New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-19
O. Henry and the Popular Short
Story.


know these autsere cNorcisers. with their
neat alluslols TO Poe. Maupassant and
Henry Iar-es. their owiish reflections on
The esoteric significance OF the French
contc' and their luminous explanations
81 the art 10 be followed i'm the treat
lnent Of this literary form. Lacking the
iron resolution needed II one IS 70 plunge
5nia the sulemnities belonging 60 an eN-
animation Of this sort. We refrain from
~uch dealings with SO high erected 4
,opic Yet tho present volume lures us
into = Few observations on at least one
kind az short story. the popular kind as
ISOLATED with tho name of O Henry.
Tho late sidney Porter made that pen
name Of his known throughout the com
Try. Ills rogue was tremendous. II Is
interesting % seek the cause.
This Tos;numous volume. Of his is ak
oeIlently representative. Going through
Is with REGULAR care, Nc have Recognised
The different motives previously used by
him in some eight or nine books There
is the urban motive and there IS TIE
exotic. the vivid suppression Of life at
our doors snd the more richly coiored
r,cfr1-e OF some episode in another lau-
+ude than that of New York. We meet
here again fhe trick OF surprise, the
story meant TO befool the reader until.
as With A snap OF whip, the author lets
him know what ne was driving at all
along. There Is the same ingenuity in
the extraction OF romance from unprom-
ssins material. There is the same strain
Of rather pathetic sentiment and there
IS the same staccato humor. 'Whirli-
gigs" then, will afford us all the docu-
snents requisite 20 an analysis OF o.
fleury's craft. At the risk Of trenching
,gpor the preserves OF those oracles to
whom we have referred. We are con-
strained 20 note that it was not so
much the craft Of writer of short
stories. IN even the most conventional
understanding OF that phrase, as it was
the f0ir of the teller of anecdotes o.
Henry buttonholes you. so 10 say, with
the latest thing he has heard. There
is something human about il and he
holds YOU briefly. You pass On with
sensation as OF having swallowed a well
made cocktail
Who breaks q butterfly upon a wheel?
-'Whirligigs" is not book 10 take with
irameasurable seriousness. and TO char
acterize il as a sheaf OF magazine or
newspaper pick-me-ups is TO give ii
fairly sufficient comment. Al the same
time one has the curiosity 10 look into
the mode of its cOncoction. 1t is a
rather simple mode. Take. for example.
the first story in the book, The World
and the Door" 1t has 10 do with
man who shoots another in drunken
Grawl and flies under the impression
that he has committed murder In the
place Of his exile he meets a woman
who is in hiding for an exactly similar
reason. she having sought to revenge
herself upon brutal husband by put
ting poison in his punch. OF course. the
rggifives fall in love. and. equally OF
course. neither has really committed a
MURDER point about which, from the
start. the reader has had no illusions
whatever The snap OF the whip comes
in an unexpected termination Of the love
affair. nut this is the only SAVIOR OF
originality communicated TO the tale
Giving. then. particular attention to the
question Of Q. Henry's originality. we
ysoIder If il does not consist altogether
ia the devising OF a terse, piquant and
not. on the whole. very impressive de
no1Iennent AT the end of THE Theory
and the Hound" a sheriff Identifies a
criminal by kicking the latter's dog. eK-
planning the wife murderer's impulsive
betrayal Of himself by saying that he
never yet saw a man that was over
fond of horses and dogs bat what was
cruel 20 women" When a woman and
tpo men entansle q lawyer in The
hypothesis OF Failure" the troubles that
Develop arc obviously due 10 a confu-
sion Of identities. The mechanical nat
uTe OF the plot stares one IN the face.
ANT so on throughout the long list.
These STORIES work like those brief
pieces which from time 60 time turn up
or the stage and sre described as -'sct-
ing themselves
At bottom o. Henry was far more Of
y slave to convention than he ever
dreamed Of being. When the million
aare's son fights with q ragsmuffin in
Sociology in Serge and Straw you in
stsutly know that the child OF luxury is
Eotne IN win When The kidnappers in
The Ransom Of Red CHIEF are hu-
initiated By the small imp they hold you
recognize that influence attributed with
eoornfuI walls 20 the popular maya
vine editor by tho artist in short fic-
ton. When the murderer in "A Chap
e-rsI Christmas Gift sets out to shoot
one rr7ore innocent citizen II is natural
thzt he should don the garb or Santa
Clans snd give his enemy's life 10 the
lsrter's wife. What else could happen
n the world 81 cinematographic drama
depicted in this volume? But the ad-
rnireTs OF o. Henry, and their name is
legion. are forever telling us that what
marks his works for the long years TO
Gene is their humanity. We take leave
TO doubt ii. II there is humanity in
these stories il is the humanity of the
moving picture show. nominally flowing
from the broad stream OF life, but, as a
matter ii fact, incurably shallow and
factit!ous Like the tales and pictures
q penny plain and tuppence colored. ia
The Old-fashioned holiday ANIMALS, they
have always their sentimental. pathetic
~ humorous interest. they always drive
with uncrring aim at the great heart of
ths people. Isui one read they are for