The Project Gutenberg EBook of Live to be Useful, by Anonymous

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Title: Live to be Useful
or, The Story of Annie Lee and her Irish Nurse

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: March 30, 2008 [EBook #24956]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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LIVE TO BE USEFUL

OR,

_THE STORY OF ANNIE LEE AND
HER IRISH NURSE._

[Decoration]

_THOMAS NELSON AND SONS_
_London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and New York_
_1913_

[Illustration: Annorah turned, and saw the shadow of a man on the
sloping rock.

_Page 25._]

LIVE TO BE USEFUL.

CHAPTER I.

ANNIE'S PLAN.

Annie Lee was a cripple. Until her eighth summer she had been strong
and well, like most other children; but then disease began to appear,
and although she had skilful doctors and kind nurses, it was soon too
plain that she was never to be well again.

Five years of pain and weakness had been her portion at the time our
story commences. So accustomed had she become to her sad situation,
that it seemed like a delusive dream when she remembered the sportive
hours of her earlier childhood. Like other sick children, she was far
more thoughtful than was quite natural at her age, and very seldom in
her easiest moments laughed aloud. But she was not an unhappy child.

As soon as she was old enough to understand that she had a sinful
heart and needed salvation, she had earnestly sought the Saviour of
sinners, and had been graciously received by him, and made a lamb of
his flock. In the school of Christ she learned to bear pain without
murmuring, and to submit with cheerfulness to her lot in life. Instead
of requiring comfort from her parents, who seemed to realize her
misfortune more fully than she did herself, she became their consoler,
and rarely failed in her efforts to lighten their sorrow on her
account.

"It might have been so much worse, mamma," she said one day, when Mrs.
Lee was lamenting h