The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-26
BOOK AGENTS HAPPY DAY
WHEN THEY FLOURIsHED IN sPLEN-
DOR AND WE'RE INVITED GUESTS.
"Reminiscences Of the beginning and
Growth of a Literary Spirit
i'm a Missouri Town.
New York Times Saturday Review.

iO"inS ID St. JOsepI, Iho., HOH Saes' az
cording to the census of 1900, of over 10000
inhabitants, a growth of nearly sS per cent.
in the last decade. a showing exceeding
that OF any other city so far as the returns
have been made. with the possible excep-
ton of Memphis, Tenn.
"It is a mystery to me who writes all
these books and a mystery who reads
them. / do not think the younger genera
ton understands how the making of books
has increased" said book purchaser in
one of the big publishing houses of the
city.
Somewhat enthusiastically he continued:
why, do you know, you have more books
on one side of this room that there were in
my town in Missouri the years of the civil
war, when the town had population OF
%, 600? 1t was not that our people did not
read. Each family Of the more intelligent
part of the community had few books
There was an exchange of the volumes-a
sort of circulating home library. 1t was
safe to lend books then.
"And this reminds me of the character Of
the books we read and their effect. Oeca-
sionally somebody would buy a new book.
and as soon as it had made few rounds
'I distinctly remember the first copy in
that town of Victor Hugo's Les Miser-
ables.' 1t was paper bound, and fine print,
nonpareil, think. 1t was the property of
a Scotch doctor, who was one of the literati
of the place. AS soon as he became inter-
ested in it he began talking of 1t. His Of
| fee was on a prominent corner. shaded
by an awning. Here in the summer after
| Moons there frequently gathered several
| well-known lawyers and doctors of the
town. At these gatherings the news of the
Gay and literary subjects were discussed.
| Sometimes q preacher dropped In, and &C.
casionally a spirited theological discussion
| took place.
THEY WANTED TO KNOW.
"After the Scotch doctor had spoken Of
his new book curiosity impeiled him to
bring it to the corner, and day after day
when the weather and the gathering per-
mitted he read Les Miserables to the
crowd, and it was not long before the
| town was talking about the author, and
l well recall frequent inquiry of the
town. Who is this man Hugo? 1 think
nearly every reading man I'm the place
who had not heard the old doctor read
| at the corner borrowed the book.
/ LAS 1t was war time, naturally the chap
ters in Les Miserables descriptive of the
battle of Waterloo, occasioned more COM
ment than any others, and in this way the
| town gradually took on a fresh interest ir
Napoleon. A regular Napoleon craze took
possession Of the place soon after. and very
soon somebody bought the History of Ma
| poleon Bonaparte' by ]. S. G. Abbott. The
younger generation, of course, became in
| fatuated with Bonaparte as he was pic
| tured by Abbott. How well remember the
time when the Scotch doctor brought down
! upon his head the condemnation of the
younger generation by introducing Scott 5
| Life of Napoleon an offset. Perhaps
few of the more general readers knew of
Scott, but his Life of Napoleon brought
out in the manner described, was the means
of introducing in the community SCOTS
| 'Waverly Novels AS the old Scotch doc
! tor had the set they soon had quite a cic-
culation among the book borrowers.
II shall never forget an incident that
occurred as result of the discussion of
'Waverly at the corner. a young man.,
with commercial bent, was an interested
capitalist with the building of a steamboat,
/ in which the town had a pride and stocx.
A young woman had been asked to select
| a name for the craft. One day the steam
| Scotch doctor that the name selected was
| that of one of the characters of Mr.. Scott s
| books, 'Rowena,' and asked the doctor If
he thought it was all right for steam
| boat.
You won't mind my saying that the
| Rowena became the favorite packet in the
! trade. But Mr. Scott evidently had friends
elsewhere in that section, for the next sea-
| son there was a Di Vernon in the same
THEN .'UNDINE" CAME.
Zone day the Governor of the State,
| whose home in the town, Joined the
ccterie, and asked If any one had ever read
| 'Undine.' Nobody had heard of it. The
Governor said he picked up the volume in
| the house of friend in another city, and
never put it down until he had read it,
| And in about two weeks 'Undine' was in
| town, going the rounds.
by the way, have you the novels of Jere
| Clemens? You don't recall him? He was a
United States senator from Alabama long
| ago. You will find on inquiry that he ranked
as one of the foremost orators of his time
| / think he was in the Senate with the great
triumvirate. He wrote three novels. He was
| a champion of Aaron Burr. He wrote a
| historical novel, called The Rivals; or, the
| Times of Burr and Hamilton, in order to
show. as he thought. that Hamilton, by
| trickery, caused the downfall of Burr The
| style of this book was most intense. Some
| of the situations were dramatic Clemens
| undertook to show that Washington was
| fascinated by Burr until Hamilton, in his
| jealousy. poisoned the mind Of Washing
ton against Burr. In nearly every instance,
| according to Clemens, Hamilton used a
woman in his plot TO defame Burr.
| Somebody brought this book to the cor
| ner. II was read and went on it's rounds
| and came back a wreck. Hamilton didn't
| have advocate I'm the place The title
page OF the novel contained the informa-
! ton that Mr.. Clemens was also author of
| Bernard Lyle, Romance of the Mexican
| War and Mustang Grey, a sequel. These
| two books were sent for. 1 bought them
from the publisher, a New York house and
| they went the rounds of the borrowers
managed to keep them until they We're
wiped out by the Chicago fire. and when i
| sought to replace them j found they We're
| not in print Bernard lyle as portrayed
| by Clemens, was one of the strongest char
| acters / ever found in fiction
THE FAVORITE FICTION.
I'm American fiction Mary j. Holmes
and Augusta Evans were the favorito
authors 1 used to wonder what the moth
| ers of that town would have done for
names for their babies but for .Beulah.
| .Macaria' and Tempest and Sunshine
| These books were not read on the literary
corner. but were discussed by sedate men
who had heard of them in their families
There was one copy OF Blackwood's
| taken in the town. and few copies of the
Eclectic, New York monthly edited by a
| preacher Godey's Lady's Book had been
taken by the women readers of the town
| until sectional feeling against anything
| from the land of the Yankee shut IL out
| 81 think Appletons American Cyclopae-
| dia was the beginning OF the accumulation
OF books in the families. as IL also seemed
| TO create the first desire for what we called
| solid reading. And the first copies of this
| work sold in the town were subscribed fo,
| on the corner. An agent for the work mad.