VEGETARIAN DRUNKARDS.
[To THE EDITOR or amyl " SPUTATOR."1 SIE,—I fail to make out what particular class of Indian vegetarians you mean, when you say, in the Spectator of October 6th :—" The drunkards of India, and they are as bad drunkards as any drunkards in the world, are absolute vege- tarians." I am an Indian, and have travelled much in my own country ; I know the ways and habits of my own people ; and I must at once tell you, and through your journal tell your readers, that I know of no class of vegetarians in India who come within the category of drunkards. The widows of the high castes in Bengal, the Brahmins of Northern and Southern India, the Vaishnava sects of Upper India and Guzrat, and the Jainas all over the country,—these pretty nearly exhaust the list of vegetarian classes in India. As far as I know, these are also total abstainers. It may be you know, or your informant knows, of individuals who are vegetarians and at the same time drunkards. It may be ; but during my extensive travels in my country I do not remember having come across a single case of vegetarianism and drunkenness living together. On the contrary, the prevailing popular opinion seems to be that drunkenness and meat-eating go together.—I am, Sir, &c.,
[We cannot even imagine what the Shastree means. Does he intend to assert that the drunkards of Bengal Proper are all of the outcast castes which eat meat ? They, if Hindoos, eat fish ; but whether vegetarians in theory or not—and we never heard it disputed before—they are certainly not eaters of flesh. The writer has had drunkards in his own service who lived exclusively on fish, rice, and vegetables.—En. Spectator.]
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