When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him. He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him. In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch. Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. His era produced their voices and his language. His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. Such volumes as Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. The poignancy of his story is captured in Zwerger's eloquent art, wherein every glance, every gesture, tells a subtle truth. Henry paints a masterly portrait of unfaltering love, a haven from the harsh world outside. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the value of love. As they exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, the discovery of what each has done fills them with despair, until they realize that the true gifts of Christmas can be found more readily in their humble apartment than in any fine store. Jim, meanwhile, has made a sacrifice for Della that is no less difficult. A gift worthy of her devotion will require a great sacrifice: selling her long, beautiful hair. One dollar and eighty-seven cents is all the money she has in the world. In a shabby New York flat, Della sobs as she counts the few coins she has saved to buy a Christmas present for her husband, Jim. Henry's classic tale of the wisest gifts of Christmas is itself a gift to share and treasure.

The author of the gift of magi