He was a man of strict probity, with some ambition to get ahead in the world.

These made him careful and economical in his expenditures, both at home and in the management of his business.

As a man, he was social in his feelings, but inclined to be domestic.

While unmarried, he had lived rather a gay life, and formed a pretty large acquaintance among young men.

His associations led him into the pretty free use of intoxicating drinks; but the thought of becoming a slave of a vicious appetite never once crossed his mind with its warning shadow.
The first trial of Henry Ellis's married life was the imperative necessity that required him to lay a restraining hand upon his wife's disposition to spend money more freely than was justified by their circumstances.