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I have felt that my public life and experiences have been so varied and in a sense unusual, my travel so extensive, embracing Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and America, my association with many of the most prominent personages in this and foreign countries so intimate, and my career so full of incident, that my autobiography might be both interesting and amusing.

It has been asserted of General Tom Thumb, that he has kissed more women than any living man. I can with equal assurance assert that I have shaken hands with more human beings, royal and plebian, rich and poor, great and small, old and young, native and foreign, than any other woman in existence. I do not say this boastfully, but only to show how large has been my experience for the years I have been before the public.

I have endeavored to adhere strictly to facts, and if the personal pronoun appears rather prominently, it is to be remembered that in telling one's own story that seems necessary.

To begin my story after the conventional manner, with my ancestry, I trace my pedigree directly back through Richard Warren of the Mayflower company, to William, Earl of Warren, who married Gundreda, daughter of William the Conqueror. He died in England in 1088, which is as far back as I have traced my ancestry; but I fancy this is sufficient to prove my English and American nationality.

My maiden name was Lavinia Warren, and I was born October 31, 1841, on the old Warren farm in the town of Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Had I possessed the power, I would not have chosen any other place wherein to make my first appearance on the globe to anxious and admiring attendants. The atmosphere pervading the localities made famous in our country's history no doubt imparted to me many characteristics, among them my intense patriotism. My entrance into the family circle had been preceded by two male and two female children, and was followed by two male and one female, all of whom were above the ordinary stature, except the youngest, named Minnie, born June 2, 1849.

She was the same stature as myself, and after my marriage accompanied me on my trip around the world and shared most of my experiences until the time of her death, July 23, 1878. My father was nearly six feet tall, and my mother was termed a large woman. They have both passed on before me. Their lives were proverbial for a high standard of integrity, morality and charity. I cannot better express my estimate of their character than to say that they faithfully fulfilled the "two great commandments, upon which hang all the law and the prophets."

Both of my parents for fifty years were consistent members of the Church upon the Green, over which presided the Rev. Dr. I. W. Putnam. All of the family were expected to attend the divine service every Sunday morning, and no persons were prouder of their children than my parents when we were all seated with demure mien in the large family pew.

The younger children were compelled to attend the Sabbath school at the conclusion of the church service. I mention this fact as a matter of information for those of my readers who may have entertained the opinion that I had not received a proper religious training in my youth.

To return to my infancy, when the ceremony of weighing the baby was completed, it was announced that I tipped the scales at six pounds. Until I was a year old, I was of the usual size, from that time, I increased in stature very slowly, not growing in five years so much as an ordinary child would in one. I continued growing at that rate until I was ten years of age, and then ceased entirely. At that time I was twenty-four inches in height and weighed twenty pounds. I attended school with other children in our neighborhood, and found no difficulty whatever in keeping up with them in my studies at home, my dear mother taught me to sew, knit, cook, and do all manner of housework, so that I really became an excellent housekeeper. To overcome the inconvenience of my diminutive stature, my father constructed for my use a pair of light portable steps, which I could readily handle, and standing upon which I could easily reach the topmost shelves in the closets.

I WENT to school like other girls, and being fond of fun and mischief, my size gave me a peculiar advantage in this respect. One of my usual pranks was to run about under the desk and administer surreptitious pinches to the unconscious children, causing them to scream out.

It is to be remembered that in country school houses of that day there was one continuous desk around the side of the room against the wall, and, my size enabling me to walk readily under it, I could make the circuit of the room without coming out from under cover. The teacher, Mr. Dunbar, knew at once the cause of the uneasiness and outcry, and would promptly start in pursuit, but I had the advantage, for I could readily see him and easily dodge, while he had as much difficulty in locating me as if he was It in a game of hunt the slipper.