Letter from Dora Giffen to her brother Williamson Martin Giffen, June 8, 1921

1)
45 Faggala,
Wed., June 8, 1921

Dear Martin:
I’ll write a letter to you this week as you have been quite a good deal in my thoughts the past few days. Congratulations! I suppose you are a College Freshman now. I am anxious to hear all about last Fri. night, June 3rd, which was the night of your Acadamy Commencement, was it not?

Today is Alumni Day. It is just about nine o’clock, P.M., here, so it must be two o’clock with you. I can easily imagine all of Muskingum’s alumni seated around the tables in the Banquet Hall, listening to speeches, after a sumptuous dinner. I hope Mother was not asked to prepare anything for the banquet that would take much work and time.

This letter will have to be a little shorter than usual I am afraid, for I want to finish it tonight. On Monday night, I did not get it written, for Miss Cullen and her friend, Miss Barnes of Assiut Hospital, were in for supper and we had a nice long evening with them after supper. Then last night we had a Cairo Station meeting over at Esbekiyeh which lasted from eight o’clock on. When we left at ten thirty Dr. Alexander was still talking. I was glad I went, though, for some English soldiers were having a musical program in a room just below Mrs. Harvey’s and as I sat close to the window, opening on to the court, I could hear the music splendidly. I certainly did appreciate it, if some of those who were talking did not.

This afternoon I started to write letters, but a letter to the Valencia Congregation, one to Cousin Bert, and another to Mr. Magee of Valencia (whose wife is quite ill according to Cousin Elizabeth’s letter which Mother enclosed in her last week’s letter) took up all the time until supper-time. At supper we again had Miss Cullen and Miss Barnes (of Assiut), who sail for Scotland tomorrow. Because they leave for Port Said very early in the morning Mrs. Coventry asked them over for supper. After supper Miss Barnes stayed for an hour or so. She is such a nice woman and so very interesting to talk to. She is a nurse in Assiut Hospital and gets to go home every summer. She is going to see Mise Rena while she is home. Miss Cullen goes home to Scotland every other summer and this is her summer to go.

Wait until they get the air-service between the U.S. and here and I will be going home to spend my summers; and it will take a shorter time than the two weeks that Miss Cullen has to spend on the way.

By the way I saw Roswell Caldwell at station-meeting last night. He is up here for a committee meeting. Everything is quiet in Alexandria, as it is here. I am enclosing with this letter a check or draft for fifty dollars for Mother or Mr. Latimer, which Mr. Caldwell sent up last week. Be careful not to lose it until Mother gets it.

I did so appreciate Mother’s thoughtfulness in sending two letters on week, which would reach me about Commencement time. Joe Maxwell’s baby died but his wife is all right, Mother. I was out at the Girl’s College Mon. afternoon of this 2) week, playing tennis on the College court with Esther Wilson and while there Marjorie Fenn came out and we had a little talk. I told her that in her last week’s letter Mother told about seeing Mrs. Fenn with Miss Finley, and she was quite interested. Not much foreign mail came last week and she had not yet heard from her mother about her trip to New Concord. Marjorie does not like it very well out here. She is not out here for missionary service, I am afraid. This is no place for people on the hunt of a good time. The Florence Melone that Mother met recently is a sister of Emma Melone, a 1920 M.C. graduate, who is coming out next year to teach in Miss Martin’s school along with Deke. By the way I received a card this week from Deke (Lucile Cosby) sent from Washington, D.C. where she was with her High School Seniors, showing them around the city.

Mother wanted to know if there is a pipe-organ in Esbekiya Church. No, there is not now, although Dr. Zwemer hopes to raise the money for one soon. The organ they have now has to be pumped in much the same way that the “Johnson Hall” organ used to have to be pumped; and it has the foot-pedals but there are no pipes connected with it.

I am enclosing with this letter an acacia blossom. The acacia trees are in full bloom now. Ethel Weed and I went out to the Heliopolis last Fri. eve after supper and all the way out on the car we smelled the sweet scent of these blossoms. Ethel had something to talk over with Mr. A.A. Thompson, so while they were talking I read the Enterprises, which they get, but found practically nothing new in them. This blossom I picked at the house and smelled all of the way in.

On Fri. afternoon I called on Uncle Johns. Aunt Elizabeth was still in bed with what she thought was a bad case of tonsilitis but which proved to be quinzy. The place in her throat broke Friday night and she is feeling much better now. Little Wallace Jamison is a dear. Mrs. Jamison was telling me that Helen Jamison, Mr. Jamison’s sister, attended Muskingum the first part of this last year until poor health compelled her to stop school.

Last Sat. afternoon we were invited over to the Holcombs for tea. Mr. Holcomb is an American who is in Y.M.C.A. work out here. Both he and his wife are taking work in the Study Center. They are good friends of the Lorimers. (John Lorimer got word this week of the death of his father near Zanesville.) On our way home from the tea we stopped at the Quays. Mrs. Quay is certainly a marvel. She looks as well as ever and was at church on Sab. Evening, leaving Mr. Quay at home to take care of Bobby.

The Grove sisters left us for Sidi Bishr on last Sat. morning. The Russels are at Sidi Bishr this summer, for which I am glad. I hope to see a great deal of them. Miss Anna Y. and Mrs. Harvey called here for a short time yesterday afternoon; and one evening last week Mr. and Mrs. Birbari called.

Fay Ralph was away from Thurs. until Tues. visiting Beni Suef, where she has been appointed for next year.

Ramadan has been over since yesterday morning, when – at about five thirty – I heard the cannon at the Citadel, which we can hear from here, go off about twenty-one times. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are feast-days now.

3) On last Sat. evening Lucia invited us all into her room for a much delayed “at-home day” which she had been intending to have ever since she got her new furniture sometime last winter. We all masqueraded and went in. Limade and cake were served. Lucia had hurriedly drawn all of our profiles that morning. It was not hard to tell who the drawings were meant to represent. I am sending you mine. She sketched mine while I was sitting on my window seat (in other words on my little box, in which my books came out, which I have covered with my steamer-rug) darning stockings.

We had quite a heavy rain at noon last Sabbath and some very sharp lightning and thunder with it. It was the biggest storm that I have ever seen in Egypt. At this time of the year especially such a storm is very rare. Faggala St. was quite a little river of water for some little time after, but by five o’clock that afternoon things were about as dry as usual. The poor girls who have their rooms in the flat above us are having to endure some bad odors issuing from the roof since the rain. Sanitary conditions on our roof are very bad.

On Fri. of this week we are set to be examined by Mr. Adams on some of the work we have been having since the exam. I have not been studying very hard lately so it behooved me the first of this week to get down and commit about two pages of Arabic which we have to know without the book.

Yesterday morning most of the sheyuk took a vacation because of the Feast-Day, so I was free to go over to Kullali School with Ethel Weed and help teach the girls some songs for their Commencement, which is about two weeks away. I took my violin and am to accompany the songs with it on Commencement night. I expect to go over for another practice next Monday.

On Sat. afternoon of this week I have consented to give a reading or two at an Alumni Meeting (of the graduates) of Cairo Girls’ College, which is to be held at the College. Am not sure what I will give yet.

Now goodnight. I suppose you will be working again this summer. I hope you will enjoy your work. Lots of love to you, Mother, Father, and Willard. Your sis, Dora.

P.S. Thank you so very much, Martin, for that Muskingum Song Book. It is fine. Dora

I expect to be in Sidi Bishr until the end of August, so mail addressed to me at Sidi Bishr until the end of that time will reach me. Dora