t was such a dear little cat, and quite black all over,' she told Eva.
'There was not a white hair in it. I shall never see a quite black
kitten again. Nurse says they are very rare; oh! I wish I had it back!'
Again Jessie burst out crying, for she was worn out with grief, and
hardly knew how to stop.

Eva was really sorry for Jessie, who, though two or three years older
than herself, looked so small and frail, and throwing her arms around
her, she whispered, 'Don't cry any more, Jessie! You shall have my
kitten for your very own; it is quite black, too, and you will soon love
it very much. I will ask Mother to let the groom bring it you to-night.'

'Oh, Eva! will you really? But it is a shame to take your kitten,' said
Jessie, stopping her sobs, and looking up at Eva. 'You love it too; I
know you do, Eva.'

'Yes, I do,' said Eva, slowly, 'but I want to give it you because you
are ill, and cannot run about out of doors as I can, and this kitten
will be your friend; and now you must stop crying.'

The black kitten was taken to its new home that same evening, and Jessie
was so pleased to have a kitten once more that she went off cheerfully
to bed, much to her mother's relief.

Eva felt the parting from her pet, but there is a feeling in giving up
for others that is a happiness in itself, and that happiness was Eva's.

THE STRING OF PEARLS.

My mother has a string of pearls,
So pure and fine and white:
She lets me take it in my hands,
And hold it to the light.

My mother says that like that chain
My life should ever be,
Each day a pearl to stand apart
In flawless purity.

THE NEW ZEALAND GLOW-WORM.

Everybody has not seen one, but we all have read about the Glow-worm,
the remarkable insect which has the power of exhibiting a bright light
in the dusk of evening. In England we have two species of insects that
are called by this name, which properly belongs only to a kind of
wingless beetle, found along the hedgerows and moist banks during the
summer. The other insect which shares the name is also known as the
electric centipede; it is seen about gardens or fields, and has the
peculiarity of leaving upon the path it has trodden a shining track.

In New Zealand there is a very curious glow-worm. The first idea about
this insect was that it turned into a kind of beetle; afterwards it
proved to be the larva or grub of a fly. Its light is seemingly given it
to attract small