The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 79, May, 1864: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

In Short

This issue of The Atlantic Monthly presents a rich mosaic of American and global culture during the turbulent final years of the American Civil War. Gathering essays, fiction, biographical sketches, and cultural commentary, the volume spans a wide geographic and intellectual terrain—from a steamboat voyage across Lake Ladoga in northern Europe to the gold fields of Nova Scotia, and from wartime accounts of freedmen on Southern plantations to technical breakdowns of mechanical printing innovations. It has endured as an illuminating historical window into the mid-nineteenth-century mind, capturing a nation engaged in self-definition, technological ambition, and deep aesthetic reflection.

The Story

The volume opens with a travel narrative set in northern Europe, where the narrator and his companions board the steamboat Valamo for an expedition across Lake Ladoga. Sailing past ancient pine forests, rocky terraces, and blossoming apple orchards, the travelers land at the monastic sanctuary of Valaam. Here, amid rich chimes and peaceful waters, wild creatures roam without fear under the protective rules of the monks. The excursion continues into hidden channels, where pristine inner lakes showcase a serene harmony between humanity and nature, offering a meditative retreat from the world's tumult.

From European solitudes, the text shifts to the rustic realm of agricultural history, tracing how practical wisdom evolved from traditional weather proverbs and couplets into systematic scientific husbandry. This historical lens widens to examine political conflict during the late seventeenth century, detailing Governor Sir Edmund Andros's troubled expedition into Maine against Native American tribes. Marked by harsh winter conditions, spreading sickness, and administrative missteps, Andros's campaign fuels intense public suspicion back in Boston. Whispers of treachery and alleged conspiracies to surrender New England to French or Native control culminate in widespread civil unrest, illustrating the fragile nature of early American governance.

Maritime narrative brings personal memory into focus through the voice of a seasoned sailor reflecting on his youth. He recalls his school days, his affection for a girl named Margaret, and his eventual departure to sea following a quarrel with his father. Aboard the Eliza Ann, bound for Calcutta, he forms a complex, envy-tainted friendship with Jamie, a talented young sailor admired by crew and passengers alike. Jealousy yields to profound guilt when Jamie suffers a tragic fall from the ship's decayed rigging. As Jamie lies injured, the narrator repents of his former coldness, rediscovering his deep affection for his companion in a moment of tender vulnerability.

The focus shifts next to resource exploration and technological advancement. A detailed report surveys the gold districts of Nova Scotia, highlighting the discovery of quartz veins at Tangier River and Lake Loon, while celebrating high production yields and sound mining administration. This forward-looking energy transitions into social reporting from the wartime South, where a narrator records direct conversations with formerly enslaved individuals. Men like Harry and Cupid describe their master's failed attempts to frighten them into fleeing; recognizing the Northern soldiers as allies, they chose to hide in the woods, triumphantly seizing their own freedom.

Industrial ambition continues to feature prominently through an account of California's infant wine industry, detailing how pioneers Köhler, Fröhling, and Stern established commercial vineyards worked by Native labor. The prose then pivots to domestic narrative as a character named St. George Erne arrives at a rural estate, striking a strange financial bargain with the quiet Mrs. Arles to manage his household after his cousin Éloise departs to forge an independent path in the world. Modern mechanics come to the fore in an admiring evaluation of Mr. Felt's type-setting machine, which achieves the long-sought feat of mechanical text justification. Finally, domestic dialogues on interior aesthetics blend into literary reviews of works on industrial biography, Robert Browning's Sordello, and Ernst Renan's linguistic theories, concluding a comprehensive tour of nineteenth-century progress and culture.

How It Unfolds

The voyage to Valaam The narrator boards the steamboat Valamo for a journey to Lake Ladoga's sacred island monastery. Passing wild pinks and grand foliage along rocky precips, the travelers arrive amid pealing belfry chimes and explore hidden, quiet inlets where wild animals live untamed and undisturbed.

Husbandry and colonial unrest The text reviews early agricultural traditions, contrasting folk almanac couplets with the rigorous scientific volumes of John Mills. It then examines Governor Andros's harsh 1688 Maine expedition, detailing how military failure and suspicions of treachery ignited intense hostility among Boston's populace.

