Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 385. November, 1847

In Short

This issue of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine gathers political essays, travel narratives, literary criticism, fiction, poetry, and social commentary into a single mid-Victorian snapshot. Readers encounter arguments for strategic outposts in the East Indies, discussions surrounding American copyright laws, a harrowing narrative of survival in the Canadian snows, aesthetic debates over European art, and urgent proposals regarding Scottish Highland famine relief. Through these varied voices, the publication captures the era's intellectual energy and geopolitical anxieties, persisting as a vivid testament to how nineteenth-century thinkers framed national identity, colonial duty, and moral obligation toward the destitute.

The Story

The volume opens with a forward-looking geopolitical assessment of navigation and empire in the Antipodes. The text champions British maritime exploration, tracing its origins to the philanthropic voyages of Captain Cook and the ventures of James Bruce in Africa. It quickly turns its focus to the Indian Archipelago and Torres Strait, advocating for a permanent military and trade post at Cape York to secure shipping routes, assist shipwrecked crews, and anchor future commerce across China and Australia.

Transitioning to international law and culture, the magazine presents an insider’s critique of American copyright practice. The author laments how party politics and demagoguery in the United States routinely subvert the noble intent of its constitution, sidelining the rights of British authors and reducing serious intellectual property disputes to mere populist rallying cries during territorial conflicts.

Following these political treatises, the issue shifts to imaginative narrative with "Evenings at Sea," introducing a retired army officer who reflects on his past service. He recounts the tragic history of Ensign Henry Meynell. Meynell falls into severe financial ruin through reckless gambling, compounding his troubles by falling into the clutches of a vengeful money-lender whom he had previously exposed as a cheat. Eager to clear his debts through a wealthy marriage to Kate Waring, Meynell finds his prospects shattered when her family's fortune collapses. Seeking a fresh start in the icy wilderness of North America, Meynell embarks on a desperate expedition with a native guide, Ta-ou-renche, and an Indigenous woman, Atàwa. Starvation drives Ta-ou-renche into a murderous frenzy; Atàwa heroically intervenes to save Meynell, leading to a brutal struggle in which the guide perishes in their campfire. Meynell survives the ordeal, forever changed by the wilderness encounter.

The issue then turns to visual art, offering a stern critique of Peter Paul Rubens. The writer questions Rubens's reputation as a true colorist, arguing that his works, such as the Rape of the Sabines, prioritize chaotic sensory glare over emotional depth and moral harmony. This is followed by a review of American literary criticism, examining the tension between historical accuracy and creative imagination.

A lighthearted tale of courting in Ireland, titled "Units: Tens: Hundreds: Thousands," injects comedy into the collection. The protagonist navigates phrenological warnings and family cautions, only to be tossed from a gig when his fiery horse, Units, bolts—an accident that unexpectedly leads to his recovery and marriage to Alice.

The narrative sweep broadens again with a review of Ludwig Leichhardt’s perilous Australian overland expedition, detailing how starving explorers developed an obsessive craving for fat to survive the bush. Reflective poetry on a dreary November morning and descriptive visits to Rome’s grand villas provide artistic pauses before the magazine closes on a grave political note: an analysis of Dr. W. P. Alison’s proposals for Highland destitution, debating whether able-bodied Poor Laws and land reforms can save Scotland's crofters from recurring famine.

How It Unfolds

Imperium in the Southern Seas The issue opens by tracing British exploration from Captain Cook to African ventures, arguing that commercial and strategic interests now demand a military and trading outpost at Cape York to dominate the trade routes of the Indian Archipelago.

The Fractured Republic An essay on American copyright details how congressional grandstanding over territorial disputes pushes the rights of international authors into the background, exposing the flaws of American party politics.

The Descent of Henry Meynell In the issue's main fiction, a young officer squanders his fortune, falls prey to a predatory loan shark he once disgraced, and sees his planned marriage ruined by sudden financial disaster.

Ordeal in the Northern Snows Meynell escapes to North America, where a wilderness trek turns horrific as his starving guide succumbs to madness; after a desperate struggle saved by the woman Atàwa, Meynell survives while his attacker dies in the campfire flames.

Re-evaluating the Masters A critical essay examines Rubens's painting technique, contending that striking visual spectacles like the Rape of the Sabines lack proper emotional harmony and degenerate into vulgarity.

