Morning journal and courier., 1883-03-12
The Unknown Public.

The bulk of this great body of readers comes from classes that, in their own esti- nation at any rate, are several 'cuts" above the domestic class. They belong to the 'fyoung lady" classes-the young ladies ot the counters, of the more genteel female handicrafts generally, and the dressmakin E and millinery professions in particular. To these are added @ numerous section of young ladies unattached-young ladies whose parents consider them, or who consider them selves, too genteel to go out to work. They live at home in such ease as the family strug- gle to maintain ''real genteel'' appearances
 upon an insufficient income will permit.
 Though they have the will they lack the
 means of indulging in expensive amusements. Accepting the situation on this head, with more or less of philosophy, they adapt them selves to their environment, and fall back upon the luxury (to tbem) of penny fiction. By system of exchanges" with friends and acquaintances they can-and do manage to obtain practically unlimited supply of this reading at an outlay of 2d. or 3d. per week i; for, whatever may be it's quality, the penny fiction journal is big pennyworth in point of quantity. As the young ladies carry their tastes into married life the unknown public also includes numbers of wives of clerks, shop keepers, and well-to-do artisans. Many youths of the classes here spoken of read the penny journals, and they are not without men readers in the same grades of society. The latter, however, can be scarcely account ed supporters of these journals They rarely subscribe to them, and are only led to read them from the circumstances accidental so far as they are concerned-of their being brought into their homes by their women folk. Moreover, the men do not, as rule, read the stories. Fiction is the thing where with these journals chiefly catch their hosts of subscribers. Still, though principally. they are not wholly made up of fiction. Thax hou khAir onIumnE of random readings, varieties, odds and ends, or the like and to crown all the wonderful answers to correspondents. These are the parts that the men read and in their way they are more less readable. Except for passing perusal no value is set upon the papers, There is no hesitation about thrusting them into the pockets of working clothes" no compunction over lingering them with work stained hands. They can be read at times and under conditions that books cannot and this, coupled with the fact that they are ready to hand, leads to their being the odd time reading of many workingmen Penny fiction journals are no uncommon sight in the workshop world, especially among hands who stay in the shop to their meals Nor is the reading in this case altogether without results. 1 have known more than ore work man, who, having fairly retentive memory and ready sense of appositeness, has found ed and maintained reputation as story teller and wit of the ''that reminds me- order, solely upon his recellections of the "Jokes and Jottings'' columns of the penny serials. Others, though they fa1l to remem- Der those selected witticisms, or to perceive opportunities for using them in the way of joke-capping yet get an occasional laugh out of them when reading them for the first time Many time and oft, too, have heard such workingmen readers as I am here speak ing of get as hearty amusement out of the folly suggested by some of the answers to correspondents as any that could have been extracted from them by more polished crit ics.