by O. Henry
“The Plutonian Fire,” New York Sunday World (September 24, 1905), originally published with the subtitle “Being the Curious Love Affair of the Man from Alabama”; The Voice of the City, pp. 105–14.
“The Last Leaf,” New York Sunday World (October 15, 1905); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 198–208.
“Elsie in New York,” New York Sunday World (October 22, 1905); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 249–60.
“The Purple Dress,” New York Sunday World (November 5, 1905); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 130–38.
“The Gift of the Magi,” New York Sunday World (December 10, 1905), under the title “Gifts of the Magi”; The Four Million, pp. 16–25.
“The Duel,” New York Sunday World (January 7, 1906); Strictly Business, pp. 294–301.
“The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball,” New York Sunday World (February 25, 1906); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 32–41.
“The Buyer from Cactus City,” New York Sunday World (March 4, 1906); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 70–80.
“The Harbinger,” New York Sunday World (March 18, 1906); The Voice of the City, pp. 49–57.
“Brickdust Row,” New York Sunday World (July 1, 1906); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 89–101.
“Girl,” New York Sunday World (July 15, 1906); Whirligigs, pp. 81–88.
“The Trimmed Lamp,” McClure’s (August 1906); The Trimmed Lamp, pp. 3–21.
“Proof of the Pudding,” Broadway Magazine (May 1907); Strictly Business, pp. 240–54.
“The Memento,” Ainslee’s (February 1908); The Voice of the City, pp. 229–43.
“A Night in New Arabia,” Everybody’s Magazine (March 1908); Strictly Business, pp. 209–30.
“Strictly Business,” Hampton’s (August 1908); Strictly Business, pp. 3–20.
“The Third Ingredient,” Everybody’s Magazine (December 1908); Options, pp. 22–44.
“The Higher Pragmatism,” Munsey’s (March 1909); Options, pp. 250–63.
“No Story,” first published as “The Point of the Story” in Red Book Magazine (November 1903), this revised version was published in Cosmopolitan (June 1909); Options, pp. 232–49.
FINAL STORIES
“Let Me Feel Your Pulse,” Cosmopolitan (July 1910), under the title “Adventures in Neurasthenia: Some Experiences of a Nerve-Sick Man Seeking Health”; Sixes and Sevens, pp. 154–73.
“The Snow Man,” Hampton’s Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 2 (August 1910), pp. 231–38; left unfinished at Porter’s death, it was finished by H. M. Lyons and posthumously collected in Waifs and Strays.
“The Dream,” Cosmopolitan, Vol. 49, No. 4 (September 1910), pp. 444–47; posthumously collected in Rolling Stones.
This volume presents the texts of the original printings chosen for inclusion here, but it does not attempt to reproduce features of their typographic design. The texts are presented without change, except for the correction of typographical errors. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are often expressive features, and they are not altered, even when inconsistent or irregular. The following is a list of typographical errors corrected, cited by page and line number: 14.13, mother!; 20.4, tootache; 34.28, Whisky; 40.21, as artist; 41.37, ghost.; 42.6, “Isn’t it—?; 43.10, it—“; 49.39, embodiement; 53.13, Canon; 53.15, wildness; 54.26, Arizona. Dan; 63.25, mangificent; 74.6, all’,; 95.24, Corurac; 104.9, suit case; 162.17, began morphine; 167.4, teller, was; 189.7, I, says; 189.14, lady, You; 189.39, shouts ‘you; 192.4, ‘I ’ll; 192.29, Perry; 192.33, We; 204.36, snoozer.’; 219.5, neary; 234.11, a elegant; 280.13, sunt Namely:; 313.14, spashed; 314.11, George; 314.13, Chihauhau; 327.1, Let; 343.16, Liberators.”; 389.27, pawn—”; 396.27, ‘Most; 405.14, á; 407.25, dinning; 428.3, your prefer.”; 437.4, avenue; 437.6, d’hote; 440.4, little.; 440.9, dish.”; 468.27, woman; 473.4, Blue-Light; 476.1, ¶hours; 478.13, heydey; 503.34, d’hote; 509.29, opprobious; 511.21, Spain.; 518.36, hear; 552.16, [new ¶ at “ ‘Friend,’]; 565.25, grin.”; 569.6, breath; 601.9, jewsharp; 605.9, said.; 613.25, me for red; 613.35, [no ¶ before “—plaited]; 615.19, ready-made. Oh; 615.23, waisted.; 615.30, Ramsey; 616.1, “She’s; 616.34, Ramsey; 617.31, Ramsey’s; 627.24, Bernardt; 630.37, d’hote.; 633.3, scatching; 633.13, with as; 636.14, ended,; 653.1, Forence; 667.23, bottons; 726.21, go you,”; 739.32, themouldly; 771.25, plam; 773.19, cook?.
