Cat of Bubastes #8

Chapter 8:

Ruth arrives at Ameres' house.  Mysa makes sure that Ruth is happy with her and that she will happy with her position in the house.  Ruth is and things go on happily.  Chebron goes into the lower parts of the priesthood.  Now he is allowed to go in the temple at all hours and could go into parts of the temple that he couldn't go into before.  He was happy about this and used it mostly to go into the temple in the evenings when there weren't so many people around.

Ptylus was not happy with Ameres.   His house was not far from Ameres and the two men did not chiefly like each other.  Ameres was the high priest and Ptylus wanted to be the high priest instead.  He was greedy and he wanted to be the high priest a lot.

One day, Ameres' wife came into him with shocking news.  Plexo, Ptylus' son had come to Ameres' house to ask for Mysa to marry him.  Ameres was shocked!  Indeed, it was very important.  Ameres said, "I do NOT want Plexo to marry Mysa because he will not be a good husband.  He is arrogant and puffed up and he can also be tittering and foolish."

Ameres' delivered a message to his wife about what Plexo should say to his mother and father when he got home.  Then Amense, Ameres' wife went and talked to Plexo.  And then Plexo went home and told his father and mother.  His father and mother were shocked and started making plans.  Ptylus had already wanted to kill Ameres to become high priest, so he decided that he had been too patient and must begin right away.

THen Ptylus' wife said to him, "Ameres wife, Amense, told me that they are making a banquet and that we can come if we wanted.  Shall we accept the invitation?"

Ptylus said, "Yes, we should show that we are not the least offended by what just happened."

On the day of the banquet, a couple of cook had gathered.  Some grinded seeds and spices.  Another one pushed the bellows for the temperature for the fire.  Another skimmed the tops of the cauldron pots with a spoon.  A lot was going on.

The guests came.  The women were seated at one side of the table and the men at the other.  There was a LOT of food:  Ibis and fish and beef and goose, but there wasn't any sheep because the Egyptians kept the sheep only for wool, not for eating.  There was a lot of wine and each guest was given a lotus flower to keep in their hand.  Since the Egyptians didn't use a knife and fork, they were given pieces of bread to aid them as they ate.  The guests ate and talked and were merry.

Ameres was seated and Amense were seated at the head of the table.  Amense sat on the womens' side and the Ameres sat on the mens' side.  The women were served by female servants and the men were served by male servants.  When the feast was about half way done, a figure like a mummy was brought in and presented to each guest to represent the uncertainness of life.

After the meal was done, the guests went and tables were taken away and the guests went and sat in the chairs all around the room.  Musicians and jugglers entertained them for the rest of the evening and everyone was happy.  After each guest was helped away, for the men and women were all tipsy with the wine they had drunk, Amense said, "That was delightful."

Ameres replied, "I would rather have been in my own study, but if everyone had a good time, I am most content."

Amense said, "You are most ungrateful.  You would rather be shut up in your study for all your life, seeing no one except your slave bringing you food and wine three times a day."

Ameres said, "I would probably prefer that, but as it is, I am content."

Cat of Bubastes #7

Chapter 6:

They go to the hippopotamus hunt and everything is made ready.  There are curious spears with shafts that are attached with a cord, but the shafts are loose so that when the spear is thrown the shaft comes off and sticks in the hippopotamus hide.  The spearhead is attached to the shaft by a long cord.

The men have spotted some hippopotami a long way up the river, like a mile. They head upstream, very silent, or else the hippopotamus will get scared off.  They find the hippopotamus; two dark patches and then the head suddenly pops up when it realizes the men have spotted it.  At that moment, the hunter throws his spear into the hippos hide and it sticks.  The hippopotamus roars and takes off.  It tries to go away, but they follow it and get a second spear into its hide.  The hippo then heads back to its original spot.  Jethro says to Amuba that the hippo gave him quite a fright when it first roared up.  The hippopotamus sinks to the bottom of the pool.  They pull on the shafts and it comes roaring back up again.  Then the peasants all pull and pull on the ropes connected to the shafts, pulling the hippo to shore. The hippo changes direction and charges back into the water; the peasants then begin to pull it in again.  This happens 10 or so times.  Finally, the hunter says to Chebron, "The hippopotamus is getting tired.  Either this pull or the next one, it's going to have to come to shore."  He was right; the next pull, they pulled him to shore.  Once there, all the peasants attacked it.  The hippopotamus gets killed.

