Now Lizzie, as she trudged at the side of the van that day, had been comparing her own dear unselfish mother with this woman, who seemed to consider that her children only existed to be a source of gain to her. For poor sickly Tottie had been provided with a large basket filled with laces, buttons, servants' caps, and various small articles, that would afford her an excuse for calling at the various houses they passed, where she could also offer to tell fortunes to those silly enough to listen to her. The girl had begged and pleaded that she did not feel well enough to do this, and did not sufficiently understand the business of fortune-telling; but her mother would take no excuse. Money must be got in, she said; and, now she had secured another girl for the show, Tottie must make money with her basket.