Harper's Round Table, March 3, 1896

In Short

This periodical offers a diverse collection of historical fiction, travel accounts, athletic training guides, and instructional notes compiled for young readers in the late nineteenth century. It captures the imagination through accounts of American independence, daring boyhood escapades, and modern conveniences like European rail travel. The collection has endured by preserving a vivid snapshot of Victorian youth culture, blending practical knowledge with entertaining narratives that reflect the values, curiosities, and pastimes of its era.

The Story

The volume opens with young Jack Leverett in Machias attempting to evade the probing questions of a British naval captain regarding his father's loyalties. Jack slips away, joining a dramatic maritime pursuit as American patriots on the sloop Priscilla chase and engage the British warship Margaretta.

The narrative voice shifts across various contributions, moving from historical skirmishes to contemporary travel. A young narrator describes a swift, bumpy carriage ride through London packed tightly inside a four-wheeler with family and luggage piled high on the roof. Another tale recounts a comical boyhood misadventure where two lads fund a voyage to New York with sixty-four cents, only to capsize their small fishing skiff.

The historical thread returns during the American Revolution, following William Frothingham, an English officer who finds himself torn between his duty to the King and sympathy for colonial victims of Hessian aggression. After accidentally offering a brilliant tactical plan to American militia leaders, William leads them to victory and voluntarily surrenders as a prisoner of war.

Later chapters chronicle modern enterprise, detailing the massive engineering undertakings required to build a sprawling riverside boulevard in New York through extensive dredging, blasting, and coffer-dam construction. Alongside these accounts, urban adventures unfold, such as Alaric's unfortunate encounter with an aggressive ship captain and a shattered bottle of eau-de-Cologne that clears a ship's cabin with its potent fumes.

The book concludes with structured guides on athletic training for long-distance runs, detailed explanations of meteorological instruments like the whirling psychrometer, and comprehensive Q&A columns addressing stamp collecting, amateur journalism, and battery construction.

How It Unfolds

• The inquiring captain — Jack Leverett sits opposite a British naval officer who attempts to uncover American sympathies in the harbor of Machias. Jack deftly conceals his true errand while listening to sailors sing traditional work shanties across the water.
• The river pursuit — The American sloop Priscilla gives chase to a British cruiser, exchanging defiant shouts and tactical maneuvers on the water. Jerry O'Brien takes the wheel and steers the agile vessel straight toward the armed enemy.
• The crowded cab — A family navigates the bustling streets of London inside a tiny four-wheeler laden with an enormous stack of trunks and luggage. The terrifying pace leaves the passengers bracing for the roof to cave in around them.
• The capsized skiff — Two boys finance a modest voyage with sixty-four cents worth of provisions, only to fall asleep and overturn their small fishing boat. The resulting rescue and subsequent adventures lead them into unexpected conflicts.
• The reluctant strategist — William Frothingham listens to accounts of wartime atrocities and inadvertently assists American militia leaders by mapping out a tactical attack. His loyalties dissolve as he finds himself commanding an assault against his own service.
• The cologne disaster — Alaric drops a package in a foul-smelling ship cabin, accidentally shattering a bottle of eau-de-Cologne and driving the furious captain onto the deck. The pungent aroma forces the unfortunate boy to air himself out on the open wharf.
• The boulevard excavations — Engineers spend months preparing precise specifications to blast rocks, dredge mud, and build extensive stone walls for a massive new riverside speedway. Thousands of workmen swarm the shoreline like ants to grade and fill the difficult terrain.
• The athletic schedules — Young runners receive a structured weekly training scheme that balances slow cross-country jogs with timed half-mile and quarter-mile sprints. The routine emphasizes proper rest days and careful preparation ahead of competitive scholastic meets.

The People

• Jack Leverett — A sixteen-year-old American youth with a quiet manner and a fearless eye. He wants to deliver intelligence to his father's sloop without alerting the British commander, and ends up a participant in a daring patriotic naval chase.
• Captain Moore — The commander of his Majesty's ship Margaretta. He wants to determine local loyalties to King George, but finds himself outwitted and outmaneuvered by the clever American townspeople.
• Jerry O'Brien — The master of the sloop Priscilla and a resolute patriot. He wants to uphold American freedom and successfully taunts and battles the British cruiser on the river.
• William Frothingham — An English officer who discovers he never took the formal oath of allegiance to the King. He wants to protect his brother and avoid treason, but ultimately aids the American militia and turns himself in as a prisoner of war.
• Alaric — An ambitious young traveler and crew member. He wants to secure a position aboard a ship, but faces the wrath of a foul-tempered captain and struggles against clumsy mishaps before finding his footing.
• Captain Duff — A fierce, irritable ship captain with strong prejudices and a quick temper. He wants absolute obedience from his crew, shouting down misunderstandings until he is driven from his own cabin by a cloud of spilled cologne.

In Its Own Voice

Haul the bowline, our jolly ship's a-rolling, Haul the bowline, the bowline haul!

Sailors sing this traditional shanty song while warping the sloop Priscilla into its dock.

What are you following us for?

The crew of the British cruiser Margaretta calls out to the pursuing American sloop on the river.

Of all the smells I ever smelled that's the worst!

Captain Duff gasps for air after Alaric accidentally shatters a bottle of eau-de-Cologne in the stuffy cabin.

What It's Really About

The collection explores the competing demands of duty, loyalty, and personal conscience during times of great national and technological change. Through historical fiction, it examines how ordinary individuals—from young messengers to British officers—must choose between institutional allegiance and moral conviction. Alongside these themes of revolution and honor, the book investigates the spirit of enterprise and curiosity, celebrating human ingenuity whether applied to building massive public roadways, training the body for athletic endurance, or mastering practical crafts. It reflects a society on the cusp of modernity, deeply engaged in measuring its physical environment through science, sport, and infrastructure while maintaining a strong reverence for past sacrifices.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic Victorian periodicals, historical adventure stories, and rich period detail will find much to love in these pages. Reading this book feels like stepping into a nineteenth-century parlor, where entertainment and instruction sit side by side, offering a charming window into how youth were educated and amused. Modern readers must navigate nineteenth-century prose styles, archaic idioms, and period-specific attitudes, including the unquestioned romanticism of wartime conflict and historical biases. Yet, the reward is an authentic, unvarnished encounter with the past. The vibrant descriptions of nineteenth-century London travel, the meticulous breakdowns of weather instruments, and the spirited accounts of schoolboy athletics stay with you long after the cover is closed. What enduring impression does this window into nineteenth-century youth culture leave on your view of modern childhood?