Evening star. [volume], March 29, 1908, Page 2, Image 46

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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Copyright, 19n*. by Franks Lynn.
THE fete celebrating the Persian
New Year, at the legation of
Persia in Washington, Maroh
-1. was also the occasion of
congratulations to Gen. Morteza.
Khan, the minister of Persia, upon ;
the recent decision of the imperial board 1
of education, in Persia, to adopt for use !
in all the schools of Persia the text books
that the minister has had in preparation [
for some time.
Morteza. Khan, envoy extraordinary and !
minister plenipotentiary for his imperial
excellency. ?the Shah of Persia, has been
finding a labor of love in the composition
and compilation of six text books, written I
after the most approved modern methods,
for the use of the school children of Old
Omar's land. The first two of these volumes
have been published in Teheran.
Persia; and the minister of .Persia has
named the first "Education" and the second
"Encouragement." The other four
are planned in the ascending scale of
progress from the primer, to the books for
I ha tnni>A o H?-o n no/1 rvunil
? i? v iiivi C aut aiivcu U11 i i .
To have prepared, wtlh his own hands,
the script for tihese six volumes, comprising
a wide range of subjects, including
original drawings, scientific articles
and original stories and verse, has been
no light task; yet the minister of Persia ;
has found time to accomplish this, with
great success, in the leisure hours of his
diplomatic life.
Wthen first I called upon Morteza, Khan,
he received me in the salon of the legation
on 19th street. The table, in the true
oriental style, was spread as for a feast,
and it did not surprise me when the minister.
after serving me with a cup of de- j
licious tea and dair'y Persian cakes, said, :
with grave formality:
"Today, Friday, is Mohammedan Sun- i
day, so I must ask you to come another !
day for the interview?tomorrow at 4? j
Ah, tihat is well. You comprehend, this
day is for God. This is my Sunday, and !
I may welcome my friends socially today, !
but no politics, no interviews, or business, i
You see, in I'ersia we have three "Sunday'
holidajs?the Sunday, on Sunday, of the
Christian; the Sunday, on Saturday, of
the Israelite, and the Sunday, on Friday,
of the Mohammedan. Oh, yes, we ac
eept the Christ! He was to us a prophet j
of God?but?you remember He said: 'I ;
am the Son of God. and ye are my breth- |
ren. We do not believe that God can j
have a natural son, with natural desires, i
as humanity; but we do believe that He j
sends many prophets. To the Mohamme- '
dan there is no God but God. Allah il Allah. !
and Mohammed is his prophet! So we be- j
liev? also that Christ was the Son of God. .
as all the prophets are sons of God. and j
He was a very mighty prophet. Adieu, i
goodbye, then, until tomorrow at 4."
Promptly at 4. on Saturday, I was ush- j
ered into Morteza. Khan's, study. The j
minister himself greeted me at the head
of the stairs and led the way into the
sanctum that bespoke his oriental tastes,
and also gave some evidence of his literary
labors. The minister of Persia is
deeply interested in the welfare of the
children of Persia. When questioned :
with regard to his labors in behalf of their
education and enlightenment, his oriental
Imperturbability gave place to keenest Interest.
and >his large, dark e\ g brightened
the while his voice developed unexpectedly
tender cadences, as he spok? ;
of the children of his native land.
"Tes. T have written six volumes, two of
which have now been published. these
are t?xt books, mode'ed after the presentday
European educational methods, fog
use among my children of Persia. T>he !
first book Is called 'Education.' See!"
The little volume, bound in oriental j
fashion in beautiful red velvet, and printed
in Persian, with a glossary of French
words and synonyms, and containing
many quaint illustrations, was at this
point exhibited by the author with par- j
donable pride. The books show the faithful
labor of the Persian minister's own
hands, the plates for printing having
been made from his original manuscript,
not one line or word of which has been intrusted
to any secretary or assistant.
