The young man had been used to hard work all his life. From his childhood days he had labored steadily, and now as a young man he owned a large marble quarry, which supplied him with a small but steady income. The quarry was located in a section where many society people made their country homes, and a number of them visited the quarry at different times, merely out of curiosity. In this way the young owner met a wealthy society girl and they soon fell in love, and after a brief courtship were married. The husband had planned to continue his work, but he soon found a wealthy wife had first claim upon her husband. Gradually the business was turned over to subordinates while the young people lived abroad in luxury and idleness. What might have been expected, happened. The hired manager wrecked the business of the quarry and ran away with all the funds he could lay his hands on. At first this was a bitter blow to the husband, but as his wife said, there was no real reason why he should worry, as she had more than enough for both. He had been idle long enough to accept this view of the situation, and as time passed, became more and more worthless. Fortunately for him, his wife's money was swept away during a financial panic, and this reverse brought the young man to a realization of what he had become and what he should be, and told his helpless wife that the time had come when he should be the bread winner. He forced her to return to America and revisited the quarry, which had once been his pride and joy. The place was now abandoned and fast going to rack and ruin, but the owner was again energetic and optimistic and cheered his wife with the prediction that he would soon show her that the blight of wealth had passed, and he was again a self-respecting man who could support in comfort those dependent upon him.
