"success in life .. a quarter hour before my time"

[Garson O'Toole]

Here is a version of the tale with Lord Nelson and the tradesman in 1819.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wTYLAQAAIAAJ&q=stammered#v=snippet&

[Being excerpt]
"Right," said his Lordship "it is to that quarter before the time that
I owe all the good I ever did."
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 9:54 PM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "success in life .. a quarter hour before my time"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> There is an anecdote about punctuality that features Lord Nelson in
> the starring role. Here is the end of a version published in 1823.
> This is from GB. I suspect an earlier match in a newspaper database
> exists. Maybe when Lord Nelson was alive.
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=9NYEAAAAQAAJ&q=Nelson#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> PUNCTUALITY
> …
> When Lord Nelson was leaving London, on his last, but glorious,
> expedition against the enemy …
>
> "And you go to the inn, Mr. A., and see them off?"
> "I shall, my lord; I shall be there punctually at six."
> "A quarter before six, Mr. A. (returned Lord Nelson) be there a
> quarter before six. To that quarter of an hour I owe every thing in
> life."
> [End excerpt]
>
> The quotation Joel found may have been derived from this anecdote
> which was reprinted for years.
>
> Garson
>
> On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 9:34 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "success in life .. a quarter hour before my time"
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> I don't know.
>>
>> But I have an 1836 attribution that quotes Nelson as saying "to being
>> always twenty minutes before my time I owe all that I have on earth":
>>
>> The guide to knowledge, Volume 4 (Google eBook)
>> [image: Front Cover]<http://books.google.com/books?id=ew_W1cyXHiUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0>
>>  William Pinnock
>> <http://books.google.com/books?id=ew_W1cyXHiUC&dq=Nelson+twenty+minutes+%22before+my+time%22&sitesec=reviews>
>>  0 Reviews<http://books.google.com/books?id=ew_W1cyXHiUC&dq=Nelson+twenty+minutes+%22before+my+time%22&sitesec=reviews>
>> Printed for the proprietor; and published by W. Edwards, 1836
>> DanG
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 9:11 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>>
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>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>> Subject:      "success in life .. a quarter hour before my time"
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> The quotation "I owe my success in life to having always been a
>>> quarter of an hour before my time" is attributed to "Nelson" (Admiral
>>> Nelson, I presume).  See "Gas Industry", vol. 12, No. 4 (April,
>>> 1912), p. 209 [Google]; and the Evening Chronicle of Sept. 18, 1918
>>> [Newspaper Archive via Google].
>>>
>>> Is that attribution correct?
>>>
>>> Joel
>>>
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>>>
>>
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