The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain

This issue contains "The Boy Soldier; or, Garibaldi's Young Captain," a serialized adventure narrative. The story opens at Bromley Hall Academy, where students led by the charismatic Frank Ford stage a rebellion inspired by news of Italian independence and Garibaldi's campaigns. Provoked by tyrannical headmaster Reverend Gravestones—who starves students and withholds pocket money—the young "Garibaldians" riot throughout the schoolroom. The insurgent youths barricade themselves using desks and benches, adopting "Liberty or Death" as their watchword. A chaotic battle ensues involving flying coal, rulers, and various improvised weapons. Joel Flint, the school spy and informer, leads loyalist scholars opposing Frank's band. The conflict escalates when the master himself charges the barricade but is blinded by coal dust and tumbles down the stairs as his terrified wife faints outside. The narrative blends school-rebellion comedy with heroic revolutionary rhetoric aligned with contemporary Italian political movements.