Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 363, January, 1846

In Short

This issue of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine delivers a vibrant cross-section of early Victorian literary and political culture. Ranging from an authoritative eulogy for Sir William Follett to first-hand accounts of the Texas Revolution and narrative histories of royal decline, its contents blend high-minded aesthetic analysis with aggressive partisan journalism. The issue captures a nation navigating industrial expansion, political upheaval, and imperial ambition. It endures as a primary window into the era's intellectual class, showing how an influential periodical shaped opinions on the drama, foreign conflicts, and the preservation of conservative traditions against rapid change.

The Story

The narrative arc opens in the solemn halls of Westminster, where the magazine mourns the sudden death of Sir William Follett, late Attorney-General and leading light of the British Bar. His premature passing sets an elegiac mood, contrasting his brilliant legal mind and quiet dignity with the fierce political warfare of the day. From the solemnity of English jurisprudence, the focus shifts to the royal courts of sixteenth-century France, detailing the final hours of Charles IX's reign. Amid lingering religious hatreds and sinister intrigues, the dying king commends his people and his young wife to Henry of Navarre while warning him against the machinations of the Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici.

The scene then transitions sharply across the Atlantic to the rugged plains of North America for a memoir of the Texas Campaign. The narrator records the loose discipline and lighthearted bravery of the "Texian" volunteers, specifically the Greys, as they trade artillery fire with Mexican forces around the Alamo. Scenes of casual camaraderie turn harrowing during a disastrous retreat: surrounded and stripped of their rifles, the captive volunteers witness the desperate explosion of their own powder magazine, set off by a dying comrade to deny ammunition to their captors.

Returning to European culture, the issue transitions into deep critical inquiries. A sweeping essay traces the decline of British drama since Shakespeare, contrasting modern theatrical failings with the intense, economical passion of the ancient Greek tragedians and the fiery, uninhibited works of Alfieri. Light fiction follows with an Oxford collegiate vignette, where young men scheme to outwit a boorish companion over horses and tandems, alongside a installment of "The Student of Salamanca," in which Carlist officer Don Baltasar searches for his captured political rival, Luis Herrera, amidst the brutal guerrilla warfare of Northern Spain.

After brief descriptive sketches of Sicilian landscapes and an essay advocating for historically rooted, vibrant national uniforms for British regiments, the issue culminates in an urgent political commentary. Confronting the mid-1840s government crisis, the editors fiercely rally conservative readers against Whig influence, urging unity and firm adherence to traditional principles to safely guide the nation through its immediate political perils.

How It Unfolds

A light extinguished The issue opens with a solemn tribute to Sir William Follett, recounting his rise to the peak of the legal profession. His sudden death leaves his colleagues in deep mourning as they recall his brilliant court maneuvers and modest character.

The shadow of Catherine The narrative turns to the deathbed of Charles IX in the Louvre, where the king confesses his fears to Henry of Navarre. Surrounded by court intrigue, Charles warns his ally against his own treacherous mother before expiring.

Cannonade at the Alamo A British volunteer describes the wild, undisciplined life of the Texan Greys during their campaign against Mexican forces. Under heavy artillery fire, the soldiers duck behind trees and joke as cannonballs tear through the branches above.

Tragedy across the ages An extensive literary essay contrasts the fallen state of modern English drama with the concentrated power of Greek tragedy and the raw passion of Alfieri. It argues that true dramatic genius relies on simplicity and emotional truth rather than theatrical spectacle.

Escape to Salvatierra In the mountains of Spain, a gipsy guide leads two fugitives safely through enemy lines after a nocturnal escape under fire. They arrive at sunrise before the fortified Christino town of Salvatierra.

The gathering storm The issue concludes with an urgent political editorial addressing the impending fall of the cabinet. Readers are urged to remain steadfast in Conservative principles to navigate the ongoing political crisis.

The People

• Sir William Follett: The late Attorney-General and undisputed leader of the British Bar. Brilliant, precise, and modest, he achieved the pinnacle of his profession before dying prematurely in his forty-seventh year, leaving behind an unfillable void in Westminster.
• Charles IX: The dying King of France, consumed by illness, remorse, and suspicion. In his final hours, he turns away from his own family to trust Henry of Navarre, whom he views as the only person who genuinely loved him.
• Captain Landry: A treacherous officer whose fanatical cruelty is wrapped in perfidious hypocrisy. He uses religious zeal and past atrocities to manipulate an old woman into betraying a hidden victim.
• Thomas Camp: A cheerful, easygoing volunteer among the Texan Greys who faces deadly artillery bombardments with humorous stoicism.
• Count Villabuena: A troubled Carlist noble torn between his political loyalty to the pretender's cause and his personal interest in the life of his daughter's former suitor, now a captive enemy officer.
• Granuka: An extraordinarily clever military camp dog trained by soldiers to react to political slogans and steal cooked meats from under the cook's nose.

In Its Own Voice

"The tones of his low mellow voice were echoing sadly in the ears, his dignified and graceful figure and gesture were present to the eyes, of the bench and bar."

The essayist captures the immediate, haunting grief felt throughout Westminster Hall following the sudden death of Sir William Follett.

"There never was a greater mistake. If it is characterized by any peculiarity more than another, it is the brevity and condensation of the language, the energy of the expressions, and the force with which the most vehement passions, and strongest emotions of the heart are conveyed in the simplest words."

The critic dismantles common misconceptions regarding the grand scale and language of ancient Greek tragedy.

"The whole affair seemed like a party of pleasure, and every telling shot was hailed with shouts of applause."

A volunteer describes the strangely casual, almost jaunty attitude of the soldiers exchanging cannon fire during the Texas campaign.

What It's Really About

This issue is an investigation into authority, legacy, and national identity during an era of global realignment. Beneath its disparate topics—from French dynastic intrigue to Texan frontier warfare—lies a persistent concern with leadership and duty. The texts constantly ask what sustains a nation or a culture when its core institutions are threatened by death, war, or political fraction. By placing ancient aesthetic discipline alongside modern political commentary, the issue argues that stability and greatness depend on honoring traditional principles while fearlessly adapting to the demands of a chaotic world.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers who enjoy nineteenth-century intellectual history, political essays, and vivid period storytelling. Reading it offers the immersive sensation of opening a morning paper in 1846, offering an unvarnished look at how Victorian readers processed world events, classical art, and political drama in real time.

The prose is characteristically Victorian—rich, unhurried, and occasionally dense with Latin phrases, legal terminology, and literary references. Modern readers may find the unabashedly partisan Tory bias and period assumptions regarding national identity challenging, but these elements provide invaluable historical context. The reward lies in its surprising variety: one moment you are reading a tense escape through the mountain passes of the Carlist War, and the next you are exploring the dramatic theories of Alfieri or listening to artillery chatter across the Texas prairie. It remains an engrossing portrait of a confident culture wrestling with its past and future.