Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 365, March, 1846

In Short

This volume of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine serves as a vibrant, multifaceted snapshot of 1846. It is a miscellany of its time, encompassing classical translations, serialized fiction, travelogues, and urgent essays on political economy. Through its mix of cultural refinement and fierce debates over free trade, the magazine reveals the anxieties and aspirations of the British public during a period of transition. It remains a valuable record of how readers of the era reconciled traditional values with the rapid, often unsettling shifts of the Industrial Age.

The Story

The magazine begins with a classical bridge between eras, presenting the final book of Homer’s Iliad in English hexameters. This effort to naturalize ancient Greek rhythm into the English tongue reflects the Victorian preoccupation with bringing the heroism of the past into the living language of the present. From this epic foundation, the volume pivots to the immediate realities of contemporary fiction and reportage. The serialized Student of Salamanca and the tale It’s All for the Best weave narratives of personal trial—fever, imprisonment, and financial ruin—where characters must navigate the treacherous waters of Spanish politics or the crushing weight of debt.

The narrative arc of the volume is defined by its restlessness. Whether it is a character like Paco, the devoted muleteer trekking across the Pyrenees to secure the release of his master's daughter, or the observations of a traveler describing the geological history and mineral springs of Vichy, the text is constantly moving. The stories often hinge on the tension between the individual’s moral duty and the indifferent or hostile forces of the state. In the Pyrenees, a smuggling legend underscores the danger of the landscape, while the account of Mr. Brooke in Borneo introduces the reader to the exoticized, distant frontiers of the British Empire, where the customs of local tribes—such as headhunting—confront the visitor with the visceral brutality of societies outside the reach of European governance.

As the magazine nears its conclusion, the focus shifts from individual adventure to the broad, systemic currents of history and politics. A study of the Roman Campagna frames the desertion of the Italian countryside as a cautionary tale about the abandonment of domestic industry. This historical inquiry bleeds directly into the magazine’s final, pointed commentary on "Ministerial Measures." Here, the arc finds its resolution in a vehement defense of protectionism. The editors argue that the political shift toward free trade is a "palpable absurdity" that threatens to hollow out the nation, much as the Roman reliance on foreign grain turned a thriving plain into a desolate waste. The volume concludes not with a finality of plot, but with a call to defend national independence against the "delusion" of modern economic experiments, leaving the reader with a clear sense of the magazine’s own staunchly conservative mission.

How It Unfolds

The Homeric standard The volume opens by reinterpreting the Iliad, testing whether the ancient hexameter can find a home in English verse. It honors previous attempts by literary figures while offering its own translation of Priam’s desperate appeal to Achilles.

The trials of the individual The mid-section tracks the plight of characters caught in political and financial webs, such as Rita’s confinement in a convent or Lord Downy’s humiliation at the hands of a creditor. These stories emphasize personal loyalty and the struggle to maintain dignity in the face of institutional cruelty.

The traveler's gaze The narrative moves across the continent, detailing the geological and social oddities of Vichy and the rugged, perilous beauty of the Pyrenees. These segments provide a reprieve from the domestic dramas by examining the intersection of nature, local custom, and foreign travel.

The empire and the state Reports from Borneo contrast the civilizing mission of Mr. Brooke with the primal customs of the Dyaks, grounding the magazine’s worldview in global expansion. This culminates in an analysis of Rome’s decline, which serves as a grim metaphor for the potential consequences of British economic policy.

The final argument The magazine concludes by attacking contemporary parliamentary debates over the corn laws. It frames the debate as a life-or-death struggle for the nation’s independence, urging a rejection of foreign dependency in favor of protecting home-grown resources.

The People

The volume is populated by figures who embody the era's conflicting pressures. Rita, the daughter of a deceased father, occupies the center of the narrative, using her wealth and wits to navigate the control exerted by Don Baltasar, a man who attempts to force her hand in marriage. She finds an unlikely ally in Paco, a humble muleteer whose unwavering sense of duty leads him to traverse dangerous terrain and risk his life to deliver a letter to a general, proving that loyalty often resides in the most unexpected corners of society.

In contrast, Lord Downy represents the fading, precarious nobility, suffering under the callous demands of Mr. Ireton, an opportunistic creditor who relishes the power shift that puts a peer at his mercy. Their interaction is a sharp study of class resentment and the crushing weight of insolvency. Meanwhile, the figures of Mr. Brooke and his encounters with the Dyak people reflect the Victorian fascination with the "other," as Brooke navigates the complexities of headhunting customs and the potential for colonial enterprise. Finally, the magazine presents its own voice—that of the editor—who acts as a stern, traditionalist interlocutor, interpreting the state of the nation and warning against the folly of contemporary politicians who ignore the lessons of history.

In Its Own Voice

"Great is my terror of him; and in aught to defraud him of treasure, Far from my breast be the thought, lest hereafter he visit with vengeance."

(Hermes speaks to Priam, explaining the danger of approaching Achilles in the translation of the Iliad.)

"The low and abject mind holds its jubilee when it fancies that it reduces superiority to its own level, and can trample upon it for an hour without fear of rebuke or opposition."

(The magazine describes the predatory attitude of a creditor toward a nobleman.)

"The cry for cheap bread in a popular state, is as menacing as it was to the emperors or popes of Rome."

(The author warns that the modern demand for free trade echoes the historical failures of ancient Roman economic policy.)

What It's Really About

This volume is fundamentally concerned with the fragility of order—whether that order is maintained by the ancient codes of heroes, the protective tariffs of a nation, or the social ranks of Victorian society. It asks whether progress, when untethered from tradition and domestic stability, is actually a form of decay. The contributors grapple with the fear that by opening borders to foreign grain or by abandoning the protection of native industry, the country is inviting a "desolate" future, much like the ruined landscape of the Roman Campagna. It is a work about the necessity of duty and the danger of succumbing to the "delusions" of market-driven change at the expense of national self-reliance.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy a deep dive into the nineteenth-century mindset will find this volume particularly rewarding. It provides an unfiltered window into the Victorian era’s prose style—often dense, flowery, and highly opinionated—and its preoccupations. It is not an easy read; the prose is deliberately intellectual, and the magazine assumes its audience is well-versed in classical mythology, European geography, and the parliamentary debates of the time. You will encounter attitudes toward empire and social class that are distinctly of the 1840s, offering a genuine sense of the period's cultural climate rather than a sanitized modern interpretation.

The experience of reading it feels like stepping into a nineteenth-century study, where the air is heavy with the scent of paper and the urgency of political disagreement. It is a demanding, rigorous volume that rewards those interested in the history of ideas. If you are looking to understand how the British public processed the transition toward a globalized, industrial economy—and the profound anxiety that transition created—this collection remains a singular, vivid testimony. You will leave it with a clearer understanding of the "protectionist" mind and the enduring, if controversial, tradition of British conservative thought.