The French assert that the English oysters, which are esteemed the best in Europe, were originally procured from Cancale Bay, near St. Malo, but they assign no proof of this. It is a fact, however, that the oysters eaten in ancient Rome were nourished in the channel which then parted the Isle of Thanet from England, and which has since been filled up and converted into meadows. There is much diversity of opinion about the wholesomeness and the nutritive powers of oysters. Some medical men say that they, like all shellfish, afford but a small amount of nutritive substance, which is the reason why a great many can be eaten without spoiling the appetite for other dishes. In former days a dinner of any pretension always began with oysters, and many of the guests never stopped till they had swallowed a gross, i.e. X INTRODUCTION. 144 oysters. The ' Almanach des Gourmands' (1803) states that 'beyond five or six dozen, as a mere indispensable prelude to a winter dejeuner, it is proved that oyster eating most certainly ceases to be an enjoyment.' Brillat-Savarin once weighed a dozen oysters, and found they weighed four ounces, which gives for the weight of a gross three pounds, and re- marked that the same persons who dined were not a bit the worse after their oysters, who would have been completely satiated had they eaten an equal quantity of any meat, however delicate. He also relates that, in 1798, when he was at Versailles in the capacity of a commissioner of the Directory, that he was frequently thrown in the way of the Sieur Laporte, clerk to the Tribunal of the Department, who was excessively fond of oysters, and often complained that he had never had ' his fill of them.' Brillat-Savarin resolved to procure him this gratification, and invited him to dine. They both ate three dozen, and then Brillat- Savarin had to stop, but the Sieur went on alone ; but when he had arrived at the thirty-second dozen, his host was getting so tired of the game of looking on, he at last exclaimed, ' My very dear fellow, I see it is not written that you are to have your fill of oysters to-day ; let us begin our dinner,' and when they began the Sieur dined ' with the vigour of a man who had fasted for twelve hours previously ! ' Dr. Spencer Thomson, in speaking of the nutri- tive powers and wholesomeness of the oyster, says that when uncooked they are especially wholesome, but their digestibility in all probability depends greatly upon the person by whom they arc eaten. INTRODUCTION xi Some, whose stomachs generally require much con- sideration, can eat oysters with impunity. Dr. Paris, however, condemns them for invaHds. It is said that if a cupful of hot milk is taken by delicate persons immediately after eating them, it will greatly assist their digestion. The Rev. J. G. Wood, who has written a good deal on the subject of the oyster, says, in regard to eating them, ' As to such heresies as pepper and vinegar, let them be banished from the table, whilst oysters are upon it. These charm- ing mollusks should always be taken unmitigated, without losing the delicacy of their flavour by a mixture with any condiment whatever except their native juice. Scarcely one man in a thousand knows how to open an oyster, and still less how to eat it.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The French assert that the English oysters, which are esteemed the best in Europe, were originally procured from Cancale Bay, near St. Malo, but they assign no proof of this. It is a fact, however, that the oysters eaten in ancient Rome were nourished in the channel which then parted the Isle of Thanet from England, and which has since been filled up and converted into meadows. There is much diversity of opinion about the wholesomeness and the nutritive powers of oysters. Some medical men say that they, like all shellfish, afford but a small amount of nutritive substance, which is the reason why a great many can be eaten without spoiling the appetite for other dishes. In former days a dinner of any pretension always began with oysters, and many of the guests never stopped till they had swallowed a gross, i.e. X INTRODUCTION. 144 oysters. The ' Almanach des Gourmands' (1803) states that 'beyond five or six dozen, as a mere indispensable prelude to a winter dejeuner, it is proved that oyster eating most certainly ceases to be an enjoyment.' Brillat-Savarin once weighed a dozen oysters, and found they weighed four ounces, which gives for the weight of a gross three pounds, and remarked that the same persons who dined were not a bit the worse after their oysters, who would have been completely satiated had they eaten an equal quantity of any meat, however delicate. He also relates that, in 1798, when he was at Versailles in the capacity of a commissioner of the Directory, that he was frequently thrown in the way of the Sieur Laporte, clerk to the Tribunal of the Department, who was excessively fond of oysters, and often complained that he had never had ' his fill of them.' Brillat-Savarin resolved to procure him this gratification, and invited him to dine. They both ate three dozen, and then Brillat- Savarin had to stop, but the Sieur went on alone ; but when he had arrived at the thirty-second dozen, his host was getting so tired of the game of looking on, he at last exclaimed, ' My very dear fellow, I see it is not written that you are to have your fill of oysters to-day ; let us begin our dinner,' and when they began the Sieur dined ' with the vigour of a man who had fasted for twelve hours previously ! ' Dr. Spencer Thomson, in speaking of the nutritive powers and wholesomeness of the oyster, says that when uncooked they are especially wholesome, but their digestibility in all probability depends greatly upon the person by whom they arc eaten. INTRODUCTION xi Some, whose stomachs generally require much consideration, can eat oysters with impunity. Dr. Paris, however, condemns them for invaHds. It is said that if a cupful of hot milk is taken by delicate persons immediately after eating them, it will greatly assist their digestion. The Rev. J. G. Wood, who has written a good deal on the subject of the oyster, says, in regard to eating them, ' As to such heresies as pepper and vinegar, let them be banished from the table, whilst oysters are upon it. These charming mollusks should always be taken unmitigated, without losing the delicacy of their flavour by a mixture with any condiment whatever except their native juice. Scarcely one man in a thousand knows how to open an oyster, and still less how to eat it.

Oysters à la mode, or, The oyster and over 100 ways of cooking it