*
* *
With a smile of naive happiness and
pride he said:
"At a meeting?reunion. I believe you [
call it?of the national board of education i
* 1~? If < n-Arn OiirtftntAil ?x - 1
*'i i noia IIIJ uwao nci c a^vrjucu aii'i
ordered to be used in the schools of my
country. See. this Is 'Education.' It con- j
tains the words and definitions in French i
and Persian, lessons, questions and an- i
wers. and also some good short stories
for the child. Original? Oh. yes?all, all: j
There is only my work in the whole six :
volume?. See. the second one I call 'En- j
couragement.' "
The opening page of "Education" contains
an address or invocation to the children
of Persia. Morteza. Khan, calls it
"Advice to the Child." The translation, j
g-ven to me by the minister himself, is
as follows:
"Oh. my sweet, my darling children j
Oh. my beautiful, my sweet-singing night- j
ingales. Oh, light of the eyes and life of i
my country. Oh. ye shine as the light of '
the sun to a sorrowful heart < >h. ye, m.v
dearest little darlings, who have but now
left the laps and the arms of your moth- j
m to enter upon the paths of intelligence I
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and education, your first duty is to know
your Creator, Ho who gave ye life and
nourishment and strength and understanding.
Ye cannot know providence'
unless ye follow the way of the prophets.
This way and this path Is shown by the |
priests. They show- you how to respect '
and to love thy father and thy mother
and all thy relatives; to hold the fear of j
God in thy hearts, and never to escape I
from them that do give to thee fatherly
advice for thy welfare. At least twice a J
day shouldst thou address such a prayer
to God: 'O, my God. I thank Thee a thou- j
sand times for that Thou hast given me I
eyes in order that 1 may see the differ- 1
enee between the good and the bad; that
Thou hast given me ears that 1 may be
able to understand theVood advice of my
father and my mother and my teacher;
that Thou hast given me a tongue that I
may praise Thee and Thy benevolence.
Now, oh. my God, I beg Thee to lighten
my heart with Thy love and by Thy 1
knowledge during my life, and give pie to
drink from that spring at the source of
the sweet waters of education in order
that I may be released from obscurity and
ignorance." "
The prayer thus composed by Mortcza,
Khan, a Mohammedan, and sent broadr>o
of ttirnnchftnt I>circia ic or, nvomnln 1
V ??wv nn " VI ?I|,% j ? nil ' Allilljur ??l |
the trust and true worship these people f
feel for the Creator.
* *
Un page o'J of the volume called "Educa
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tion" we find ail Interesting and poetical 1 ci
.short story illustrated by an oriental ar- I ti
tlst, in Teheran, from suggestions made j y
by Mnrteza, Khan. The story, translated w
as follows, is called "The Rest of Flow- a
ers": l<
"One day a boy named Jaffa was walk- p
ing In the garden of his home, and com- e
ing to a most beautiful red rose he paused t,
before the bush whereon it grew and said 0
to his sisters, who stood near by: 'See 0
how beautiful is the red rose. Do you
think that any flower in all the world can w
compare with this red rose?' y
"One of his sisters, Roshanake by name,
replied:
" 'Oh, my brother, do you think so? Se^
these white flowers of Miriam?the white si
star of Mary, the mother of Christ. Are d
these not comparable with the red rose? T
To roe this flower of Miriam is the most b
beautiful of all, and ah, how heavenly si
sweet their fragrance is!' " v
"Then the small sister. Kadijah. cried:
" Tor the sake of God. how can a
forget these charming and fragrant 9
lets? Do you forget how we enjoyed thVm tl
last spring?'
"At this moment the mother, who had d
been listening to (heir conversation, an- F
swered them thus: tx
" 'My dearests. my darlings. these three u
kinds of flowers, tlie rose so red, the tl
white flower of Miriam and the blue, fra- e
grant violet, that have enchained your j
fancy, are the examples of three kinds ?
of SooJ feelings. Blue violets mean sin- | li
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prlty, Miriam's white flowers mean
rustwort hiness. and the red rose makes
e to understand that your hearts are always
to be on fire to the worship of God.
lso the red rose is the emblem of your
>ve to earn other and for all humanity,
localise, do ye not see, these three flowrs
united show all ftie dualities that go
"> make the great and good man. Then,
h my best of darlings, print these words
f advice in the bottom of your hearts:
' 'The best flower of the children is the
mrshlp of God; and the friendship of
our fellows in all sincerity and truth!' "
*
*
The first two volumes containing these
imple parables and prayers for the cliilren
hy Morteza. Klian, were printed in
eheran several years ago, hut have just
een ordered to be us-d universally in the
chools of Persia. The remaining four
oiumes are now ready for the press.
Ve minister of Persia writes each year
n especial poem to celebrate the Perian
new year, as has been the custom of
oe Persian poets for the last 5.O00 years.
This Persian New Year is the first
ay of spring, March 21. and is the oid
'ersian New Year, not the Mohammedan.
In fancy Morteza. Khan, carries
s back to old Omar's rose garden, and
he sweet scent of "Miriam's white flowr"
floats through all tlie land.