Suddenly, they hear a woman cry and rush in that direction.  They arrive just in time to see a girl being pulled into the water by a crocodile.  Chebron rushed in and struck the crocodile on the nose as hard as he could; the crocodile lets go of her, surprised and angry.  The crocodile starts for Chebron but Jethro and Amuba run in.  One of the hunters sees the crocodile's tail.  "Mind the tail," yelled the hunter, but it was too late.  The crocodile knocked down Amuba with his powerful tail.  Jethro rushes to Amuba asks if he is alright.  Amuba answers that he is just bruised a little.

They look for a cottage to take the girl to and find one not very far off.  Jethro tells one of the hunters to go and fetch some water for the girl and he tells another to fetch some women to tend to the girl.  At the cottage, they lay her down on a couch and check with a man sitting there.  The old man says that they are Israelites, he and the girl, but that they had been kicked out of the their tribe for still believing in the one true God.  All the other Israelites now worshipped many gods like the Egyptians.

The girl comes to after the women arrive and the water sprinkled about her face brought her to.  They talk about Israelites and the religion.  Finally, they leave and ponder what has happened.  The man tells them that he is old and will die soon, and he needs someone to take care of this grand-daughter, the girl they just saved.  Chebron says that he will take her into their home as a servant.  The girl's name is Ruth.

They head back and ponder all the things that have happened this day.  Afterwards, Chebron writes a later to his father and bades that the letter be taken to his father with the fleetest messenger they have.  The messenger speeds off into the night.  At dinner, Amuba asks what they will do the next day.  Chebron says, we were going to do this and that, but I'd like to go visit the Israelites again tomorrow.  Amuba says that this is good by him; he is not even sure he'll be able to walk the next day from the tail blow of the crocodile.

The next morning, Amuba wakes up and can't walk.  He feels so sore and stiff, he can't even get up off his couch.  Jethro stays with Amuba and Chebron heads for Ruth's house.  He talks and listens a little more.

George Washington's World - Fray Junipero Serra

Fray Junipero liked juniper trees and you could tell his clothes were all old, because they named him Fray.  And he took his wife's name as his last name, Serra.

Okay, not really.

Fray Junipero Serra had a very long voyage to get to Mexico City from Italy. His legs were all swollen under his dusty clothes, but he still limped over to the church and his eyes glowed with pleasure when he saw the golden cross above the church.

When the Abbot of the church said that things were going hard in the territory of the Pames Indians and they needed more believers to teach there, Fray Junipero jumped up and cried, "Send me!  Send me!"

He left at once and it was a long time before he went on another mission trip.  Indeed, it was 16 years before he went on the trip that his name is famous for.  I don't know what that is yet, but he sure sounds famous!

George Washington's World - Benjamin Franklin looks and learns

A carriage ran along the streets of Stonehenge.  Two men got out.  "Nobody knows how long these old stones have laid here," said the older as they walked along the ruins. "They were here when Caesar and the Romans first came here and no one knows how long they had been there already then."

As the older man spoke this, he looked up and anyone could have recognized his face.  It was the kind and gentle Benjamin Franklin, here to look and to learn.

He had his views of England and America, and he traveled around Ireland and Scotland and Great Britain quite a bit.  He wondered why the Britains were so sure the Americans had to be ruled this way or that and were not allowed to object.  He wondered about that until he met a couple of the most important men, such as Lord Granville.

Lord Granville

Lord Granville said that the Americans were troublesome and needed to be kept in order, particularly since they were so far away.  At that distance, he felt, it would be better if they just learned to simply obey.

