Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1855-06-28

mystery of q new sensation, and nDl
until the grey veil of night is drawn over the
distant waters does he leave the rock, COW
cred with the trophies his victory.
We date from this epoch the maritime
history Of England. Ere long, the reedy
cabins Of her aborgines clustered upon the
banks Of beautiful. inlcts, and overspread
her long lines Of level beaches; or penciled
with delicate wreaths of smoke the savage
aspect of her rocky coasts. The sword was
beaten into the oyster knife, and the spear
into oyster-rakes. Commerce spread her
white wings along the shores of happy Al
bon, and man emerged at once into cviliza-
tion from noinadic state. From the people
arose the mighty nation Of OStrago,hs; from
the Ostraphagi of ancient Brton came the
customs OF Ostracism-that is, sending
political dclnquents to that place where they
can get no more oysters.
| There is strange fatality attending all
DISCOVERIES. Our Brton saw a mighty chsSrc
come over his country-a change t-yond the
reach of memory or speculation. Neighbor.
ing tribes, ly hostile. ;7 ere now link ed
| together in bonds Of emity. A sylvan, war.
like people had become a peaceful, piscivo.
rous community; and he himself, once the
lowest .. his race, was now elevated abeve
the creams Of his ambition. He stood alone
upon the seashore, looking toward the rock
which, years ago, had been his stepping stone
to power, and desire to revisit it came over
him. He staids now upon it. The season
the hour, the western sky, remind him Of
! former timez Ha eli "a IL 81
denly flush Of pleasure overspreads his
countenance; for :here. Just below the flood,
he sees Gigantic bivalve-alone-with
mouth agaEe, as il yawning with very weari-
ness at the solitude in which it found Itself.
What | am about to describe may be untrue.
But believe il. have heard of the war.
gish propensities of oysters. have known
them, from mere humor, to clap suddeuly upon
a rats tail at nigh, and, what with the
sqneaklng e-:ii the clatter, we verify thought
! the uevil had broke loose in the cellar
Moreover, am told upon another occasion
when demijohn of brandy had burst, large
"Blue Pointer" was found, lying in a little
pool of liquor, just drunk enough to be care.
less OF onsequences--opening and shutting
his shell with "devil-may-care" sir, as if he
diden't value anybody q brass farthing, bu,
was going to be as noisy as he possibly
could.
But to return. When our Briton saw the
oyster in his defenceless attitude, he knel,
down and gradually reaching his arm toward
| it, he suddenly thrust his fingers in the aper.
ture, and the oyster closed upon him with q
spasInodic snap! In vain the Brton tugged
and reared, he might as well have tried to up
root the solid rock as to move the oyster! In
vain he called upon his heather gods--Gog
and Magog--older than Wooden ard Thor;
and with huge, Lncouth, Druidical d--ns,
consigned all shell fish to Ndhog Hela and
the submarines.
Bivalve held ON with ga will" II was
nuts for him certainly. Hero was a great
lubberly, Chucklc- headed fellow, and destroyer
of his tribe, with his fingers in charcery, and
the tide rising! A fellow who had thought,
like 4 ancient Pistol, to make the world his
oyster, and here was the oyster making a
world of him, strange mutation! The poor
Briton raised his eyes; there were the huts
of his people; he could even distinguish his
own, with its slender spiral of smoke; they
were probably preparing roast for him; how
he dctasted a roasH Then the thought of his
wife, his little ones awaiting him, tugged at
his heart The water rose around him. He
struggled, screamed in his anguish, but the
-emorseless wind .despsed the sounds, and
ere the even ng moon arose and flung her
white radiance upon the placid waves, the
last bllow had rolled over the FIRST OYSTER
EATER!