Arizona republican., 1909-07-09

This remark of Mr. Crawford's to | the reporter. however. was unfortunate, | as it led to the inference that he
 worked hasti'y. and used his great taI ! ent chiefly with a view to it's imme- | diate reward Those who knew him
 well. and had watched his career since | his first success know that such an inference would he unjust to his high
 sense of responsibility towards himself
 and the public. He had many natural
 gifts. but he had also the patience and
 power of concentration which are often
 lacking in gifted natures. His obser-
 vation was always. and almost uncon-
 sciously. keen. and his desire to learn
 unbounded. As he used to say, "I like
 to know how things are done." and he
 could do many different things himself
 Readers of Casa Braccio" (which he
 thought his best book). may remem-
 Der that one of the minor characters,
 an old cobbler, is described in d man
 ner which shows intimate acquaintance
 with his trade. That was easy to do.
 because when Crawford was preparing
 for Cambridge at Hatfield Regis. the
 Lonely Parish one of his friends
 had been the village shoemaker. and
 he made a pair Of shoes. just to learn
 how" He also joined the local bell
 ringers, and became familiar with
 their complicated system of peals and
 chimes. The description of silver chis-
 cling in "Marzio's Crucifix" is also
 the result of actual experience. for he
 once worked at this branch of art. and
 if he had gone on could have support cd himself by it. Like many left
 handed men, he was skillful in the use of tools, and his capacity as a prac- tical mechanic was tested when he put a complete system of American plumb ing into his villa at Sorrento. assisted by a couple of workmen who had nev- CT seen such appliances and could only solder a joint.
 As d young man MT. Crawford was the envoy of his friends and ac- quaintances, for not only was he tall and straight, extremely handsome. and possessed of great bodily strength. but he had in addition much charm of manner. and mind capable of grasp ing with ease tasks which were inn i possible to others, or only obtain l able by months or even years of ef- | fort One of his talents was special | facility for acquiring languages. Hav- | ing been born and partly brought up | in Italy he naturally spoke Italian in | most of its many dialects perfectly, ! and he also had the frequent ex- perience of being taken for d German in Germany and d Frenchman in France At one time he spent q winter at Prague, in order to obtain local colour and atmosphere for one { of his novels, and in the short space of eight weeks he had acquired !. enough of the difficult Bohemian lan- guage to make himself easily under stood wherever he went and to ll gather material from those who spoke | no other tongue.
 When he first found himselr' as I writer of fiction at the age of twenty eight, the result was like the rush of an artesian we'll when rock is pierced, and one book follow ed another in rapid succession. Those who think that he forced himself to write are mistaken: the writing 'orced him. When he was at work m novel he was possessed by it le heard the characters speak and saw them move. and they were as cal tp hiu lpi tlc tiitt d9 -iNhiB nen and women. No novelist who las written many books is always al lis best-there would be no best" f hat were so-but Marion Crawford, rom first to last, gave all that was n him to his work.
 He had finished two novels before lis fatal illness, but when they have Lppeared there will be 10 more. Tn zen which has frightened so many tours for thousands since the first words of MT. Isaacs were written Is Iuiet now, and it's master has gone O his own place. .