He could boast of a somewhat higher condition--that is, he could boast of a better education than the mere Cape farmer usually possesses, as well as some experience in wielding the sword.

He was not a native of the colony, but of the mother country; and he had found his way to the Cape not as a poor adventurer seeking his fortune, but as an officer in a Dutch regiment then stationed there.
His soldier-service in the colony was not of long duration.

A certain cherry-cheeked, flaxen-haired Gertrude--the daughter of a rich boor--had taken a liking to the young lieutenant; and he in his turn became vastly fond of her.

The consequence was, that they got married.

Gertrude's father dying shortly after, the large farm, with its full stock of horses, and Hottentots, broad-tailed sheep, and long-horned oxen, became hers.