A Princess of Ethiopia

There died recently in England Mrs. Hanna Hollandali, who was known among the peoples of the Middle East as Princess Asfa Yilma — an Ethiopian title she inherited from her father, Theophilus Waldmeier.

Theophilus had married Susan Bell, the daughter of an Englishman and an Abyssinian princess, and the Emperor of Abyssinia conferred upon him the title of prince. He went to the land of Abyssinia and became one of the Emperor's dearest friends; after the Emperor's death in the year 1868, he left the country with his wife and his eldest daughter for Lebanon, where her other children were afterward born. Hanna never lived in Abyssinia, yet she nonetheless served the land of her forefathers during the Italian invasion and the exile of the Emperor Haile Selassie, by working in the Abyssinian legation in England. Her mastery of foreign languages was of great value; she acted as hostess to the exiled Emperor, and the occasion offered itself for her to use her royal title, Princess Asfa Yilma. She played a great part in gathering donations for the building of a hospital in memory of her young cousin, Princess Tsehai, who died after arriving in Abyssinia from Britain.

Nor did Hanna forget her second homeland, Lebanon, where her two sisters lived: she attached herself to the hospital for mental diseases at Asfuriyeh in Beirut — that hospital which her father founded when he was head of the ladies' society that took part in building it.

This lady was distinguished by an attractive and respected personality, and by self-denial. Everyone acknowledges her services and thanks her for the great efforts she made throughout all these years.