Humpty, Dumpty, and Oxen in General

When I got to the barn, I greeted Humpty and Dumpty, the two oxen who pulled the plow in the springtime, the wagon at harvest time, and the sledge in the winter. Too bad I cannot ride an ox, I thought. I doubt anyone could put a sidesaddle on Humpty or Dumpty. I patted the noses of the large, gentle, brown beasts and fed each of them a handful of fresh hay before moving on to Feather’s stall.

A Buss from Lafayette © 2016 by Dorothea Jensen

Here is a team of oxen pulling a cart at Old Sturbridge Village. When I was there recently, I asked one of the costumed interpreters there what an ox is, exactly.  He told me that it is a steer (castrated bull) that has been trained to pull ploughs, carts, wagons, etc., that is at least 4 years old. Before reaching this age, it is simply regarded as a trained steer.

As you can see by this video I took at OSV, oxen are NOT built for speed, but are very strong!

Lafayette Meets Silas Deane in Picture & in Verse!

A wonderful artwork exhibit at the new Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, PA.

Enlisting Foreign Officers

In this 1857 painting by American artist Alonzo Chappel (1828-1887), entitled "Baron DeKalb introducing Lafayette to Silas Deane," the German-born officer Johann de Kalb introduces American diplomat Silas Deane to the youthful Marquis de Lafayette in Paris in 1776. The Continental Congress had sent Deane as a secret agent to France in order to seek financial and military assistance against the British. Deane enlisted the services of a number of foreign officers, including De Kalb and Lafayette, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1777 to take up positions in the Continental Army.

Silas Deane made so many promises of high military rank  to European officers that Congress and Washington got sick of dealing with these claimants. Neither really welcomed Lafayette with much enthusiasm  until a letter came from Dean and Franklin explaining the importance of Lafayette's position. and cautioning against letting the young Frenchman get in harm's way.

Here is a bit more of my rhyming couplet history explaining what happened.

He met with Agent Silas Deane, and was delighted when                                       
Dean gave him a commission as a Yankee Major Gen.

. . .

When he arrived in Philly, though, despite his famous charms
Nobody welcomed him with even slightly open arms.

“Oh, not another foreigner, we have more than our share

And such a young and raw recruit we simply cannot bear!

The gall of Mr. Silas Deane: gun-buying is his task,

But he gives lofty ranks galore to all of those who ask!”

 Then just in time a letter came from far across the sea

From Deane himself and Franklin, who were stationed in "Paree."

 "He is both rich and famous, this Marquis de Lafayette.

His friends are French aristocrats, and Queen M. Antoinette.

 So give him a high rank and let him bask in glory's glow

But keep him safe, for heaven's sake (and never let him know).

 A dead marquis won't help us gain much-needed French support

But this boy's service in our cause will wow King Louis' court!"

 So they made him major general for these diplomatic ends

And he and General Washington became the best of friends.

My Spirits of Christmas Past

There are two Christmas carols that evoke in me what Brazilians call saudade (sow-da-gee): a nostalgic yearning for another time, place, or person.  The reason for this was a momentous occurrence in my life as a child: my parents gave a small portable child-workable record player to my older brother, Paul, and me. We were probably about five and four years old, respectively. For the first time ever, we were able to play music by ourselves!  Today's kids, with digital music players of all sorts available to them,  could probably not even imagine the thrill this was for Paul and me.

Of course, later we had children's records to play, but the first one I remember playing on our exotic new device had a grand total of two songs on it, one on each side. These were instrumental versions of "Masters in this Hall" and "March of the Kings." We played this record over and over, marching around and feeling very proud to be in control of this music ourselves.

Here are "modern" recordings of them both (Of course, there was no singing on our record, let alone in French). I've included some of the lyrics here, just to remind you what they were about.



This great day, I met upon the way
The kings of east as they came riding proudly,
This great day, I met upon the way
The kings of east in all their fine array.
The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh,
Were guarded close by a band of sturdy warriors,
Their swords, their shields, and their bucklers bright
Agleam and sparkling in the morning light.


Here is the other carol, "Masters in this Hall"




Masters in this hall Hear ye news today, Brought from overseas And ever you I pray: Noel, noel, noel, Sing we noel clear! Holpen all the folk on earth Born the Son of God so dear!

