Harper's Round Table, October 20, 1896

In Short

This volume is a digitized archive of a late-Victorian children’s magazine, serving as a diverse miscellany of its time. It contains serialized fairy tales, historical narratives—including biographical accounts of a young George Washington—and instructional columns on hobbies like photography and sports. By preserving the editorial voice and cultural values of 1896, the text acts as a time capsule, capturing the period’s earnest obsession with moral character, amateur self-improvement, and the transition from traditional storytelling to modern, hobby-focused youth engagement.

The Story

The narrative content of this periodical is defined by its variety, moving between allegorical fiction and historical grounding. The fairy tale sections center on Princess Gyldea, a listless royal who finds her palace life suffocating. Disenchanted by her artificial garden, she peeks through a hedge to find a man digging potatoes. This encounter sparks a desire to abandon her status; she seeks out the White Witch of the Waterfall, trading away her royal comfort for a plain dress to experience the reality of labor. The tale concludes with a transformation that reunites the Princess with a disguised King Marigold, teaching both the value of humility and the capacity for genuine laughter.

Parallel to this fantasy is the historical account of a young, ambitious George Washington. The narrative follows him as a colonial officer tasked with building a fort, only to be confronted by the harsh realities of frontier warfare and the French presence in the Ohio Valley. These segments focus on his early leadership, his cool resolve during the bloody skirmishes of the French and Indian War, and his eventual defiance of an unjust Governor. The prose paints him as a "young game-cock," a man whose sense of honor is already fully formed.

In a domestic setting, the stories shift to the tensions within the Old Herrick House. Here, Elizabeth, a young girl living under the strict, joyless authority of her aunts, struggles for autonomy and connection. The mystery of a locked door—belonging to a banished aunt who chose a nursing career over a "brilliant marriage"—reflects the broader conflict between rigid social expectations and the desire for personal agency. The arrival of Elizabeth’s father brings a resolution to her isolation, promising a new home and the freedom to pursue her interests, such as drawing.

The collection is rounded out by travelogues of the American West, where explorers encounter grizzly miners and gold coaches in the gulches of Deadwood, and by instructional guides on mounting glass-plate photos or the history of colonial flags. The entire work is punctuated by "The Graduate," a section for coin and stamp collectors, and a series of "bits" that reveal the wit and occasional sharp humor of the period, bridging the gap between the high-minded moral lessons and the everyday, "comfortable" life of the Victorian child.

How It Unfolds

The Garden and the Hedge The Princess, bored by her curated existence, rejects her beautiful garden to seek the reality of the outside world. She encounters a laborer whose bluntness about his work causes her to question her own insulated life.

The Witch’s Price Seeking to shed her identity, the Princess trades her royal comfort for a common dress. She learns that true change requires a sacrifice of her own "very own" traits rather than just her material wealth.

The Wilderness Campaign The narrative shifts to the Ohio Valley, where Washington navigates the perils of colonial defense. He faces overwhelming odds and the heartbreak of losing men, yet maintains a stoic, commanding presence.

The Domestic Conflict The story of the Herrick household details the stifling environment imposed by stern guardians. Elizabeth’s longing for understanding and creative expression eventually finds support through the return of her father.

The Western Trail Travelers venturing into the Dakota Territory document the rough, untamed nature of the frontier. They face the constant threat of theft and the bleak reality of lonesome, deserted outposts.

The Lessons of Industry The volume concludes with technical advice for amateurs and reflections on the nature of greatness. It emphasizes that success—whether in writing, sports, or collecting—is the result of persistent, life-long preparation.

The People

Princess Gyldea begins as a shallow, listless royal, but her desire for an "old dress" signals a deeper need for purpose. Her eventual union with King Marigold allows her to move beyond courtly boredom toward a life of maturity and genuine mirth.

George Washington appears as a precocious, determined young leader. His conflict with the Governor over a commission highlights his rigid, burgeoning sense of self-respect, establishing him as a character defined by duty and personal honor.

Elizabeth Herrick is a vulnerable, imaginative girl caught between her oppressive, joyless aunts and her secret passion for art. She represents the quiet struggle for self-expression in a home where children are expected to be seen but not heard.

Miss Herrick acts as the primary antagonist of the domestic sphere. Her rigid adherence to tradition and her suppression of Elizabeth’s curiosity serve as the obstacle the girl must overcome to find her happiness.

King Marigold, though initially seen as a mere laborer, is a catalyst for transformation. He serves as a mirror to the Princess, possessing the wisdom and experience to teach her how to navigate both the garden and the world beyond it.

In Its Own Voice

Princess Gyldea finds her garden, despite its beauty, to be entirely hollow and unsatisfying.

"I," said a particularly ugly shrub with a foreign accent, "am unique. I am surprised that you should pass me over."

When the Princess begs for a change in her status, the White Witch of the Waterfall warns her that such a transformation is a heavy exchange.

"I must have either your beauty or your strength or your happiness," said the White Witch, with a smile. "That is my price for an old dress."

Reflecting on his life of hard work, the author George Du Maurier offers a perspective on the nature of sudden fame.

His answer was that he had been preparing for it all his life, so that, after all, there is much truth of a certain kind in the statement that a great name must be begun early.

What It's Really About

The central thread is the pursuit of authenticity in a world of rigid labels. Whether it is a Princess seeking to trade her crown for the dignity of labor, a young Washington asserting his worth against a condescending Governor, or Elizabeth Herrick struggling to define herself against her aunts' cold expectations, the book consistently argues for the necessity of self-determination. It suggests that true life—the kind that involves both "labor and laughter"—cannot be found in ornamental gardens or inherited status. Instead, it is earned through "infinite pains," the development of character, and the courage to look past the "prickly hedge" of societal convention to see the reality on the other side.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy historical miscellanies or are interested in the Victorian pedagogical style will find this volume deeply engaging. It provides a rare, unvarnished look at what young people were reading at the end of the nineteenth century: a mixture of high-minded patriotism, romanticized hardship, and the very beginnings of the modern hobbyist culture.

The experience of reading it is similar to browsing through an attic filled with artifacts; the shifts between a fairy tale about a princess and a technical column on using "spoiled plates" for picture mounts feel jarring to the modern mind, yet they reflect the broad, curious, and often moralizing education of the day. One must be prepared for the period-typical attitudes regarding gender, class, and the "uncivilized" nature of the frontier, which surface in the dialogue and the descriptions of the American West. Despite its age, the book captures the universal "comfortable" feeling of childhood, and the persistent, quiet hope of those who—like young Elizabeth—long for a world that recognizes their individual worth. It is a book that asks the reader to appreciate the value of persistent industry, a theme that resonates just as strongly now as it did in 1896.