Back home, Benjamin Franklin said, "In Old England that I have seen.  Everything is very bad and topsy-turvy.  The old nobleman are very proud and their lives are very easy.  The smaller people have hard times even making a living.  In Scotland, they go barefoot and make do.  But in Ireland, most of the people live on buttermilk and potatoes most of the year and can barely make enough to live, even in their tiny little huts.  Compared to them, we are gentlemen and very, very rich!"

Benjamin Franklin

George Washington's World - A King but not a Ruler

(King George did NOT look like this!)

King George was not a ruler.  Parliament ruled instead of him.  Parliament was made up of two houses.  Number One was the House of Lords which was the older type. Number two was the House of Commons which was the more powerful type.  The House of Commons had more problems than the House of Lords because the Prime Minister argued with them a lot more, since they were more powerful and he wanted to be powerful too.  The House of Lords did not have that many problems - it was made up of old Lords with their castles and things.  The House of Commons was made up of very dependable bankers and goldsmiths and people like that.

William Pitt made enemies of the King and the Prime Minister by denouncing everything that they did.  When he rose to his full height and began to speak, everyone listened.  He had a winning way and a piercing stare.  No one who ever met him could ever forget him could forget his long hooked nose, his sharp steel eyes or his commanding voice.  By the time William Pitt made his first exciting speech in the House of Commons and King Frederick II had become King, Prince George was just three years old.  He was growing into a stout and dull boy.  His mother was a Germanic princess and felt that the English way of government was silly.  "When you get to be King, George, " she told her son, "BE KING!".

"That's right," echoed George.  "When I get to be King, I'll BE KING, and a good one too!"

But it was a while before he got to be king.

George Washington's World - James Watt

James Watt was very, very clever.  He would try to help his father, who worked with iron and invented things (but he didn't sell much); but even if there were 14 men helping his father, which there were, he was still the pride of the shop.  The 14 men would point at him and say, "Look at what wee Jamie has made today!  He has a fortune at his fingertips..."

It would make one laugh to hear the story of how James watched the kettle.

Once, when everybody was enjoying a cup of tea, James just stared at the tea kettle itself.  His aunt said, "James!  James!  That is not the way to have fine manners!"

James ignored her.  Instead of listening to her and turning away from the kettle, he held his spoon in front of the kettle and watched the steam collect on it.   After quite a while of studying the steam, he lifted up his head and saw everyone looking at him and then shyly smiled.  Everybody laughed.

There was a beautiful working school in that very town where he lived where he could have gone to school, but his father's business was so bad that he couldn't afford to go.  Instead, he traveled around the country trying to find a place where he could work for one year.  The places where he found the most masterful work would not accept him.  They said, "Go away!  Apprentices here cannot sign on for just one year!  To work here, you need to apprentice for seven years!"

Finally, he did find one master that would give him work for a year in return for 20 pounds.  But to do that, he had to sit on the worst bench, nearest the door.  This was horrible because in the winter he froze, and in the summer it was terribly hot.  In the winter, it was bad but he could always add more clothes to keep warm.  But in the summer it was awful - sometimes, he hardly got a drink of water all day.

After the year, he went home.  He arrived home half sick but full of hope.  He arrived to find that the Guild of Hammerman would not let him work because he hadn't fulfilled his seven years of apprenticing.  They would not let him open a shop.  But a friend of his, a professor, helped him.  The professor arranged for the University to provide him with a small room from which he could sell his inventions.  At last, his dream had come true.

George Washington's World - James Cook

James Cook was apprenticed to the grocer.  Once he saw a South Sea shilling and he took it and replaced it with one of his own shillings.  After the matter was settled between his master and him, the grocer let him go on the Walkers, coal shippers that took on apprentices.

After a couple of years of learning, James went back home to England.  There were press gangs taking seamen for seamen were hard to get.  The press gangs would walk up and grab a victim around the neck.  If he resisted, they would hit him on the head.  When he came to, he was on a ship and out to sea.  Rather than be caught by a press gang, James Cook preferred to join the Navy on his own two feet.

The first place the Navy sent him to, which he was happy about because he hoped that he would travel further than any man had traveled before and as far as any man could go, was North America.

