Leaving school I entered the office of Salisbury, Turner and Earle, one of the oldest and leading brokerage houses in the town. The partners were Mr. Alderman John H. Turner (remarkable for the smallness of his stature), Mr. Horace Turner, and Mr. Henry Grey. My senior apprentice was the late Colonel Morrison. I had not been very long in this office when I contracted a very severe cold, the result of being out all night on Ben Lomond. I had gone up with my father and a party of friends to see the sunset; on the way down I lost my way, and finding myself with darkness coming on, in very boggy land, I sat down on a rock to await daylight. Heavy rain fell and I was soaked through, which resulted in a cold that took such a strong hold of me that the doctor ordered me a sea voyage, and on the 20th November, 1857, I set sail on board the clipper ship "Red Jacket," for Melbourne. The gold fever was at its height, and the passenger trade with Australia was very active. Our ship was crowded with passengers; she was the crack clipper of the day, and carried a double crew, that she might be enabled to carry sail until the last moment. We had a very pleasant passage and beat the record, making Port Phillip Heads in sixty-three days. I visited the gold fields at Ballarat, making the journey from Geelong by stage-coach, drawn by six horses, the roads being mere tracks cut through the bush. I descended several of the mines; at this time the alluvial deposits had been worked out, and most of the mines were being worked at a considerable depth. At Melbourne I stayed with Mr. Strickland, at a charming villa on the banks of the Yarra-Yarra. Leaving Melbourne, I took a steamer for Sydney, where my father had many business friends, and had a very good time yachting in the bay and riding up country. I managed to lose myself in the bush, and for a whole day was a solitary wanderer, not knowing where I was. It was a period of strange sensations and of much anxiety. Eventually, late in the evening I came across a shepherd, who gave me the best of his simple fare and guided me to the nearest village. From Australia I sailed in a small barque, the "Queen of the Avon," for Valparaiso; she was only 360 tons register, and I was the only passenger.