His friends would interfere--or the
authorities would. He can go in swimming, it is true; but if he
turns over and floats, people yell out that somebody has set the
life raft adrift; and if he basks at the water's edge, boats will
come in and try to dock alongside him; and if he takes a sun bath
on the beach and sunburns, there's so everlasting much of him to be
sunburned that he practically amounts to a conflagration. He
can't shoot rapids, craps or big game with any degree of comfort;
nor play billiards. He can't get close enough to the table to
make the shots, and he puts all the English on himself and none of
it on the cue ball.
Consider the gainful pursuits. Think how many of them are denied
to the man who may have energy and ability but is shut out because
there are a few extra terraces on his front lawn. A fat man cannot
be a leading man in a play. Nobody desires a fat hero for a novel.
A fat man cannot go in for aeroplaning. He cannot be a wire-walker
or a successful walker of any of the other recognized brands--
track, cake, sleep or floor.
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