“I wish I had thought to carry somethin’ to make it pleasant,” said Miss Pickett, after they had walked a little farther; “but there, I don’t know’s ’twould look just right, this first visit, to offer anything to such a person as Mis’ Timms. In case I ever go over to Baxter again I won’t forget to make her some little present, as nice as I’ve got. ’Twas certain very polite of her to urge me to come with you. I did feel very doubtful at first. I didn’t know but she thought it behooved her, because I was in your company at the conference, and she wanted to save my feelin’s, and yet expected I would decline. I never was well acquainted with her; our folks wasn’t well off when I first knew her; ’twas before uncle Cap’n Dyer passed away an’ remembered mother an’ me in his will. We couldn’t make no han’some companies in them days, so we didn’t go to none, an’ kep’ to ourselves; but in my grandmother’s time, mother always said, the families was very friendly. I shouldn’t feel like goin’ over to pass the day with Mis’ Timms if I didn’t mean to ask her to return the visit. Some don’t think o’ these things, but mother was very set about not bein’ done for when she couldn’t make no return.” “‘When it rains porridge hold up your dish,’” said Mrs. Flagg; but Miss Pickett made no response beyond a feeble “Yes, ’m,” which somehow got caught in her pale-green bonnet-strings. “There, ’tain’t no use to fuss too much over all them things,” proclaimed Mrs. Flagg, walking along at a good pace with a fine sway of her skirts, and carrying her head high. “Folks walks right by an’ forgits all about you; folks can’t always be going through with just so much. You’d had a good deal better time, you an’ your ma, if you’d been freer in your ways; now don’t you s’pose you would? ’Tain’t what you give folks to eat so much as ’tis makin’ ’em feel welcome. Now, there’s Mis’ Timms; when we was to Longport she was dreadful methodical. She wouldn’t let Cap’n Timms fetch nobody home to dinner without lettin’ of her know, same’s other cap’ns’ wives had to submit to. I was thinkin’, when she was so cordial over to Danby, how she’d softened with time. Years do learn folks somethin’! She did seem very pleasant an’ desirous. There, I am so glad we got started; if she’d gone an’ got up a real good dinner to-day, an’ then not had us come till to-morrow, ’twould have been real too bad. Where anybody lives alone such a thing is very tryin’.” “Oh, so ’tis!” said Miss Pickett. “There, I’d like to tell you what I went through with year before last. They come an’ asked me one Saturday night to entertain the minister, that time we was having candidates”— “I guess we’d better step along faster,” said Mrs. Flagg suddenly. “Why, Miss Pickett, there’s the stage comin’ now! It’s dreadful prompt, seems to me. Quick! there’s folks awaitin’, an’ I sha’n’t get to Baxter in no state to visit Mis’ Cap’n Timms if I have to ride all the way there backward!” III.