Interesting Fred Hillebrand citations. But about the "James Darling" just-so stories...

They don't quite ring true to me, in that, common practice in those social circles in that time would have been to call the staff by their first, NOT last name. The public school class called each other by their last names (or a nickname). Thoughts?

Of course, none of that explains the actual origin of the phrase, just that it is unsurprising that the driver is addressed by his first name.

Cheers,

Paul Johnston