" Wasting" and Walking 



" wasting " I had a small cup of tea in the morn- 

 ing, then rode at exercise, and as for dinner, I 

 strolled out so as to escape the smell of it. The 

 smell of it was too exciting to my imagination. 

 For supper I was allowed to have a lightly 

 boiled sole, with a sip or two of something harm- 

 less — fluid puts weight on more than food does 

 — and that represented my day's total consump- 

 tion. It would not have suited a fat, full-blooded 

 man in the zenith of his power and bloatedness. 

 But citizens of that calibre are not expected to 

 take risks which might result in a premature 

 explosion on their part, followed (at no distant 

 date) by their descent into the silent tomb. 



Nearly all the modern jockeys go and sit in a 

 Turkish bath — with the exception of Mornington 

 Cannon — when they have to " waste," whilst 

 physic is also an important factor in their work 

 of reduction. That is where, in my humble 

 opinion, they make a mistake. I believe in long 

 walks for the purpose indicated. At any rate, I 

 have never adopted any other method, and, after 

 many severe bouts of " wasting," I am still alive 

 to tell the tale more or less coherently. Turkish 

 baths and physic would have left me inarticulate. 

 Readers will appreciate the blessings of my 

 deliverance. It is foolish to be inarticulate when 



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