Letters and News

• At eleven o'clock on the morning of Thursday, October 28, the wife of His Excellency the President of the Republic paid a visit to the Child Welfare Home in Achrafieh, to attend the first inaugural ceremony of this new free home.

She was received by the president of the society, Mrs. Zahia Salman, and its members, together with a company of ladies of good family, among whom we recognized the wife of the Minister of Finance, the sister of the President of the Council of Ministers, and Mrs. Marlene Arqash; then the Minister Plenipotentiary of Transjordan and his wife arrived in answer to the society's invitation.

After the wife of His Excellency the President had looked in on the children and cast a passing glance over the way this home has been arranged, she expressed her satisfaction and pleasure at the efforts the society has made to bring this humane project into being.

Thereupon the children sang some lovely songs before the invited guests, ladies and gentlemen; then Mrs. Zahia Salman, president of the Children's Welfare Society, delivered a word of thanks and welcome, in which she spoke of the need to encourage this society by material means, so that it may advance with a firm step toward the goal at which it aims—the good of humanity.

The members of the society then did the honors, distributing sweets among the guests; at the close, the President's wife donated 200 liras to the society and the Prime Minister's sister another 200, and at a quarter to twelve the visitors were seen off with warmth and honor.

Her Ladyship likewise visited the Kfarshima National School before noon on Tuesday, October 26, in the company of a delegation of Beirut ladies. The founder and president of the school, Mr. Badih Hashim, received her with words of welcome at the head of the students and the school's musical band. What caught the eye of the First Lady of Lebanon was the order prevailing in the school, which showed the great care the administration devotes to its affairs.

Mr. Badih Hashim, the school's president, delivered a speech of welcome in which he touched, among other things, on hateful sectarianism and its diseases, and on the necessity of uniting ranks for the sake of the paramount interest.

The President's wife and her party then proceeded to a sumptuous banquet given by Mr. Hashim in honor of the guests. Finally, Her Ladyship visited the Hashim shoe factory and expressed her pleasure at the excellence of this national industry.

• The great man of letters and historian Mr. Fouad Ephrem al-Boustany and his gracious lady have been blessed with a baby boy, whom they have named Adi—may God make him a child of safety.

Mr. Fawzi Azar and his wife have likewise been blessed with a baby boy. The birth took place at the American Hospital. We wish the little angel happiness in the shelter of his parents.

• The Culture Society attached to the Women's Solidarity in Acre held its second literary gathering at half past four on the 24th of last November. The speaker of the literary gathering was the woman of letters Miss Najwa Aref Qa'war.

The gathering was opened by the society's president, the literary Miss Najla Nasir Issa, with a word on the society's aims and its works; then Miss Samira Azzam spoke, introducing the writer Miss Najwa Qa'war. Miss Najwa's turn came, and she delivered a valuable lecture entitled "Rebirth and Emancipation," in which she examined the practical ways that must be followed to raise the nation up anew—this in a polished style and with deep study.

The gathering closed with a poem composed by the poet Mr. Nasir Issa and recited by Miss Su'ad Nasir Issa, who performed admirably and with originality. The assembly departed grateful for this women's literary spirit, and grateful to Miss Najla Nasir Issa, who organizes such gatherings.

• The Women's Renaissance Association in Gaza has opened a school for the teaching of illiterate women, and the Department of Social Services has appointed a capable teacher to direct this school, Miss Rif'a Issa Farah. We hope for the women's renaissance in Gaza every progress and success.

• The newspaper Türk Sözü, which is published in Adana, has appointed Mr. Ziwar Jarrah as its correspondent in Palestine, and we cannot but commend Mr. Ziwar's efforts, for the activity and interest he shows in what is being done in Palestine and in the news of the women's renaissance.

The gentleman got in touch with Dar al-Kitab's general agent in Palestine, looked through the magazine The Woman's Voice and some of the publications, and wrote a valuable piece about The Woman's Voice and about Dar al-Kitab, which supervises the issuing of this magazine. Among other things he said: this magazine is among the finest of the Arabic magazines, and would that the Turks might see it, to observe how far the women's renaissance has advanced in the Arab lands.

• On the afternoon of Saturday, the 24th of last November, the funeral of the late lamented Mrs. Nadia al-Darkham, wife of the notable Najib Eid, was held in Acre; she was no more than twenty-five years of age. Her death has caused anguish and grief, for the young departed was possessed of praiseworthy morals and fine qualities.

