SANITARY ASSOCIATIONS cxxix 



and the dishonesty of plumbers. Started with an eye rather to 

 the houses of the rich, Fleeming hoped his Sanitary Associations 

 would soon extend their sphere of usefulness and improve the 

 dwellings of the poor. In this hope he was disappointed ; but 

 in all other ways the scheme exceedingly prospered, associations 

 sprang up and continue to spring up in many quarters, and 

 wherever tried they have been found of use. 



Here, then, was a serious employment ; it has proved highly 

 useful to mankind ; and it was begun besides, in a mood of bit- 

 terness, under the shock of what Fleeming would so sensitively 

 feel the death of a whole family of children. Yet it was gone 

 upon like a holiday jaunt. I read in Colonel Fergusson's letter 

 that his schoolmates bantered him when he began to broach his 

 scheme ; so did I at first, and he took the banter as he always 

 did with enjoyment, until he suddenly posed me with the ques- 

 tion : ' And now do you see any other jokes to make ? Well, 

 then,' said he, f that's all right. I wanted you to have your 

 fun out first ; now we can be serious.' And then with a glow- 

 ing heat of pleasure, he laid his plans before me, revelling in 

 the details, revelling in hope. It was as he wrote about the 

 joy of electrical experiment : i What shall I compare them to ? 

 A new song ? a Greek play ? ' Delight attended the exercise of all 

 his powers ; delight painted the future. Of these ideal visions, 

 some (as I have said) failed of their fruition. And the illusion 

 was characteristic. Fleeming believed we had only to make 

 a virtue cheap and easy, and then all would practise it; that 

 for an end unquestionably good, men would not grudge a little 

 trouble and a little money, though they might stumble at 

 laborious pains and generous sacrifices. He could not believe 

 in any resolute badness. ' I cannot quite say,' he wrote in his 

 young manhood, ' that I think there is no sin or misery. This 

 I can say : I do not remember one single malicious act done to 

 myself. In fact it is rather awkward when I have to say the 

 Lord's Prayer. I have nobody's trespasses to forgive.' And to 

 the point, I remember one of our discussions. I said it was a 

 dangerous error not to admit there were bad people ; he, that it 

 was only a confession of blindness on our part, and that we 



