'In 1863, a philanthropist laid before the public the narrative of a
man who was tremendously fat, who tried hard for years to thin
himself, and who at last succeeded.
'Mr. Banting, the gentleman who had the courage and good feeling to
write and publish this narrative, not long before, measured
5ft. 5in. [1.65 m], and weighed about 14ΒΌ stone [~90.5 kg].
'He owns that he had a great deal to bear from his unfortunate make. In
the first place, the little boys in the streets laughed at him; in the
next place, he could not tie his own shoes; and, lastly, he had, it
appears, to come down-stairs backwards. But he was a man who struggled
gallantly, and whatever he was recommended to do, he honestly tried to
carry out.
'He drank mineral waters, and consulted physicians, and took sweet
counsel with innumerable friends, but all was in vain. He lived upon
sixpence a-day, and earned it, so that the favourite recipe of
Abernethy failed in his case. He went into all sorts of vapour baths
and shampooing baths. He took no less than ninety Turkish baths, but
nothing did him any good; he was still as fat as ever.
'A kind friend recommended increased bodily exertion every morning, and
nothing seemed more likely to be effectual than rowing. So this stout
warrior with fat got daily into a good, safe, heavy boat, and rowed a
couple of hours. But he was only pouring water into the bucket of the
Danaides. What he gained in one way he lost in another. His muscular
vigour increased; but then, with this there came a prodigious appetite
which he felt compelled to indulge, and consequently he got fatter
than he had been.
'At last he hit upon the right adviser, who told him what to do, and
whose advice was so successful that Mr. Banting could soon walk
down-stairs forwards, put his old clothes quite over the suit that now
fitted him, and, far from being made the victim of unkind or
ill-judged chaff, was universally congratulated on his pleasant and
becoming appearance.
'The machinery by which this change was effected was of a very simple
kind. He was told to leave off eating anything but meat. It appears
that none of his numerous friendly advisers, and none of the
physicians he consulted, penetrated so far into the secresy of his
domestic habits as to have discovered that twice a day he used
formerly to indulge in bowls of bread and milk. The Solomon who saved
him cut off this great feeder of fat, and since then Mr. Banting has
been a thinner and a happier man.'