Gertrude is the daughter of a wealthy inn-keeper whose parents sent her to a school for upper class children. There she was teased by others who considered her inferior to themselves. When she returned home, she was offended by the coarse manners of her family and their friends. She eloped with an Irish fortune-hunter. The couple made their home with her husband's mother, who despised her low-born daughter-in-law. Gertrude learned that small troubles may be harder to bear than larger. The moral is that a person should be educated for their station in life. Departing from that rule must lead to misery.