O’Henry and The Gift of the Magi

By Mary Pat Musick

Do you remember the first time reading O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi? Do you recall the lump in your throat when the hero, Jim, sold his only valuable possession, his watch, to buy a set of jeweled combs to decorate Della's long beautiful hair? And the tears that rolled down your cheeks when you read that she sold the one luxurious thing she had, her magnificent hair, to buy a chain for his watch.  How wonderful to love so deeply; how glorious to be loved so much.

O'Henry must have witnessed a couple so in love. Visualize him sitting on a park bench watching strolling...