The herald., 1894-12-31
augmented. Verify. the gods are propi-
tious to Southern California this season.
A B0YHOOD FRIEND.

Erastus Flavius Bsadle is dead. ct the
ripe age Of "A. The name OF Beadle re-
calls an epoch in book publishing and
= phrase that has become proverbial.
Tho dime novel dates from Mr.. Beadls.
He Was the originator in the country oi
cheap books, and Beadle's dime novels
and dime books of various sorts brought
literature, such as 1t was. to the door Of
millions.
Other publishers in time rather bet-
tered his instruction and sold still
cheaper books, but not before Mr..
Beadls had obtained his reward in the
way of q comfortable fortune. 1t was
honestly and upon the whole worthily
earned, for whilo "dime novep has
come to mean an entirely sensational
and disreputable sort of fiction. thing
to be handled with tongs and kept out
OF the reach of boys.it was nothing OF
the kind as published by Mr.. Beadle.
More nobjsctionable novels. save on the
score OF duilness. never went through a
printing press. One may penetrate all
the wilds and deeps OF that vast domain
OF fiction OF which Mr. Beadle was the
lord and master and come safe home
again unscathed. Neither in pety nor
morals will he have moulted feather.
Tne chief writer's in the Beadle library
of fiction in it's palmy days were Ann S.
Stephens, A. J. H. Duganre, Edward S.
Ellie. Meta V. Victor. John Neal and
Ned Buntline. Are these names still
known to fame after 20 years? Perhaps.
One cannot recall the names OF all their
works with the facility that he does
those OF Dickens and Thacksray, but be
assured they had world OF readers in
their day. There was certain novel
entitled Seth Jones, an Indian etory by
Mr.. Ellis, that had an enormous sale.
The first edition was $4,000 copies. and
it was popular for several years until
displaced by the Trail Hunters.
The Chicago Herald, in kindly rem
iniscent way. refers to the passing OF
this peculiar character in literature, and
moralizes to tho effect that it WAS NO
wonder boyish heads were occasionally
turned by the vivid adventures and hair
breadth escapes OF some OF these heroes.
No great harm was done. ]. Fenimore
Cooper and Captain Marryat have en-
ticed as many boys away to sea or to
the frontier as ever any of Beadle's
dime novels did. Ann S. Stevens was
prolific writer OF these novels and was
very popular, but one may now look
almost in vain for the works OF her
genius.
But it was not novels only that Mr..
Beadle published. His library" in.
cluded the biographies OF such heroes as
Lafayette. Daniel Boone, Paul Jones.
David Crockett, General Scott, Kit Car.
son, Pontiac and Tscumssh. There
were also biographies of men Of the
time, being pleasing histories of the
celebrities of New York and of Boston.
Then there were "song books" and
"comic speakers" and patriotic
speakers" and books OF ''fun."
these latter being mpilations for the
most part from Harper's Drawer. Man
uals on etiquette. and "letter writ.c
ing" were among these publications and {
were of undoubsed usefulness to host
of readers. A
Mr.. Beadle commenced his enterprise
about the year 1859 and continued 1t
until 1889. He published no work that
was immoral or degrading. and if his
authors were not of the highest order of
vatel the taste for reading that their
readers were subseq uently led to
higher class OF literature. Good was
thus accomplished and Mr.. Beadle de.
serves the remembrance of his country
men.