Below is a picture of James Cook with Mom's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother.
 (Hee hee).

George Washington's World - Voltaire

Voltaire was a famous pen-writer.

Voltaire

He was bouncing along in his carriage, with sparks of unpleasantness in his face because his wig kept falling in his face.

He was born a Frenchman, but he had just been banished from France. He had talked about the French king with words of dislike. The French king had put him in jail twice when he was young and now had banished him.

So Frederick of Prussia asked him to come live with him. At first, all went well, but after some time, arguments began to spring up between them. After a while, Voltaire was glad to leave, and he departed to the Golden Lion and sighed with relief. But he sighed too soon - the next morning, 4 Prussian soldiers entered his room and demanded that Voltaire return the golden key and special book of verses that King Frederick wanted back. When they found out that the treasures were in trunks which would follow him later on, they put him in chains until the treasures should arrive. Thus he remained, and thus he wondered where the next spot on earth would be where he should finally set up his pen and paper and desk and call that place his future home.

George Washington's World - Pierre Caron

Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais

Pierre Caron was very mad about being born a bourgeois. He wanted to be a nobleman wearing red heels and a dress sword and parading up and down the street. He did NOT want to be bourgeois working day over day over day on his father's trade which was watch-making/clock-making. He was so angry that he stomped out of his father's shop.

His father asked him if he could think of a better trade than watchmaking. Since he could not, he had to sit down to that old bench and work over clocks, without telling a soul about his wild and crazy plans to become a nobleman. In a few days, he was watching nobleman go up and down the streets. Sometimes, a nobleman servant would come up to the door and order this kind of clock or this kind of watch for his master. Then he had an idea. If he could make a new and interesting kind of clock, he could maybe one day ascend the steps to becoming a nobleman himself.

It was very complicated. He made a sort of watch that could tell time very easily and told the exact time for quite a while and he set off to show it to the King. The King's room was crowded with noblemen, but when it was his turn, the King was impressed and gave him a low rank in the kitchen, serving the King. He did this with quite a flourish and then spent the rest of his time socializing and plotting how to climb yet higher.

Finally, he found King Louis' daughters who were very plain and not beautiful. In fact, the King himself called them Rags and Sow. But Pierre gave them a few lessons and became his guardian. They were so delighted with him and helped him ascend into full nobility, complete with red heels and dress sword. Finally, his climb was complete.

George Washington's World - Noble. Bourgeois. Peasant.

The nobleman always did what King Louis did. He was very royal and he was very noble and perfectly useless. And since the noblemen always did what he did, they were noble and a little royal and also pretty useless. He wore a lot of jewels and did the activities he wanted to, so they were always very arrogant and they just did what they wanted too.

One day, he ate and took up a hobby; the next day, they ate and did the same hobby. One day, he'd wear a ton of lace then the next day, he'd wear frills. The noblemen did the same. They danced and made pretend love to the ladies, they were pretty useless. But as we know, too much play makes people irritable and bored.

King Louis

So one day, King Louis said, "Life is boring." The next day, the noblemen, to be fashionable, said, "Life IS boring."

The Bourgeois were always didn't follow the King so much. They did most things in their own way. Overall, they were pleased and satisfied with life. Then, the Bourgeois said, "Life is okay. Life is pretty good."

The peasants always worked extremely hard and were very dependable and hard-working. Instead of "Life is boring" or "Life is alright," they said, "Life is hard."

The Well Epidemic

Our well pump broke. And it was hard to get water. Our neighbors, The Chenowiths, who live to our left (when we stand on the driveway and face the cars), they let us use water from their hose, but once their hose froze up. It was okay, because that was the day the pump got fixed by Pop-pop and Mr. Fletcher.t Mr. Fletcher was the father of David Fletcher who is the husband of Mrs. Suzi Fletcher who is the mother of our friends, Malachi, Micah, Anna Pearl and Airslie.

The best thing about not having water was that it made us more grateful for clean water and it helped us to trust in God a little more for water than we used to. Pastor Wilsey told us to make a long list of everything we are thankful for. One of the first things on my list was Clean Water! I really think that ought to have been there and I'm glad I put it there!

