Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-12-22

AHC SOdt iCit itCfttcQ. duO EliS
caught the scbbing child In ht
arms.
S,3'tPoor dear little darling, darlin
Tessie," she said i'm tender voic,
Ibid the naughty old Billy frighte
my sweet pet ?''
90, | SO scared 70 sobbed the chile
as soon as she could speak, II S
scared!"
Eyes, dear, so you was; but h
can't touch you no more" sal,
Ellen, soOthingly. s'Come alonl
nome now, it's nice and warm thert
Here, let me take your basket"
But Tessie clung to it.
'sNo, no, Ellen, | must carry
myself - and as she held the be
! loved possession TO her heart he
sobs died away toan occasional con
vulsive gulp.
| The two girls passed on, hand il
hand, to a curious structure tha
they called their home. 1t wa,
originally Il large packing box
which had been, by the addition o
a few boards, made into a tiny house
for these two little waits. Kind
hearted Patrick Flynn, who worked
as q carpenter when he was sober
enough, had patched up the box
which he had begged from big
warehouse. 1t had been placed
against Patriek's shanty in such a
position that the pipe from the
cooking stove in his cabin should
pass through one corner of it, thus
giving it quite comfortable degree
of warmth Then Patrick had set
in square of glass on one side for d
window, and so within this tiny
habitation, four feet wide by eight
feet long, the children had made a
home.
The furniture of these narrow
limits consisted of a table and two
low stools. There was a roll of bed
ding which at night was laid out on
the foor, but during the day was
piled up in corner. Into the wall
there were driven few pegs on
which hung some articles of cloth
ing, and there were pinned up for
ornament half dozen chrome ad-
vertisements.
Miserable as the place was, how
ever, it was warm and dry; and
when Ellen had brought Tessie into
it, and closed the door, the little
thing began to brighten up.
81 sold ten boxes Of matches,
Ellen" she said, with her pretty
eyes quite shining, and one gentle
man gave me Il quarter"
"Did he, Tessie? o, how nice !
and done well, too, to-day. / sold
all my papers first off. I'll put the
money away in our bank"
AS she spoke, Ellen drew an old
box from under the table, and put
out her hand to take from Tessie
the basket which she still held. But
the little thing, as she touched it,
kept hold of it, looking at Ellen
with timid deprecating eyes.
"What IS the matter, Tessie ?"
Ellen asked curiously. "What
makes the basket SO heavy" p" and
as she lifted the cover and dimiy
something moving, she
cried out,
"Why, in the name of sense, what
have you got in it?''
"It's my 'Kittie,'" said Tessie,
hurriedIy; II so lonesome, Ellen,
all day in the streets, jess fought
/ could take my Kittie with me,
and she's been real good, Ellen.
She hasn't meowed only once, and
| guess maybe that was why the
gentleman gave me that quarter.
He stopped to buy some matches,
and he heard Kittie, and then he
laughed and gave me the money,
but he didn't take any matches"
Ellen kissed the little pleading
face that was upturned to her.
"You cunning little thing" she
said. "Well, you can play with
Kittie now while get our supper"
Tessie took the little white kitten
out of the basket and caressed it for
a while in happy forgetfulness.
Ellen laid out on the table piece
of cheese and some bread, and the
two children were just about to
begin to eat, when the door opened
and stout Irish woman appeared.
1t was Mrs. Flynn, and in her hand
she carried steaming teapot.
"The crathers !" she exclaimed,
as she saw the two children sitting
at the table. ~ thought
you'd be afther atm your Bit o. sup
per, and pve brought yez cup o.
Iay. Twill be so comfortable like
his cowld night"
Ellen thanked the good woman,
and Tessie said with little bow
md smile, that were curiOusly we'll
bred despite her torn clothes and
iirty face,
cit is very kind of you, Missus
Finn"
"Ah, she's lady, sure; the Var
yin persarve her!' said Mrs. Flynn,
md as by reason of the narrow linn
is of the house she could not remain
keeping the door open, she
ldded:
"Troth, me rooms better nor me
It's broad / am, the
aints be praised, but the dOore is
)etter to kape wind out"
AS she went away, Tessie looked
It Ellen and said wistfully:
She said / was lady, but /
know 1 aint any more, cause / so
lirty. My mamma say every day
when 1 have my batf, little ladies
owe to be clean"
The blue eyes filled with tears, and |
he small mouth --Aanbled as she |
idded pitifully,
"Ellen, do you think a ever see |
ny mamma any more?"
How many times in the last few |
months the little creature had asked |
he same question! Poor Ellen |
lever knew how to answer it except |
~ hugs and kisses. Now she COM
0rted LITTLE Tessie as well as she |
ould. She had no great love of
cleanliness herself, but to please her |
title companion she got some water
md washed her face and hands be-
ore she made up the poor bed in
which, at last, Tessie fell asleep |
With the kitten by her side.
Ellen was herself Waif who had !
un away from the service at which |
he had been placed from an orphan !
sylum. She found she could earn |
more money and be more independ- |
mt by selling newspapers than as
he drudge of cruel employers, and |
he was tolerably we'll established |
n her trade, at which she held her
'wn with ready wit and rude cour-
.ge, when one night she found Tes
lie crying in the street. The child |
ould give no account of herself eX- |
ept that she had run away from a
,ad old woman who beat her, and |
Who had taken her from her man. |