Chapter I: Front Matter

ROLLING STONES

by

O. HENRY

Author of "The Four Million," "The Voice of the City," "The Trimmed Lamp," "Strictly Business," "Sixes and Sevens," etc.

1919

O. Henry, Afrite-Chef of all delight--
Of all delectables conglomerate
That stay the starved brain and rejuvenate
The Mental Man! The Êsthetic appetite--
So long enhungered that the "inards" fight
And growl gutwise--its pangs thou dost abate
And all so amiably alleviate,
Joy pats his belly as a hobo might
Who haply hath obtained a cherry pie
With no burnt crust at all, ner any seeds;
Nothin' but crisp crust, and the thickness fit.
And squashin'-juicy, an' jes' mighty nigh
Too dratted, drippin'-sweet for human needs,
But fer the sosh of milk that goes with it.

Written in the character of "Sherrard
Plummer" by James Whitcomb Riley

CONTENTS

Introduction
The Dream
A Ruler of Men
The Atavism of John Tom Little Bear
Helping the Other Fellow
The Marionettes
The Marquis and Miss Sally
A Fog in Santone
The Friendly Call
A Dinner at ----*
Sound and Fury
Tictocq
Tracked to Doom
A Snapshot at the President
An Unfinished Christmas Story
The Unprofitable Servant
Aristocracy Versus Hash
The Prisoner of Zembla
A Strange Story
Fickle Fortune, or How Gladys Hustled
An Apology
Lord Oakhurst's Curse
Bexar Scrip No. 2692
Queries and Answers
Poems
The Pewee
Nothing to Say
The Murderer
Some Postscripts
Two Portraits
A Contribution
The Old Farm
Vanity
The Lullaby Boy
Chanson de Bohême
Hard to Forget
Drop a Tear in This Slot
Tamales
Letters

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Last Photograph of O. Henry (Frontispiece)
The Editor's Own Statement of His Aims
(Advertisement for _The Rolling Stone_)
Record of Births and Deaths from the Porter Family Bible
O. Henry at the Age of Two
The "Hill City Quartet," to Which O. Henry Belonged
As a Young Man in Austin
O. Henry in Austin, Texas, 1896
Emigrants' Camp (an Early Drawing by O. Henry)
"Can the Horse Run?" (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
"Will You Go In?" (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
"Here We Have Kate and John." (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
"Did He Go Up?" (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
"See Tom and the Dog." (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
"See Him Do It." (Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_)
Letters That the Boy Will Porter Brought Along from
North Carolina to Texas
Letter: "A Young Man of Good Moral Character and
an A No. 1 Druggist."
"The Plunkville Patriot," April 2, 1895
_The Rolling Stone_, January 26, 1895
A Page from "The Plunkville Patriot"
A Front Page of _The Rolling Stone_
A Page from "The Plunkville Patriot"
"Dear Me, General, Who Is That Dreadful Man?" (Cartoon)
"Well, I Declare, Those Gentlemen Must Be Brothers." (Cartoon)
"Oh Papa, What Is That?"
(Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_, April 27, 1895)
Cartoon by O. Henry
Cartoon by O. Henry
Can He Make the Jump?
(Cartoon from _The Rolling Stone_, October 13, 1894
Page from "The Plunkville Patriot"
A Letter to His Daughter Margaret.

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| |
| THE |
| ROLLING STONE |
| is a weekly paper published in Austin, Texas |
| every Saturday and will endeavor to fill a |
| long-felt want that does not appear, |
| by the way, to be altogether in- |
| satiable at present. |
| |
| THE IDEA IS |
| to fill its pages with matter that will make a |
| heart-rending appeal to every lover of |
| good literature, and every person who |
| has a taste for reading print; |
| and a dollar and a half for |
| a year's subscription. |
| |
| OUR SPECIAL PREMIUM |
| For the next thirty days and from that time |
| on indefinitely, whoever will bring two dol- |
| lars in cash to _The Rolling Stone_ office |
| will be entered on the list of sub- |
| scribers for one year and will |
| have returned to him |
| on the spot |
| FIFTY CENTS IN CASH |
| |
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The editor's own statement of his aims