• The reception given at the Republican Palace on the occasion of the anniversary of Independence was most splendid. It was attended by a distinguished company of the ladies and gentlemen of Lebanon, as well as by the representatives of the powers and a number of foreign friends, men and women. His Excellency the President and Her Ladyship the First Lady of Lebanon lent this splendid reception their accustomed graciousness and geniality.

• Her Majesty the Queen Mother of Egypt, accompanied by two of her daughters, has made a journey through Europe; they passed through Geneva, spent a few days in the city of Cannes, and then visited the well-known towns of the azure coast.

• The American newspaper al-Sameer reports that the man of letters Amin Badr has translated the poems of al-Mutanabbi into the English language. Mr. Badr is the owner of a business in St. Petersburg, Florida.

• Dr. Bayard Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, and his esteemed wife Mrs. Mary Dodge invited a group of the University's professors to a tea party, to make the acquaintance of Dr. Allen Whipple, a member of the University's Board of Trustees in America, and Mr. Robert Ogden, director of cultural affairs in Syria and Lebanon.

• The literary Miss Ihsan Dimashqiyah has passed the examinations of the Lebanese Baccalaureate, philosophy section. She is one of our Lebanese girls for whom a smiling future is expected. To her, all our congratulations.

• The accomplished woman of letters Miss Salwa Dimashqiyah al-Sa'id has arrived from London, and is staying at the home of her honored father, Badr Bey Dimashqiyah. The Woman's Voice bids her a handsome welcome, and wishes her a pleasant stay in the homeland that esteems and respects her.

• A telegram from New York has reached the American University of Beirut stating that the sons of the late Ni'ma Yafet, of São Paulo, Brazil, have donated the funds needed to erect the University's new library building within two or three years, in perpetuation of the memory of their father, a man of benign influence.

• The friends of Miss Nadia al-Boustany, a young lady of the most refined breeding, received the news of her engagement to Mr. Gabriel al-Arab, one of the fine young men of Port Said, with great joy and delight. To the two honored betrothed, our sincere congratulations.

• A new class of our educated young women has graduated from the Lebanese Women Teachers' College, foremost among them the literary Miss Jenny Hamwi. To our excellent women educators our congratulations, and may they render the sincere service the country expects of them in the two fields of education and teaching.

• God has favored Mr. Abdullah Lutfi and his gracious wife with a baby girl, whom he has named "Juman." May God make her a daughter of safety in the shelter of her honored parents.

• The Arab Women's Union held a memorial gathering for the late lamented Huda Salibi Doumit, in West Hall at the American University of Beirut, on Saturday, November 16, 1946, at half past three in the afternoon. A distinguished company of literary women and men spoke, recounting the virtues of the departed: Mrs. Rose Shahfa, president of the Union, Mrs. Julia Dimashqiyah, and Messrs. Anis al-Maqdisi, Mikhail Naimy, and Georges Baz. The gathering closed with a tender word from the family of the departed.

• Miss Su'ad al-Zayn, agent of the magazine The Woman's Voice in Jaffa, Palestine, gave a tea party at her flourishing home on the occasion of the passage through Jaffa of Mr. Youssef al-Khal, general editorial director of Dar al-Kitab, on his way to Jerusalem. It was a most charming party, attended by a select company of educated young people.

On the same occasion, the Orthodox Club held a literary evening in the club's hall in Acre, at which Mr. al-Khal recited selections from his poetry, together with a passage from his play "Herodias," which has not yet been published.

• From the news of the Mahjar: Miss Olga Khoury, one of our Lebanese emigrant daughters in the United States, has won the world championship in typewriting, having typed 242 words in one minute.

It is worth mentioning that Miss Khoury is one of the girls of Marjayoun, and was President Roosevelt's private secretary.

• In a past issue of The Woman's Voice we noted the arrival in Lebanon of a group of our accomplished young women, after they had completed their studies in the Nile Valley. Among them is Miss In'am al-Saghir, who has come to the service of her first homeland, Lebanon, bearing the degree of licentiate in philosophy after three years of study at Fouad I University in Cairo. May Miss In'am's appointment at the Makassed College of Beirut satisfy her ambition, and may the field open wide before her and before her educated companions, that they may carry out their mission of reform in the fullest manner.

• Miss Maryam Amis has kindly accepted to represent the magazine The Woman's Voice in the city of Sidon and the South. We ask our subscribers there to ease her task in managing the magazine's affairs.

• Our excellent colleague al-Qistas, which is published in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, has entered its tenth year. We congratulate its proprietor and editor-in-chief, Mr. Farid Salim, wishing him continued progress and success.