Notes
In the notes below, the reference numbers denote page and line of the hardcover edition (the line count includes chapter headings). No note is made for material included in the eleventh edition of Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Biblical references are keyed to the King James Version; references to Shakespeare to The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974). For further biographical background, references to other studies, and more detailed notes, see C. Alphonso Smith, O. Henry Biography (New York: Doubleday, Page, 1916); Gerald Langford, Alias O. Henry: A Biography of William Sidney Porter (New York: Macmillan, 1957); and Paul S. Clarkson, A Bibliography of William Sidney Porter (Caldwell, OH: Caxton Publishers, 1938).
EARLY SKETCHES, STORIES, AND REPORTAGE
3.3 General Land Office] Constructed in 1856–57, the former Texas General Land Office is now a visitor center. William Sidney Porter worked there as a draftsman from 1887 to 1891.
3.7 “castled crag of Drachenfels”] “The castled crag of Drachenfels / Frowns o’er the wide and winding Rhine,” Canto III, section LV from “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” (1812–18) by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824). The Drachenfels (German for “Dragon’s Rock”) is a hill in western Germany.
15.9 “The Ancient Mariner”] Cf. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” poem (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834). O. Henry misquotes the opening line: “It is an ancient Mariner.”
15.19 daisy cutters] Baseball slang for ground balls.
18.19–20 North American Review . . . Puck and Judge] The North American Review was a serious literary magazine, while the other two titles were weekly magazines of humor and satire.
28.1–2 Strange we do not prize . . . has flown:] The first two lines of “If We Knew” (1867) by May Riley Smith (1843–1927). It was frequently anthologized and provided the text of the hymn “Scatter Seeds of Kindness.” The rest of the verse in the story is O. Henry’s invention.
29.2 UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY by Noah Webster] Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language (1890). Noah Webster (1758–1843) published several editions of an English dictionary, beginning in 1828. After his death, the rights to the Webster name were sold to George and Charles Merriam.
29.14 Houston City Directory, by Morrison & Fourmy] Morrison & Fourmy’s General Directory of the City of Houston, published biannually from 1882 to 1894.
34.2 THE POST man] A persona Porter frequently adopted in his pieces for the Houston Post.
40.12–15 ‘Would die, . . . sweet to live”] Stanza XVIII of “Maud” (1854) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892).
52.2 Siskiwah county, Ari.] There is no such county in Arizona.
53.8 Lava canyon] Lava Canyon of the Colorado River is upstream from the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. In the story, it is an invented town.
55.5 the eyes of Melpomene] In Greek mythology, the muse of tragedy.
55.5–6 the heart of the ancient British queen whose name she bore] Boadicea, also known as Boudica, British Celtic queen who led an uprising against occupying Roman forces in the first century C.E.
55.33 Gila monsters] Venomous lizards found in the southwestern U.S.
COUNTRY
97.8 Young Hyson] Variety of green tea that comes from the Anhui province of China.
99.8–9 tartar emetic and Rochelle salt Ant. et Pot. Tart. and Sod. et Pot. Tart.] Two medicines familiar to contemporary pharmacists: tartar emetic (formal name Antimony Potassium Tartrate), which is toxic in high do
ses, and Rochelle salt (Potassium-Sodium Tartrate).
99.26 magnesia carbonate or the pulverized glycerrhiza radix?] Magnesia carbonate is an antacid as well as an anticaking agent. Glycerrhizae radix or licorice root, a mainstay of traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat a variety of conditions.
108.16 trois-quartz] French: trois-quarts, or three-quarters.
