The Portland daily press., 1884-03-22

Hartford Courant.)
The percentage of fiction taken from the
Hartford library in the last five years does
not vary much from 68. If, during a win
ter of history classes, illustrated lectures
and debating clubs, the demand for novels
decreases, and it sinks to 81, it rises to ovel
70 under The enervating influences of sum
lner.
Many readers frankly confess that they de-
pend upon the library for novels alone. and
buy their other books. The proportion OF
1iction read, therefore, by the more intelli.
gent and stndious class of our citizens seems
larger than a. really is. About half of all
the Doc rs q avn are new, that is, published
within Teaf. Out OF g, 400 books taken be-
tween Nov. I, 1888, and Feb. L, 1884. 1882
are stor:rs. Ot these, 1,34I are stories writ.
ten fol logs and girls, and the other SOL
are novels. Whose novels? Crawford is the
most popular writer just now. His books
have goue out liz times, Mrs. Alexander
"a, Howelps ~, and Miss Phelps's 81. These
authors have all written new books. or their
H.. +
Roe's last novel, s'His Sombre Rivals.'' has
gone out 66 times, his other books only l3.
Dickens stories have had larger circulation
Than usual on account of the Carnival Of
Authors Tor "Nlcholas Nickleby" alone has
been out 10 times, and the other novels "a.
Mrs. Wlstars Lranslati0ns are always in de-
Aand. The last, Banned and Blessed y
has been out 81 times, the others 30 The
Duchess's novels nave been read IS times.
her last one ~. George ElIiot's novels have
left the shelves 81 times. Blacks 90 SCOTS
40, Ouda's At, Mrs. Oliphaut's AZ. Macdon-
AIDS 80, Miss Young's "a, Miss Braddon's
20, Tha"keray's, Mrs. Muiock Crak's. Mrs.
Gaskells ~ each, and Blackmore's 49,
Lorna Dooneo l5-Bulwer's Is, Charles
Klngsley's IA, WllkIe Colins's III. Charles
keade's aud Henry Kingsley's each 6.
Or American writer's, Cooper has been
READ AZ Times, Julfsn Hawthorne 43, Mark
Twain 81, Mis-. Stowe a. Cable IS. Henry
James 10, Dr. holland Ii, o. w. Holmes II.
Mrs. Whitney IL, Irving TO- Mrs. Burnett
has AZ readers, Miss Mclean %, and Chris
tian Reid TO- Mrs. Mary j. Holmes is read
~ Times, but new book is responsible for
Is OF them. Mrs. Southworth's books have
been taken Is times, aud Mrs Stephens's III.
May Agnes Fleming is going out of fashion
since her death. and Mrs. Hentz, who's was
popular some twenty years ago, is rarely
asked for nowadays. Augusta Evans Will
son has written nothing for several wears.
and her books are hot very often asked for.
There is always steady demand for .Ben-
Hur," Miss Woolson's 'Anne, "and "a Rev
erend Idol"
Disraeli's novels are not read nearly so
much as they were two or three wears ago.
Jane PorteT's Scottish Chiefs'' and ..Thad-
deus OF Wa saw have each been read halt a
dozen tunes, and Jane Austin and the Baro-
hess Tautfitl ass novels not quite so MANY.
Wha.dotte boys and girls read? OF the
1,34l stot,es rs ltioned above 2O3 are by
Oliver Ootic. AZ is but just to say that 88 of
them have Deen read by four boys or young
men, and the rest by 40. Verne's books
have been taken out IS times, Ayers 80,
Harry Castlemon's IS; Kellogg's 81; Trow-
bridges, A; Mayne held's, 26. Among the
new books, Eggleston's ''Hoosier School-
boy has gone out "a times; Med in the
Block House, "a; Stoddard 5 Among the
Lakes" IA, and Mrs. Dodge's ''Donald and
Dorothy" 10. These are all good, wnoie-
some books. Uncle Remns mas been taken
taken out IA times; Horace Scudder's books,
10; Susan Cooidge's, Is, and Miss Alcott's,
~. Girls have read the mawkish Elsie
books Is times, and the wretched s.Two
Years at Hillsboro," 10.
tom Browns School days. has gone out
times, Robinson Crusoe" aud the ..Swiss
Family Robinson" each once, and Jacob Alb
bouts books 3 times. The ''Boy's King Ar
thur" Boys Mabinoglon,' and Boys
Percy" have each been taken twice, the
STORY of Roland" times, Howard Pyle's
"kooin Hood IL, Hans Anderson 4,
Church's "Stories from Homer and other
booKs 5, "Paladln and Saracen'' 6, Coulter
bury Chimes" Lambs "Tales from Shakes
peare." and Adventures of Ulysses Cox
Tales of Ancient Greece" and the ..Ara-
bian Nights" each once. and various folk
and fairy tales times.