wn differ from life in a
large city?

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

This story, taken from the volume called _The Four Million_, is a good
example of O. Henry's method as a short-story writer. It is notable for
its brevity. The average length of the modern short story is about five
thousand words; O. Henry uses a little over one thousand words. This
conciseness is gained in several ways. In his descriptions, he has the
art of selecting significant detail. When Della looks out of the window,
instead of describing fully the view that met her eyes, he says: "She
looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard."
A paragraph could do no more. Again, the beginning of the story is
quick, abrupt. There is no introduction. The style is often elliptical;
in the first paragraph half the sentences are not sentences at all. But
the main reason for the shortness of the story lies in the fact that the
author has included only such incidents and details as are necessary to
the unfolding of the plot. There is no superfluous matter.

Another characteristic of O. Henry is found in the unexpected turns of
his plots. There is almost always a surprise in his stories, usually at
the end. And yet this has been so artfully prepared for that we accept
it as probable. Our pleasure in reading his stories is further
heightened by the constant flashes of humor that light up his pages. And
beyond this, he has the power to touch deeper emotions. When Della heard
Jim's step on the stairs, "she turned white just for a moment. She had a
habit of saying little silent prayers about the simplest things, and now
she whispered, 'Please God, make him think I am still pretty.'" One
reads that with a little catch in the throat.

In his plots, O. Henry is romantic; in his settings he is a realist.
Della and Jim are romantic lovers, they are not prudent nor calculating,
but act upon impulse. In his descriptions, however, he is a realist. The
eight-dollar-a-week flat, the frying pan on the back of the stove, the
description of Della "flopping down on the couch for a cry," and
afterwards "attending to her cheeks with the powder-rag,"--all these are
in the manner of realism.

And finally, the tone of his stories is brave and cheerful. He finds the
world a most interesting place, and its people, even its commonplace
people, its rogues, its adventurers, are drawn with a broad sympathy
that makes us more tolerant of the people we meet outside