Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Nutrition, Government

    Criticises 'the Vegetarians' for toasting Queen Victoria with iced water at a meeting in Birmingham. Ridicules the claims that some gentleman attending the meeting had spent a considerable number of years 'advocating Vegetarian principles', and expresses 'surprise and admiration' for an alderman (whose greed is a favourite subject of Punch satire) who claimed to have lived on vegetables for forty years. Declares that it does not 'grudge' the vegetarians 'their abstinence from animal food', but suggests that they popularise their movement with lectures and vocal entertainments.