Lippincott's Magazine, September, 1885

In Short

This periodical functions as a curated collection of Victorian-era voices, featuring serialized fiction, travel writing, and critical essays. It captures the shifting boundaries of the era—from the lingering aristocratic pride of post-bellum Virginia to the global wanderings of British tourists and the quiet, industrious lives of rural farmers. By providing a diverse range of perspectives, the magazine acts as a cultural time capsule, offering readers of any generation a chance to observe how people of the 1880s navigated their local environments and an increasingly interconnected world.

The Story

The magazine weaves together several distinct narratives that reflect the varied interests of the time. The primary threads begin in Virginia, where Sir Robert, an English traveler, visits an ancestral home known as "Heart's Content." He is met with a mix of stiff, antique courtesy and deep suspicion by the Aglonby family, who guard their heritage with a tenacity that highlights the chasm between the Old World and the New. This encounter serves as a microcosm for the era's preoccupation with social status and the preservation of fading traditions.

As the scope shifts, the magazine follows a troupe of travelers—including the irrepressible Mrs. Sykes, Miss Noel, and Mr. Heathcote—across the American West. In Salt Lake City, the group encounters the "Sphinx city," with Mrs. Sykes aggressively collecting souvenirs and gossip, while others react with varying degrees of shock or detached observation. These travels are marked by a sense of colonial wonder and critique, as the visitors measure the strange customs of the American frontier against the familiar comforts of England. The narrative stakes are raised when illness strikes in Cuba, forcing an intimate, sometimes humorous, examination of loyalty, charity, and the rigid social protocols that govern even life-and-death situations.

Parallel to these travels, the magazine explores the "Hoosier Idyl," focusing on the rural, egalitarian life of the American Midwest. Here, the narrative centers on Elvira Hill, a young woman whose existence is defined by the rhythm of the seasons and the close-knit social fabric of farming life. The story describes the communal labor of the wheat harvest—a ritual of hard work and culinary competition—and the quiet, honest milestones of a marriage formed within this humble setting.

Finally, the collection pivots toward the personal and the philosophical. It includes reflections on the evolving role of the domestic dog, which the author argues has been unfairly elevated to a "fetich," and reports on the strange, scientific investigations into "psychic forces" and table-turning. The magazine concludes by documenting the life of a working-class Italian family, whose struggles with injury and poverty are framed by a poignant, quiet dignity. Throughout, these stories and reports are interspersed with literary critiques and reflections on the power of song to rescue the human soul from the monotony of daily life, ultimately portraying a world that is simultaneously expanding in knowledge and clinging to its most cherished, if sometimes outdated, myths.

How It Unfolds

The visitor arrives Sir Robert enters the home of the Aglonby family in Virginia, navigating a delicate dance of hospitality and intense, unspoken distrust. He is an outsider who must prove his worth before the doors of the ante-bellum house truly open to him.

The tour expands The narrative moves to the American West, where a group of English tourists observes the peculiarities of Salt Lake City with a mixture of amusement and disdain. Mrs. Sykes stands out as a caricatured collector of curiosities, while the others maintain a more formal, detached distance from the locals.

The threat of illness A domestic crisis erupts in Cuba when Miss Noel falls ill, prompting a debate over the propriety of hospital care versus private nursing. This segment tests the characters’ resolve and reveals the rigid, often impractical social codes of the time.

Rural rhythm The scene shifts to the Midwest, focusing on the honest, egalitarian labor of an Indiana farm. The narrative celebrates the communal nature of the harvest and the simple, fulfilling life of those rooted in the soil.

The unseen world The magazine pivots to scientific curiosities, specifically the investigation of "psychic force" and moving tables. It examines these phenomena with the earnest, analytical language of the day, reflecting a fascination with the boundary between the physical and the spiritual.

The final reflection The collection closes with a series of personal musings on the nature of balladry and the necessity of song. It serves as a meditative coda, urging the reader to find transcendence in the midst of a structured, often wearying world.

The People

Sir Robert acts as the quintessential observer, an Englishman whose quest for knowledge drives him across continents, though he remains fundamentally tethered to his own cultural expectations. The Aglonby siblings, particularly Miss Aglonby, embody a tragic devotion to the past, their lives defined by the burden of maintaining "Heart's Content" against the relentless encroachment of time and new money.

Mrs. Sykes represents the more superficial, acquisitive side of Victorian travel. Her relentless pursuit of status symbols—even something as morbid as a lock of hair—serves as a foil to the more serious-minded travelers. In contrast, Elvira Hill provides a grounded, stable center to the Midwestern chapters. She is defined by her contentment and her seamless integration into a community where social hierarchies have been traded for a shared, industrious reality.

Luigi and his wife, whose story is told through the lens of their struggle in Italy, represent the resilience of the working class. Their journey from poverty to marriage is marked by a deep, mutual support that stands in stark contrast to the often hollow social posturing of the wealthier characters in the magazine. Each character, whether they are a traveler or a farmhand, is searching for a place to belong, though their definitions of that home vary wildly based on their circumstances and their willingness to let go of the rigid social expectations that surround them.

In Its Own Voice

"An Englishman out of England was a fact to be accounted for, not imprudently accepted without due inquiry."

(This reflection on the nature of foreign travel sets the tone for the encounter between Sir Robert and the protective Aglonby family.)

"I am about to do a very unpopular thing,--namely, to write realistically about the dog and to protest mildly against the extravagant and sentimental way of writing about him which has become so fashionable."

(The author introduces a skeptical, biting critique of the Victorian tendency to treat the common dog as a sacred, near-human companion.)

What It's Really About

The magazine is centrally concerned with the tension between the "old ways" and the "new world." It questions how much of our identity is inherited from heritage and how much is forged through the mundane acts of daily survival. There is a deep, recurring inquiry into the nature of "truth"—whether that truth is found in the rigid hierarchy of a Virginia estate, the strange physical movements of a séance table, or the honest, manual labor of a Midwestern harvest. Underlying every piece is a yearning to define what makes a life meaningful in an age where the traditional structures of the past are beginning to unravel, leaving individuals to find their own sense of purpose, whether through travel, art, or the resilience of the human spirit.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the slow, deliberate pace of nineteenth-century prose will find much to admire here. The magazine offers a fascinating, unfiltered look at the Victorian mind—a mind that was simultaneously scientific, sentimental, and deeply prejudiced. The experience of reading it feels like sifting through an old attic; you will encounter flashes of profound beauty, such as the reflections on the power of Scotch ballads, alongside jarring, period-specific attitudes that may test modern sensibilities.

The prose is precise and often quite witty, though it can be dense, particularly when the authors delve into the complex social etiquette of the era or the pseudo-scientific arguments surrounding psychic phenomena. It is not a book for those seeking a fast-paced plot or modern stylistic brevity; rather, it is for the patient reader who enjoys eavesdropping on a conversation from another century. What stays with you is the humanity of the subjects—the quiet, dignified struggle of the Italian weaver or the simple, hard-won happiness of the Midwestern farmer. It serves as a reminder that while the world changes, the fundamental human desire for connection, stability, and meaning remains remarkably, comfortingly constant.