gloves and boots, topping all with a silk hat. His raiment was a considerable part of his personality. Mr. Baker must have taken a more accurate measure of this man than did Mrs. Tilton, but he knew it was true that Mary never ceased to grieve for her child, — her child that was not welcome either in the home of his second wife or in the Tilton home. A marriage that would restore that child to Mary might rouse her to health and happiness. Moreover, the dentist was a kinsman of his wife.
The marriage was accordingly arranged, and took place at the Baker home. Mrs. Glover, who was at first startled at the proposal and much averse to the marriage, has explained why she consented to it and how disastrously it terminated for her in two succinct sentences. She says: “My dominant thought in marrying again was to get back my child; but after our marriage his stepfather was not willing he should have a home with me.”[1]
Dr. Patterson first took his wife to Franklin, a nearby factory town, where they lived for three years. He employed a housekeeper but put his wife off with regard to her child. She must wait until her health improved. He was much abroad traveling from village to village. He called frequently upon his influential relatives in Tilton, and sometimes leaned a bit heavily upon their goodwill. Not very prosperous, he was always confident that just around the corner was the best success in the world. Left much to herself, Mrs. Patterson, as we must now call Mary Baker, read deeply in
- ↑ “Retrospection and Introspection,” p. 32.