Of course, more than sixty years later, that record is no longer in existence, and, unfortunately, neither is my brother. These songs are still vividly recorded in my head, however. Whenever I hear them, I feel a little burst of saudade, memory, and nostalgia, feeling proud of being "grown up" enough to play music with my big brother Paul, and missing him terribly.

2018 Christmas Countdown #1: Whizzy

2018 Christmas Countdown #1: Whizzy

Just to remind you, Whizzy is the elf who wraps all the presents that the other Izzies make. Unfortunately, this means he can't even start his work until all of his colleagues have finished theirs!

(Notice that his symbol is a whirlwind.)

Poor Whizzy cannot get ahead of the game

His problem each Christmas is always the same:

He can't finish his wrapping until Christmas Eve

(Just minutes before Santa's ready to leave.)

And why, you may ask, is there such a delay

For Whiz to wrap presents to pack in the sleigh?

It's because he must wait until each Izzy Elf

Is done before he can start working himself!

The Professor, the "Heroine", the Villain, and the Bookshop!

When I was a student at Carleton College, I took a Jane Austen seminar.  In the summer before school started, everyone in the class received a letter from the professor, Owen Jenkins. He instructed us to order a complete set of Jane Austen's novels from Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, England. 

I remember being thrilled at the opportunity to buy books from this venerable, respected, academic British bookstore. It seemed very exotic to do so. My Jane Austen books arrived, and I have them still.

I'd like to be able to report that I aced the seminar, but I didn't quite. One reason? Mr. Jenkins specialized in sarcasm, which terrified me and rendered me speechless. This had NEVER happened to me before.

The only positive comment I ever received from him was when I showed up early to class wearing my hair up  and a wool dress. He told me I looked like a Jane Austen heroine. Hmmm. Here's a picture of me at that time in that exact same getup, 54 years ago! Yikes. (Despite his odd compliment to me, I eventually named my "villain" in The Riddle of Penncroft Farm, Mr. Owens, after him. )

Anyway, when my husband and I went to Oxford many years later, we made a point of visiting Blackwell's, and it was as venerable as I had envisioned.

Anyway, imagine how thrilling it was for me to find the following on the Blackwell's website recently:

They also carried my Izzy Elf books, but for some reason did not display the cover art for those. No matter, my Izzies have made the big time, as far as I am concerned! I'm sure they are all delighted to find themselves available through such a venerable, respected, academic British bookshop! 

How I wish I could tell Mr. Jenkins!

Another Buss from Lafayette! (Woo hoo!)

On Saturday, September 1, I participated in a commemoration of General Lafayette's September, 1824,visit to Charlton, Massachusetts during his Farewell Tour. For this, I wore a 1820s style costume created by Gay Bean, a mob cap, and a new bonnet. 

This event, sponsored by the American Friends of Lafayette and the Charlton Historical Society, was great fun.  I had the honor of speaking about how Lafayette was received during his Farewell Tour.  Here I am making what appears to be a serious point about all of this.

I decided that part of my purpose in speaking was revving up the crowd so that they would welcome Lafayette with the proper vocal enthusiasm, so I helped them practice cheering. That was the cue for the man himself to appear.

Happily, I was then able to ask the general, as enacted by Ben Goldman, to buss (kiss) me on the cheek, in honor of the title of my historical novel for young readers, A Buss from Lafayette. And he did!

Of course, in my story, a young lady is bussed by an old gentleman, the reverse of the situation last Saturday, but it was great fun, anyway. 

Come meet Lafayette!

On Saturday, September 1, I will be part of a commemoration of Lafayette's 1824 visit to the Rider Tavern, 255 Stafford Street, Charlton, MA! (I am hoping for a cooler day than today, as I will be wearing an 1825-style dress, rather than shorts. I'm sure those wearing Revolutionary War uniforms would also appreciate lower temperatures.)

Tours of the historic  building will be given from 1:30 until 3, when the program during which I will be speaking begins. It will culminate with the arrival of Lafayette himself, played by professional enactor, Ben Goldman. Presented by the Charlton Historical Society and the American Friends of Lafayette, admission is free.