A Service of Love

A Service of Love

- O.Henry

O Henry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter. Porter’s 400 short stories are known for their wit, word play, characterization and the clever use of twist endings. O Henry stories are famous for their surprise endings, to the point that such an ending is often referred as an “O Henry ending”.

Human Interest is based on one’s love (one loves one’s Art no services seems too hard) for his best love story.

Joe Larrabee came from the Middle West. He was a genius in painting. When he was six years old child, he drew a picture of the town pump with an important person passing in a hurry. At twenty with a small amount of money, he left for New York to learn painting.

Delia Caruthers came from the South. She was a promising singer. Her relatives collected a small amount for Delia to go to New York and to learn music.

Joe and Delia met at a studio, they fell in love and in a short time they were married. They began to live in a flat and were very happy as they had their art.

    Joe was painting in the class of the great Magister and Delia was studying under Rosenstock, a famous musician. Their aims were clear. Joe would learn to paint old gentle man with side whiskers and thick purses. Delia was going to master the piano and fell concert halls all over the country.

After a while art became weak. They had spent all their money. They did not pay the fees to Mr Magister and Mr Rosenstock. Delia felt that she must give music lessons to buy their food. One evening she came with high hopes. She had found a pupil General A.B.Pikney’s daughter, Clementia. She is eighteen years old. Delia had to give three lessons a week. For that she would get fifteen dollars per week. Joe did not happy with it. He wanted to earn some money. But Delia insisted that Joe should not give up his studies.

    During all the next week Joe had an early breakfast. Joe was very must interested in morning-effect sketches. He was doing in the central park. Delia lived at 7’O clock and he would return at 7’O clock in the evening.

At the end of the week, Delia proudly threw five-dollar bills on the center table. She complained about Clementia, trying her patience. She commented on their house, their drawing room and the rugs that covered the floor. And they Joe, with pride, drew forth a ten a five, a two and one dollar and laid them beside Delia’s earnings. He said Delia that he had sold one of his paintings and had ordered another an oil sketch of Lackwanna goods yard. Both of them were very happy that they had thirty two dollars on hand.

On next Saturday evening Joe reached home first. He washed his hands which had a great deal of paint .Half an Hour later, Delia arrived her right hand tied up in a shapeless bundle of wraps and bandages. Joe was concerned.

Delia told the story of Clementia who wanted Welsh rabbit at five in the afternoon. The general had the dish prepared. Clementia was so nervous that she poured it hot on Delia’s hands and wrist. But general Pinkney was concerned and sent someone out a drugstore for some oil and things to bind it up with.

Joe pulled out some white threads beneath the bandages and asked what this is?

Delia replied that the bandage had some oil on it. Joe asked what time in the afternoon had she been burn. Delia said five o’clock. Joe drew her to the sofa, sat beside her and put his arm across her shoulders. He asked her “what have you been doing for the last two weeks. She could not lie any longer. She put her head down and started crying. She said that she worked at a place where ironing shirts in twenty four street laundry. But she was happy that at least Joe could sell his paintings.

Delia asked him that what made him suspect that she wasn’t giving music lessons to Clementina. Joe replied that he did not suspect till that night. It was he who had sent up cotton waste and oil from the Engine-room that afternoon to a girl who had her hand burned with an iron. Joe had been working the Engine in that laundry for the last two weeks.

Joe’s buyer from Peoria and Delia’s General Pinkney were both the creations of the same art. They were creations of imaginations.

Both of them began to laugh and said when one loves ones art no service seems too hard-when one loves.