These are the reasons I was so grateful to have our water back:

1. We had to be so careful about every bit of water.

2. Everytime we were thirsty, we had to ask Mom for water from bottles and then drink just enough to stop being thirsty. She had to consent to each glass for us.

3. When it was cold and when it was warm, we had to go to the bathroom - outside! But not when it was raining, we used the rainwater to flush the potty. Of course, it only rained once in all those days.

Bye! And don't forget to thank the Lord for clean water today!

Cat of Bubastes #7

Chapter 6:

Jethro, Amuba and Chebron ate that night in the camp within sight of the swamp. When Chebron and Amuba looked at the beautiful view, Chebron glanced at Amuba and realized he had tears in his eyes. Chebron asked him why and Amuba replied that his own homeland had been just like this - he too had been able to see the sea.

The next day, they went fowling. It was really fun - it was okay to try to "whoosh" their arrows, but they only brought down two to three birds at a time. After they tried that unsuccessfully, they settled down to watch the throwing sticks done by the fowlers. It was amazing to see how quickly they threw their fowling sticks, and they give a twist as they threw it and it flew out of their hands. As the sticks hurled among the ducks, it whacked them all in different places - one on the head, one on the wing, one on the body and when it hit the body, it stopped. Jethro said, after this expedition, that he had thought that straight wood would have been better for this task, but he admitted to Amuba and Chebron that he was wrong, and the curved wood (rather like a boomerang) was better for killing lots of fowl at one time.

That night, they feasted, but not on the ducks they had killed that day. The man who was the leader of this expedition, Rabah, had purchased fish and ducks from the peasants.

The next day, they went fishing. It was hard work trying to spear the fish on the end of your spear because Chebron and Amuba did very poorly. They didn't succeed at all the first few times. Even after the local men showed them how to do it, they still didn't really do very well. Then the local men had a turn, and whoosh!, the fish that they had aimed at were out of the water and on their spear.

But before they went back to their camp, a few boats came to the lake. Chebron's pullers stopped at watched excitedly for what was going to happen.

"What is this all about?" Chebron asked.

One of the men answered, "My Lord, it is a fight. Two villages were arguing about something and now they are going to have combat on the water."

The boys and Jethro watched. It was amazing. They were armed with long poles, which the Egyptians called neboots. The men on the boats fought, hitting each other on the skull.

Jethro said to Chebron, "The shaving of the Egyptians heads must thicken their skulls, for any other people would not have survived those blows without their skulls being crushed like eggshells."

The fight ended, and the men in the boats separated, heading back to their villages. The men in those boats were still yelling jeers at one another.

Chebron and his boat headed back to shore to be met by Rabah. He greeted them and they told him that they had had another capital day. Rabah told them that the next day they would be hippopotamus hunting. The men were excited by this news. They ate and went to bed.

George Washington's World - Pontiac

Pontiac of the Ottowa

Pontiac couldn't wait to get home. They were going to have fun with all the spring parties and things and he couldn't wait to get back to the Island of the Fish, as the French called it. This year, at the bartering place, he would watch his uncle and his father barter carefully so that next year, he could take part in the trading. But for people who barter, you must be very careful and clever, because no matter how friendly and kind the Frenchmen may be, he will always give you the least he can for your furs. Pontiac had heard the elders warn that to drink the Frenchman's brandy before you barter was to ensure that you would be cheated.

Unfortunately, not all the furs could be traded because they needed to be given to the French to pay for all the winter supplies they had gotten. The Frenchmen at the fort were very generous all winter, supplying the Indians.

George Washington's World - Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams hated sewing. Time after time, she kept doing her stitches too big. Her grandmother patiently ripped them out over and over, and kept teaching her the same old pattern. This time, Abigail threw down her sampler. Her grandmother picked it up, ripped out the few stitches she had made, and taught her over again. Abigail was being taught by her grandmother and grandpa, for her parents wouldn't teach her.

