She says, “God keep thee safe and good,
My little Anne Lyle.”
Mary’s scholars were all very still and attentive while she was reading to them about Anne Lyle, and when she had finished it, she asked Harry if he did not think Anne Lyle was a useful, happy, little girl? She waited on her mother, and walked in the garden with her blind, old grandfather, and put away his hat and cane for him, and kept her little brother quiet; and she was a kind little girl too, for she took something good to the sick cook, and saved some of her pennies to buy shoes for a poor beggar.
Harry said, “Yes: and if I knew how, I would like to be useful too.” Mary reminded him that one of his school-mates had lost her sponge, and when she wanted to rub from her slate some crooked strokes that she had made, she asked Harry for his sponge, and he had refused to lend it to her, because he wanted it himself.
“You might have been useful, then, Harry,” said Mary, “but you did not choose to be so.”
Harry hung his head and looked ashamed; but presently he ran away to his desk, and brought out his sponge, and gave it to Lily Forester; (for that was the little girl’s name who had asked him for it.) Lily said, “Thank you, Harry,” and she cleaned her slate off nicely with it, and gave it back to him.
His teacher stroked Harry’s hair with her hand, and said,
“Now, has not my little boy of four years old learned to be useful?”
Harry hid his curly head behind Mary’s apron for a few moments, and then he peeped up into her kind face, and she knew he meant Yes, though he did not say any thing.
“Oh,” said Mary, “my little Harry has discovered that he can be useful; and that when he is useful, he is happy.”