Well, to start off with I was born and that was the start of my troubles (1). My mother said I was a very small baby but I cannot see how that was right. When I was about 4 years old I still had long ringlets and I also caught a bad dose of scarlet fever and was in hospital for quite a long time. I was told this left me with a weak heart. Well, as things turned out I think this was a little mistake, as will be seen later in my story.
I grew up in a poor part of North Hammersmith and I was hard to handle - by this I mean for the local boys.
NOTES:
1. This article written by Arthur John Matthews has been abridged in order to edit many errors including many spelling mistakes.
