THE OTSTEK. 11 



the thousand: it is, nevertheless, an error — a revolt- 

 ing, unhealthy, unclean error — which ought to he 

 denied, both at home and abroad, by the strong hand of 

 the law. 



I, for my part, utterly and entirely ignore fish or 

 fowl of the game species, as fit for human food dui'ing 

 the seasons of breeding ; and although an oyster may 

 be eatable in August, if the month be hot it is rarely 

 fresh; and what is more disgusting or more likely 

 to be injurious to man than a stale oyster ? That 

 which I have said, however, on the oyster in this little 

 book which I offer to the million — for the million are 

 interested in the subject — will, I hope, induce those who 

 have hitherto broken through a rule strictly adhered to 

 by all gastronomes, to abstain in future ; and those 

 who have hitherto enjoyed oyster-eating, fearlessly to 

 eat on and secure the first and foremost of all gastrono- 

 mical indulgences provided for man — only in due season. 



On the 25th of July, says Erand, the antiquary, being 

 St. James the Apostle's Day, the priests of old were 

 wont to bless apples; and a popular belief too, in 1588, 

 though generally ignored in the more enlightened days 

 in which we live, was, that whoever ate oysters on 

 that day would not be without money for the remainder 

 of the year. This is very probable, for without they 

 were selected with great care, disease and even death 

 might follow. This conjunction of apples and oysters 

 on St. James's Day may have suggested Bianca's remark 



to be compared to British Native oysters, which are so called 

 because they are bom, bred, and fed in this country. These 

 do not come to perfection till they are four years old. 



B 2 



