"You'll have heard it said that the British Empire was acquired in a fit of absence of mind - one of those smart Oscarish quips that sounds well but is thoroughly fat-headed. Presence of mind, if you like - and countless other things, such as greed and Christianity, decency and villainy, policy and lunacy, deep design and blind chance, pride and trade, blunder and curiosity, passion, ignorance, chivalry and expediency, honest pursuit of right, and determination to keep the bloody Frogs out."—Flashman.