The convenience and comfort, and for a time the good humour, of a
whole company, were to be sacrificed to his indolence, his _vis
inertiae_, and unpunctuality.

Never permit yourself, my dear nephew, thus to trifle with the time or
the temper of any persons, whether high or low, with whom you have any
intercourse. Make a point of always being in time. I think it is said of
Lord Nelson (though I cannot hit upon the passage in his life), that
when some friend was fixing an appointment of importance at a certain
hour, the hero added, "Say a quarter _before_--to that quarter _before_,
I have owed all my success in life." I do not advise you actually to be
_before_ the time of an engagement, which some people will complain of
as being worse than being too late, but be so much beforehand as to be
master of your time, or to have it in your power to be punctual almost
to a minute. When you are received as a guest in a friend's house,
consider compliance with the hours and habits of the family, as a
natural return for the hospitality which is shown to you. There is
something incongruous in seeing a young person deranging, by his
unpunctuality, the economy and regularity of a whole household. And do
not suffer the kindness and indulgence of your parents to induce you,
when with them, to be less attentive to punctuality than you are, when
with other persons of superior age or rank to yourself. Never let them
wait for you; make a point of being always ready. An excellent friend of
mine lays it down as a maxim, that _habitual unpunctuality is positive
incivility_.

I have alluded to the unpunctuality of one of my college friends: I will
contrast it with the punctuality of another. The latter when at Oxford
was distinguished for lively talents, and for an exuberance of spirits
bursting forth into every possible variety of fun. He is now the owner
of a spacious and splendid mansion, with a large establishment of
servants, and often a considerable number of guests, attracted by his
many amiable and excellent qualities. He still retains his playfulness
of wit, but his domestic arrangements are a model of punctuality. Family
prayers, and every meal, are to a minute. His guests and servants,
consequently, know exactly what they have to depend on, the arrangements
of the day, whether for business or for amusement, can be made with
precision, and every thing is done at its proper time. This is
punctuality on a greater scale. You and I, my