Mary Lee Or Helpful Though Helpless Author:Mary Lee Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. It was a lovely May morning, with the sun shining gloriously, and scarcely a cloud on the clear blue sky, when a group of girls, whose ages varied... more » from four to twelve years, came rushing out of the pretty village school, and spread themselves over the green, chattering, laughing and shouting, in the full enjoyment of an uninterrupted holiday. Some of the elder girls were speaking of the kindness of Mrs. Russell, who had made her daughter's birthday the occasion for treating the children to a long morning of play, when that lady, who had lingered in the schoolroom to talk to the mistress, came towards them: "Now, Rose, open your basket, and see if you can find anything good; this fresh beautiful morning makes one hungry, and running about is hard work." Rose coloured shyly, and opening her basket, displayed to the delighted girls hugeslices of plum cake,-which were soon distributed among them. When each had received her share, there remained at the bottom of the basket a paper parcel, and many were the curious looks cast towards it, until Mrs. Russell said, " This is for poor Mary—I suppose all of you, except the very youngest, who have only come to school this last quarter, remember Mary Lee." Then addressing a merry, good-tempered looking girl, she added, " When did you see her last? " The girl coloured, and said in a low voice, " Not very lately, ma'am." "And you? and you?" continued Mrs. Russell, " have none of you been to see her since her accident? " " Oh, yes, ma'am." " Then why have you all so forgotten her lately ? Don't you think it a very sad thing to be obliged to lie on a couch all day, instead of running about; and this, too, week after week, and month after month ? " Here a girl muttered something to another standing near, but seemed ...« less