The San Francisco call., 1909-09-05
Y-.-THE STORY OF THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORK

there he sees and shows you what the
succession of days and the recurring
nights bring to the shop girl. the clerk,
the worker at this and that dull task
for wage that supplies little to the
body and less to the soul. Usually
each brief story-viyid. human, real
lays bare some cruel roughness of the
social fabric at the same time that 1t
gives a quaint, dear glimpse of good
and happiness and fun.
"Of course" says 0. Henry. there
are two sides to the question. Let us
look at the other. We often hear, shop
girls spoken of. No such persons exist.
There are girls who work in shops.
They make their living that way. But
why turn their occupation into an ad-
jective? Let us be fair. We do not
refer to the girls who live on Fifth
avenue as marriage girls.
1t is a common temptation to COM
pare recent arrival In literature with
its veterans or it's gods. o. Henry's
Indifference to the English language
as he makes it do his bidding is like
the big Indifference of Kipling. A like
ness to Dickens is more obvious. There
is the largeness of philosophy and
sympathy. the CLEAN and flash of wit.
humor grotesque and deep. and the
half intimate gayety of manner that,
after all, is not really gay and not
His stories make a sort OF "Comedie
Humaine." He takes rag time" music
and gives an effect that challenges the
tragedy of grand opera. Life he
says himself. 'is made UP of sobs, sniff
f1es and smiles. with sniffles predomi-
mating" The shop girl who nasquer-
AIDES for week as a great lady, the
fat dweller who has glimpse of
heaven through the skylight of her
attic bedroom and of romance in an
ambulance. the tawdry little actress
whose faith is shattered. the young
clubman who chooses between a for
tune for himself and one for a home
less girl. are all people of his. por-
trayed with a quick, loving pencil, Wig
orous, apparently careless. in reality
painstaking to the point of 1neness.
He has. too, an elusive way of inter
weaving the romantic and the ridicu-
lous so that they are hard to dis
tinguish Take for instance, passage
from short story entitled Hearts and
Crosses:
Santa was lyin' in bed pretty sick.
But she gives out kind of smile. and
her hand and mine locks horns, and ]
sits down by the bed-mud and spurs
and chaps and all. I've heard you
ridin' across the grass for hours. Webb.
she says I was sure you'd come. You
saw the sign?' she whispers The
minute l hit camp, says /. Twas
marked on the bag of potatoes and
onions They're always together
says she, soft like-.always together in
lifse They go we'll together. / says
in a stew I mean hearts and crosses,
says Santa. Our sign-to love and to
suffer-that's what they mean"
o. Henry's methods of work, as he
himself describes them, are simple
"Ruie l of story writing is to write
stories that please yourself There is
no rule 2. In writing, forget the pub
lie I get a story thoroughly in mind
before 1 sit down at my table Then
I write 1t out quickly, and, without
revising it. send 1t to my publishers
In this way I am able to Judge my
work almost as the public judges 1t
I've seen stories in type that 1 didn't
at first blush recognize as my own"
"Do you have times when you can't
writer" I asked him.
"Oh, yes; sometimes have dry spells
that last for two or three months. In
this event. / never force myself. I se,
out and see things and talk to people.
He Is now at work on a novel which
will surely find. when 1t appears. an
eager and curious crowd who will want
TO read the first long work of the man
whose short stories have made him
such big, clear, lovable figure.