THE OYSTER AND THE DOCTOR. 339 



With respect to the quantity a person may eat, I can 

 only say that it depends upon the taste the disposition 

 and how long one has been without food. The various 

 quantities which some historical personages have been able 

 to eat will be found recorded in the 4th Chapter; but, as 

 to how many a person may eat, perhaps the advice of an 

 epicure will give a satisfactory reply. 



" Does appetite e'er seem to fail ? 



Do dishes lose their savour ? 

 Then try some oysters, natives, mind, 

 In native state, or else you'll find 



You've robbed them of their flavour ! 

 How many eat ? Well, say three score, 

 And, if you're willing, three score more ! " 



There is no fixed rule with regard to the quantity of oysters 

 a person may eat. The second mouthful is more tempting 

 than the first the third surpasses the second and so on 

 and on. 



" The appetite but grows by what it feeds on." 



But I will not go so far as our poetical adviser, I will say 

 that if you were on a trawler and had your oysters fresh 

 from the Dredge, with a bottle of wine, or good stout of 

 the Guinness, or Ratcliffe and Jeffrey's brewing and your 

 brown bread and butter, then 25 would limit your claim to 

 being called a Gourmand. I have never heard of any one 

 making himself ill by eating too many. 



"What to avoid?" This can be answered in a few 

 words, namely, a stale oyster, which, like a stale egg, once 

 tasted, will not be easily forgotten. Again, too much 

 stimulant with the meat, will dilute the gastric juice and so 

 retard digestion. 



