FLEEMING'S ENGAGEMENT 79 



a model of honour, hardly of tact ; to conceal love 

 from the loved one, to court her parents, to be silent 

 and discreet till these are won, and then without 

 preparation to approach the lady — ^these are not 

 arts that I would recommend for imitation. They 

 lead to final refusal. Nothing saved Fleeming from 

 that fate but one circumstance that cannot be 

 counted upon — the hearty favour of the mother, 

 and one gift that is inimitable and that never failed 

 him throughout life, the gift of a nature essentially 

 noble and outspoken. A happy and high-minded 

 anger flashed through his despair : it won for him 

 his wife. 



Nearly two years passed before it was possible 

 to marry : two years of activity, now in London ; 

 now at Birkenhead, fitting out ships, inventing new 

 machinery for new purposes, and dipping into 

 electrical experiment ; now in the Elba on his 

 first telegraph cruise between Sardinia and Algiers : 

 a busy and delightful period of bounding ardour, 

 incessant toil, growing hope and fresh interests, 

 with behind and through all, the image of his 

 beloved. A few extracts, from his correspondence 

 with his betrothed, will give the note of these truly 

 joyous years. ' My profession gives me all the 

 excitement and interest I ever hope for, but the 

 sorry jade is obviously jealous of you.' — * " Poor 

 Fleeming," in spite of wet, cold and wind, clamber- 

 ing over moist, tarry slips, wandering among pools 



