"My motto is that it is never too soon to begin, but we won't talk about that. Kitty, you are the worst matchmaker I ever saw."
"I think I made a pretty good match for myself," said the other.
"No, you didn't. The doctor made that, and I helped. You had nothing to do with the preliminary work, which is really the most important."
Mrs. Tolbridge smiled. "I am sure I am very much obliged," she said.
"You ought to be. And now while we are on the subject, let me ask you:
Have you a new cook?"
"I have," replied the other, "but she is worse than the last one."
Miss Panney rose to her feet, and walked across the room.
"Kitty Tolbridge!" she exclaimed, "this is too bad. You're trifling with the greatest treasure a woman can have on this earth—the life of a good husband."
"But what am I to do?" asked Mrs. Tolbridge. "I have tried everywhere, and I can get no one better."
"Everywhere," repeated Miss Panney. "You mean everywhere in Thorbury. You oughtn't to expect to get a decent cook in this little town. You should go to the city and get one. What you want is to keep the doctor well, no matter what it costs. He doesn't look well, and I don't see how he can be well, on the kind of cooking you can get in Thorbury."