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<font size=3>Yes -- the horse had gotten (more than) his number of
passengers.<br><br>
Joel<br><br>
At 3/17/2010 11:16 AM, Mark Mandel wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">The first cite --<br>
up we got, wid four men more on the seats, an' two in<br>
the well o' the car, which oughtn't to carry only four altogether ;<br>
an' indeed the horse seemed to think he'd got his number. But
cruelty<br>
to animals wasn't minded then, whin people were goin' down to
"The<br>
'Brook." --<br>
seems to me to make most sense as 'the limit': the horse seemed to
think<br>
he'd already been given all he was supposed to have to haul (and then
some).<br><br>
m a m<br><br>
<br>
On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 10:57 AM, victor steinbok
<aardvark66@gmail.com>wrote:<br><br>
><br>
> Here's the earliest I found (after Wellington's dispatches of
1815<br>
> that were not published until the 1830s--1834-1849, to be more<br>
> precise). Note the connection to Dickens (editor), who also used
the<br>
> phrase later in his works.<br>
><br>
><br>
>
<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=A8YRAAAAYAAJ" eudora="autourl">
http://books.google.com/books?id=A8YRAAAAYAAJ</a><br>
> Bentley's Miscellany. October, 1841<br>
> Donnybrook Fair, By Dillon. p. 360<br>
> 'Well, Pether an' I wint up to Stephen's Green, an' there we got
a<br>
> car, ov coorse, that wur goin' down to Donnybrook.
"Fourpence<br>
> a-piece," sis the man, "an' aff at
once."--"That'll do, sir," sis<br>
> Pether, an' so up we got, wid four men more on the seats, an' two
in<br>
> the well o' the car, which oughtn't to carry only four altogether
;<br>
> an' indeed the horse seemed to think he'd got his number. But
cruelty<br>
> to animals wasn't minded then, whin people were goin' down to
"The<br>
> 'Brook."<br>
> =====<br>
><br>
> Here's Alcott's use.<br>
><br>
>
<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=m8tEAAAAIAAJ" eudora="autourl">
http://books.google.com/books?id=m8tEAAAAIAAJ</a><br>
><br>
> Aunt Jo's Scrap-bag. My girls, etc. By Louisa May Alcott, 1883
(Copyright<br>
> 1877)<br>
> p.35<br>
><br>
> [p. 28] We had no engaged a carriage to come for us, knowing
that a<br>
> cab-stand was near by, and that a cab would be much cheaper than
the<br>
> snug broughams ladies usually secure for evening use.<br>
> Out flew the little maid to get us a cab, and we hurried on our
wraps<br>
> eager to be gone. ...<br>
> [p. 29] ... being independent Americans ... we ... bundled in,
gave<br>
> the address ... and away we went.<br>
> [p. 35] "Young man, if you don't wake up and take us to
Colville<br>
> Gardens as quickly as possible, I shall report you tomorrow. I've
got<br>
> your number, and I shall get my friend, Mr. Peter Taylor, of
Aubrey<br>
> House, to attend to the matter. He's an M. P., and will see that
you<br>
> are fined for attempting to drive a cab when you know nothing
of<br>
> London."<br>
> =====<br>
><br>
> And here's one Wellington bit.<br>
><br>
>
<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=wDXSAAAAMAAJ" eudora="autourl">
http://books.google.com/books?id=wDXSAAAAMAAJ</a><br>
> The Dispatches of Field Marshall The Duke of Wellington, During
His<br>
> Various Campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low<br>
> Countries, and France. London, 1847<br>
> The Waterloo Campaign. p. 117<br>
> To Lieut. Gen. Sir G. L. Cole, G.C.B.
Bruxelles, 2nd June, 1815<br>
> I wish I could bring everything together as I had it when I took
leave<br>
> of the army at Bordeaux, and I would engage that we should not be
the<br>
> last in the race ; but, as it is, I must manage matters as well as
I<br>
> can, and you may depend upon it that I will give you as many of
your<br>
> old troops as I can lay my hands upon. I saw the 23d the other
day,<br>
> and I never saw any regiment in such order. They were not strong,
but<br>
> it was the most complete and handsome military body I ever looked
at.<br>
> I shall find it very difficult to get Gen. Colville to part with
it.<br>
> However, I will do what I can. In the mean time I will settle
nothing<br>
> about the command of the two divisions till you or Sir T. Picton
shall<br>
> arrive.<br>
> I feel your partiality to your old number, which also shall be<br>
> gratified if I can do it without hurting the feelings of others,
who<br>
> have already got your number. It is a sympom of the old spirit we
had<br>
> amongst us, than which we cannot have a better.<br>
> =====<br>
><br>
> VS-)<br>
><br>
><br>
> On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Joel S. Berson
<Berson@att.net> wrote:<br>
> ><br>
> > What about house number on your street? "I know
where you<br>
> > live." When did houses begin to be given numbers, in
England or the<br>
> > U.S.? (Not in the first half of the 18th century, in
New<br>
> > England. But by the time of Sherlock Holmes.)<br>
> ><br>
> > As for Victor's (5), instead of the witness's number, is this
a<br>
> > document number or case number? In the 17th century court
records in<br>
> > Massachusetts, cases were numbered, presumably for
cross-referencing<br>
> > when there were intervening records (e.g., depositions taken
one<br>
> > session, trial at a later session).<br>
> ><br>
> > And of course baseball players who want a former star's old
number.<br>
> ><br>
> > Joel<br>
> ><br>
> > At 3/17/2010 01:59 AM, victor steinbok wrote:<br>
> ...<br>
> >>5) Very common references in British Commissions
(Royal/Parliamentary)<br>
> >>who, while questioning witnesses, would respond to submitted
records<br>
> >>(usually in advance, with copies held by witnesses) with
"I've got<br>
> >>your number." I am not quite sure why it's
"number" and not "numbers",<br>
> >>but that's what's on record. Of course, I did not search for
"numbers"<br>
> >>so such references may be even more numerous. The bottom
line is that<br>
> >>it was the same turn of phrase and used during the same
period.<br>
><br>
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> The American Dialect Society -
<a href="http://www.americandialect.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.americandialect.org</a><br>
><br><br>
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