with which everybody persecuted him
and knocked him about the ring! And yet, notwithstanding all his troubles,
did he win from us a sympathetic sigh or even the fraction of a tear,
except tears of laughter? All his troubles seemed funny to us.

Millions are still laughing at the comic tribulations of dear old John
Bunny, although he has gone beyond the power of things to trouble him. We
have laughed and are still laughing at Thomas Wise. From the days of
Falstaff down to those of the "movies," we have enjoyed laughing at the
plights of a fat man on the stage.

FAT MEN RULE THE WORLD

In real life it is much the same. Every fat man knows that only by unusual
patience, good nature, and friendly tolerance can he live with his
fellows. He is the butt of all jokes; he must smile at a constant patter
of pleasantries about his unusual size. He hears the same old stupid japes
over and over and over again. If he weren't the prince of good fellows and
the best-natured man in the world, it would fare ill for those who torment
him.

As a matter of fact, it may be better for the rest of us than for the fat
man that he is good natured, easy going, genial, fond of a good laugh;
because fat men rule the world. Perhaps that is why it is so funny to us
to see them in trouble. It is one of the foibles of humanity always to
find pleasure in the mishaps of its rulers and superiors. The pranks of
the schoolboy are intended to cause perplexity and distress to his
teacher. This is true of the college youth in his playfulness. The same
human trait manifests itself in a thousand other ways.

The fat man was born to rule. He enjoys the good things of life. He is
fond of luxuries. He has a keenly developed sense of taste, and a nice
discrimination of flavor. He likes to wear good clothing. He likes soft,
upholstered chairs, comfortable beds, a goodly shelter. Like old King Cole
(always pictured in our nursery books with a Garguntian girth), he enjoys
"his pipe and his bowl and his fiddlers three." He is fond of a good joke,
and laughs more heartily than any one else at it. In fact, enjoyment and
pleasure may be said to be the keynote of the typical fat man's
personality. But he is too heavy for physical activity. His feet are too
small for the weight of his body. He does not care for strenuous physical
exercise. It is not his idea of a good time to follow a golf ball all over
a twenty-acre field. He does it only because he thus hopes to reduc