he speculate, he is successful; if he
marry, his wife will surely prove everything to be desired; should he
aspire to a position, social or political, he not only attains it, but
does so with comparative ease. Worldly wealth, domestic happiness, high
position, and complete success--all these things belong to the man who
has luck.

Mark Frettlby was one of these fortunate individuals, and his luck was
proverbial throughout Australia. If there was any speculation for which
Mark Frettlby went in, other men would surely follow, and in every case
the result turned out as well, and in many cases even better than they
expected. He had come out in the early days of the colony with
comparatively little money, but his great perseverance and
never-failing luck had soon changed his hundreds into thousands, and
now at the age of fifty-five he did not himself know the extent of his
income. He had large stations scattered all over the Colony of
Victoria, which brought him in a splendid income; a charming country
house, where at certain seasons of the year he dispensed hospitality to
his friends; and a magnificent town house down in St. Kilda, which
would have been not unworthy of Park Lane.

Nor were his domestic relations less happy--he had a charming wife, who
was one of the best known and most popular ladies of Melbourne, and an
equally charming daughter, who, being both pretty and an heiress,
naturally attracted crowds of suitors. But Madge Frettlby was
capricious, and refused innumerable offers. Being an extremely
independent young person, with a mind of her own, she decided to remain
single, as she had not yet seen anyone she could love, and with her
mother continued to dispense the hospitality of the mansion at St.
Kilda.

But the fairy prince comes at length to every woman, and in this
instance he came at his appointed time, in the person of one Brian
Fitzgerald, a tall, handsome, fair-haired young man hailing from
Ireland.

He had left behind him in the old country a ruined castle and a few
acres of barren land, inhabited by discontented tenants, who refused to
pay the rent, and talked darkly about the Land League and other
agreeable things. Under these circumstances, with no rent coming in,
and no prospect of doing anything in the future, Brian had left the
castle of his forefathers to the rats and the family Banshee, and had
come out to Australia to make his fortune.

He brought letters of introduction to Mark Frettl