332 
THE OCEAN WOULD. 
began with oysters brought from fabulous distances. Viteliius a ' ,e 
oysters all day long, and the idea prevailed that he could eat a 
thousand. Calisthenes, the philosopher, was a passionate oyster eater, 
so was Caligula ; Seneca the wise could eat his hundred, and the 
great Cicero did not despise the savoury bivalve. Lucullus had sea' 
water brought to his villa from the shores of the Campania, in which h e 
bred them in great abundance for the use of his guests. To another 
Roman, Sergius Orata, we owe the original idea of the oyster-park- 
He invented the oyster-pond, in which he bred oysters, not for h# 
own table, but for profit. 
Among modern celebrities whose lovo of oysters is recorded, we may 
mention Louis XL, who feasted the learned doctors of the Sorbotm e 
once a year on oysters. Another Louis invested his cook with aH 
order of nobility, in reward for his skill in cooking them. Cervant ,eS 
loved oysters, although he satirized oyster dealers. Marshal Turg 0 * 
used to eat a hunched or two just to whet his appetite. Rousseah 
Helvetius, Diderot, tho Abbe Raynal, and Voltaire, are recorded love rS 
of oysters. Danton, Robespierre, and other of the revolutionist’ 
frequented the oyster salons of Paris. Cambaceres was famous f° J 
his oyster feasts, and it is recorded of the great Napoleon that b e 
always partook of the bivalve on the eve of his great battles, wb eJ1 
they could be procured. 
In short, it has been demonstrated as a gastronomic truth th^ 
there is no feast worthy of a connoisseur where oysters do not come 1° 
the front. It is their office to open the way by that gentle excitem^ 
which prepares the stomach for its sublime function, digestion ; m 9 
word, the oyster is the key of that paradise called appetite. “ Th el ' e 
is no alimentary substance, not even excepting bread, which does ^ 
produce indigestion under given circumstances,” says Reveille-Par 1 ^’’ 
but oysters never. This is an homage which is due to them : “ ^ ?e 
may eat them to-day, to-morrow, eat them always, and in profus 1011 ’ 
without fear of indigestion.” Dr. Gastaldi could swallow, we afe 
assured, his forty dozen with impunity— quite a bank must he ha fe 
eaten. He was unfortunately struck with apoplexy at table befor e 9 
jpate de foie gras. 
Montaigne quaintly says, to be subject to colic, or deny onese 
oysters, presents two evils to choose from, since one must cb o° se 
between the two, and hazard something for his pleasure. 
