{The text is taken from the novelette's original appearance in Graham's
Magazine, Vol. XXII, pp. 1-18, 89-102, 158-167, 205-213 (January-April)
1843. "Autobiography" was simultaneously issued as a separate number of
Brother Jonathan magazine (March 22, 1843), under the title "Le
Mouchoir: An Autobiographical Romance." Also in 1843 it was published
in London by Richard Bentley as "The French Governess; or, the
Embroidered Handkerchief." A German translation quickly followed, as
"Die franzosischer Erzieheren, oder das gestickte Taschentuch"
(Stuttgart: Lieschning, 1845, reprinted 1849). Interest in the book
then lapsed. The Brother Jonathan and Bentley editions divided the
story into 18 chapters (as we have in this transcription).}

{At the end of the century a limited scholarly edition (500 copies)
appeared, edited by Walter Lee Brown, the first scholarly treatment of
any Cooper work, noting variations between the original manuscript and
the various published texts: "Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief"
(Evanston, IL: The Golden-Booke Press, 1897). Another edition,
unannotated and taken from the Graham's Magazine version, was printed
half a century later as a Festschrift (farewell testimonial) for
retiring Cooper scholar Gregory Lansing Paine of the University of
North Carolina: "Autobiography of A Pocket-Handkerchief" (Chapel Hill:
Privately printed, 1949). "Autobiography" was never included in
published collections of James Fenimore Cooper's "Works," and this
scarcity is an important reason for making it available to scholars
everywhere through the Gutenberg Project.}

{Because of the limitations imposed by the Gutenberg Project format,
italics used by Cooper to indicate foreign words are ignored, as are
accents; while italics Cooper used for emphasis are usually indicated
by ALL CAPITALS. Unless otherwise indicated, translations are from the
French. The spelling and punctuation of the Graham's Magazine
periodical text have generally been followed, except that certain
inconsistent contractions (e.g., "do n't" or "do'nt" for "don't") have
been silently regularized.}

{I have annotated the edition--identified by {curly brackets}--to
translate most of the French words and expressions which Cooper
frequently employs, to define occasional now-obsolete English words,
and to identify historical names and other references. Cooper
frequently alludes, in the beginning of the work, to events and persons
involved in the Fr