Douglas, Nelson - Cat with an Emerald Eye

"You have erred, Midnight Louie," she announces in a hollow voice.

"Ditch the spook act," I tell her. "You're offstage now and I am not impressionable."

"You have seen truly, but you have concluded falsely. She Who Lays Before Pharaoh is indeed a forebear--"

"What are you talking about? The only Pharaoh I know hangs out at the Oasis."

"You have been allowed to see the ancient past of our Kind, but you will not be suffered to misinterpret it: I repeat, your forebear was female. You descend from the Kind by the maternal, not the paternal line. As you would bear the blessing of Bastet, remember this."

Bast! I gulp, watching the emerald fire fade in Kahlua's eyes.

She blinks and yawns engagingly. "I must have catnapped. Did I miss any fireworks?"

"Not a thing," I tell her, taking the scaffolding down as fast as I can.

I have heard it on good authority. My great-great-great etcetera grandmother was King Tut's bodyguard. I wonder if she wore a small ceremonial beard on the job? I do not wonder if I will ever pass on this genealogical tidbit to Midnight Louise. She already has too high an opinion of herself.

As for myself, I have always lived by a strict moral code, and now also will follow the statutes of Bast, which were written down about the time that Hammurabi was entering law school.

There are several of these statutes, but I have not had time to memorize every one.

I believe that they go something like this:

Be kind to animals.

Be kind to humans.

Never leave a whisker unlicked (or a leaving unburied).

Walk softly and carry a big tail.

Do not walk in the rain if you can help it.

Share your favorite resting spots (i.e., every soft, high or warm place in a human domicile) with the human residents thereof on occasion.

Show evil-doers no mercy.

Know how to keep a secret

Of course, it is not easy to abide by this aristocratic noblesse oblige. I have always done it instinctively, and now that I know my antecedents, I will work harder than ever to become worthy of their precedence

Besides, the Divine Yvette will be really impressed when she finds out.

MNL

P.S. If you're not planning any psychic journeys to ancient Egypt, you can reach Midnight Louie at the other end of the spectrum (in Cyberspace) at his (and my) homepage: http://www.catwriter.com/cdouglas

--CND

Carole Nelson Douglas Mulls Black Magic

Now that Midnight Louie has discovered that his ancestors have held such exalted positions as Pharaoh's footstool, he'll be even harder to put in his proper place. Perhaps I can convince him that author's footstool is the modern equivalent of the ancient role, but I doubt it. It's pretty hard to pull any wool over a cat's eyes, yet those beautiful features--particularly the vertical irises--have also been the source of much cruel superstition about cats.

Superstition surrounds spiritualism, too, and people are as easily misinformed and misled.

Arthur Conan Doyle, a doctor by training and the creator of the world's most prominent scientific detective in Sherlock Holmes, later in life became a stout believer in communication with the dead. He was fascinated by Harry Houdini both as the ultimate self-promoter and as a magician, insisting that Houdini's astounding feats of escapism had to rely on dematerialization.

Houdini roundly resisted attributions of paranormal powers. In a superstitious corner of his magician's heart, though, he sometimes wondered if, by repeatedly defying apparent physical laws, he might actually draw on some sort of cumulative psychic skill.

In the end, Houdini's skepticism won out over his emotional needs. Despite his extreme desire to remain connected in death to the mother he had literally adored in life, he left behind the means to debunk any who would falsely claim Houdini had been drawn back from death to perform at various seances. Such claims were often made and never proven.

The magician's personality is even more intriguing than the feats he performs. (And may explain why so few are women.) As Edmund Wilson pointed out, the mythic role of magician combines functions of the criminal, the actor and the priest. I would add to that roster the role of detective, for the magician concocts tricks and always has the means to explain them to the larger community. Few lay bare their own machinations, but many have turned investigator, like Gandolph, to reveal the shoddy hoaxes of spiritualists who want to defraud as well as to deceive.

Criminal, actor, detective, priest. Which of these four roles will prove the key to the Mystifying Max's character? Only time (and perhaps Temple) will tell.