Foreword Page #2

"Foreword" by O. Henry is a collection of witty and engaging short stories that showcase the author's keen observations of human nature and his masterful storytelling style. O. Henry, known for his twist endings and vivid characters, captures the essence of life in urban America during the early 20th century. Each story illustrates themes of love, irony, and the complexities of everyday experiences, inviting readers to reflect on the quirks and surprises of life. This book serves as a testament to O. Henry's legacy as one of America's greatest short story writers.

• Short story

								

    mind.

    Mr. Porter's work was that of publishing a special
    feature column, "Some Postscripts and Pencillings" on the
    editorial page of the Post during 1895-96, and I
    think a reproduction of his daily writings in that column,
    which then were followed by the readers of the Texas
    newspaper readers of the nation.

    Yours very truly,
    (Signed) W. P. Hobby.

Mr. A. E. Clarkson, secretary-treasurer of the Houston Post,
authenticates the O. Henry column from his personal knowledge.

    Houston, Texas.
    October 16, 1922.

    Miss Florence Stratton,
    2020 Harrison,
    Beaumont, Texas.

    My dear Miss Stratton:

    In reply to your letter of October 15, I find that Mr.
    Porter, afterward known as O. Henry, was on the payroll of
    the Houston Post from October 1895 to June 1896.

    During that time Mr. Porter wrote, and there was
    published from time to time in the columns of the
    Post various articles headed "Some Postscripts" and
    "Postscripts and Pencillings."

    The writer was also connected with the Post
    during this period, being in the business office. He was
    personally acquainted with Mr. Porter and knows of his own
    knowledge that the articles headed as stated above were
    written by him.

    Yours truly,

      THE HOUSTON POST

    (Signed) A. E. Clarkson,

      Business Manager.

Neither the compilation, verification, nor publication of these
newspaper writings of O. Henry would have been possible without the
co-operation of Mr. Roy G. Watson, present proprietor and publisher of
the Houston Post, whose consent for their publication has been
generously given; and of Governor William P. Hobby, Colonel R. M.
Johnston, and Mr. A. E. Clarkson, all associated with the Post
during O. Henry's employment, and to these, whose attestation of
authenticity of this work is herewith given, the compiler is grateful.
The doing of this work has been a labor of love, and if the result is
to add to the luster of O. Henry's name the writer shall have been
repaid.

No pen is so facile as to add to or detract from the fame of William
Sidney Porter. The flame of his genius has been extinguished, but what
he wrought in a vast understanding of humanity will ever illuminate
American literature.

Florence Stratton.
April, 1923.

O. HENRY ON THE HOUSTON POST

With respect to O. Henry's services, the Houston Post states as
follows:

Between musty covers of the Post files from October, 1895, to
July, 1896, are cross-sections of life drawn by a master artist;
vignettes as perfect and as beautiful as the finest Amsterdam diamond.
Only they are comparatively unknown because they have been
overshadowed by larger and more brilliant creations of the same master
hand.

Verses beautiful and appealing; description, touched by wonderful
imagery; dialogue, the lines of which sparkle with wit and
understanding of human frailties!

They make up O. Henry's "Tales of the Town," his "Postscripts and
Pencillings," and his "Some Postscripts." Save for the publication for
a brief space of The Rolling Stone, a rollicking sheet that was
issued irregularly over the period of several months, they represent
the sum total of O. Henry's newspaper writings.

All too brief to suit lovers of O. Henry's work, they nevertheless
betray the writer's knack of getting at the heart and mind of his
fellow beings. They show him as well acquainted with the newsdealer on
the corner as with his favorite hotel clerk; as much at home in
talking with a puncher from the Panhandle as in conversing with a
drummer from St. Louis. Into them the master of the short story
managed to crowd uncanny description, insight into human nature, and
the highly dramatic.

O. Henry came to the Post at the invitation of its editor and
his first column appeared in the Post on October 18th entitled
"Tales of the Town." The caption soon changed to "Postscripts and
Pencillings" and later still to "Some Postscripts."

Some days a column of seven-point! Others only half a column. Still
others when "Some Postscripts" failed to appear at all.

But always, whatever the quantity, the quality of O. Henry's output
remained at high level.

As in the later days in New York, O. Henry was exceedingly modest and
shy. He "took a little getting acquainted with" according to tradition
handed down. A quiet, unassuming chap, with eyes which seemingly saw
little and yet took in everything, the new member of the staff soon
acquired a reputation of being the best listener in town. In addition,
he was a painstakingly accurate reporter and observer.

O. Henry came to the Post under his real name of Sidney Porter,
but it was as "The Post Man" that he referred to himself in his
writings. The pronoun "I" seldom appeared.

According to friends, O. Henry, or Sidney Porter, possessed the most
valuable trick of the interviewer. When the telling of a story lagged
momentarily, he would insert just the right question in just the right
place. And this show of interest never failed to stimulate the teller
to a fresh spurt.

Favorite haunts in Houston were the lobby of the old Hutchins House,
the Grand Central Depot, and the street corners. He used to sit for
hours in the hotel, his eyes playing over the faces of guests. Mayhap
he was studying types, who knows? Certain, though, it is that hotel
attaches grew to love the author of "Some Postscripts," and they
frequently went out of their way to send him word of stories on the
old hotel's ancient register.

At the Grand Central Depot--Grand Central then as now--"The Post Man"
was loved by all who knew him. From station master to porter, from
superintendent to telegraph operator, the writer of "Some Postscripts"
got help and inspiration for many of his brilliant anecdotes and human
interest stories.

Then, as later in New York, it was the man in the street who claimed
his chief attention. Feted though he was by some who thought to
patronize him, "The Post Man" refused to allow his head to be turned
by admiration. He continued the even tenor of his way, writing the
things which most appealed to him.

Abundant and spontaneous as was O. Henry's literary output, his jokes
were never barbed. There is no record of anyone ever coming to the
Post editorial room to "lick" the author of "Some Postscripts."
Rather there came to him many picturesque figures of the Southwest,
eager to make the acquaintance of the rising young "colyumist."

At a time when bicycles and bloomers were agitating the news writers
of the country, O. Henry took delight in caricaturing the customs. His
sketches of bloomered, career-seeking women and timid husbands are at
once a delight and a revelation.

O. Henry's brilliant style, together with his never-flagging wit and
his seemingly inexhaustible fund of anecdote quickly captured his
contemporaries among Texas newspaper men. "The man, woman, or child,"
wrote an exchange in 1896, "who pens 'Some Postscripts' in the Houston
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