St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, September 1878, No. 11

In Short

This September 1878 issue of a classic American children’s periodical gathers a rich collection of illustrated stories, poems, educational essays, and letters. Within its pages, a boy’s magic ax builds a kingdom, children put on theatricals and navigate muddy marshes, a newly hatched butterfly observes its world from a glass enclosure, and a young traveler writes home from India. Combining playful fiction with real-world observation, the issue endures as a vivid snapshot of Victorian childhood values, curiosity, and literary craftsmanship.

The Story

The issue opens with gentle verses like "Fern-Seed," where little Nell sprinkles her shoes with magical seeds in a naive quest to become invisible, only to learn that her mother’s affectionate gaze sees right through her whimsy. Narrative storytelling quickly takes center stage through a variety of engaging tales. In a fairy tale of industrious magic, a humble wood-chopper named Ranier receives a enchanted ax from the fairy Rougevert. With a simple spoken command, the ax fells and trims hundreds of trees instantly. Ranier’s sudden efficiency earns him the favor of Lord Woodmount and King Dagobert, elevating him to nobility as Lord Treefell. However, court intrigue soon threatens his rise. Envious rivals scheme to ruin him by encouraging him to ask for the hand of Princess Isauré, prompting the king to demand an seemingly impossible trial: building a forty-cubit castle in a single night.

Shifting to contemporary domestic life, the issue follows the lively exploits of neighborhood children engaged in creative play and sudden mishaps. The village youth stage an enthusiastic performance of "Blue-beard" and a series of dramatic tableaux, starring a pet dog named Sancho wrapped in a gray wolf-skin. Simple pleasures turn to dramatic rescues when young Sam attempts to shortcut through the treacherous "Cowslip Marsh," only to sink rapidly into the deep, dark mud. Terrified by thoughts of water-snakes and lost cattle, Sam howls until his peer, Ben, arrives to haul him out. Meanwhile, the older youth navigate their own transitions as news spreads that Miss Celia and Thorny have gone off to be married, planning to return and settle in the village permanently.

Interwoven with human drama are direct observations of the natural world and far-off lands. In a charmingly written natural history segment, a newly emerged butterfly narrates its first day of life inside a glass enclosure, watching caterpillars transform into chrysalises beside it. An instructional piece on flight demystifies how birds adjust their internal air-chambers to navigate high altitudes. Elsewhere, a young boy named Charley returns home to his forgiving grandmother and aunts, having abandoned his foolish dreams of running away to become a pirate after encountering real brutality abroad. Finally, foreign correspondence broadens the reader's horizon, as a letter from Sitapur, India, details daily village life, street squabbles between monkeys and crows, and native schoolroom customs. The volume concludes with interactive word puzzles, syncopations, and a long roll call of young readers who successfully submitted answers to the previous month's challenges.

How It Unfolds

Fairy spells and forest labor Little Nell dances through the woods believing fern-seed renders her unseen, while elsewhere in the forest, the wood-cutter Ranier receives a magic ax from the fairy Rougevert that effortlessly fells timber at his verbal command.

Courtly ambition and envious plots Ranier’s sudden wealth earns him the title of Lord Treefell, drawing the bitter envy of court rivals like Dyvorer, who trick the frank young baron into asking King Dagobert for the hand of Princess Isauré.

Village plays and mudhole rescues Local children gather to applaud home-brewed theatricals starring Sancho the dog in a wolf-skin, while outside, young Sam gets stuck waist-deep in the hazardous mud of Cowslip Marsh until Ben hears his desperate calls.

Lessons from nature and distant shores A newly hatched butterfly reflects on its life inside a glass cage, an essay breaks down the mechanics of avian flight, and a letter from Sitapur describes monkey battles and Indian schoolrooms, closing the issue with brain-teasing puzzles.

The People

• Ranier (Lord Treefell): An unsophisticated, hard-working wood-cutter whose possession of a magic ax earns him wealth and a noble title; his naive, trusting nature makes him vulnerable to court intrigue when he falls in love with Princess Isauré.
• Dyvorer: A cunning courtier driven by intense envy who uses his sister's position to manipulate Ranier into making a dangerous request of the king.
• Sam: An overly confident village boy whose clumsy shortcut through Cowslip Marsh leaves him stuck in sinking mud, forcing him to swallow his pride when saved by his peer.
• Nell: A playful, imaginative little girl who tests a folklore myth about invisible fern-seed, learning a sweet lesson about her mother's attentive love.
• Charley: A chastened farm boy who runs away to sea with romanticized notions of piracy, only to return home thoroughly cured of his rebellion after witnessing the harsh realities of the world.

In Its Own Voice

"I never will believe again / What fairy stories tell!"

After dancing through the woods in complete confidence that her shoes full of fern-seed have made her invisible, little Nell realizes her mother sees her clearly and tosses the useless powder into the air with a disappointed murmur.

"Ax! ax! chop! chop! and work for my profit!"

Standing in the forest before a hundred standing trees, Ranier utters the magic phrase taught to him by the fairy Rougevert, unleashing the magic tool to fell and stack the timber in mere moments.

"Come on! I'm in the ma'sh. Lend a hand and get me out!"

Trapped up to his waist in the treacherous mud of Cowslip Marsh and terrified of water-snakes, young Sam hoots and howls until a passing deliverer hears him from the lane.

What It's Really About

At its core, the issue explores the boundary between childish fancy and practical reality. Whether through Nell’s disillusionment with fairy stories, Charley’s realization that real pirates are terrifying rather than romantic, or Sam’s sudden lesson on the physical dangers of a muddy marsh, the text repeatedly cautions against unthinking foolishness. Yet it does so without dampening youthful energy. The issue celebrates constructive ambition, innocent play, and keen observation. It argues that true growth comes from engaging directly with the world—whether that means mastering a honest trade, observing the biology of a butterfly, or learning to appreciate the safety and warmth of home after an ill-advised venture into the unknown.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers will find this periodical a captivating window into late-nineteenth-century American cultural life. Far from being a dry relic, the collection sparkles with diverse narrative forms—ranging from high fairy-tale romance to sharp domestic comedy and early science communication. It reads like a vibrant mosaic of its era's domestic values, capturing how children played, built theatrical props out of wolf-skin rugs, and imagined foreign lands.

The reading experience requires a slight adjustment to period conventions. Readers should expect dialect spellings, moralizing framing, and vintage terminology like "groat" or "mutch." Some serialized segments start mid-narrative, requiring a willingness to jump into ongoing storylines. However, these minor hurdles are easily offset by the volume’s warmth, literary craft, and enduring respect for a child’s natural curiosity. Anyone interested in historic children's literature, Victorian social history, or simply charming, varied storytelling will thoroughly enjoy turning these pages.