The Washington herald., 1907-07-07
BY HECTOR FULLER.

Il IS curious how literary fashions
change and the old favorites are forgot
ten. Here is Charles NJ. Harvey in the
Atlantic asking about Beadle's novels.
novels which were all the vogue in
the eos. Mr.. Harvey says that when q
man who has passed the haif-century
mark thinks OF dime novels he thinks OF
Beadle's, which were the first and the
best Of their order" Although nearly all
Of them overflow with thrills, they are
rot OF the sort to incite 20 breaches OF
the peace The Beadle books ranged
from 5000 to $1,000 words, or about one
third Of the average novel Of to-day.
Their paper covers were salmon colored,
and they were Of a size to fit conveniently
into the pocket. and Mr.. Harvey says
they were just as free from yellowness
on the inside as they were on the out
side" Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, as well
known in her day as Mrs. Deland or
Edith Wharton is now, was one Of the
first writer's for Beadle. Mr.. Harvey
says.
The most prolific. however Of all the dime novel.
i7ts was Col. PTentiss ingraham, who wrote more
than hundred cheap stories IN all, besides many
llays and poems One Of his dimes. 100 words
was written on a rlsh' order in twenty-fOur hours
and that before the popuarzation Of the cy-pe-
writer. lngraham wrote most Of the Buffalo Bul
stories In the past quarter Of century the aver
age compensation 20 him and his associates was
$50 for writing dimes and 500 for half dimes
Nowadays, instead OF there being any
tendency toward the return Of the dimq
novel. the publishers are talking about
n general raise in the price Of novels
And yet. after ALL many Of the so-called
Sl50 books are in reality worth about 4
dime, So far as their matter is concerned
There is at least $40 of the price charged
for the cloth and binding md the imi-
tatlon gilt lettering
At the Public Library during the week
past the most popular books In nonfc-
tlon were Sidney Laniers poems and
O'Connor's Esperanto" In fiction the
call was for Spearman's Whispering
Smith" and Meredith Nichols1n's THE
Port OF Missing Men" and among the
youngsters the demand was for Jack.
the Young Ranchman," by George B.
Grinnel, and Andrew Lang's Orange
Fairy Book. Among other subjects for
which there was call during the week
French history seemed TO be popular, and
there was a large demand for Lenotre's
Flight of Marie Antolnette," and for
Maud's Felicity IN France" The libra
rian finds, also, that there is a persistent
demand for books giving plans for mex
pensive houses, and the two books that
best seem 70 meet this requirement are
Pallser's "Cp-tO-Date House Plans and
Schermerhorn's Hints for Those Who
Build, Buy. or Rent
The Century Company will publish this
fail new novel Of American life, with
scenes laid in Boston. New York. and the
Vermont hills, by Anna Douglas Sedg-
wick; The quest Of the Colonial" by
Robert and Elizabeth ShackIeton, and
"a Tuscan Childhood" by an Italian
noblewoman, Lisi Cipriani The fall pub
hcations for young folks viii include an
other of Frances Hodgson Burnett's fairy
stories, The Cozy Lion; new story
OF school life, Tom, Dick, and Harriet"
By Ralph Henry Barbour; Captain
Jane, by Alice Hogan Rice, and "Abbie
Ann" by the author Of the Emmy
also Father and Baby" by Emile
POulsson.
Among the most important announce
ments Of fall publications is Maurice
Hewlett's The STOPPING Lady" which
has been running as a serial in Tho
Bookman. and which will be issued in
book form by Dodd, Mead & Co. They
also announce two other new novels for
fall publication-"The Halo" by Bettina
Won Hutten, author of Pam" and
''The Heart of Jessie Laurie" BY Amelia
Z. Barr George Bernard Shaw's PAS
sion, Poison. and Petrifcation" Is also
on the autumn list
In one Of his addresses included in
THE Citizens Part In Government
tScribner's) Secretary Root tells a story
on Murat Halstesd. Mr.. Murat Hal
stead" he says. "once told NE how,
being a young newspaper correspondent
during the civil war. he had felt moved
TO write a long letter TO Secretary Stan
ton giving his views about the matters
in which the Secretary was engaged. and
how. many years afterward, this letter
was found on the files Of the War De-
partment indOTsed. in Stanton's own
handwriting:
NJ. Halstead-Tells how the war ought
20 be carried on
Mr.. Hastead. telling the story in later
years. said this was the only evidence he
had ever known that Stanton possessed
a sense Of humOr.
tons Of the Baker & Taylor Company
will be THE Autobiography Of Gen. o. o.
Howard" Prof WOodberry's "Apprecia-
ton Of Literature" The Challenge Of
the Cities a sociological work by Dr.
Josiah Strong. and The Man OF Sark."
romance Of the Channel Islands. by
John Oxenham, author of The Open
Road recently published by the Mac
mlllans
Writing OF Thomas Nelson Page in the
July issue OF the Atlantic Monthly Ed
win Minis remarks; In all his interpreta-
ton Of the South Mr.. Page has never
struck a sectional note. There is provin-
cialism-the healthy provincialism Of
Burns and Whitter-but he IS right in
claiming, in the Introduction TO the Plan
tation Edition, that he has never whiting
ly written line which he did not hope
might tend to bring about a better under
standing between the North and South
and finally lead 10 a more perfect Union.
In his stories when the passion Of preju-
dice IS at its height, human nature
asserts itself. The Two Little Confed-
crates bury in their garden the body of
the Federal soldier; the heroine Of 'Meh
Lady, after long and passionate conflict
between love and patriotism. yields to
the Northern colonel. and the hero Of
Red Rock-dashing soldier and Ku Klux
leader-is united, with the Northern girl.
Mr.. Page has been one Of the prime
forces OF revealing the South 70 the