ToMrs。Gaskell，hewouldoftenbringhisnewideas，aprocessthatmanyofhislaterfriendswillunderstandand，intheirowncases，remember。Withthegirls，hehad’constantfiercewrangles，’
forcingthemtoreasonouttheirthoughtsandtoexplaintheirprepossessions;andIhearfromMissGaskellthattheyusedtowonderhowhecouldthrowalltheardourofhischaracterintothesmallestmatters，andtoadmirehisunselfishdevotiontohisparents。Ofoneofthesewrangles，Ihavefoundarecordmostcharacteristicoftheman。Fleeminghadbeenlayingdownhisdoctrinethattheendjustifiesthemeans，andthatitisquiteright’toboastofyoursixmen—servantstoaburglarortostealaknifetopreventamurder’;andtheMissGaskells，withgirlishloyaltytowhatiscurrent，hadrejectedtheheresywithindignation。Fromsuchpassages—at—arms，manyretiremortifiedandruffled;butFleeminghadnosoonerleftthehousethanhefellintodelightedadmirationofthespiritofhisadversaries。Fromthatitwasbutasteptoaskhimself’whattruthwasstickingintheirheads’;foreventhefalsestformofwords（inFleeming’slife—longopinion）reposeduponsometruth，justashecould’notevenallowthatpeopleadmireuglythings，theyadmirewhatisprettyintheuglything。’Andbeforehesatdowntowritehisletter，hethoughthehadhitupontheexplanation。’Ifancythetrueidea，’hewrote，’isthatyoumustneverdoyourselforanyoneelseamoralinjury—makeanymanathieforaliar—foranyend’;quiteadifferentthing，ashewouldhavelovedtopointout，fromneverstealingorlying。Butthisperferviddisputantwasnotalwaysoutofkeywithhisaudience。Onewhomhemetinthesamehouseannouncedthatshewouldneveragainbehappy。’Whatdoesthatsignify？’criedFleeming。’Wearenotheretobehappy，buttobegood。’Andthewords（ashishearerwritestome）becametoherasortofmottoduringlife。
FromFairbairn’sandManchester，FleemingpassedtoarailwaysurveyinSwitzerland，andthenceagaintoMr。Penn’satGreenwich，wherehewasengagedasdraughtsman。Therein1856，wefindhimin’aterriblybusystate，finishingupenginesforinnumerablegun—
boatsandsteamfrigatesfortheensuingcampaign。’Fromhalf—pasteightinthemorningtillnineortenatnight，heworkedinacrowdedofficeamonguncongenialcomrades，’salutedbychaff，generallylowpersonalandnotwitty，’peltedwithorangesandapples，regaledwithdirtystories，andseekingtosuithimselfwithhissurroundingsor（ashewritesit）tryingtobeaslittlelikehimselfaspossible。Hislodgingswerehardby，’acrossadirtygreenandthroughsomehalf—builtstreetsoftwo—storiedhouses’;hehadCarlyleandthepoets，engineeringandmathematics，tostudybyhimselfinsuchsparetimeasremainedtohim;andtherewereseveralladies，youngandnotsoyoung，withwhomhelikedtocorrespond。Butnotallofthesecouldcompensatefortheabsenceofthatmother，whohadmadeherselfsolargeafigureinhislife，forsorrysurroundings，unsuitablesociety，andworkthatleanedtothemechanical。’Sunday，’sayshe，’Igenerallyvisitsomefriendsintownandseemtoswiminclearerwater，butthedirtygreenseemsallthedirtierwhenIgetback。LuckilyIamfondofmyprofession，orIcouldnotstandthislife。’Itisaquestioninmymind，ifhecouldhavelongcontinuedtostanditwithoutloss。’Wearenotheretobehappy，buttobegood，’quoththeyoungphilosopher;butnomanhadakeenerappetiteforhappinessthanFleemingJenkin。Thereisatimeoflifebesideswhenapartfromcircumstances，fewmenareagreeabletotheirneighboursandstillfewertothemselves;anditwasatthisstagethatFleeminghadarrived，laterthancommonandevenworseprovided。TheletterfromwhichIhavequotedisthelastofhiscorrespondencewithFrankScott，andhislastconfidentiallettertooneofhisownsex。’Ifyouconsideritrightly，’hewrotelongafter，’youwillfindthewantofcorrespondencenosuchstrangewantinmen’sfriendships。Thereis，believeme，somethingnobleinthemetalwhichdoesnotrustthoughnotburnishedbydailyuse。’Itiswellsaid;butthelastlettertoFrankScottisscarcelyofanoblemetal。Itisplainthewriterhasoutgrownhisoldself，yetnotmadeacquaintancewiththenew。Thisletterfromabusyyouthofthreeandtwenty，breathesofseventeen：thesickeningalternationsofconceitandshame，theexpenseofhopeIN
VACUO，thelackoffriends，thelongingafterlove;thewholeworldofegoismunderwhichyouthstandsgroaning，avoluntaryAtlas。