Project Gutenberg 2007-12-03 Public domain in the USA. 100 Smith, Francis Hopkinson 1838 1915 Smith, F. Hopkinson (Francis Hopkinson) Forty Minutes Late 1909 Produced by David Widger "Forty Minutes Late" by Francis Hopkinson Smith is a humorous short story written in the early 20th century. The narrative follows a lecturer's frustrating journey while trying to reach a speaking engagement under adverse winter weather conditions. The story captures the chaos and uncertainties often encountered in travel, particularly when dealing with delays and miscommunications. In the tale, the protagonist battles the elements as he arrives late to a lecture due to a snowstorm disrupting his train schedule. Upon his arrival in Sheffield, he discovers that no one is there to meet him, leading to a series of comedic mishaps as he carries his bags through snowy terrain to a nearby farmhouse where the organizers of the event are waiting. The lecturer's ire about being late culminates in a confrontation with the event's manager, allowing him to vent his frustrations while also amusing the audience. Ultimately, through a series of fortunate encounters, including kind-hearted locals and a comfortable stay, the lecturer's experience transforms from chaos to warmth and camaraderie, demonstrating the unpredictability of life and the humor found in everyday troubles. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 78.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Short stories Travel -- Fiction Lecturers -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Humour Category: American Literature 60975 2025-07-10T04:43:57.182178 text/html 58592 2021-01-26T02:33:57 text/html 95897 2025-07-10T04:44:01.777130 application/epub+zip 94678 2025-07-10T04:43:59.705133 application/epub+zip 74543 2025-07-10T04:43:58.684144 application/epub+zip 193331 2025-07-10T04:44:03.311605 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 186474 2025-07-10T04:44:01.169119 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 161899 2022-09-11T06:49:08.179085 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 50153 2025-07-10T04:43:56.942136 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 50032 2018-03-08T13:01:44 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 49602 2007-12-03T09:51:46 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21651 2025-07-10T04:44:03.429656 application/rdf+xml 13780 2025-07-10T04:43:59.164149 image/jpeg 3543 2025-07-10T04:43:58.924130 image/jpeg 20274 2018-03-18T13:56:36 application/octet-stream application/zip 21835 2021-01-26T02:33:57 application/octet-stream application/zip 20180 2007-12-03T09:51:48 application/octet-stream application/zip 94740 2025-07-10T04:43:57.188163 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia