The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-27
Miss Azeez, though, does more than write

Miss Azeez though, does more than write
and talk. When, for example, she found
herself in need Of an unattainable luxury,
an ermine robe, with which to illustrate
one OF her talks, she Immediately went to
work and designed a fabric that was very
good imitation Of the real thing and now
finds ready sale in the New York market.
Needless to say, this operation brought her
good money returns.
Tn en-, about year ago Miss Azeez
began to devote her surplus energy to the
propagation of Eastern Towering plants,
which she thought were meagrely repre-
scented in this country. She got plot Of
ground in Bronx Park and began planting
and tending slips imported from home.
Now she has something like a hundred
plants growing thrifty, the majority of
them quite novel specimens here. Among
them are the zeherhenna, which resembles
a yellow lilac, and Syrian mignonette, which
is finer and daintier than the Anne rican
variety.
than this, however.
Although heartily approving the Ameri-
can bathtub and its shower apparatus, she
laments that the latter should fall in YER
teal lines instead of more graceful curves,
and as a result she Is using spare moments
and the mechanical part of her brain to in
vent a bulb that will send down spray in
the shape of roses and lilies. The public
fountains, too she thinks, might just as
well send up flower shaped spray as spray
in nondescript forms. Not for one minute.
apparently, does she doubt her ability to
design something quite new in this class OF
mechanism Maybe she can.
When asked, Why did you want to come
to America when you were a little girl?"
Miss Azee2 replied;
We'll, one day, when | heard my father
discussing some business plans with my
mother, | asked:
Why do you work? Why do you not
become a Sultan?'
And | remember my disappointment
when | was made to understand that my
father could never be a Sultan because
he was not descended from Sultan. After
ward | asked my nurse if there was no
country where one might be Sultan even
if bis father or grandfather had not been one.
Yes she told Inc, there is one country
America.
From that moment was ger to start
for the United States, and everything
American interested me.
I'VE were Christians; therefore / came in
contact with American and English mis-
sionares. My grandfather Called Tablet
was, believe, the first Syrian who contrib
uted to build native Christian church in
Beirut-that was sixty years ago-and l
had an uncle who forty years ago repre-
scented two American industries in Beirut.
n
many American appliances and good deal
of furniture that had come from Boston,
and | IVES educ ated in English and French
schools that had been started by mis-
sionaries.
No, to the best of my knowledge, there
The only public school know Of Is in Beirut
and is FOR Mohammedan boys only, No
girl is allowed in il.
But as almost every one knows, it is
only the Christian Syrians who believe in
educating girls and giving them any liberty
at all For all that, though, there are many
Syrian ladies who can neither read nor
write and yet are delightfully."- cultivated,
sweet and hospita BILE, who, in fact, far
Outshine in womanly graces many OF the
highly educated women OF other parts OF
the world.
mo matter how well educated she may
be- however, there are practically only two
avenues open in Syria to a woman who
wants to make her own living to teach, and
to do needlework and dressna king at home.
No woman in that country goes out to work:
There Is not a sa leswoman to be seen In all
Syria.
Now, am ambitious From early
childhood ] wanted to excel | made my
first attempt at authorship when | was 7.
1t came about in this way:
"A neighbours boy, ID years old, wrote
a poem on David and Goliath which won
him much praise from friends and &C
s,uaintances and which, by the way. has
since been set TO music. Inspired by his
example, and quite forgetting the disparity
in our age, ] at once set to work TO write an
ode, taking for my theme David Killing
the Lion.
And the result"
"Well. mine was not set to music In spite
of my FIRST failure, though. my ambition
never tagged and when financial reverses
brought my family to America, to the
country whore any man may be Sultan.
was delighted,
lam sure that America is the best coun-
try in the world for a woman to make
living in Why. am now accomplishing
projects TINT frst came into my brain when
| was a child.
"A pet plan of mine just now is to start
a monthly journal for women printed in
Arabic, and | am determined to carry 1t
through. Yes. suppose 1t does take a
lot OF money TO start any sort OF periodical
In New York, but that doesn't frightSp me. |
shall soon earn money enough!