OYSTEE-GROTTO. 251 



purse, if the small boon is refused. " ^Tis only once in 

 the year ! "" they all exclaim ; and then one, a pretty little 

 girl, holds up her shell, and another, a little curly-headed 

 boy, pushes his before you, till you can no longer say nay 

 to their entreaties. 



And then what unique grottoes reward your acquiescence ! 

 I have seen four or five in an evening at a little distance 

 from one another, tastefully made of oyster- shells, lighted 

 from within, and adorned with such flowers as some kind- 

 hearted dame may be wheedled to give from her small 

 gardeu, when, perchance, one or two of her grandchildren 

 are among the petitioners. Many a smile and courtesy 

 acknowledge your kindness during the past day, and not 

 unfrequently a gentle voice reaches your ear, saying, *■' Will 

 you please, ma'am, to stop to look at the grotto ! '' 



Although the Oyster-shell exhibits little external beauty 

 or variety, and small difference subsists in general between 

 the members of this family, the 0. folium, or Leaf Oyster, 

 is peculiar in its construction. The shell resembles a 

 withered leaf, which the wind has tossed at random on the 

 shore, and thus the defenceless occupant effectually eludes 

 the vigilance of birds of prey by a wonderful adaptation of 

 external structure to his feeble circumstances. 



