ned to me, because it would make you so unhappy. But now
that it is all over, and I am in a fair way to be soon as well as ever,
I think you will like to hear the whole story.

In my last letter I told you about the new black cat, Caesar, who had
come to live in the Nelson house, and how anxious I was to know him. As
soon as my nose was fit to be seen, Judge Dickinson's cat, who is a
good, hospitable old soul, in spite of her stupidity, invited me to tea,
and asked him too. All the other cats were asked to come later in the
evening, and we had a grand frolic, hunting rats in the Judge's great
barn. Caesar is certainly the handsomest and most gentlemanly cat I
ever saw. He paid me great attention: in fact, so much, that one of
those miserable half-starved cats from Mill Valley grew so jealous that
she flew at me and bit my ear till it bled, which broke up the party.
But Caesar went home with me, so I did not care; then we sat and talked a
long time under the nursery window. I was so much occupied in what he
was saying, that I did not hear Mary open the window overhead, and was
therefore terribly frightened when there suddenly came down on us a
whole pailful of water. I was so startled that I lost all presence of
mind; and without bidding him good-night, I jumped directly into the
cellar window by which we were sitting. Oh, my dear Helen, I can never
give you any idea of what followed. Instead of coming down as I expected
to on the cabbages, which were just under that window the last time I
was in the cellar, I found myself sinking, sinking, into some horrible
soft, slimy, sticky substance, which in an instant more would have
closed over my head, and suffocated me; but, fortunately, as I sank, I
felt something hard at one side, and making a great effort, I caught on
it with my claws. It proved to be the side of a barrel, and I succeeded
in getting one paw over the edge of it. There I hung, growing weaker and
weaker every minute, with this frightful stuff running into my eyes and
ears, and choking me with its bad smell. I mewed as loud as I could,
which was not very loud, for whenever I opened my mouth the stuff
trickled into it off my whiskers; but I called to Caesar, who stood in
great distress at the window, and explained to him, as well as I could,
what had happened to me, and begged him to call as loudly as possible;
for if somebody did not come very soon, and take me out, I should
certainly die. He insisted, at first,