THE OYSTER IN SEASON. 245 



children building their grottos remind us that the long 

 days are passing, that autumn is at hand, and that in a few 

 brief months the Christmas barrel of oysters will be tra- 

 velling " inland " on the rapid railway, passing in its course 

 the friendly and welcome exchange hamper of country 

 produce, containing the choice pheasant and the plump 

 turkey. 



> 



" One story of a grotto, often repeated, may here be 

 told. It was built by the children of a widow, on the 

 Surrey side of the Thames ; and, as she was from home on 

 that evening, they brought from her dwelling whatever 

 they thought would render the grotto attractive. The 

 great charm, however, was to be wrought by a small but 

 dingy picture, above and around which they placed their 

 oyster-shells, yet taking care that a good view should be 

 had of it by every passer-by. 



"A Jew, it is said but on this we would not lay stress, 

 for a Christian, so-called, may be greedy of gain, and one 

 of the children of Abraham may be, in generosity, a noble 

 struck by the sight, offered a shilling for the picture. 

 What a prize was thus presented to the view of these beg- 

 gars of coppers ! It overcame all their ordinary feelings, 

 and, while the children exulted over a shilling quickly to 

 be spent, the cunning buyer chuckled over the profitable 

 purchase he had made. 



"With great delight he bore it from one connoisseur to 

 another, only to be assured that his first judgment was 

 right ; and then he was anxious to sell it, not merely at a 

 profit of cent, per cent., but at that which is realised when 

 a shilling is changed into hundreds of pounds. Nor was 

 it long before a purchaser at that amount was ready ; he 

 only required to be satisfied as to the applicant's right of 

 sale. But here a difficulty arose in the way of avarice ; 



