The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-04-04
IKE TASTE FOR ROMANCE
OLD People Who Are Anxious to Know How
the Story ''wil Como Ont"
1ur&rv,1o n x-;,.n f3r5

Il - ~ NLM
Gertrude Garrison,
I asked Mr.. Bonner if he had neve
found it necessary to make any new de
Epartures in consequence of the change
An literary taste; il the same order o
stories had pleased when people hat
read less and had less to read pleased
NOW? He said he had in no way al
tered his original ideas on the subject
Of editing. He believed human natur.
to9be always the same in any eyes
terday, to-day and forever.
4he Ledggsr's enormous constituency
sallindex Of haste omn,on to all man
Eind+-the tastAsfor romance. AL
the world likes to read stories. TIL,
proiser and more u~neventfuI the live,
Of the readers, the greater their deligh
in the exciting fortunes Of the heroe.
and heroines of the novel. Romano,
rests them. 1t Lifts them out of ths
dullness Of everyday life, opens wild,
the gate which leads in the fair field o
fancy and bids them walk therein ant
refresh their iaded souls. Existence il
to sad snd comfortless for many that Il
ESCAPE from it for little while, even il
Imagination, by means Of a serial tina,
putsits heroine in continued jeopardy
and ohkyNsextricates her from q compli
Gated serieA Of misfortunes after the
villain has mel, his just doom and bel
lover has inherited q large fortune, is ]
luxury not to be despised. Not only
do all mankind like romance, but the
majority like it strong, extravagant yes,
even impossible.
It rs mistake to suppose That only
the Young care for fiction. I have seen
old, old men and women, lowering
dangerously near the grave, who were
the most confirmed and absorbed Of
novel readers, particularly Ledger
readers. Having relied on it for ro-
mantle food for many years, they no
more thought of giving it up than they
Thought of going barefooted-couldn't
have done SO without suffering.
Mr. Bonner told me Of o good old
mar pious and proper, who lived in q
Connecticut village and was the main
stay Of one of the coolest Of churches,
who tottered down to the post-ofice
regularly every week to get the Ledger.
A relative of a%nti-novel prejudices, who
was visiting his family, expressed her
establishment that he would read "noy-
els aOh, my dear, this is only a bit
Of a newspaper story said the honest
old man, and went on with his sturdy
fora-fnger under the lines, chasing d
black-eyed heroine through a page and
n halfsof sorrow and tribulation.
A%sanother instance of an elderly per-
sons fondness for stories, Mr.. Bonner
told this: When foreman of the Mir
ror office he took his proofs home to
read at nights. "A serial by Charles +.
Briggs, called the '.Trippings Of Tom
Pepper" was being published. 1t was
biographical in character, and related
the ups and downs OF Mr.. Peppers
~eyentful career very graphically begin
ming with his early childhood. Mr..
Ronner's mother read each chapter in
the proof, and grew quite impatient at
the delay between installments. When
her son laughed Mt her interest IN the
pr~otracted "fb' she said, why, Rob.
ert, J. want to see how the little fellow
came out And SO they all want to
see how the characters they grow inter-
ested in come out,
E