Appreciation of the committee's work. The festivals are cultural, not commercial. The English troupe cost Lebanon nothing.
Chance brought me together with my friend Mrs. Salwa Dimashqiyah al-Said, a member of the artistic festivals committee, and of the English theater committee in particular; and I heard from her an engaging account which I judged it well worth the magazine's mission to pass on to our readers, in completion of what appeared about the festivals in the previous issue, and in faithfulness on our part to this important cultural cause.
It was among the early signs of success that the members of the permanent committee for the Baalbek festivals were well chosen — especially as most of its elements were new, never before merged into the practice of any particular social or cultural activity. It is the first time the wealthy, pampered class has been given the opportunity to show its capacities and its aptitude for positive work. In short, the ladies of the marble palaces came down from their high towers to the first practical test — one that would either place them in the ranks of worthy citizenesses, or hurl them back into the void in