Abigail Adams

She married John Adams when she grew up - that's why she was called Abigail ADAMS. They named their son John Quincy Adams, after Abigail's grandfather and grandmother who had taught her school.

George Washington's World - Catherine of Russia

Catherine was born Sophia Augusta Frederica and wished she was a boy because she would be able to do all the fun things that the boys were allowed to do, and if she were a boy, they might have loved her as they loved her brother, their son.

But one night, her whole life was changed through one letter. A letter was sent to her to say that the great Empress of Russia would have Catherine's mother and her eldest daughter, Catherine herself, over to visit her. Some time later, they set out on their journey. It was a terrible journey, but Catherine didn't notice much because she could not wait to get to Russia.

a young Catherine of Russia

Finally, they reached Russia. They didn't get to see the Empress for a while, but when they finally did, the Empress welcomed Catherine warmly and became like a real mother to her. Her real mother left after a while, but Catherine stayed and determined to learn the language of Russia. One day, she got baptized and left feeling happy with her new name, Catherine of Russia.

Cat of Bubastes #6

Chapter 5, Part B

The men reach their destination. Then Chebron has a talk with his father. It is finally decided that Chebron will go to the place where game is more plentiful. The next day, they go and head towards the game place. Six dogs come with them; 4 are good for fighting lions and hyenas but 2 are good for hunting deer and things like that. During the while, they find a stag. Amuba and Chebron go towards a mound, while Jethro - without them knowing - goes to a little bush without them seeing. After 15 minutes, the dogs drive a stag back towards Chebron and Amuba. Both men take aim and miss, but then Jethro lets loose an arrow and hits the stag, then runs over to cut its throat and finish it.

Pharoah Hound

More stags are started but the dogs are too tired by the first run to chase after any more deer that day. So they push on to their final destination for that day, and then settle down to relax for the evening.

George Washington's World - Johann Sebastian Bach and his son, Carl

Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach

Carl Bach was the son of Johann Sebastian Bach. After the war with Austria and Prussia was over, King Frederick would have plenty of time to write and listen and do all his pleasures. Among his musicians was Carl Bach; Carl was in his orchestra. He probably didn't just want to hear Carl play, he also wanted to hear Johann Sebastian play. So one evening, as the audience was just settling down to listen, Carl Bach approached the king, bent over and whispered a few words in his ear. Immediately, the King stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Johann Sebastian Bach." Johann came out and played a few things, including one that was very complicated which greatly pleased King Frederick.

Johann Sebastian Bach

After that (or maybe before, I don't remember which), Johann Sebastian Bach gave Carl a symphony of his own. It was called The Well-Tempered Clavier. It is one of Bach's most enduring and often played pieces today.

Bach (left) with his three musical sons

George Washington's World - King Frederick of Prussia

King Frederick did not want to be a soldier and he almost refused to point-blank, but his father made him by force. And then his father died. But after his father died, King Frederick found out that another King of Austria had died, leaving his young daughter for the throne. After Frederick saw that his time had come; he made up some story about how the girl had no right to be on the throne of Austria, marched in and declared the land his.

But the girl, Marie Therese Hapsburg, came from a long line of demanding ancestors, so she declared war because she did not want to lose her land. But after two years of fighting, with cheeks burning red with anger, she was obliged to see that Frederick made the land his. That meant she was now pretty much his slave and had to do everything he asked her to do.

George Washington's World - Spain and the Pueblos of New Mexico

Spain and the Pueblos were friends at first, but after that war broke out because the Pueblos were accepting Christianity at first but still went on with their traditional dances and things. Spain wasn't happy with that and had a few chiefs of tribes brought in and harassed and humiliated. Some were under punishments, one or two were killed and some were humiliated terribly. The ones that were humiliated planned a revolt and killed many Spanish settlers. After that, the Pueblos held a lot of council meetings, but council meeting did not do a good job of uniting the Pueblos.

Then horses fell into their hands - this made some tribes very happy because they were hunting tribes, not farming tribes. After that, they could go after buffalo farther, the whole tribe would be able to come and they would be able to spend nights, and they could go on much further distances than they could on foot.