What an interesting sidelight this work
f an oriental minister throws upon the
fe and character of the Astatic? Our
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youthful republic has been aecustome
to view the jewel-bedecked denizens <
the orient as living tlie life of tlie sybai
ite?languid, luxurious. Indolent; llvirfg et
poner.ts of sensuality and selfishnesi
That picture of oriental life is ever tl
one that meets the public eye. What
contrast the truth presents! In his ow
home the personal representative of tt
shah appears In a simple, rather clerica
looking garb of solemn black. He
tuiet. studious and slow of speech. I
his drawing room and in his study, o
every hand, the waiting nargihili an
the ever ready cakes, tea and sweetmeat
await the refreshment of the guest. Th
Persian draperies and oriental rugs at
tastefully arranged, but with slmplicit;
and there is none of the overcrowding it
miliarly associated with "oriental coz
corners." The interior of the minister1
home is elegant and restful.
*
* *
Here, working silently, writing "Edt
cation" and "Encouragement" and kii
dred volumes for li is people, labor
Morteza. Khan, for his beloved ehildre
of Persia.
j His excellency. Morteza. Khan, vr.i
! bojjn in Teheran. Persia. August. IStifi. b.
ling tlie son of Hajl Mirza DJabar. Khai
i He was educated at home by Persia
; and Arabic tutors until he reached tl
age of eleven, at which time he entere
the College of Darol-Fonum, where 1
I was instructed in French and ti:
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d sciences and also received military train- gui:
)f ing. lie accompanied his brother, Mirza niei
r- Djevad, Khan, to Paris, where he re- ver
c.- reived further instruction at Hortus In- tior
s! stitution, and also at the I,yeee St. Louis, ran'
le Returning to Teheran in 1SS2. he com- 'lf*r
a pleted his studies under special profess- j l'lfn
ors. His first appointment was as i sa"
ie chamberlain and interpreter to the im- :
1- perial court. He was also at the same ; ,n?l
is time appointed a dragoman of the im- lior
i, perial ministry of foreign affairs. He j tria
,n was intrusted with several important
d missions at tin's time, and in the year j Fra
ts 1S97 became consul general to the Can- j
casus, Russia. In 1S99 he was appointed is v
first secretary of the imperial ministry sev
of foreign affairs. He has served his trot
country in a like capacity, and also as ! to F
1 oliief of American, French. Italian, jto '
;J Dutch. Spanish and Swiss affairs until !t i:
s I May, 1004. since which time he has been j sia
envoy extraordinary and minister pleni-|
potentiary of Persia to all the American
republics, with headquarters at Washi
| ington. In July, 1907. he was appointed
i- special envoy to announce to President l'rnf
"s Roosevelt the new shah's accession to P'
n the throne. In September. 1907. be was any
appointed in special mission to announce "sn
LS to President Diaz of Mexico the acoes- pla>
si on to the throne of Mirza, the new han
Shah of Persia. : tlec<
.e I ^
ai | His excellency, AIorrm^/Hhan, has re- wr,r
ie 'reived from the shah therMle of Mom- pel
le j lazcl-Alolk as a reward for liis distin-j of i
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shod services to tlio irtiprrial k,ovomit.
Ho has also received bronze, siland
gold medals of public instruoi
from Persia, and decorations of
king colonel and general of the Orof
the Sun and T,ion. He also holds
first-class civil decorations of the
le order. The "Tinisal" decoration Is
jMu ir.-iu hi u p sn in, m.immii fiuiy
mted in brilliants. His other deeorais
arc from Frain is J' s p!i of Ans.
Medjidieh of Turkey. Leopold of
gin m, the Legion d'Honneur of
nee. In religion In- is a Mussulman
Shiite denomination. The minister
ininarried. and, although he has been
eral times reported as being befied^or
about to Iipwiip betrothed,
;omff-hariiiing Anieriean, there seems
?e no truth in these statements, and
s said that when the minister of Perdoes
lead a bride to the altar he will
her among the fair women of his
i land. FRANCKS LYNN.
Smartness.
m ?l,n lbit],inL
o not !? "smart.". Whenever you see
of your mates showing signs of
tartness" in his work, his talk, or liis
take him hv the hand, or both
ils. or by the hack of the neck if
fssary, and lovingly, playfully but
ily. lead him to a knowledge of higher
more interesting tilings. In these
ds of Mr. Kipling is presented the gosof
tlie real life of common sense and
traversal experience.