An ingenious artist once painted a picture representing the first discovery of the oyster by man. But who the first man was who met an oyster on the seashore, and how he opened it, and how he ate it, the wisest of us cannot tell. The Pontifit's of Pagan Rome caused oysters, so we are told, to be served at every repast ; but the delicacy must have been very expensive, since a basket of oysters cost the equi- valent of £9 sterling. They were served raw, and were dexterously opened by a slave at a side table at the beginning of the dinner. The inhabitants of the sea-coast of ancient Italy preferred large oysters, not so large, I hope as those American varieties of the species — huge, long, and grey in hue — the consumption of which once made Mr. Thackeray observe that he felt as though he had swallowed a babv, and which another traveller in the United States likened to the tongue of an indisposed giant. There is a story told of an astute Roman epicure named Fulvius Hirpinus, who constructed on his estate, close to the seashore, a fish-pond where he stored or "parked" oysters, which he fattened with paste and cooked wine, worked to the consistency of honey. I say that he was astute, since, after he had regaled himself and friends on these artificially fattened oysters, he drove a roaring trade in selling them wholesale and retail to the nobility and gentry * See Index to Ilocipss. CHATS ABOUT COOKERY. 49 of Rome. Oddly enough, in a comparatively modern cookery- book — that of " Will Rabisha " — I find a direction — which seems to be a pretty ferocious one — that while oysters are undergoing the process of broiling they should be fed with white wine and grated bread. Of course many ways were adopted in those days for the feeding of oysters ; but a paste of oatmeal and Avater seems to have been the staple of the sustenance given to the creatures before they were considered to be fit for the table, I remember once receiving a letter from a gentleman belono-insr to the Bureau of Education at Washington, U.S.A., who gave me the following formula for steaming 03'sters : — " The oysters are steamed in their shells. When their mouths open it is an indication that the festive bivalves are ready to tickle the epicurean palates of the average American legislator. A hot soup-plate is then taken, Avell larded Avith fresh butter, seasoned Avith black pepper and fresh salt, and the oysters are thrown into the sauce. A peculiar kind of ' choAv-choAv ' is eaten with the steamed oyster, very highly seasoned. It is prepared by Harvey especially for the purpose. Beer is the beverage to be imbibed on this important occasion, and I should advise Mihvaukee beer by all means." My correspondent added that " Oliver Wendell Holmes says in one of his books that tA\'o immense oysters should be carved in marble and placed on top of the Washington monument in Baltimore, instead of the statue of the immortal George. I am not in faA'our of re- moving the Father of his Country from off his imposing pedestal, but should like to compromise matters by making him sit on a pile of oyster-shells in lieu of a curule chair." 50 THE THOROUGH GOOD COOK. Cold Fish.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

An ingenious artist once painted a picture representing the first discovery of the oyster by man. But who the first man was who met an oyster on the seashore, and how he opened it, and how he ate it, the wisest of us cannot tell. The Pontiffs of Pagan Rome caused oysters, so we are told, to be served at every repast ; but the delicacy must have been very expensive, since a basket of oysters cost the equivalent of £9 sterling. They were served raw, and were dexterously opened by a slave at a side table at the beginning of the dinner. The inhabitants of the sea-coast of ancient Italy preferred large oysters, not so large, I hope as those American varieties of the species — huge, long, and grey in hue — the consumption of which once made Mr. Thackeray observe that he felt as though he had swallowed a babv, and which another traveller in the United States likened to the tongue of an indisposed giant. There is a story told of an astute Roman epicure named Fulvius Hirpinus, who constructed on his estate, close to the seashore, a fish-pond where he stored or "parked" oysters, which he fattened with paste and cooked wine, worked to the consistency of honey. I say that he was astute, since, after he had regaled himself and friends on these artificially fattened oysters, he drove a roaring trade in selling them wholesale and retail to the nobility and gentry * See Index to Ilocipss. of Rome. Oddly enough, in a comparatively modern cookerybook — that of " Will Rabisha " — I find a direction — which seems to be a pretty ferocious one — that while oysters are undergoing the process of broiling they should be fed with white wine and grated bread. Of course many ways were adopted in those days for the feeding of oysters ; but a paste of oatmeal and Avater seems to have been the staple of the sustenance given to the creatures before they were considered to be fit for the table, I remember once receiving a letter from a gentleman belonging to the Bureau of Education at Washington, U.S.A., who gave me the following formula for steaming oysters : — " The oysters are steamed in their shells. When their mouths open it is an indication that the festive bivalves are ready to tickle the epicurean palates of the average American legislator. A hot soup-plate is then taken, well larded with fresh butter, seasoned Avith black pepper and fresh salt, and the oysters are thrown into the sauce. A peculiar kind of 'chow-chow' is eaten with the steamed oyster, very highly seasoned. It is prepared by Harvey especially for the purpose. Beer is the beverage to be imbibed on this important occasion, and I should advise Milwaukee beer by all means." My correspondent added that " Oliver Wendell Holmes says in one of his books that two immense oysters should be carved in marble and placed on top of the Washington monument in Baltimore, instead of the statue of the immortal George. I am not in favour of removing the Father of his Country from off his imposing pedestal, but should like to compromise matters by making him sit on a pile of oyster-shells in lieu of a curule chair." Cold Fish.

The thorough good cook