The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3, June, 1851

In Short

This mid-1851 miscellany captures a world in rapid transition through an eclectic collection of essays, serialized fiction, historical sketches, and current affairs. Across its pages, readers encounter biographical portraits of prominent writers like Henry William Herbert and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, discussions on Arctic exploration, and critical reports on contemporary art exhibitions. The volume blends narrative drama—such as political conspiracies in Whitehall and police chases through winter snows—with reflections on French social etiquette, German university demographics, and the Great Exhibition in London. By pairing imaginative literature with concrete reports on political maneuvers and fashion trends, the work offers an immersive window into mid-nineteenth-century transatlantic culture and intellect.

The Story

The compilation opens with an examination of prominent transatlantic figures, establishing a bridge between European heritage and American ambition. It begins with biographical profiles of author Henry William Herbert, detailing his aristocratic English ancestry and American literary career, and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, tracing his early devotion to natural history and linguistics near Albany. This interest in cultural monumentality leads into a proposal to import the colossal Egyptian statue of Memphis to New York or Washington to inspire American public discourse and poetry.

From these personal and public portraits, the volume shifts toward European intellectual life, surveying theological works, university statistics across Germany, and critical reviews of historical literature. Art criticism follows, evaluating contemporary exhibitions at the Düsseldorf Gallery and the Art-Union, where works like Lessing’s Martyrdom of Huss prompt debates over direct realism versus elevated artistic representation. Threaded through these critical essays is dramatic fiction: Sir Philip Hastings suffers tedious legal delays before being summoned to Whitehall under false accusations of conspiring with Sir John Fenwick to assassinate the King.

The prose then traverses intimate private spaces and historical court intrigue. A young wife in Paris records her husband’s domestic weakness and his aunt’s suffocating surveillance, contrasting her outdoor upbringing with urban confinement. Simultaneously, in imperial Russia, Boyard Tscherkaski and Prince Menzikoff arrange an icy banquet for the Czar while bitterly observing the rise of foreign favorites. These narratives lead into broader cultural critiques concerning the decline of traditional French politeness, where individual posturing replaces genuine social ease, and an analysis of "tact" as a calculating force shared equally by polished politicians and cunning thieves.

Historical and scientific horizons expand further through accounts of Emperor Charles V’s monastic retreat at Yuste and reports on Arctic exploration. Readers follow Captain Sabine’s magnetic experiments in Greenland and contemplate geological forces that slowly lift Sweden while submerging Greenland's shores. The collection then pivots to modern commerce and socio-political ambition. Richard, a returned speculator who acquired a brewery and corn-mill, seeks to unseat hypocritical politicians in his town, demonstrating the raw influence of wealth in modern elections. This focus on human enterprise culminates in a commentary on London’s Great Exhibition, celebrating the peaceful assembly of international trade, raw materials, and diverse human populations under one roof.

Toward its close, the volume shifts into narrative tension and public documentation. A police officer recounts his bitter winter pursuit of an absconding clerk named Charles James Marshall across snowy railway lines to Rugby Station. This dramatic chase balances against poetic reflections on romantic betrayal. Finally, the work anchors itself in the immediate historical moment by reporting American news—including land grants for Hungarian exiles, Charles Sumner’s election to the Senate, and severe legislative standoffs in New York over the Erie Canal. The compilation concludes with the tangible details of daily life, offering detailed spring fashion reports on taffeta mantelets, embroidered bodices, and delicate bonnet trims for the fashion-conscious reader.

How It Unfolds

• Portraits of literary ambition

Biographical entries highlight Henry William Herbert’s journey from classical English schools and Cambridge to New Jersey, while detailing Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s self-taught scholarship in rural New York. These sketches frame early American intellectual growth alongside proposals to erect ancient Egyptian monuments in public city squares, arguing that public monuments will inspire native poets and elevate national eloquence. They illustrate how literary achievements emerge from diverse backgrounds.

• Critical debates and political trials

The issue reviews recent literature, theological studies in German universities, and fine arts, focusing on Lessing’s Martyrdom of Huss to debate whether hyper-realistic painting strays from true artistic ideals. Meanwhile, serialized fiction unfolds as Sir Philip Hastings faces frustrating delays in law offices and a sudden arrest for political treason, leading to a gentle yet firm interrogation by Secretary Vernon at Whitehall. This political trial exposes the vulnerabilities of high-minded citizens within turbulent political systems.

• Intrigue across European borders

Personal letters from a frustrated young wife in Paris depict domestic restrictions enforced by her husband's overbearing aunt, who limits her strolls and theatrical outings. Simultaneously, a Russian historical narrative depicts Boyard Tscherkaski and Prince Menzikoff preparing an icy palace banquet for the Czar while harboring deep resentment toward foreign upstarts. These narratives intersect with essays analyzing the decline of French politeness into self-important posturing and comparing social tact to a thief's deceptive cunning.

