his daughter was a mighty pretty girl, much run after by the garrison;
so it was thought great impertinence on my part, as a humble
sub-lieutenant, to presume to make love to the reigning, if not the
only, beauty in the place.

However, audacity carried me on, and I soon became No. 1 in the young
lady's estimation. I used to ride with her, spent the evenings in the
balcony of Government House with her, sent her flowers every morning,
and so on, till at last people began to talk, and steps were taken by
her numerous admirers to stop my wild career. This was done in a
somewhat startling way (premeditated, as I found out afterwards). One
evening I was playing at whist, one of my opponents being a momentarily
discarded lover of my young lady; I thought he was looking very
distrait; however, things went off quietly enough for some time, till on
some trifling question arising concerning the rules of the game, the
young man suddenly and quite gratuitously insulted me most grossly,
ending his insolent conduct by throwing his cards in my face. This was
more than I could put up with, so I called him out, and the next morning
put a ball into his ankle, which prevented him dancing for a long time
to come. He, being the best dancer in the colony, was rather severely
punished; it seems that he had undertaken to bell the cat, hardly
expecting such unpleasant results.

On returning home after the hostile meeting I found a much more
formidable adversary in the shape of the governor himself, who was
stamping furiously up and down the verandah of my apartment. He received
me with, 'What the d--- l do you mean, young sir, by making love to my
daughter? you are a mere boy.' (I was twenty and did not relish his
remark.) 'What means have you got?'