On the Calcutta maidan, opposite Alipur Bridge, stood two trees under which duels were fought.
Before his last fatal encounter he was twice engaged in duels with editors of rival papers.
With them came land speculation, litigiousness, the development of mines and mining-camp law, and the passion of politics, of which duels were one feature of early days.
He was described as chasing the British squadron all round the lake, but his encounters did not go beyond artillery duels at long range, and he allowed his enemy to continue in existence long after he might have been destroyed.
For a long time he appears to have taken no part in public affairs, but rather to have indulged in the follies of court life and intrigue; for both in 1663 and 1664 he was engaged in duels, in the latter of which he was wounded.
