THE OYSTER AT HOME. 263 



swallow up the whole of his cargo, but so it came to pass. 

 It had long been evident to those on board that oysters 

 that travel, no less than men, must have rations allowed 

 on the voyage, if they are to do credit to the land of their 

 birth. Now the voyage had been long and tedious, and 

 the oysters had not been fed, so Tj-acke got into his boat, 

 and obtained an interview with the owner of the spot at 

 which it touched land. He asked permission to lay down 

 his oysters, and feed them. This was granted, and after a 

 few days the spores of ulva latissima and enteromorpha, and 

 of the host of delicate fibrous plants which there abound, 

 and all of which are the oyster's great delight, made the 

 whole green and fat, and in the finest condition for reship- 

 ment. Four days, it is said, will suffice to make a lean 

 oyster, on such a diet, both green and plump ; and Tyacke, 

 joyful at the improvement which he daily witnessed, let his 

 stock feed on for a week. It was towards evening that he 

 bethought himself, as the tide was out, that if he meant to 

 reach Billingsgate by the next morning, it would be wise 

 to reship his oysters before turning in for the night. The 

 boat was lowered, but, as he attempted to land, he was 

 warned off by the owner of the soil, who stood there with 

 several fierce-looking fellows, armed with cutlasses and 

 fowling-pieces, evidently anticipating the Cornishman's 

 intention, and determined to frustrate it at all hazards. 



'What do you want here ?' he asked of Tyacke. 



' The oysters I put down to feed,' was the reply. 

 ' They were placed there by your permission, and now I 

 am anxious to reship them, to be in time for to-morrow's 

 market.' 



' True,' replied the Kentishman, ' I gave you leave to 

 lay down the oysters and feed them, but not a word was 

 said about reshipping them. Where they are, there they 



