“Please Raise
The Shades . .
O. Henry In Asheville
Some poignant reeolleetions of a
famed hut tragic figure during the
final months of his life. By his doctor
and friend.
ft;/ HR. WILLI AM PIISKNEY HERBERT
PART II
Dr. Herbert, of Asheville — probably
the only living person who was well
acquainted with O. Henry I William
Sydney Porter ) — was his frequent com¬
panion during the winter of 1909-10
when he was visiting at his brother-in-
law’s home between Asheville and
WeavervHle.
Part
/
of Dr. Herbert's account re¬
called incidents and conversations with
the famed writer during that five or
six-month period. — El>.
Mr. Porter left Asheville in April
of 1910. Before leaving he told me how
much belter he was than when he ar¬
rived. He also said that he was sorry
that he could not stay and become en¬
tirely well. However, matters in New
York were very pressing and he felt he
should return there. I think it was only
a month or six weeks after his return
that he died with pneumonia, not with
tuberculosis as has often been given as
the cause of his death.
His body was brought to Asheville,
and he was buried in Riverside Ceme¬
tery in Asheville, North Carolina. I
was one of his pallbearers. Knowing
that he was dying in the hospital in
New York, he told his wife. "Tell old
Doc Herbert that I am sorry I did not
get back as promised. Ask him to go
with me at the end." And when the
end finally came, he roused and turned
to the nurse and said. "Please raise
the shades. I don't want to go home
in the dark." Surely not the last words
of a craven mendicant seeking a dole
at the door but rather those of a se¬
rene man. confident of where he was
going and sure of the welcome await¬
ing him. He was going home!
Fame and fortune had been slow in
coming to O. Henry. After his death
and almost immediately following the
obituary notices, the metropolitan press
and the national journals and periodi¬
cals began to publish articles of ap¬
preciation about him. He was extolled
as the short story writer of the age,
and very soon his books and stories be¬
gan to sell in great numbers. It natur¬
ally followed that the spotlight should
be turned on his private and personal
life, and the unfortunate and devastat¬
ing tragedy which had overtaken him
during his time in Texas was widely
publicized. He had been accused of
misappropriation of some five hundred
dollars of bank funds from a bank in
Austin. Texas. He had been tried, con¬
victed and sentenced to a prison term
of six years of which he had served a
three or four year period.
Much has been written regarding
this, and the evidence seems to be that
he was probably guilty as he was un¬
willing to face a second trial and ran
away to Central America for a time,
coming back only when he thought
he would be exonerated. It is my opin¬
ion that this tragedy had a far reaching
and lasting effect on Mr. Porter and
that it changed him almost beyond
recognition. I think that none of the
men who wrote about O. Henry knew
him both before and after his sentence.
The ones who had knowledge of him
before his Texas days and during the
early part of his stay in Texas have
described him as an entirely ditferent
person from the one whom I knew.
He has been described many times,
both in appearance and in character.
It may be that my description and my
estimate of his character may vary
somewhat from what has gone before,
so I shall add my bit.
Never Angry
Mr. Porter was a rather heavy, thick¬
set man. about five feet ten inches tall
and weighing about 190 lbs. He had
sandy hair with a slight touch of grey
in it. His eyes were cither dark grey or
light brown. His nose and mouth were
not remarkable, his mouth not being
either turned up or down and not over¬
ly large. He was rather round faced.
His eyes were not scintillating; they
were not piercing; they were not laugh¬
ing eyes; and they were certainly not
shifty or evasive. He looked at one
straight and calmly. I never at any
time heard him laugh out loud. I heard
him chuckle, and I saw him frequently
smile, but never laugh. He spoke in a
very low voice, and I never on any
occasion heard him raise his voice nor
Dr. Herbert *oy» writer»' description» ol 0. Henry
during Si» eorly life prcienl an entirely diderent
person from the mon he knew. Compare this
photo with the one token during hi» doyi in
Ashe>ille. which wo» published with Port I ol
thi» »tory.
did I ever see him angry. I remember
once seeing him irritated, the occasion
of which I will describe a little later.
He habitually wore cither a dark brown
or dark grey suit. He walked with a
steady, purposeful stride, as though he
knew where he was going and wanted
to get there. On the whole, he seemed
to be a typical, rather solid business¬
man. sure of his position. The thing
about him that intrigued me most,
when I first knew him. was his reti¬
cence and his complete self-efface¬
ment. I think he kept himself more se¬
cret than anyone that I have ever
known. I never heard him use a pro¬
fane or an obscene word, nor did I
ever hear him tell a story that was in
any way off colour. I know that this
is also a characteristic of his stories.
I believe he had few friends. This
THE STATE, NOVCMBCR 15. 1971
17
