"And _I_ say a large one," I remarked. "What makes you of that opinion?" inquired Mr. Melladew. "Well, in the first place there are so many large fortunes made in Australia." "That is true." "Then, money being so much more plentiful there than here, a man gets to think less of a little than we do. His ideas become larger, I mean. At any time these last dozen years a hundred pounds would have been a God-send to me, and I should have thought of it so----" "So would I," interposed Mr. Melladew. "But if you and I were in a land of gold, we should, I daresay, think much more lightly of a hundred pounds. I wish I had emigrated when I was first married; I had the chance, and let it slip. But it's no use crying over spilt milk." "Not a bit of use," said Mr. Melladew; "life's a perpetual grind here, and I am truly grateful for the light this letter has let in upon us. You've given me two reasons for thinking my brother-in-law's fortune a large one. Have you any others?" "Well, he speaks of your daughters' ship having come home. That looks as if he meant to provide for them." "It _does_ look like it," said Mr. Melladew; and I saw that my arguments had given him pleasure. "My wife has a reason, also, for thinking so. She says, when Dick--that is her brother, you know--went away he declared he would never come back to England unless he could come back a very rich man. 'And,' says my wife, 'what Dick said, he'd stick to.' She is sure of that. It's wonderful, isn't it? He didn't have a sovereign to bless himself with when he left England, and now--but it's no use speculating. We shall know everything soon. You will understand my feelings; you have children of your own." I had indeed, and it made me rueful to think of them. Getting another situation in such hard times was no easy matter.