THE OYSTER AND DREDGERS 

 OF WHITSTABLE. 



Dotted round the coast of Great Britain are 

 man . v small towns, which from being mere 

 fishing villages have gradually developed into 

 small ports for coasting vessels, as well as summer resorts for 

 jaded town dwellers. To all outward appearance the residents 

 may exhibit an air of indifference towards visitors, though as 

 a matter of fact their arrival each summer is hailed with real 

 pleasure, for it is the cause of much bustle and profit follow- 

 ing, probably, a very dull winter. To most visitors the invigo- 

 rating sea air and water are sufficient attraction, but there 

 are others who seize the opportunity of searching out all the 

 interesting and historical places to be found in the neigh- 

 bourhood. Indeed the resourceful residents of some seaside 

 places seem to possess quite a genius for mapping out trips, 

 by land or water, to remarkable places, which before, were 

 locally considered almost unworthy of existence, and the 

 guide books teem with advice and assistance to the traveller. 

 It must be confessed that some of these modernised seaside 

 towns are in themselves not particularly attractive or 

 historical, causing a Kent coast resident once to make the 

 surprising remark, " What can you expect with land only on 

 one side and sea water on the other ? " In spite of the guide 

 book not being very much in evidence at Whitstable, the 

 locality is one around which many thrilling events have 