Life on the high seas A narrator recounts his early days at sea, reminiscing about his village school, his love for a girl named Margaret, and his voyage to Calcutta. A rift with his gifted companion Jamie vanishes only after Jamie suffers a severe fall from rotten rigging, prompting a rush of remorse and care.

Gold fields and freedom Geological surveys detail the promising gold veins of Nova Scotia, citing official reports that celebrate high yields. In the South, formerly enslaved men explain why they rejected their master's warnings, choosing instead to hide in the woods and await the arriving Union forces.

Innovations and critical reviews The narrative charts the rise of California's winemaking pioneers before shifting to a domestic scene where St. George Erne restructures his household. Technical commentary extols Mr. Felt's revolutionary type-setting machine, closing with critical essays on industrial history, Browning's poetry, and linguistic philosophy.

The People

• The Narrator (Lake Ladoga traveler) wants to explore the remote island monastery of Valaam; despite his initial reliance on schoolbook facts, he is deeply moved by the natural sanctuary and peaceful co-existence of wild life.
• Sir Edmund Andros seeks to maintain royal authority during a grueling winter campaign in Maine; thwarted by illness, harsh weather, and elusive enemies, he returns to Boston only to face intense public distrust and accusations of treason.
• Spunky Joe seeks independence by running away to sea after a rift with his father; consumed by jealousy over his friend Jamie, he undergoes a profound change of heart when Jamie is gravely injured in a fall.
• Jamie wants companionship and a life at sea; despite being isolated by Spunky Joe's coldness, his warmth and tragic accident ultimately break down his friend's hostility.
• Harry and Cupid seek true freedom for themselves and their families; defying their master's deceptive warnings about Northern troops, they boldly evade capture by hiding in the woods.
• Messrs. Köhler and Fröhling want to establish a successful wine industry in California; overcoming early vintage failures through sheer persistence, they build a flourishing commercial enterprise.
• St. George Erne seeks order and domestic management at his estate; indifferent and imperious, he hires Mrs. Arles to run his home after his cousin Éloise leaves to seek her own fortune.

In Its Own Voice

"The fairy birches, in their thin foliage, stood on the edge of the water like Dryads undressing for a bath, while the shaggy male firs elbowed each other on the heights for a look at them."

(From the travel essay detailing the scenic, undisturbed water channels surrounding the monastery of Valaam.)

"When I saw him stretched out there, every unkind feeling left me. My old love for him came back."

(From the maritime narrative, as Spunky Joe watches the injured Jamie lie helpless in his shipboard berth.)

"Vigorous brains, clear eyes, sturdy arms have wrought out, not without blood, victories more permanent, more heroic, than those of the battle-field."

(From the literary review evaluating Samuel Smiles's historical biographical work on iron-workers and tool-makers.)

What It's Really About

At its core, this collection examines the tension between human ambition and the orderly structures of nature, society, and moral conscience. Across its diverse entries, the writing repeatedly asks how individuals and societies navigate periods of profound transition. Whether documenting the quiet retreat of monks on Lake Ladoga, the labor of iron-workers shaping civilization, or the resolve of newly liberated men securing their freedom, the issue celebrates human agency and practical ingenuity. At the same time, it insists on moral accountability, illustrating how arrogance—whether in colonial governance or personal relationships—inevitably leads to failure. Ultimately, the volume argues that true progress requires balancing material innovation with ethical integrity, aesthetic appreciation, and genuine human empathy.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers fascinated by history, literature, and culture will find this collection immensely rewarding. It offers an authentic, unvarnished look at mid-nineteenth-century thought, providing immediate context for the era's debates on technology, race, industry, and art. Reading it feels like browsing through an intellectual time capsule, where high-minded cultural criticism sits side-by-side with gripping sea stories and practical scientific reporting.

The volume is not without its period challenges. Readers must navigate historical dialect in the recorded testimonies of freedmen, dense technical expositions regarding type justification and mineral veins, and nineteenth-century political assumptions that reflect their time. Yet these elements only heighten the book's value as a primary historical record. What lingers after reading is the remarkable breadth of curiosity displayed across its pages—a vibrant reminder of a culture striving to understand its past, master its present technology, and imagine a more enlightened future.