Philip Taylor, of Marseilles; but on the death of his Aunt Anna, who
lived with them, Captain Jenkin took his family to England, and settled
in Manchester, where the lad, in 1851, was apprenticed to mechanical
engineering at the works of Messrs. Fairbairn, and from half-past eight
in the morning till six at night had, as he says, 'to file and chip
vigorously, in a moleskin suit, and infernally dirty.' At home he
pursued his studies, and was for a time engaged with Dr. Bell in working
out a geometrical method of arriving at the proportions of Greek
architecture. His stay amidst the smoke and bustle of Manchester,
though in striking contrast to his life in Genoa, was on the whole
agreeable. He liked his work, had the good spirits of youth, and made
some pleasant friends, one of them the authoress, Mrs. Gaskell. Even as
a boy he was disputatious, and his mother tells of his having overcome a
Consul at Genoa in a political discussion when he was only sixteen,
'simply from being well-informed on the subject, and honest. He is as
true as steel,' she writes, 'and for no one will he bend right or
left... Do not fancy him a Bobadil; he is only a very true, candid boy.
I am so glad he remains in all respects but information a great child.
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