250 INTRODUCTION TO CONCHOLOGY. 



and children carrying baskets, and in these they place great 

 quantities of small Oysters, which they gather among the 

 sand and pebbles, and which rarely exceed the size of six- 

 pence. These are deposited in beds, accessible to the tide, 

 and remain unmolested till full grown ; their flavour is said 

 to be improved for being sheltered from rough waves, and 

 a mixture of fresh water is occasionally introduced for the 

 same purpose. 



An ancient custom still prevails in the neighbourhood of 

 London with reference to the Oyster season, for the origin 

 of which we have long sought in vain. 



If you go out of your house on that memorable day when 

 the cry of Oysters is first heard in the great city, you are 

 presently surrounded by groups of children who run beside 

 you, holding Oyster-shells in their hands, and looking you 

 in the face with a most beseeching expression of counte- 

 nance. " A halfpenny, ma''am, for the Oyster-grotto, if you 

 please ! " they say. If by chance you are in haste, and tell 

 them so, they run much faster than you can walk ; if you 

 assure them that you have not any money, they will beg 

 you to search the corners of your bag or pocket, casting all 

 the time such bewitching glances from their clear, mirthful 

 eyes, that hard must the heart be, or ruefully empty the 



