Miss Mabel

The people of Malta know Miss Mabel, daughter of one of the old British families, most intimately, and her house is known as the house of "Miss Mabel." She is the most powerful woman in the Mediterranean region. From June 1940, when the bombs began to rain down upon Malta, Miss Mabel—proprietress of the "Maltese" Times—undertook the editing of that paper in English, together with the editing of the paper "Berqa" in Maltese; and not for a single day was the appearance of the two papers interrupted.

She inherited the newspaper from her father, as she inherited also some land and farms. Her responsibility for her own affairs was the cause of her coming into direct contact with the peasants and the farmers; and we know that the problems and the ideas of these people have a great influence on the conditions and affairs of Malta.

This young woman lived among the people of Malta and listened to her father's counsels, following his example in everything touching their affairs. From him she learned the value of taking refuge in the caves in the mountains, and she saw the people of the interior using them as shelters from the enemy's air raids.

And she heard him warn the people against the influence of the Italians; and she lived through the period when the Italian bombs poured down upon the island from every quarter.

As to her person, she is a young woman tall of stature, with a husky voice, who knows the people of the island through and through; and Maltese blood runs in her veins, for her father, a Maltese noble, is Lord Strickland, known as the Count della Catena. The destiny of this young woman, like her father's, is bound up with the island of Malta. She has played an important part in the history of this island, giving the British and the Maltese effective help in holding it during that war, which is counted among the greatest wars ever fought in the Mediterranean region.