 Throughout the Raffles stories patriotism runs as an intermittent theme — to such an extent that the writer William <unk> Butler describes him as a " super @-@ <unk> " . In the course of the short story " A Jubilee Present " Raffles , celebrating Queen Victoria 's diamond jubilee , steals a gold cup from the British Museum and sends it to the queen , telling Manders that " we have been ruled over for sixty years by infinitely the finest monarch in the world " . In " The <unk> of the Gods " , Raffles volunteers for service in the Second Boer War , changing his name and hair colour — he jokes to Manders that he is prepared to " dye for his country " — and he later confesses his true identity to his superiors in order to <unk> a spy . 
