The Strand Magazine, Vol. 17, February 1899, No. 98

In Short

This volume of The Strand Magazine serves as a vibrant, kaleidoscopic archive of late-Victorian life. It blends short fiction—ranging from mystery and detective tales to lighthearted domestic comedy—with non-fiction essays on natural history, antiquities, and global oddities. By curating a mix of rigorous intellectual inquiry and popular entertainment, the magazine became a touchstone for its era. It remains significant because it preserves not just the literature of the late 1890s, but the very texture of how readers then perceived their world, from the depths of Egyptian tombs to the bustling streets of London.

The Story

The magazine opens with a mystery surrounding the Belmore Street Museum. Ward Mortimer, a brilliant young archaeologist, assumes the curatorship after the sudden, quiet retirement of the esteemed Professor Andreas. Suspicion arises when a series of strange events occurs within the museum, prompting Mortimer and his associate to keep a midnight vigil. They hide in a lumber-room, watching the central hall through a dusty skylight, waiting to catch a mysterious intruder. The narrative unravels a tense plot involving the theft of precious relics, ultimately resolving when Mortimer confronts the situation with unselfish grace, allowing a young man to marry the Professor’s daughter, Elise, and restoring the museum’s order.

Following this, the reader is transported through a series of distinct, shorter narratives. There is the historical account of Cleopatra’s Needle, tracking its journey from ancient Egypt to the Thames Embankment. The tone shifts to the frozen Russian wilderness, where a young boy named Ivanka earns the awe of a visiting Prince by slaying a wolf, providing physical proof of his feat with a bloodstained forage knife. In a lighter vein, a story of childhood mischief unfolds in a stable yard, where two boys trick their stern schoolmaster into believing a common iron kettle is a rare mountain badger.

The magazine’s pace shifts again into the realm of natural history, detailing the "offensive" defensive tactics of the Devil’s Coach-horse beetle and the clever, predatory camouflage of the grass-spider. These observations are interspersed with political reflections on the British House of Commons, mourning the loss of diverse members like the Earl of Winchilsea and the imperturbable Mr. T. B. Potter.

The collection then returns to narrative tension with a story of a missing jewel-case. The protagonist, Clement Simpson, falls into a web of deceit, finding himself arrested on suspicion of stealing his own aunt’s jewelry. His desperate attempts to prove his innocence lead to a dramatic climax involving a hidden will and a false accusation against a blameless woman. The volume concludes with a charming domestic curiosity: the story of "Pussy," a haughty Persian cat who inexplicably chooses a ragged, three-legged stray as her constant companion, and a series of "oddities"—including a house built out of spite in New York and an egg containing a yolk shaped like a long, knotted bootlace.

How It Unfolds

The Museum Vigil Mortimer and his colleague take their positions in a dusty lumber-room overlooking the museum’s central hall. They clear small patches of glass to monitor the floor below, waiting in the cold electric light for a thief to return and complete a daring robbery.

The Russian Wolf A peasant father fiercely defends his son’s reputation against a disbelieving Prince. He produces a bloodstained knife and a shaggy hide, forcing the nobleman to acknowledge the child’s extraordinary bravery in a harsh landscape.

The Schoolmaster’s Trap Two boys orchestrate a clever prank, leading their teacher to believe they have captured a live badger in a kennel. The master’s pride in his own wit is shattered when he pulls out nothing more than a clattering iron kettle.

The Naturalist’s Lab The narrative pivots to the microscopic world, explaining how Bombardier Beetles use explosive gas to repel enemies. These scientific vignettes highlight the brutal ingenuity required for survival in the insect kingdom.

The Wrongful Arrest Clement Simpson faces the humiliation of being arrested for a theft he did not commit. He must navigate a series of misunderstandings and social pressures to clear his name and expose the true culprits behind a forged will.

The Final Curiosities The volume closes with vignettes of the unusual, such as a "spite house" in New York City and a biological mystery involving a breakfast egg. These final beats leave the reader with a sense of wonder at the bizarre details of the wider world.

The People

Ward Mortimer is an ambitious archaeologist whose professional success is tempered by the awkwardness of succeeding a legend. His patience and moral restraint define his character. Professor Andreas, his predecessor, is a man of "dry" intellect whose deep emotional attachment to his collection makes his retirement a poignant transition. Elise Andreas, the Professor’s daughter, serves as a steadying presence, eventually finding happiness in a marriage that bridges the gap between the old guard and the new.

Ivanka, the young Russian boy, is defined by his silence and his singular act of courage. He hides from the spotlight, leaving his father to bear the burden of pride. In contrast, the schoolmaster, Mr. Brown, represents the intersection of authority and human fallibility; his stern exterior is momentarily cracked by the laughter of the boys he tries to discipline. Clement Simpson, the narrator of the jewelry-theft mystery, is an accidental protagonist who learns the hard way how easily one can be swept up in a web of social and legal consequences. Finally, the Persian cat known as Pussy represents a quiet, sovereign power; she ignores the "feline nobility" of her neighborhood to offer genuine, protective companionship to the disreputable Three-legged Tommy.

In Its Own Voice

"There was, therefore, considerable surprise when, at the age of fifty-five, he suddenly resigned his position and retired from those duties which had been both his livelihood and his pleasure."

The narrator describes the abrupt and puzzling departure of the venerable Professor Andreas from the museum he once curated.

"The child Moses may have played around the foot of this pillar; the Israelites looking citywards from the brickfields saw the sunlight glittering on its tapering point; the plague of darkness clothed it as with a garment."

This passage captures the immense historical weight attributed to the obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle.

"The Noble Prince does not believe? Let him behold the proofs. Ivanka, my little one, slew the wolf, in very truth! Alone--alone he slew it!"

A peasant father passionately defends his son’s honor before a skeptical nobleman.

What It's Really About

This volume explores the tension between tradition and modernity. Whether in the professional succession at a museum, the political shifts in Parliament, or the evolution of insect defenses, the magazine is preoccupied with how the old yields to the new. It investigates the nature of truth—how it is sometimes hidden in secret compartments or disguised by clever ruses—and how individuals maintain their dignity when faced with loss, suspicion, or the absurd. Beneath the variety of its content lies an underlying confidence in the march of progress and a persistent fascination with the "mysterious" or the "antique" in an increasingly mechanized world.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy a "time capsule" experience will find this volume deeply rewarding. It offers a clear, unvarnished look at the interests and anxieties of 1899, delivered with a prose style that is both polished and direct. The experience of reading it feels like stepping into a Victorian study, where one can flip from a serious discussion of foreign policy to a lighthearted account of a cat’s social life.

The book is not without challenges for the modern reader. Its period attitudes toward class and empire are pronounced and sometimes jarring, reflecting the colonial mindset of the late nineteenth century. Furthermore, its pace is dictated by the episodic nature of a magazine, which can feel disjointed to those accustomed to the long-form narrative arcs of modern novels. However, for those interested in the history of journalism and the evolution of the short story, this collection is an essential document. What stays with the reader is the sheer curiosity of the era—a belief that everything, from the history of an ancient obelisk to the behavior of a garden spider, is worth knowing and worth recording with precision and warmth. It is a testament to an age that looked at the world with both a magnifying glass and a sense of wonder.