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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1869, by J. W. Burkr & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia. Vol. Ill — No. 17. 11 DAINTY.” if HIS is surely not a common kitty,” said little Bob Tolman, & r as he entered the cottage, and brushed the snow from his hat and coat. “ See, Em ; see what I’ve brought you.” “Oh! that is a beauty!” cried the little girl, springing to catch the kitten, that ran nimbly from point to point, evidently quite frightened. “ Mamma, may I get her some milk ? Oh, what a soft, gray fur!” “ I think it is a Maltese,” said the mother, stooping down, now Emma had caught it. “ Poor thing! how it trem bles! Where did you find it, my son?” “ Down on the corner, in a bare spot under the fence. I heard something crying quite pitifully and faint, so I went searching with my little lantern, and there she was. She didn’t move a bit, just as if she knew I had come to rescue her from the cold; and I guess she would have died before morning, poor pussy —poor little pussy !” Little Emma’s face fairly shone when she found that the kitten could play, and in the full light saw" what a lovely little thing it was. Its coat was of the softest, most beautiful fur —a sort of silvery gray in color, and its eyes were large and very bright. Emma called them stone-blue. Forthwith the children began to make plans for their darling. “ You know my old play house?” said Emma; “ well, all the furniture is bro ken, and the dolls are old, and don’t need it now. Besides, lam getting too large to play w'ith dolls ; I’d much ra ther have this dainty little kitten. Well, we’ll get a nice bit of carpet from mam ma, and put it on the floor of the old baby-house, and wont it be beautiful for kitty?” “And in summer,”said Bob, eagerly, “ we can put the house out in the yard, and I’ll make a real little garden at the side. Jimmy Davis has one for his dog, but the dog is not near as handsome as this pretty kitty.” So kitty had found a pleasant home, MACON, GEORGIA, OCTOBER 23, 1869. and after the first few days, the strange ness wore off, and she seemed to feel quite at her ease. She was really a val uable cat, and the pretty blue ribbon they had taken, wet and draggled, from her neck, proved that she had, in her former home, been the pet of some child. Bob made a few inquiries, but he did not go very far ; if he had, he might not have missed the home of poor Jenny Douglas. To be sure it w r as almost out of sight, down a long and narrow lane, that, in summer, was full of roses, and soft with grass. The great branehing-elms twined their slender hands together over head, and made quite a beautiful bower. No one could have thought there was a cot tage at the end, but there w r as, and it could be more plainly seen this cold, winter weather. A little place that had never been painted or even white-wash ed ; so that if it had not been for the climbing honeysuckles and large prairie rosebush, it would not have been a pret ty place. It looked quite dreary and bleak in winter, without; but within was not only comfort, but taste. A widow lived there, with her con sumptive little daughter. Jenny Douglas was not yet ten years j old, but young as she w r as, sickness was | wasting her feeble strength, and bring- ing her down to the grave. Her moth er was but little known in this country * place, but it was whispered about that j she had some rich relations, who came I to see her once in a great while, and j they had brought the pretty things that ! surrounded little Jenny Douglas. The i easy chair that she seldom left, poor j child, was one of their gifts ; so were the beautiful toys-that she w r as not often well enough to play with ; and the hand some square of soft Turkey carpet al ways at her feet. Unusually lovely was this sickly little girl. Her hair, w hich grew far too fast, Whole No. 121. hung in wavy curls almost to her waist, and was a soft, gleaming yellow. Her cheeks were crimson ; her skin as white as the smoothest marble, but her beauty did not keep off the terrible disease. The sun came in, that winter morn ing, making the child's glittering locks shine like gold. The two had eaten their breakfast, and the child, who al ways seemed brighter in the morning, called for Dainty’s saucer. Her mother brought it a pretty china dish, very old and cracked, but quite good enough for Dainty, Jenny said. Then the two called Dainty, but to their surprise, when they opened the door of the little closet where she slept, behold thpre was no Dainty there. “Mamina, she must be up stairs, then,” said Jenny. “ Perhaps she slip ped by when you went up to bed.” So mamma hurried up stairs, but there was no Dainty there. Then she searched the cellar and the yard, but the beautiful kitten was nowhere to be seen. “Oh, mamma!” cried Jenny, with grieving lips, “ Dainty is lost!” “ I guess we shall find her,” said her mother, cheerfully, “she must be hid den somewhere in the house, perhaps because it is so cold. Wait a little.” “I loved her better than anything I’ve got, mother and Jenny, who was too weak and sick to bear much disappoint ment, burst into tears. Her mother comforted her as well as she w r as able. But a whole week passed, and Dainty wms not y T et found. Jenny had mourn ed for her beautiful pet, and sometimes almost refused comfort. One day, w r hen her mother had gone out, the thought of Dainty made her very miserable. “I know it’s wicked,” she said to herself, “to worry so much about a kit ten, but it makes me sad to think that perhaps poor Dainty went off and got quite frozen to death. Poor darling! how she must have suffered that bitter cold night! If I only knew that some body had her who would care for her, I shouldn’t be so unhappy about it. I wonder,” she mused on, “if God can