How 'bout:
var start = new Date().getTime();
$.ajax({
type: "GET",
url: "http://localhost/thescript.php",
success: function(data){
$("#container").html(data);
},
complete: function(jqXHR, textStatus){
var duration = (new Date().getTime() - start) / 1000;
alert("http://localhost/thescript.php took '" + duration + "' second(s) to load");
}
});