account such mercantile talent as I possessed. An old friend of my
uncle's opportunely arrived in Toronto from Melbourne, Australia,
where, in the course of a few years, he had risen from the position of
a junior clerk to that of senior partner in a prominent commercial
house. He painted the land of his adoption in glowing colours, and
assured my uncle and myself that it presented an inviting field for a
young man of energy and business capacity, more especially if he had a
small capital at his command. The matter was carefully debated in our
domestic circle. I was naturally averse to a separation from Alice, but
my imagination took fire at Mr. Redpath's glowing account of his own
splendid success. I pictured myself returning to Canada after an
absence of four or five years with a mountain of gold at my command, as
the result of my own energy and acuteness. In imagination, I saw myself
settled down with Alice in a palatial mansion on Jarvis Street, and
living in affluence all the rest of my days. My uncle bade me consult
my own judgment in the matter, but rather encouraged the idea than
otherwise. He offered to advance me L500, and I had about half that
sum as the result of my own speculations. Mr. Redpath, who was just
about returning to Melbourne, promised to aid me to the extent of his
power with his local knowledge and advice. In less than a fortnight
from that time he and I were on our way to the other side of the globe.

We reached our destination early in the month of September, 1857. My
life in Australia has no direct bearing upon the course of events to be
related, and may be passed over in a very few words. I engaged in
various enterprises, and achieved a certain measure of success. If none
of my ventures proved eminently prosperous, I at least met with no
serious disasters. At the end of four years--that is to say, in
September, 1861--I made up my account with the world, and found I was
worth ten thousand dollars. I had, however, become terribly homesick,