straight, ain't you? It's four or five years since I saw you, except
once at church, and once you went by, down to the shore, I suppose. It
was a windy day in the spring of the year."

"I remember it very well," said Kate. "Those were both visits of only a
day or two, and I was here at Aunt Katharine's funeral, and went away
that same evening. Do you remember once I was here in the summer for a
longer visit, five or six years ago, and I helped you pick currants in
the garden? You had a very old mug."

"Now, whoever would ha' thought o' your rec'lecting that?" said Mrs.
Patton. "Yes. I had that mug because it was handy to carry about among
the bushes, and then I'd empt' it into the basket as fast as I got it
full. Your aunt always told me to pick all I wanted; she couldn't use
'em, but they used to make sights o' currant wine in old times. I s'pose
that mug would be considerable of a curiosity to anybody that wasn't
used to seeing it round. My grand'ther Joseph Toggerson--my mother was a
Toggerson--picked it up on the long sands in a wad of sea-weed: strange
it wasn't broke, but it's tough; I've dropped it on the floor, many's
the time, and it ain't even chipped. There's some Dutch reading on it
and it's marked 1732. Now I shouldn't ha' thought you'd remembered that
old mug, I declare. Your aunt she had a monstrous sight of chiny. She's
told me where 'most all of it come from, but I expect I've forgot. My
memory fails me a good deal by spells. If you hadn't come down I suppose
your mother would have had the chiny packed up this spring,--what she
didn't take with her after your aunt died. S'pose she hasn't made up her
mind what to do with the house?"

"No," said Kate; "she wishes she could: it is a great puzzle to us."