The Comedy of Errors and Accidents A humorous romantic sketch follows a young man's misadventures in Ireland, where a runaway horse named Units causes a gig crash that ultimately brings about his marriage.

Survival in the Unmapped Bush A review of Australian exploration recounts the extreme physical hardships of bush travel, detailing how starving men come to crave raw fat as they push through ant-hills and scrubland.

Twilight in the Eternal City A descriptive travelogue captures the fading light over Rome’s Quirinal Mount, contemplating the grand colossal statues and ancient landmarks as night falls.

The Economics of Hunger The volume concludes with a serious study of the Scottish Highland potato famine, weighing Dr. Alison’s calls for expanded poor relief against Malthusian population theories and agricultural land reform.

The People

• James Bruce: An intrepid Scottish explorer who abandoned a legal career to track the source of the Nile, serving as an emblem of British heroic enterprise despite misidentifying the river's main branch.
• Henry Wardlaw Meynell: A naive young army ensign whose reckless gambling habits lead him into oppressive debt, a canceled marriage, and a brutal struggle for life in the North American winter.
• The Usurer: A secretive money-lender bearing distinctive hand scars, who hides his true identity to entrap Meynell in revenge for a past mess-room humiliation.
• Atàwa: A courageous Indigenous woman who accompanies Meynell through the snowbound wilderness, selflessly throwing herself between him and an axe-wielding attacker.
• Ta-ou-renche: An Indigenous guide driven mad by extreme starvation during a winter trek, whose violent breakdown leads to his tragic death in the camp's fire.
• The Narrator of "Units": A reckless young lawyer whose poor caution and lack of "Constructiveness" lead him into a chaotic gig crash that surprisingly secures his romantic future.
• Dr. W. P. Alison: A prominent Scottish physician and social reformer whose pamphlet on the 1846–47 famine advocates extending able-bodied poor relief to prevent widespread starvation in the Highlands.

In Its Own Voice

"The philosopher might have finished his earthly career in the retaliatory jaws of the lord of the jungle."

A wry commentary on the real dangers facing British naturalists and travel writers exploring the tiger-infested wilderness of Java.

"The generous girl, unable to restrain the maniac's force, threw herself in the way, and fell stricken senseless on the snow."

The dramatic climax of Henry Meynell's journey, describing Atàwa's selfless intervention during a middle-of-the-night attack in the frozen woods.

"Inasmuch as it is a picture of glare, and fluster, and confusion, it may be said to represent the subject; but such ought not to be the sentiment of it."

*An uncompromising appraisal of Rubens's Rape of the Sabines, illustrating the reviewer's belief that technical brilliance should never excuse a lack of moral artistic repose.*

What It's Really About

Beneath its varied contents, this issue wrestles with the duties of imperial expansion and the ethical obligations of a modern society. The text continually contrasts high national ambition—such as mapping foreign seas, regulating international trade, and mastering fine arts—with the raw, uncivilized forces that threaten to dismantle human order. Whether detailing a soldier driven to the edge of survival by starvation in the snow, an explorer avoiding tigers in Java, or crofters facing famine in the Highlands, the writers ponder how civilization maintains its moral compass. The issue asks how a nation can balance free-market progress and colonial ambition with genuine compassion for the destitute, insisting that true power requires both intellectual foresight and social responsibility.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals directly to readers fascinated by Victorian history, literary culture, and early empire writing. Reading an authentic 1847 periodical offers an unvarnished window into how mid-nineteenth-century intellectuals processed their changing world in real time, long before historical hindsight flattened their debates. The prose ranges from sharp political rhetoric and elegant travelogues to high-stakes adventure fiction, showing off the dynamic versatility of Victorian journalism.

The collection does present certain reading hurdles. Victorian sentence structures are dense and formal, filled with period-specific allusions, unstandardized French phrases, and lengthy block quotations. Readers must also navigate dated imperial perspectives and patronizing portrayals of indigenous populations and lower classes, which reflect the standard prejudices of the 1840s British establishment.

Yet, for those willing to engage with its historical style, the magazine delivers an immersive experience. The stark juxtaposition of romantic wilderness survival, sharp art criticism, and tragic reports on Highland poverty creates a memorable mosaic of an empire at its peak, driven by boundless curiosity and haunted by social unrest.