Chaplain Imbrie reports that there is a Sabbath service in the prison chapel, at which attendance is voluntary. “But few absent themselves from this service.” They have a choir of their own, with an efficient musical director. During the winter there are frequent entertainments held in the chapel, consisting of lectures, elocution and music. They have a judiciously selected library of 6,000 volumes, and the number of books taken out during the year was 18,167.
They have a total enrollment in the night school of 185, with an average attendance of about 176. This school is maintained largely for the benefit of the illiterates and of those whose education has been extremely limited. The difficulties of presenting statistics of those who are permanently reformed is well illustrated by the following extract from the chaplain’s report: “As the year closes I find myself looking back and counting the meetings and partings with more than four thousand souls, who have come and gone during the past twelve months.... I have known each one for a few weeks or months, then they have gone like the ships that pass in the night.... A few have written kind letters to me after having reached their homes, a few have sent messages, ... some I have met on the streets of the city, and a few have been returned as prisoners to this institution, but the greater number have been absorbed in the great mass of humanity, and I have no further trace of them. The promises made at parting may be broken, the influence of the few weeks spent here may soon be effaced by the environments of the world, the seed sown in the gospel messages may never mature, but yet the effort has been made, and the increase is with the Father.”
... This prison is located in Bate-id-deen, where the governor-general and all the government officials reside. There I had an interesting call on the governor of Mt. Lebanon, Yusuf Pasha Kusa.
I found him a very fine, polished gentleman, promising that he will help to put a check on the drinking habit of his country, and he gave me the privilege of visiting the prison and meeting all the prisoners. It was a great opportunity after the iron bars were opened and the kind-hearted warden let me in. The prisoners gathered around me in great curiosity, as they had never seen a woman in the court before. There were two hundred and seventy-five (275) men prisoners. There were Arabs, Druzes, Christians of all sects. The prison is a round building with dark rooms around and an open court in the center--four or five in every room. They are required to furnish their own beds, clothing and food, except they receive a portion of bread (about one and one half pounds) each day. They gathered around me and were very eager to hear what I had to say. For an hour and three quarters they listened very attentively, and at last they showed their appreciation by promising to live better lives. At the close of my speech one of the prisoners asked the privilege of speaking, which was granted. He said: “We want our friend to know that not every one of us is a criminal, some of us are here through lack of justice. If we were in a Christian country, under Christian and just laws, many of us would not be here.”