The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 13, No. 80, June, 1864: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

In Short

This issue of a monthly magazine gathers essays, fiction, poetry, and book reviews that observe American and European life during the Civil War. Contributors reflect on European travels, report on freedmen’s schools in the South, mock modern spiritualism, examine English stage talent, and explain glacial geology. It survives as a vivid document of nineteenth-century American intellectual life, recording how writers of the era processed dramatic cultural shifts, war-era social reforms, literature, and scientific discoveries through precise observation and distinct literary voices.

The Story

The issue opens with a reflective travel narrative, "A Talk About Guides," in which the author, calling herself Sola Foemina, recounts her journeys through England and Europe. She considers the indispensable, if sometimes overbearing, nature of local guides, recalling a motherly church portress in Honeybourne, a Swiss mountaineer named Michel, and a self-reliant Saxon girl who guides her through an ancient English ruin.

The perspective then shifts to the American South during the Civil War in "Life on the Sea Islands." The writer details the experiences of teaching newly emancipated African American children. The community celebrates Christmas with gifts from Northern donors, a hymn written for them by John Greenleaf Whittier, and traditional spirituals that convey a deep, historical sorrow. The narrative describes the hardships of local summer life, including extreme heat, comical journeys in an improvised sulky, and relentless swarms of fleas.

Literary and social satire follows as a group of acquaintances gathers for a spiritualist seance. They receive absurd messages from spirits such as "Twynintuft" and "Sir Joseph Barley" through mediums like Miss Turligood and Mr. Stellato, until the host, Colonel Prowley, grows exhausted by the antics and ushers the guests out just as a new visitor arrives.

The volume turns to biographical and artistic appreciation. An essay on Washington Irving celebrates his warm personality, his dependence on close friendships, and his final struggle with illness while completing his biography of George Washington. A dramatic fictional piece portrays the social dynamics surrounding Éloise and her guardian, Mr. St. George, highlighting their quiet emotional tensions. Another biographical sketch traces the career of the quiet London actor Robson, describing his rise from cheap saloons to the Olympic Theatre, which was later destroyed by fire.

Scientific analysis enters with an extensive study of glacier action. The text details how solid ice acts like a rigid file across rock surfaces, creating polished, sheep-back formations known as "roches moutonnées." The author traces these distinct ice tracks across the Scottish Grampian mountains, Edinburgh, and Stirling Castle.

A West Coast travelogue describes riding through California using traditional Mexican saddles, cinches, and stirrups, followed by an account of camping in the Yosemite Valley alongside artists making field studies.

The issue concludes with domestic advice on managing household help and guests, a defense of the financial efficiency and bravery of colored soldiers in the Union Army, and brief reviews of recent publications.

How It Unfolds

A journey among guides Sola Foemina recalls her travels across Europe, weighing the nuisance of dogmatic tour guides against the genuine warmth of local figures who showed her ancient ruins and Alpine glaciers.

Christmas on the Sea Islands Teachers bring clothing, books, and Whittier's new hymn to freed children on the Sea Islands, who sing mournful spirituals and celebrate a bright vision of their future.

An unruly seance Colonel Prowley and his companions endure a ridiculous evening of spirit-rapping and absurd celestial advice before clearing the room of mediums and fraudulent mystics.

Tributes and portraits Essays detail Washington Irving's final days finishing his book on Washington, the subtle home life of Éloise and Mr. St. George, and the tragic burning of London's Olympic Theatre during the career of the actor Robson.

Scars of the ancient ice A scientific inquiry outlines how glaciers leveled mountain surfaces and created rounded "roches moutonnées" across Switzerland and the Scotch Grampians.

California trails and domestic debates A traveler tests Western horse gear in Yosemite while artists paint, followed by a critique of household domestic stress and an economic defense of African American troops serving the nation.

The People

• Sola Foemina: A traveler hailing from "Ignorance" who evaluates the character of European guides, seeking history while relying on the kindness of local strangers.
• The Sea Island Teacher: A dedicated educator who records the celebrations, songs, intense summer heat, and resilience of emancipated black families in the Union-occupied South.
• Colonel Prowley: A hospitable homeowner who hosts a spiritualist gathering, growing increasingly skeptical of the mediums until he gladly dismisses them to sit down for dinner.
• Miss Turligood: A dramatic spiritualist medium who falls into convulsions, slaps tables, and produces strange messages from phantom figures like Sir Joseph Barley.
• Washington Irving: The famed American author whose warm heart, reliance on friends, and persistent labor sustain him through illness until his death in 1859 while completing his last book.
• Éloise: An adopted daughter whose quiet charm, fragrant flowers, and unstudied grace disarm her guardian, Mr. St. George, despite her slightly disordered attire.
• Robson: A modest, unassuming comedian who plies his trade in low-paying London saloons for years before gaining recognition on the legitimate stage.

In Its Own Voice

"The long, dark night of the Past, with all its sorrows and its fears, was forgotten; and for the Future,--the eyes of these freed children see no clouds in it." A teacher describes the hopeful atmosphere during a Christmas celebration among newly liberated children on the Sea Islands.

"There is a friendly pat for his little terrier, and a friendly word for his gardener, as in the old days." An observer notes Washington Irving's enduring warmth toward his household during his final years at Sunnyside.

"Not so with surfaces over which the levelling plough of the glacier has passed." A scientist explains how moving ice planes down hard and soft rocks equally, unlike the uneven erosion left by water.

What It's Really About

The collection explores how human communities adapt to rapid changes in their environment, whether through political upheaval, technological shift, or physical landscape. Across its varied pieces, the text investigates the nature of freedom and education in a nation fractured by war, contrasting the harsh realities of Southern reconstruction with Northern literary culture. It questions the validity of modern spiritual crazes while championing grounded scientific observation. Ultimately, the issue asks what constitutes authentic work—whether that work is an artist painting in the Yosemite wilderness, a biographer pressing through illness to finish a history, or a freed child learning to read.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers of nineteenth-century history, American literature, and cultural commentary. It provides an immediate, unvarnished window into the mindset of 1864 America, offering primary perspectives on the Civil War era that balanced heavy national struggles with art, science, and humor. Reading it feels like sitting in an armchair during the mid-nineteenth century, flipping through the intellectual conversations of the day.

The issue presents a few challenges for contemporary readers. The prose style reflects Victorian conventions, featuring long, complex sentences and periodic Latinate phrasing. Readers will also encounter period attitudes, phonetic transcriptions of regional and African American dialects, and references to regional politics that require historical context. However, these difficulties are outweighed by the vividness of its primary sources. The moving accounts of freedmen's schools, the detailed descriptions of early Yosemite exploration, and the sharp social satires linger with the reader long after the final page.