Chap­ter V — Mem­oir of Fleem­ing Jenkin cap­tures the mature years of Fleeming’s life in Edin­burgh, a city known for its blend of intel­lec­tu­al rig­or and social charm. The city’s dual character—academic and argu­men­ta­tive, yet steeped in tradition—was an ide­al back­drop for some­one with Fleeming’s depth. While many of his peers found their leisure in golf or the pres­ti­gious archery clubs, he main­tained a cer­tain dis­tance from these social norms, opt­ing instead to invest his ener­gies in fam­i­ly, inven­tion, and civic duty. His avoid­ance of main­stream recre­ation was not out of dis­dain, but due to a focused desire to spend time where he felt most use­ful and ful­filled. In doing so, he forged a dis­tinct path, marked by mean­ing­ful engage­ment over mere social con­for­mi­ty.

His house­hold life was filled with affec­tion and cre­ativ­i­ty. With­in his home, Fleem­ing nur­tured a rich cul­ture of learn­ing, sto­ry­telling, and shared expe­ri­ences. His enthu­si­asm for pri­vate the­atri­cals was more than entertainment—it was a space for expres­sion, dis­ci­pline, and joy. These per­for­mances involved both fam­i­ly and close friends, strength­en­ing bonds through col­lab­o­ra­tive artistry. In these moments, Fleem­ing came alive not as an engi­neer or lec­tur­er, but as a hus­band and father rel­ish­ing the chance to build last­ing mem­o­ries. Simul­ta­ne­ous­ly, his fas­ci­na­tion with emerg­ing tech­nolo­gies like the phono­graph reflect­ed an ever-curi­ous mind, eager to test, under­stand, and share inno­va­tion with those around him.

Beyond fam­i­ly and sci­ence, Fleem­ing remained devot­ed to pub­lic wel­fare. His work with san­i­tary asso­ci­a­tions addressed press­ing health con­cerns of the time, aim­ing to ele­vate liv­ing stan­dards across social class­es. He saw this not as char­i­ty but as responsibility—a nat­ur­al exten­sion of being part of a soci­ety. Fleeming’s involve­ment in these orga­ni­za­tions was hands-on, and his tech­ni­cal knowl­edge gave him cred­i­bil­i­ty among reform­ers and munic­i­pal lead­ers alike. Even when pub­lic impact was mod­est, his efforts demon­strat­ed a prin­ci­pled com­mit­ment to improve­ment. These endeav­ors reflect­ed the same pre­ci­sion and pas­sion found in his engi­neer­ing work. In every sphere, Fleem­ing com­bined log­ic with heart, form­ing a rare and respect­ed integri­ty.

His per­son­al reflec­tions reveal a man deeply thought­ful about belief, moral­i­ty, and the hero­ic in human nature. Though his reli­gious views were qui­et and evolv­ing, they guid­ed his sense of duty and com­pas­sion. He admired strength of char­ac­ter more than phys­i­cal courage and found inspi­ra­tion in sto­ries where integri­ty over­came adver­si­ty. Lit­er­a­ture was not sim­ply a leisure pur­suit but a well­spring of eth­i­cal insight and artis­tic plea­sure. He grav­i­tat­ed toward writ­ers whose ideas chal­lenged yet uplift­ed him, blend­ing emo­tion­al res­o­nance with intel­lec­tu­al sat­is­fac­tion. This selec­tive and dis­cern­ing taste extend­ed to his per­son­al rela­tion­ships, which, though not numer­ous, were remark­ably deep and last­ing.

Among his cor­re­spon­dents, none stood out more than M. Tre­lat, with whom Fleem­ing shared a steady and warm friend­ship. Their let­ters reflect­ed mutu­al respect, trust, and a shared enthu­si­asm for life’s com­plex­i­ties. Through such rela­tion­ships, Fleeming’s social world was kept inti­mate but rich. He did not seek pop­u­lar­i­ty in the con­ven­tion­al sense, yet those who knew him val­ued him immense­ly. His abil­i­ty to con­nect across cul­tur­al and pro­fes­sion­al bound­aries was ground­ed in sin­cer­i­ty. Whether in con­ver­sa­tion or cor­re­spon­dence, he spoke with clar­i­ty, often turn­ing com­plex ideas into digestible and inspir­ing thoughts. These qual­i­ties made him an admired fig­ure in his cir­cles, even if he remained reserved from pub­lic acclaim.

Through­out this chap­ter, Fleem­ing emerges as a man bal­anced between inven­tion and intro­spec­tion. He achieved pub­lic suc­cess in acad­e­mia and engi­neer­ing, but he mea­sured his life’s val­ue through qui­eter vic­to­ries: rais­ing thought­ful chil­dren, nur­tur­ing friend­ships, con­tribut­ing to pub­lic health, and expand­ing human under­stand­ing. His char­ac­ter, as recalled through this nar­ra­tive, is defined not just by what he built, but by the prin­ci­ples that shaped how he lived. He man­aged to remain earnest with­out being solemn, clever with­out con­de­scen­sion, and dili­gent with­out becom­ing inflex­i­ble. In the inter­sec­tions of his pri­vate joys and pub­lic duties, Fleem­ing left behind a lega­cy built not only on wires and machin­ery, but on human con­nec­tion and the steady pur­suit of bet­ter­ment. His life speaks to the endur­ing truth that mean­ing­ful impact often begins in the heart, long before it reach­es the world.