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 



