[Ads-l] Quote: Sir your letter is before me, and it will presently be behind me. Attributed to Lord Sandwich

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for your responses, Mark and Geoff. The Yale Book of Quotations
and other references have an entry for a statement attributed to
German composer Max Reger (responding to Rudolf Louis) that mentions
the "smallest room of my house" ("kleinsten Zimmer in meinem Hause").

Max Reger died in 1916, and the citation for the quotation is in the
1953 book "Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on
Composers Since Beethoven’s Time". This evidence is somewhat late.

[Begin excerpt]
Ich sitze in dem kleinsten Zimmer in meinem Hause. Ich habe Ihre
Kritik vor mir. Im nächsten Augenblick wird sie hinter mir sein.

I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review
before me. In a moment it will be behind me.
[End excerpt]

I've found a snippet match with a Google Books date of 1923 for an
instance attributed to Max Reger in German.

I've also found German instances of matching jokes in 1833, 1877, and
1878, I believe. Perhaps list members will be able to help with the
German translations.The Lord Sandwich citation is still the earliest
in 1815 (internal date 1786).

I will try to post the information within a few days.
Garson
On Mon, Oct 1, 2018 at 2:18 AM Geoffrey Nathan <geoffnathan at wayne.edu> wrote:
>
> I share Mark’s memory of this story, and vaguely recall
>
> that it was a reply to a music critic, and the speaker was either
>
> Beethoven or Schubert.
>
>
>
> Geoff
>
>
>
> Geoffrey S. Nathan
>
> Professor Emeritus and Retired Chief Privacy Officer
>
> Wayne State University
>
> Detroit, Michigan
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Mark Mandel <mark.a.mandel at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2018 7:47:54 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Quote: Sir your letter is before me, and it will presently be behind me. Attributed to Lord Sandwich
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Mark Mandel <mark.a.mandel at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Quote: Sir your letter is before me, and it will presently be
>               behind me. Attributed to Lord Sandwich
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I recall seeing that letter prefaced by the words "I am sitting in the
> smallest room of my house." It was long ago and I don't remember the
> reference or the attribution.
>
> Mark Mandel
>
> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 2:23 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > A rare book dealer asked me to explore the scatological quip in the
> > subject line. The Yale Books of Quotations, Cassell's Humorous
> > Quotations, and many other references contain instances this remark.
> >
> > In 2008 Fred Shapiro presented an attribution to the Earl of Sandwich
> > in an 1843 citation.
> >
> > https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/2043-you-can-quote-them
> >
> > Here is an attribution to the Earl of Sandwich within an 1815 memoir.
> > The year specified in the memoir is 1786.
> >
> > Year: 1815
> > Title: Historical Memoirs of My Own Time: Part the Second from 1781 to 1784
> > Author: Sir N. William Wraxall.
> > Section: 1781 (Yet, context specifies 1786)
> >
> > https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4010789;view=1up;seq=548
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > How laconically, yet forcibly he could write, with what Conciseness
> > and Severity blended, he exhibited in his memorable Note to Mr. Eden,
> > afterwards created Lord Auckland. That Gentleman, when he quitted his
> > political Friends in 1786, in order to join Mr. Pitt, who sent him
> > over to Paris, for the purpose of negociating the Commercial Treaty;
> > addressed a circular Letter to them, endeavouring to explain and to
> > justify his Line of Conduct. Lord Sandwich, in answer to the Letter
> > that he received on the Occasion, instantly wrote back these Words.
> > "Sir your letter is before me, and it will presently be behind me. I
> > remain, Sir, your most humble Servant."
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson O'Toole
> >
>
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