They was flour, dear," replied Mrs. Flagg approvingly; "crisp an'
light as any you ever see."

"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 't would 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. 'T was 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; 't was 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, 't ain'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? 'T ain't what
you give folks to eat so much as 't is 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, 't wou