THERE is a great country, largely inhabited by men, to which most women, particularly wives and mothers, are strangers. Every morning husbands and sons go down to it; there they spend their days, their energy, and, in proportion as they succeed, their love. Its name is Business: it is a despotism, demanding submission to its laws, but it is a delectable country to those in its favor, luring them on and on. There are kings there, and princes—and this is the story of one of the princes who grew up to be a king—the history of a great love of which Business was jealous.
