Good little Mother Manikin! she had taken that half-sovereign from her
small bag of savings, and she had put it in that envelope with even a
gladder heart than Rosalie's mother had when she received it.

'Oh, Rosalie,' said the sick woman, 'I can have some more beef-tea now!'

'Yes,' said the child; 'I'll get the meat at once.'

And it was not only at her evening prayer that Rosalie mentioned Mother
Manikin's name that day; it was not only then that she knelt down to ask
the Good Shepherd to seek and to save little Mother Manikin.

All day long Rosalie sat by her mother's side, watching her tenderly and
carefully, and trying to imitate Mother Manikin in the way she arranged her
pillows and waited upon her. And when evening came, the large square was
quite deserted, except by the scavengers, who were going from one end to
another sweeping up the rubbish which had been left behind by the showmen.

Rosalie felt very lonely the next day. Toby had slept at an inn in the
town, and was out all day at a village some miles off, to which his master
had sent him to procure something he wanted at a sale there. The
market-place was quite empty, and no one came near the one solitary
caravan--no one except an officer of the Board of Health, to inquire what
was the cause of the delay, and whether the sick woman was suffering from
any infectious complaint. People passed down the market-place and went to
the various shops, but no one came near Rosalie and her mother.

The sick woman slept the greater part of the day, and spoke very little;
but every now and then the child heard her repeat to herself the last verse