Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/165

 diet, and thus facilitate the way of other Indians to visit England a great deal.

(7) If there were a sufficient number of Indian subscribers, the Editor of The Vegetarian may be induced to devote a page or a column to India, which, you will admit, cannot but result in benefit to India.

Many more reasons can be given to show why you should join the Society and subscribe to The Vegetarian, but I hope these will be sufficient to induce you to view my proposal with favour.

Even if you are not a vegetarian, you will find that many of the above reasons will apply to you also, and you can subscribe to The Vegetarian, and who knows but you may, in the end, consider it a privilege to join the rank of those who never depend for their existence on the blood of their fellow-creatures.

Of course, there is also the Manchester Vegetarian Society and its organ The Vegetarian Messenger. I have pleaded for the L.V.S. and its organ simply because it is so very handy, being in London, and because its organ is weekly.

I do trust that you will not excuse yourself from joining and subscribing on the score of economy, for the subscription is so small, and it is sure to more than repay your money.

Hoping you will not consider this an impertinence on my part.

Yours in brotherly love,

M. K. Gandhi

The Vegetarian, 28-4-1894

(5-5-1894)

Mr. M. K. Gandhi, in a private letter, writes:

Recently a grand convention of Keswick Christians was held in Wellington, under the presidency of Rev. Andrew Murray. I attended it in the company of some dear Christians; they have a boy six or seven years old. He came out with me for a walk one day during the time. I was simply talking to him about kindness to animals. During the talk we discussed vegetarianism. Ever since that time, I am told, the boy has not taken meat. He did watch me, before the above conversation, taking only vegetables at the dinner table, and questioned me why I would not take meat. His parents, though not themselves vegetarians, are believers in the virtue of vegetarianism, and did not mind my talking to their boy about it.