123.24–25 Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, Cormac McCullenan and Cuan O’Lochain] Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise (c. 516–c. 549 C.E.), Irish abbot known for his asceticism. Cormac mac Cuilennáin (836–908 C.E.), Irish bishop, king of Cashel (902–8 C.E.), and author of Sanas Cormaic, an encyclopedic glossary of more than 1,400 Irish words. Cuon O’Lothchain, the chief ollam, or bard, of Ireland until his death in 1024 C.E.
131.18–19 niggerhead rock] Regional slang for a dark-colored rock or boulder.
131.26 “King Herod,”] Herod the Great, Roman client-king of Judea (c. 72–c. 4 B.C.E.) under Rome, who according to biblical accounts ordered the massacre of all male children two years old and younger near Bethlehem.
WEST
157.19 Ozone] In the 1890s it was widely thought that ozone gas could be used to treat tuberculosis.
157.24 Litmus paper tests] When exposed to ozone, paper coated with potassium iodide and cornstarch will turn purple.
158.5 muriate] Chlorine gas, used as a method of suicide.
159.6 “Twenty-four.”] The normal respiration rate for adults is twelve to twenty breaths per minute.
159.32 Kentucky Belle] Brand of whiskey made by R. S. Strader & Son, Lexington, Kentucky.
159.37 Uncle Mark Hanna] Mark Hanna (1837–1904), jocularly known as “Uncle Mark,” Ohio industrialist and Republican political operative.
160.8–11 “En las tardes . . . mas infeliz.”] Spanish: In the afternoons umbrellas of winter / In the meadow of Morar I recline / And I curse my amazing destiny— / A most unhappy life. The verse is likely O. Henry’s creation.
161.22 Phthisis] Tuberculosis.
171.9 Shiloh and Fort Pillow] Civil War battles that took place in 1862 and 1864, respectively.
179.13 Nueces and the Frio] Rivers that converge south of San Antonio, Texas.
184.3 B. & M. express] The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, a rail company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
187.20 Aransas Pass] A Texas city on the Gulf of Mexico.
200.33 Epicurus] Greek philosopher (341–270 B.C.E.) whose beliefs centered on the importance of friendship and simple pleasures and the acceptance of death’s inevitability.
206.2 The man who told me these things] Alphonso J. “Al” Jennings (1863–1961), Virginia-born train robber and later film actor, politician, and author, who met and befriended Porter in Honduras. They renewed their acquaintance at the Ohio State Penitentiary when both men were serving there.
207.27 The Santa Fé flyer] The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, chartered in 1859. A flyer is a fast train.
210.5–7 high silk hat . . . Prince Albert] Prince Albert of Great Britain (1819–1861) created a fashion trend for top hats when he began wearing them frequently in the 1850s.
210.9 French harp] Harmonica.
210.19–20 Prettiest little gal . . . told me so.] “Prettiest Little Girl in the County-O,” traditional song.
213.23 Cimarron] A branch of the Santa Fe Trail.
213.27 Washington City] Washington, D.C.
215.5 Daltons] The Dalton Gang, an outlaw group active 1890–92.
215.9–10 M. K. & T. flyer] Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway.
215.15 Katy] Slang for Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway, from its “KT” stock symbol.
216.7 his “sider,”] Possibly sidekick.
217.12 buck at faro?] The card game Faro was sometimes referred to as “Bucking the Tiger.”
217.16 Buckle’s History of Civilisation] History of Civilization in England, a proposed fourteen-volume work by Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–1862), only one volume of which was published, in 1857.
217.19–20 Sep Winner’s Self-Instructor for the Banjo] Septimus “Sep” Winner (1827–1902), American songwriter, publisher, and author of Winner’s New Primer for the Banjo (1892).
217.33 “Old Zip Coon”] Minstrel song, sung to the tune of “Turkey in the Straw.”
218.9 Alfred] City in Maine.
218.40 “Buffalo Gals, Can’t You Come Out To-night,”] “Buffalo Gals” (1844), traditional song.
219.9 Lick Observatory] Astronomical observatory opened in 1888 and operated by the University of California.
219.27–28 Mary-Jane infirmity] Possibly a reference to Buster Brown’s sweetheart, Mary Jane, in the “Buster Brown” comic strip (1902–21) by Richard F. Outcault (1863–1928).
219.37 the snow scene from the “Two Orphans.”] The Two Orphans, theatrical melodrama by French dramatists Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Cormon, which premiered in 1874. An English version was produced the same year and was widely performed. A pivotal scene takes place in the snow outside a church.
