The Washington herald., 1918-03-24
TocleEy
i r VAs1'N0 T01T
By z. C. DRUM-HUNT.

Though washlnston Is hIled TO over
Towing with newcomers, many Of
them Of srsat interest and distinction.
quite the most interesting arrival Of
many moons slipped quietly IN last
Thursday in the heaviest downpour
OF rain we have had for some time.
II was spring, oflcially acknowledged.
some people have been saying thar
spring has come for some weeks ana
her actual arrival was preceded oy
weather very springlike In character.
but after Thursday no one can deny
her presence,
The only people who seemed to think
ths event Of enough Importance to
celebrate were the Persians, who
claim that date, March n. as New
Years Day. They. and with reason
according to nay way Of thinking.
declare that they do not understand
WAY Il u not New Years Day for
everyone, for they say that with the
Spring everything starts over anew;
everything In nature seems to be be-
ginning TO take on new life. Often
as 4 child Il used to come into my
mind that the spring of the year was
the season to be called New Years
and not the dead Of winter when all
nature Is sleeping
In Persia the New Year Il celebFat-
ed for fourteen days. all of which are
holidays. such having been the case
for thousands of years. What would
happen to business here II everybody
stopped to rest and play for fourteen
days, I wonder. But in Persia they
have few neds, so the people do not
have to labor constantly as We do in
this country.
Tha Persian Minister. Mehdi Khan,
gave q large dinner in way OF ceie-
bration and a lovely party 1t was.
A former minister to this country
from Persia gave q dinner q few
years ago on the same date and the
guests were seated on the floor at
table about a foot high, but Aehdi
Khan's guests were gathered around
an ordinary American table. but not
at all ordinary In its decorations or
the sumptuous- repast served thereon.
Huge clusters OF beautiful pink roses
were placed at intervals down the
center of the table. while at the plate
OF every lady in the party was q
dainty eorsage bouquet Of violets,
orchids. and one beautiful deep red
rose. Large bowls Of luciOus fruit
altsrnated between the roses The
Minister has a Persian chef who Ger
tainIy could teach much to some of
our chefs of repute about how to
really cook. One of the dishes served
was purely Persian, but perfectly de-
heious. It Is called ''pollow'-that Is
the way q Persian spelled It for me
and looked like a mound OF rice.
cooked as 1 have always claimed
only the Chinese can cook rice, but /
won't say that any more after eating
that rice. Sprinkled over the rice were
tiny fakes Of candied orange peel and
buried under the mound were fakes
Of chicken and ehickeR Ivers. Some
times. they tell me. the same dish Is
cooked with beef instead of chicken
and raiSins are intermingled with the
orange.
Among the guests were Charles II.
Russell, formerly Minister from this
country to Persia; Mrs Russell was
nI and could not be present; also
Senator and Mrs. Atlee Pomerene,
RIr. md M. HOVcTd Reeside. Mr..
and Mrs. Albert II. Putney. MI. and
Mrs. Robert n. Harper, Gholam All
Khan Ansari. DR.. and Mrs. Irani,
Mira Mohsen Khan, Naghi Khan.
and Mrs. Frederick T. Cooper. of
Media, Pa, who is visiting in WASH
ingtoh.
Nine. AnsaTi was not present. as
she is very busy these days looking
after their cunning little three weeks
old daughter. Mr.. Ansari, who bears
the same name as a noted Persian
poet of centuries ago, is an attache
Of the legation His wife is a Rus
sian woman and as handsome as she
is charming. Both are very young
He does not speak Russian and she
does not know his language, so they
had to do all of their courting in
German. which fact Is not particu-
larry pleasing to either OF them Just
now.
Therefore, Mrs Ansari is struggling
to conquer the English language and
its idiosyncTasies with great rapidity.
She has been here only few
months, but her husband has been
here several years. Mira Mohsen
Khan. third secretary. is the bach
eior of the legation stafr except, of
course, Naghi Khan, the Minister'S
son. a most interesting youth of -
Tie is about to be graduated
in medicine at George Washing
ton University and expects to go