Written in 1906 when roughly four million people lived in New York City, it opens with a reference to Ward McAllister's "e;assertion that there were only "e;400"e; people in New York City who were really worth noticing. To O. Henry,however, everyone in New York counted. He had an obvious affection for the city, which he called "e;Bagdad-on-the-Subway"e;.