jQuery search in array of object

jQuery search in array of object

Lets say I have this html :
<ul>
<li class="cls">one</li>
<li class="cls active">tow</li>
<li class="cls">here</li>
<li class="cls">after</li>
</ul>
I'm selecting all .cls by this jquery selector : $('.cls') and put them in
a variable:
var c=$('.cls');
c is an array of object now. I want to select .active item in this array
by jquery methods. I do know i can use $('.cls.active') but this is not
what I'm lookin for. I want to use c. Is there any solution ?
note: c.find('.active') not working, because .find() searching in childs.