• Exploration of nature and modern industry

Scientific reports follow Captain Sabine’s polar magnetic observations in Greenland and examine the gradual geological upheaval of Scandinavian landmasses alongside Greenland's sinking shores. Parallel narratives present Richard’s rise as a wealthy speculator and mill owner seeking local political control against corrupt parliamentary candidates, an ambition mirrored in commentary celebrating London’s Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. This highlights how technology and commerce reshape global society.

• Dramatic pursuits and national events

A police officer recounts his bitter pursuit of absconding clerk Charles James Marshall through a blinding winter snowstorm to Rugby Station. This dramatic chase gives way to contemporary political news covering Charles Sumner’s election to the Senate, New York legislative standoffs over the Erie Canal enlargement, and detailed fashion trends outlining spring silk mantelets and trimmed bonnets. The issue closes by blending raw investigative narrative with civic history and material culture.

The People

Henry William Herbert seeks to forge a vibrant literary reputation in America while leaving behind his aristocratic English heritage. Despite abandoning his native land, he successfully transforms his classical Eton and Cambridge education into a prolific career as a novelist and sporting writer at his New Jersey estate, The Cedars.

Sir Philip Hastings wants to preserve his personal integrity and quiet domestic life, but he is thwarted by a sluggish judicial system and false accusations of plotting to assassinate King William. Detained and brought before Secretary Vernon at Whitehall, Hastings resists political intrigue, remaining coldly aloof while demanding plain justice against fabricated charges.

Boyard Tscherkaski desires traditional aristocratic influence within the Russian court, yet his ambitions are blocked by the Czar’s preference for foreign upstarts like Lefort. Forced to assist Prince Menzikoff in organizing an icy palace festival, Tscherkaski grows increasingly bitter, masking his resentment behind cynical compliance.

Richard seeks social prominence and political authority in his town after acquiring a fortune in America. Stymied by incumbent politicians—the radical, debt-ridden Mr. Slappe and the hypocritical Mr. Sleekie—Richard uses his ownership of a local brewery and corn-mill to establish sweeping electoral influence, asserting his right to reshape local representation.

Charles James Marshall desires to build a new life using money stolen from his employers, but his escape is threatened by a determined police officer pursuing him through severe winter storms. Marshall successfully boards an American liner at Liverpool just before his pursuer arrives, setting off a frantic investigation across the icy English railway network.

In Its Own Voice

In thoughtfully evaluating the realistic technique of contemporary German oil painting, the magazine notes the inherent limitations of pure photographic literalism:

The dexterous detail of the Duesseldorf pictures is remarkable, but the fault and tendency of the school is to direct imitation, and consequently to a hopeless struggle with nature.

Reflecting on the quiet, calculated mechanics of political manipulation and personal social influence, an insightful essay on human demeanor observes:

"tact," as the master of it, Cromwell, knew, acknowledges the "safety of silence," and like the rat,--a subtle politician!--saps vast fabrics by an insidious, unheard gnawing underground!

Examining the changing cultural landscape of mid-century Europe, an elderly French aristocrat laments the modern era's complete sacrifice of artistic grace for mere material utility:

"Aujourd 'hui beaucoup de gens ressemblent a un proprietaire morose, qui, ne songeant qu'a l'utile, bannirait de son jardin les fleurs, et ne voudrait y voir que du ble, des foins et des fruits."

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume examines the friction between rapid utilitarian progress and traditional humanistic values. Beneath its diverse selection of news, fiction, and art criticism lies a persistent inquiry into how society preserves intellectual depth, creative grace, and personal ethics in an increasingly commercialized world. The text repeatedly contrasts raw material advancement—represented by industrial mills, high-speed locomotives, and tax-evading trade—with spiritual and artistic devotion, as seen in polar expeditions conducted for pure knowledge or criticisms of literalist art. It questions whether modern political systems cultivate genuine civic virtue or merely reward self-interested calculation and calculated silence. By juxtaposing European historical traditions with American growth, the publication asks how a young nation can build an enduring cultural legacy without sacrificing moral integrity to material wealth.

Why Read It Today

Historians, literary enthusiasts, and readers fascinated by the Victorian era will find this periodical a rewarding artifact. Reading it feels like stepping directly into a nineteenth-century reading room, where high philosophical debates share space with local politics, Arctic geography, and street fashion. What lingers is the sheer breadth of its curiosity—a moment when literature, science, and public policy were viewed as interconnected facets of a single cultural conversation.

However, modern readers must navigate notable period difficulties. The prose often favors formal, convoluted syntax typical of mid-century journalism, requiring patient reading through dense legal proceedings and detailed university statistics. Untranslated French passages assume a bilingual reader, while period attitudes occasionally display elitist sneers, such as dismissive commentary labeling a biographer a "religious flunky" or mocking foreign customs and political rivals. Furthermore, the fragmented, magazine format means narrative threads yield abruptly to book reviews or legislative updates.

Despite these hurdles, the collection offers an authentic, unfiltered glimpse into how educated nineteenth-century readers processed their changing world. It reminds us that our modern anxieties over technology, political polarization, and the loss of cultural refinement are part of a long historical continuum.