The Rangoon Gazette 30 October 1916
ARMENIAN REFUGEES’ FUND
BENEFIT DANCE AND PRESENTATION
A very well attended and enjoyable fancy dress dance took
place at the Armenian Club on Friday night in aid of the Armenian Refugees’
Relief Fund. The spacious dancing hall
on the upper floor of the club house had been attractively decorated by Mr. S.
Vertannes and other members of the club.
The occasion marked the presentation also of a Bull from the Catholicos
of the Armenian Church to Mrs. Tarleton and Mrs. McCarthy, in recognition of
their services to the Armenian cause.
Mrs Tarleton was not present, being at home in Ireland, but Mrs.
McCarthy was present and the Bull, which was read in Armenian by the Rev. Vahan
Aghan, priest of the Armenian Church in Rangoon, was presented to her by Mr.
Manook who previously read an English translation of it.
The Bull, which had the official seal of the Catholicos
George V, and bore his signature was as follows:
“George V, the Servant of Jesus Christ and, by the grace of
God Catholicos of all the Armenians and Patriarch of the Holy Convent of
Etchmiadzine, to excellent Mrs. Tarleton and Mrs. McCarthy sojourning at
Rangoon, patriarchal greetings and blessings from the Apostolic and Catholic
Church of Etchmiadzine.
Just as the heart of an afflicted father (like a spring
flower refreshed by drops of rain) rejoices and puts on new vitality, so my
afflicted father’s heart is rejoiced greatly at the news of the self-devoted
efforts of you two ladies of another race, who have entirely laid aside your
personal comfort and have brought your ardour to the assistance of a good
object as perfect disciples of our great and loving Master, Jesus Christ, and
have added your comfort to our sons and daughters in affliction, whose
groanings and lamentations have reached so far, even unto you.
As a pledge of my appreciation of your sisterly efforts to
alleviate the suffering of my children, exiles from the home of their fathers,
I with my Patriarchal Bull express to my daughters in Christ my heartfelt
thanks. I bless you and pray to God to
give you more and more grace and strength to carry out more and more Christian
works to satisfy the various needs of my afflicted children.
May God raise up others as compassionate (as you) to
co-operate with you, and for the accomplishment of this wish I will be always
joined with you in prayer and rejoicing.
Wishing you good health, may you grow in the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ and be blessed through me for ever and ever. Amen.”
In making the presentation Mr. Manook dwelt upon the
valuable help Mrs. McCarthy had rendered to the Armenians and the great
gratitude felt by the Armenian community.
Mrs. McCarthy thanked Mr. Manook for his remarks after
which cheers for Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. Tarleton and Mrs. Vertannes were given.
Mrs. McCarthy was presented on her arrival with a handsome bouquet by Miss
Vertannes.
Among those present at the dance were all the leading
members of the Armenian community and their families, except the present of the
club, Mr. W. Shircore who is convalescing from the results of a recent serious
operation, much regret being expressed at his absence. There were fifteen dances on the programme
which was augmented by a number of extras, and this made the dancing run into
the early hours. Amongst the many
original and effective costumes, and there were many handsome ones, that of
Miss Lake as a Kashmir girl was particularly striking and to her was awarded
the prize for ladies, a handsome brooch with precious stones, presented by Messrs.
Coombes Company Limited. The costumes of
Mrs. M. Minus, Miss A. Minus, Miss Vertannes, Mrs. Harding, Miss K. Jordan and
several others were so good that the judging required some time. It took place after the tenth dance when all
paraded before the judges. If the judging
of the ladies costumes was difficult that of the gentlemen’s was more so, but
it narrowed down to Mr. Mathews of Messrs. Rowe and Company as a clown, J.
Johannes as a Hebrew, Mr. Vertannes and Mr. Bowman, Mr. Johannes winning the prize,
a gold cigarette case presented by Messrs. P. Orr and Sons. The catering was done by Mr. M. David of the
Criterion Hotel and left nothing to be desired.
The result of the dance was stated to be very gratifying
and the proceeds, which are expected to go over Rs.500, will be forwarded to
the secretary for the Armenian Refugees’ Relief Fund to be sent to the
Catholicos of all the Armenians for distribution.
To learn more about the genocide of the Armenians please take a look at the following sites or simply google 'Armenian genocide'.
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