiences.
