How frightful, Richard. A genuine tragedy!

When Reggie was in the F.O. he knew a lot of those Portugese chappies.
Didn't trust them one bit. "Look what they did to the opium trade", he said. I mean, buggered it up for everybody else, didn't they?
How was a simple English man of business supposed to carry on with those blasted pirates on the job, I ask you?

Wouldn't have got away with that in the Punjab, I can tell you.
Strung 'em up the nearest lamp pole. And good enough for them too!

Oh no, Richard. England can well hang it's head. Gone are those halcyon days when the cultured savage would merrily skip his way back to the servants' quarters after an honest day's toil in the rubber groves.
What did we do, Richard?
Where did we go wrong?

Giving the blighters the vote didn't help.
Made the blasted thing worse!
In my opinion England is facing the gravest crisis of this kind since 1318.
And, you know, many of us still remember that date; the infernal worry, torment, and general feeling of ill.

We must have purpose, Richard. We cannot afford to be purposeless.
We must exhibit purposelessnessless.
For we don't want to end up, do we?
Like the blind man in the dark room.
Looking for the black cat.

That isn't there.

<:| H. H-S