223.2 Yellowhammer] No such town exists. A yellowhammer is a bird common in the American South.
223.11 from the Gila country . . . the Pecos] The Gila River, a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona. The Salt River, a tributary of the Gila, in Arizona. The Pecos River originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas.
223.29 the Mariposas] Mariposa is the Spanish word for “butterfly.” The reference in the story is obscure.
224.31 seen the elephant and the owl] “To see the elephant,” common nineteenth-century expression meaning to endure an unusually trying experience. Sometimes rendered as “I’ve seen the elephant and heard the owl.”
224.32 seidlitz powder] Generic name for a common laxative.
225.7 Chuck-a-luck] A dice game.
225.9 “Come and Kiss Me, Ma Honey,”] Possibly a reference to the popular song “Little Sweetheart Come Kiss Me” (1873).
226.11 William Cullen Longfellow] Combination of the American poets William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).
228.8 Swiss Family Robinsons] The Swiss Family Robinson (1812), novel by Johann David Wyss (1743–1818) about a family shipwrecked in the East Indies who survive on a tropical island.
230.30 ‘Pussy Wants a Corner’] Also called Puss in the Corner, a game in which players occupy spots in a room and at a signal try to exchange places before an additional player can reach one of the vacant spots.
230.30 ‘King William.’] Children’s kissing game in which the party sings a song beginning, “King William Was King James’s Son.”
234.12 Bitter Root Mountains] Bitterroot Mountains, range spanning parts of western Montana and eastern Idaho.
236.1 seven-up] Card game, also known as All Four.
236.9–10 “Herkimer’s Handbook of Indispensable Information.”] Likely a satirical reference to The Indispensable Handbook of Useful and Practical Information: Pertaining to the Household, the Trades and the Professions by George Lowell Austin (1878).
238.28–29 pro re nata] Latin: under present circumstances.
240.29 Ruby Ott] Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, title given by English poet Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883) to his 1859 translation of verses attributed to the Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131).
243.34 Jalap and Jerusalem oakseed] Substances commonly prescribed as purgatives.
245.1 The Caballero’s Way] While it literally means “horseman,” caballero also connotes qualities of a gentleman.
245.21 jacal] Spanish: adobe-style housing structure.
&n
bsp; 247.29 gitanas] Spanish: the Romani people of Spain.
248.3 chivo] Spanish: goat.
249.26–27 Don’t you monkey . . . what I’ll do—] Opening of “Bang Bang Lulu,” traditional American song.
250.27 vaquero] Spanish: cowboy.
250.28 tienda] Spanish: store.
251.16 ‘El Chivato,’] Spanish: the Villain.
253.15 canciones de amor] Spanish: love songs.
255.34 tule] Bulrush.
257.2 war veteran aged twenty-nine] “The Moment of Victory” was published in 1908. The Spanish-American War took place in 1898.
257.6 the Don] Slang for Spaniard.
257.7 Greater Antilles] Island group in the Caribbean Ocean, including Cuba.
257.12 Mindanao] The second largest island in the Philippines.
258.5 San Augustine] City in East Texas.
258.17 fools and angels] “Fools rush in where angels dare to tread,” proverb originating in “An Essay on Criticism” (1711), poem by Alexander Pope (1688–1744).
258.24 germans] Sausages.
258.28 Two Orphans] See note 219.37.
259.31 fly] Fashionable.
260.5 the battleship Maine was blown up] U.S. Navy ship that sank in Havana Harbor in February 1898, contributing to start of the Spanish-American War.
260.6 Joe Bailey] Joseph Bailey (1862–1929), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, 1891–1901, and U.S. senator, 1901–13.
260.6–7 Ben Tillman] Benjamin Tillman (1847–1918), U.S. senator from South Carolina, 1895–1918.
260.8 Mason & Hamlin’s line] Mason & Hamlin was a Massachusetts piano manufacturer. The Mason-Dixon line was considered the boundary between slave and free states before the Civil War.
260.11–12 ‘We’re coming, Father William. . . and then some,’] The Civil War poem “We Are Coming, Father Abra’am” by Joseph S. Gibbons begins, “We are coming Father Abraham—300,000 more.” “William” here is William McKinley (1843–1901), U.S. president from 1897 to 1901.