The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886

In Short

The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324 is a 1886 British periodical featuring ten analytical essays on history, governance, education, and international affairs. It investigates the evolution of medieval monasteries, evaluates French moral instruction manuals versus religious schooling, and explores the organization of the Venetian Republic's secret archives. Moving into political analysis, the volume examines Norwegian agrarian debt, royalist plots against Oliver Cromwell, imperial trade in the Pacific and Australia, classical literacy, and William Gladstone’s controversial Irish Home Rule bill. It has lasted as a detailed window into late-nineteenth-century Victorian intellectual debate and historical scholarship.

The Story

The volume opens with a detailed study of Matthew Paris and thirteenth-century monastic life. Rather than viewing medieval monks as isolated ascetics or lazy drones, the writers show how monasteries functioned as hubs of culture, education, and advanced agriculture, maintaining public respect by moving with the times. This investigation of historical records shifts into a debate on classical literature and historiography, arguing that reading ancient texts is valuable not for mere pedantry, but for enriching the mind with subject matter to understand past and present societies.

Turned toward contemporary institutions, the volume contrasts French secular elementary instruction with the religious schools of the Christian Brothers. Examining French primary school manuals, it notes the complete absence of religious principles in civic duty lessons, highlighting a secular curriculum that preaches bodily hygiene, temperance, and self-education. Yet, the review highlights that despite heavy state investment in secular schools, students from the Christian Brothers consistently win the vast majority of academic exhibitions, demonstrating the enduring strength of religious education.

The focus then turns to archival preservation and governance in the Venetian Republic. By opening the Cancelleria Secreta established in 1402, the review details how the Council of Ten maintained strict confidentiality over state deliberations, international dispatches, and relations with foreign powers like England from the Middle Ages to the Republic's fall in 1797.

Moving to nineteenth-century rural economies, the text surveys the yeomen farmers of Norway. While earlier observers praised the independent Boender living on mountain farms (Soeters), recent economic reports reveal severe distress. An overextension of credit, increasing land subdivision, and falling agricultural prices have led to a sharp rise in forced sales, distraints for taxes, and rural bankruptcy.

The historical analysis continues with an investigation into Oliver Cromwell and the royalist conspiracies of March 1655. It reveals how exiled royalists were duped by false reports into believing army levellers would join a general uprising, leading to comical failures like the attempted surprise of Chester Castle, while Cromwell's intelligence network kept the realm secure.

Broadening its geographical reach, the review reflects on the British Empire, detailing colonial sentiment in Australia, trade networks in the Pacific, and the eradication of lawless pirates like "Bully Hayes." Turning to early Church history, the volume defends the authenticity of the Ignatian Epistles and recounts the martyr Polycarp's calm defiance before being tied to the stake.

Finally, the collection addresses British literary habits and pressing political crises. It cautions against hurried reading, citing self-taught figures like Ben Jonson and William Cobbett, before examining the democratic impulses born from the French Ancien Régime. The issue culminates in a fierce critique of Prime Minister Gladstone's 1886 Irish Home Rule Bill and his appointment of John Morley as Chief Secretary, arguing that conceding to the National League threatens the integrity of the United Kingdom.

How It Unfolds

Monastic culture evolves Thirteenth-century monasteries thrive because monks move beyond primitive asceticism to become cultured leaders in art, letters, and model farming.

Secular ethics face religious competition French primary schools adopt non-religious manuals covering physical hygiene and moral duties, yet Christian Brothers' schools continue to dominate academic scholarship competitions.

Venice guards its secrets The Venetian Republic establishes the Cancelleria Secreta in 1402, creating an extensive historical archive of state deliberations, diplomatic dispatches, and foreign relations under the tight control of the Council of Ten.

Norwegian yeomen face financial crisis Despite a legacy of proud allodial land ownership, Norwegian peasant farmers suffer from credit misuse, subdivided plots, and rising forced property sales.

Royalist plots collapse under Cromwell Misinformed by false reports of widespread discontent, royalist conspirators attempt ill-fated risings in 1655, while Cromwell's officers keep the nation orderly.

Colonial trade expands across the Pacific Australian colonists express deep loyalty to Great Britain, while Pacific trading routes gradually transition from lawless piracy to organized commerce.

