many social and charitable projects that I carry on together with an elite of Lebanon's gracious women, whose efforts have had the most telling effect on the success of these projects — among them the Red Cross, the Clothing of the Poor, and the Lebanese Soldier's Home. And here I cannot but praise all the women's associations in Lebanon which, though they differ in name, are united in aim and in heart, and work toward a single end: the happiness of our beloved Lebanon and the easing of its children's pains."

And when I put my third question to her — what is your message to the Lebanese girl, as a lady and a mother who understands the girl's problems and feels them? —

She sighed and smiled, then said: "What can I say — and when did a daughter ever heed a mother's advice?... Yes, the problem of girls is a grave problem in this country, and it demands special attention. I am a mother, and everything I wish for my own daughter I wish for all the girls of Lebanon. The girl must be prepared, at home and at school, to be a wellspring of good and of blessing for her society and her country; she must be raised on firm moral foundations, and trained to bear the various responsibilities she will face in the future... She should receive an ample share of culture — it may differ in kind, but its aim is one: to discipline her mind, refine her taste, and strengthen her natural gifts. She must also give her health and her outward appearance special attention: let her follow sound rules of health without fail, and take up sports and various exercises such as will give her energy, vitality, and grace. As for her clothes, her walk, her speech, and all her movements, they should join taste with understanding, simplicity with self-confidence. Let her be cheerful and free of spirit, feeling the beauty of life and rejoicing in it, without ever losing her balance and her poise. In short, I would like the Lebanese girl to be a modern girl in the full sense of the word — understanding the spirit of her age and living in it, without forgetting her traditions or losing her respect for what is old and her feeling for its splendor. Out of the very heart of Lebanese life and its traditions the girl of Lebanon should spring forth, a fresh flower turning toward the light, toward the new age, toward civilization wherever it may be — drawing from it strength and life, and spreading it as sweet fragrance in the air of Lebanon."

And the First Lady of Lebanon ended her talk by saying: "This is my message to the girl of my country; this is my ideal for her; this is what I would like my daughter and all the daughters of Lebanon to be. Someone may say that perfection belongs to God alone — but whoever sets up an ideal does not go astray, even if he does not reach it. Yet reach it we shall, God willing."