Reverend Arthur Russell Taylor, Rector of the Episcopal Church at York,
Pennsylvania, whose career as a writer of fiction opened so auspiciously
with 'Mr. Squem' and a few companion stories, died very suddenly early
in January, 1918.
Here the central interest is in character. In creating such a personage
as Mr. Squem, the writer of this story has boldly penetrated the veneer
of culture and shown us that the character elements which are of
enduring worth may be far aloof from any knowledge of art or religion or
philosophy, or any form of polite learning.
It is interesting to note the part which the railroad wreck plays in
this story. While there is enough in the situation to have made the
wreck a point of central objective interest, it is utilized here simply
as the background for the display of Mr. Squem--genial, direct,
efficient, ingenuous, dominating, interestingly crude.
In the February, 1918, _Atlantic_ Mr. Squem is equally interesting in a
different environment.
Soon after the death of Reverend Arthur Russell Taylor, Bishop James
Henry Darlington sent to the Atlantic office an interesting appreciation
of Dr. Taylor's work and character. From Bishop Darlington we learn that
Dr. Taylor 'had for years been suffering from a tumor on the brain which
had totally destroyed the sight of one eye and which by its pressure
caused him constant pain, sleepless nights, and the gradual failing of
the other eye. Like Robert Louis Stevenson, he was cheerful and
brightened the lives of others until the very last, and almost his final
writings were sent to _The Atlantic_.'
* * * * *
The following corrections were made by the etext transcriber:
the chops looks so tasty=>the chops look so tasty
had never critized=>had never criticized
* * * * *