Scallop Shells. 103 
Land, as the scene of our Saviour’s life and dcath 
was called. Sir Walter Raleigh, in his poem called 
“‘The Pilgrimage,” thus enumerates the different 
articles considered necessary for a Palmer, as these 
pilgrims were termed :— 
“Give me my scallop shell of quiet, 
My staff of faith to lean upon, 
My scrip of joy (immortal diet), 
My bottle of salvation, 
My gown of glory, hope’s true gage, 
And thus I’ll make my pilgrimage.” 
This mollusk, it may be noticed, like many other 
bivalves, has a flat and a concave or hollow shell. 
In early times, when plates and drinking vessels 
were not so plentiful as they are now, one of these 
served the former purpose, and the other the latter. 
Thus, in speaking of a feast, a Gaelic or Scottish 
bard has said— 
“ The joy of the shell went round.” 
Sometimes the species termed Pecten opercularis was 
used as the pilgrim’s badge: the specific name comes 
most likely from the Latin operculum, whose meaning 
has been explained. 
This, too, is a common British shell, as is also 
the little speckled Scallop (P. varia), which may be 
