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?’

After the old gentleman’s steam had gone down a little I replied, ’Really, general, I hardly know how to answer you.  Your daughter and I are very good friends, the place is most detestably dull, there is nothing to do, and if we amuse ourselves with a little love-making, surely there can be no great harm.’  This rejoinder of mine made things worse; I thought the old boy would have had a fit.  At last he said, ’The mail steamer leaves for England to-morrow; you shall go home by her, I order you to do so!’ I replied that I should please myself, and that I was not under his orders.  The general went away uttering threats.  After he was gone I thought seriously over the matter.  I calculated that my income of 120_l._ a year would scarcely suffice to keep a wife, and I decided to renounce my dream of love.  I went to pay a farewell visit to my young lady, but found that she was locked up, so away I went and soon forgot all about it.  Shortly afterwards I heard that the governor’s daughter married the man whose leg I had lamed for his impertinence to me.

My last adventure while employed in the suppression of the slave trade is perhaps worth describing.

By international law it was ruled that a vessel on her way to Africa, if fitted out in a certain manner, whereby it was evident that she was employed in the nefarious traffic of slavery, was liable to capture and condemnation by the mixed tribunals, or in other words became the lawful prize of her captors.