The Daily Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Or.) 1876-1883, 1883-09-21
The Festive Clam.

have SAD way OF depreclatlng the
clam. In an age Of mad and feverish
speculation his calm and solid virtues
are not appreciated. WorldlIngs sneer
at him as conservative, forgetting
that only the imperfect is prone -
change. In many respects he is in
ferior TO the oyster, which never per-
mits itself to be betrayed into an ex-
hibition Of haste. The oyster is ma
lures true aristocrat. The clam is of
less dignifed port. At the approach
Of danger he is won't to seek safety in
flight. 1t is an inspiring moment in
the noble sport of claiming when the
lookout on the fore-to' gallant thwart-
piece of the lofty dory gives out the
startling cry, There she blows"
Then may you see on the moist sand a
thin stream of water thrown high in
the air, the parting shot of defiance
from the retreating quarry. The
clam has sounded. Away down in
the bowels of the earth, several
inches, he waits at bay for the fatal
spade. Woe to the rash fnger-;hrust
after him in his sandy lair! The
razor-like shell shall seize il and inhict
sad wounds.
But the experienced clammer Is
wary. Cautiously he digs around
and mines the outworks of the foe.
Undermined and elected, the clam
closes his shell and awaits his fate
with true stocIsm sometimes lightly
mistaken for sullen pride. The clam is
not prond.
His dignIfied hauteur must not be
confounded with such a feeling,
though an eminent japanese philoso-
pher falls into that too common error,
in the following well drawn but in
correct parable. The philosopher
calls the clam by its japanese name,
the "Sazaye," of which he says: "Now
this creature, if it hears that there is
any danger astir, shuts its shell from
within, with loud noise, and thinks
itself perfectly safe One day Tai
and another fish, lost in envy, said:
What a strong castle this is of
yours, Mr.. Sazaye. When you shut
up your castle from within nobody can
so much as point finger at you. A
capital figure you make, sir. >"
When he heard this the SaZaye,
stroking his beard, said:
swell, gentleman, although you
are SO good as to say so, it's nothing
to boast of in the way of safety; yet
must admit that, when j shut myself
up thus, do not feel much anxiety"
"And IS he was speaking thus,
with the pride that apes humility,
there came the noise of great splash
and the shell-fish, shutting his lid as
quickly as possible, kept quite still,
and thought to himself what in the
world the noise could be. Could il
be a metz Could it be 6sh-hookl
What a bore it was, always having TO
keep such sharp lookout. Were the
Tai and the other fish caught, he won
dered, and he felt quite anxious about
them; however at any rate he was
safe. And so the time passed, and
when he thought all was safe, he
stealthily opened his shell, and slipped
out his head and peered over his
shoulder, and there seemed to be
something wrong-something with
which he was not familiar. AS he
looked little more carefully, 10, and
behold! there he was in the fishmong-
er's shop, and with a card marked
sixteen cash on his back" Moral:
Pride goeth before fall. There is a
deal OF human nature in clans even
In Japan.
The etymology of the clam is OBJ
scure. Capt. John Smith speaks of
the succulent bivalve which be calls
the "clampe." F" Later explorers give
him his true name of clam. ii is we'll
known that when the deep is moved
TO Its foundations and the fierce nor
easter rolls in with tumultous billows
it bears in It's bosom another and
vastly different kind of clam from the
meek and voiceless creature of the
oozy mudbanks. The deep sea clam,
rare but juicy creature, stunning
the shallow tide and only brought
from his fathomless lair by the tiercest
conVulsion OF the deep. He Is silent
in captivity, but so is the Gagged lark.
That does not prove HIM void of vocal
organs. 1t is easier to believe that
the deep-sea clam is vociferous, as his
etymology would imply, than to
doubt all the evidences of philo!ogy.
Yet even the deep seq clam is only
a hint of what may exist in deeper
depths. Who knows what monsters
of conchology may dwell in the deep,
unfathomed caves of old Ocean-sur-
vivors of the mighty past, with the
clam primeval was a hunter in
stead of a hunted being, when man
trembled in his presence and shud-
dered at the echo of his rapcous cryl
The decline and fall Of the clam is
study replete with moral for him who
will read il Alright.
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