Fatal nemesis

. . . and who better to shove him off the tail of the cart than good old Flashy, favourite ruffian of the Foreign Office, Palmerston-recommended, practically by Appointment Assassin Extraordinary to Her Majesty, demises discreetly arranged, moderate terms . . . if I were a sensitive man (and not a little flattered to be regarded as the most fatal nemesis since Jack Ketch) I might easily be offended.


Flashman on the March, p.249, Harper Collins, paperback edition 2005.


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We ain't politicians

“Why in God’s name didn’t you stop him?”
      “You and I tried,” says he. “But we ain’t politicians. What did you call us — government ruffians?”


Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, p.355, Harper Collins, 1995.


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Being a ruffian

Watching his tall figure moving away I felt a little chill touch me; being a ruffian, perhaps I know a good man when I see one better than most, and Mac was one of the mainstays of our force. A damned prig, mind you, and given to immense airs, but as good a soldier – for what that’s worth – as I’ve met.

Flashman, p.194, Pan edition, 12th printing, 1979.

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Flashman, Flashman quotes,Colin Mackenzie, ruffian.