Early Christian martyrs stand firm Historical documents confirm the early authorship of the Ignatian Epistles and recount Saint Polycarp's steadfast refusal to renounce his faith at the stake.

Gladstone's Irish policy meets opposition The review strongly attacks William Gladstone's 1886 Home Rule Bill, warning that dividing parliamentary authority will empower disorder in Ireland.

The People

• Matthew Paris and the Monks of St. Albans: Thirteenth-century religious leaders who serve as the intellectual, artistic, and agricultural pioneers of their era.
• The Christian Brothers: Members of a religious teaching order founded by Jean Baptiste de la Salle whose students consistently outshine state-funded secular pupils in competitive French examinations.
• The Council of Ten: The governing body of the Venetian Republic responsible for guarding state secrets, managing the Cancelleria Secreta, and regulating foreign affairs.
• The Norwegian Boender: Yeomen farmers who own rural land and maintain summer mountain dairies (Soeters), but find themselves increasingly trapped by debt, taxes, and economic depression.
• King Charles II and the Exiled Royalists: Royalist leaders in exile who are lured by false promises of a widespread leveller mutiny into authorizing the failed English insurrection of March 1655.
• Francis Pickering and Colonel Worthing: Unfortunate royalist conspirators whose ill-conceived attempt to surprise Chester Castle collapses when their men hear sentinels coughing.
• Bully Hayes: A notorious Mississippi boatman turned Pacific pirate who spends years plundering vessels before his lawless career comes to an end.
• Polycarp: An early Christian bishop and martyr who displays extraordinary calm during his trial, refusing to be nailed to the stake before being executed.
• William E. Gladstone: The British Prime Minister whose 1886 campaign for Irish Home Rule draws intense opposition from conservative reviewers who view his scheme as a threat to the United Kingdom.
• John Morley: The Chief Secretary for Ireland whose radical literary background and sympathy toward Irish nationalism spark deep skepticism among traditional political commentators.

In Its Own Voice

"Now they were regarded as in great measure the salt of the earth, and if that salt should lose its savour, where was such virtue elsewhere to be found?"

Context: Describing how thirteenth-century monasteries maintained the respect of the public by providing education, art, and refined farming methods.

"Hygiene forbids all excess, and the use of injurious things, as alcohol and tobacco. It prescribes temperance and sobriety."

Context: Quoting a secular moral instruction manual used in French elementary primary schools.

"Leave me as I am. He that hath granted me to endure the fire, will grant me also to remain at the pile unmoved, without the security you seek from nails."

Context: Recording Saint Polycarp's final words to his executioners before he was burned at the stake.

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume explores the tension between tradition and rapid social change. Across its varied topics, the collection asks how long-standing institutions—whether medieval monasteries, early Christian doctrines, Venetian state archives, or the British Empire—maintain their authority when confronted by democratic movements, secular education, and economic shifts.

The essays repeatedly analyze the mechanics of governance and civic duty. In France, state-mandated moral instruction attempts to build good citizens without religious doctrine, while in Norway, traditional land inheritance practices buckle under modern market pressures and credit misuse. In England, political writers ponder whether parliamentary traditions can withstand radical reforms like Irish Home Rule. Underlying every article is a debate over whether social stability is best preserved through rigorous adherence to traditional authority, disciplined self-education, or thoughtful administrative adaptation.

Why Read It Today

This issue offers a vivid, unfiltered snapshot of Victorian intellectual life at a pivotal moment in 1886. For readers fascinated by nineteenth-century political thought, British imperial history, or European institutions, it provides a primary look into how educated contemporaries analyzed the world around them.

The volume's chief appeal lies in its breadth and detail. Rather than offering abstract theories, the contributors present rich historical facts, statistical tables of Norwegian farm debts, primary quotes from French schoolbooks, and minute details from Venetian diplomatic registers. Reading it feels like sitting in a nineteenth-century library, listening to sharp, opinionated scholars debate classical literature, monastic farming, and cabinet politics.

It is not without its difficulties. The prose reflects the formal, highly structured style of Victorian period journalism, featuring dense paragraphs, occasional untranslated Latin phrases, and detailed policy references that assume familiarity with nineteenth-century European affairs. The strong ideological stance on Irish Home Rule and democratic governance clearly displays the conservative political attitudes of its era. Yet for those willing to engage with its historical prose, the volume remains an engaging, deeply researched exploration of power, history, and institutional change.