Most of what I read in the September 1861 edition of Harper's New Monthly magazine was fiction or aimed at entertainment. "Pets" was an essay written sharing anecdotes about the various animals that a woman had come across in her life. It was entertaining as well as humorous however it's light, almost playful subject matter contrasted with some of the more serious works that followed. One of these was a short story by Dickens about a young British man being conned into working aboard a ship. He was betrayed, drugged, and then finally enslaved. Although this story was a bit darker the the motivation for the writing was the same, to entertain. Additionally, there was a biography of a man named Richard Porson. Porson was a famed and noted Greek scholar of his time. This piece of writing was styled to be both educational and entertaining.

All of the aforementioned pieces were unique to this issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, while the other piece I read, "Orley Farm" was a part of a series. The September addition included chapters 17-19 of the novel. Coming in in the middle of the story made it difficult to follow and therefore difficult to enjoy. I feel like including novels in increments is a great moneymaking tactic because readers become committed to the story/novel and have to keep purchasing Harper's New Monthly to continue their reading.