New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-24
UHERE STATISTICS FAN.

| An English person possessing an i'll grounded
confidence in statistics has recently " come a
cropper," AS they say in the hunting field, by
leaning upon them too strongly. He hal a
Curiosity 10 know what kind Of books are read
by the Girl of the Period, and he accordingly
prepared circulars putting carefully devised
questions. and distributed them widely. lie
waited patiently for the answers, cOllaied
! them when they arrived and then based Oh
| them solemn paper which ne addressed to
! The Nineteenth Century. Ii WIS really funny
paper, because the poor dear man had not the
faiute>t suspicion that the Gil Of the Period
| had been (to employ technical phras') taking
"A rise out Vt him. But she certainly had, as his
| list den onstrates. Dickens is the alleged fav
orite Of he largtst number of giIS, the figures
beng based on one thousand answers. Then
follow On.a graduated scale, IA score more
of the minor writers of the time, almost every
author of merit being gnprel totally, aud no
single suffrage being given to any artist of
har is cae the sensational school. On da,
Rhoda Br 'ughton, Miss Braddon, are con-
spcuouS by their absence; but Elizabeth
Wetherell has many admirers.
Mr.. Salmon seems to have accepted these
statements of preference without a doubt as
IDENTITY puzzle him a good deal he argues from
them quite soberly aud seriously. OF course
his cone lusons worthless, it being evident
that the young ladies whom no had under taken
to catechi>e had resented the action as imper-
tlnent Perhaps they felt about 1t rs the diplo-
mat die when asked what his religious opinions
were: "Thry are those held by all sensible
men," he replied aud being further interroyat-
r. 81, I.,
served That is thing " hich sensible people
never tell" Whoever sets ont 10 ascertain
what girls read, as Mr.. Salmon did, should have
in mind that broad distinction must be drawn
between the books which certain class IF
good people consider ought to be read 10y girls
and the books which the girls themselves prefer
to read. There is an immense deal of iSun.
derstandny on this point, there is regarding
childIens books, so called. Probably two thirds
of the literature especially made for children
interests them little or no a. alt 1t is oftrner
below thar above their intelligence. The same
is true of the glrly-grly literature Mucn d
IT is more apt to revolt than to please those for
whom it is supposed, in purely conventional
way, to be adapted Girls do, 10 donbt, read
too much trash, bat we believe that if not
unwiscly restricted in their reading they " i'll
chpose sound fiction. and such IA taste once
acquired is never list
They read and like stories with plenty of
action just as boys do. Every healthy gIrl |
eniovs lvanhoe" for instance, and bOoks of |
adventure and peril. of course requiring that |
there shall be luve-making enough. The mod |
ern psychological rOvel is PROBABLY too strong |
meat for these young people, and the goody
goudy books in which the heroine goes through |
all kinds of suffering and ill-treatmcnt only to
die of something lingering, to slow music, just
when all the difficulties nave been cleared away,
are never appreciated save 10y m elder genera
ton which, though it never would have rea
such stuff itself, somehow thinks the heirs of
all the ages ought to be glad to do so. There
is also another kind of book which the Girl of
the Period rejects utterly, and 1t is the cookery
book. Progressists say it is well that this
should be So, but husbands are APT t, reach
different conclusions especially Ghen dyspep-
>ia c0mpels them to adopt m"notonous diet of
phnsphates and peptones. WHAT girls rea
indeed is great mystery, ceining which
only the broadcast conjecture. may be per-
nittel. That they carefully avoid didactic
Literature might be inferred perhaps by cynical
observers. III at they keep abreast of contem-
Dorary hctiDn is self-evdent. But their re ID
Dg Is no doubt various and as heterogeneous
rs that of men, and different classes have
special tastes. Statistics must fail in a case of
his kind as Mr.. Samons experiment has de-
mons rated. What girls reah is as difficult
question to answer as " hat girls aye, and that
las perplexed the philosophers OF all ages, as
vas observed by the SAGE " hon Moses, son
md heir Of the Reverend DR.. Primrose, en-
ountered at the far.