He had Marshal Ney's deserved reputation--le brave des braves--and there is no more coldly critical conferrer of such repute than the British Army in the field.

To win it a man not only has to do something heroic once or twice--that is what he is there for--but he has to be doing it all the time.

Boyce had piled up for himself an amazing record, one that overwhelmed the possibility of truth in old slanders.

When I gripped him by the hand, I felt immeasurable relief at being able to do so without the old haunting suspicion and reservation.
He spoke, like thousands of others of his type--the type of the fine professional English soldier--with diffident modesty of such personal experiences as he deigned to recount.

The anecdotes mostly had a humorous side, and were evoked by allusion.