This pie is good hot, but in England is always eaten cold, and cold she knew Mrs. Welles would prefer it. The great thing to be desired in these cold pies is plenty of savory jelly in between the meat, and very light crust. While the pie was baking, Molly had set the pastry back on the ice, while she made the filling for some cheese cakes. Properly they should be made of _sweet_ curd, dried and crumbled, hence the name. But Molly had eaten excellent ones in which ground rice, boiled to thick mush, was the foundation; others in which bread crumbs were substituted, the object being to get a body of some plain material other than flour, with which the rich ones could be incorporated; but her own favorite way was to use rolled cracker. She put two heaped table-spoonfuls in a bowl, and three table-spoonfuls of sugar. She beat two table-spoonfuls of butter, from which the salt had been washed, till it creamed, added the yolks of two eggs, and the juice of half a lemon, and the peel of one, grated. Then she blanched and chopped fine as possible two table-spoonfuls of almonds, and added to them a few drops of bitter almond; then all were put together, and a large table-spoonful of wine was added. Molly tasted to see if the bitter almond was pleasantly perceptible, and then rolled out the paste and lined patty-pans with it, taking care to press only the centre to make it adhere, _not the edges_; then a large tea-spoonful was put into each (the patty-pans were small), and they were put in the oven and baked a beautiful pale brown. They needed watching closely, as the filling would easily burn. The dinner was to be a homely English one, which would not necessitate her being in the kitchen at all after her friend arrived, as it would consist of:— _Clear Soup._ _Beefsteak Pudding._ _Stewed Onions._ _Fried Potatoes._ _Trifle._ The soup, for which the stock was made on Saturday, could be left to Marta; also the vegetables. The pudding required three hours’ constant boiling, and therefore could be made and be cooking before Charlotte arrived. The trifle, also, could be ready. She had bought in the morning half a dozen small sponge cakes and a dozen macaroons. She now made some very thick custard with the yolks of two eggs, a small tea-spoonful of corn starch and half a pint of milk, and sugar to taste. The milk was put on to boil, the corn starch mixed with a very little of it, cold, and stirred into the hot milk. Both were boiled together five minutes; then it was allowed to cool very little, and the beaten yolks and sugar added. The object of boiling the corn starch is to _cook_ it, as, after the eggs are in, the custard must not boil, but only be kept at boiling-point till they thicken. (See directions for boiling custard, Chapter XXIX.)