The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-09-12
Don't drown him deep in vinegar
Or season him at all
Don't cover up his shining form
With pepper, like q pail

Don't drown him deep in vinegar
Or season him at all;
Don't cover up his shining form
With pepper, like n pail
But gently lift him from his shell
And firmly hold your breath,
Then with your eager tongue and teeth
Just tickle him to death.
THR last of the months in whose names is
no or" have faded into the azure Of the
past. They have gone, like bad dream
and once more after four long and weary
moons, untempered, in the back settlements,
by even the presence Of the leathery clam,
ye populace may return with sharpened APP
petite to the filling stew, the toothsome roast,
the delicate broil, or the epicurean' delight
blue points on the half shell.
The origin of the belief that oysters are
not edible in these months is doubtful, some
ingenious gentlemen tracing it to the ." r "
with C, ossed Ill which appears upon ply
sicians' prescrip lions and is commonly but
err ,neously supposed to represent the initial
letter Of "recipe," whereas it is known to
have been used by old Egyptian medical men
as the symbol of Ria, the God Of Health.
There Is no ar" in certain months, and as
oysters have certain religious significance
are associated with st. James's Day even
now in England,--th two notions have be-
come mixed, and oysters are not to be eaten
when Ria has not blessed them. Other and
less curious critics aver that this delightful
food may not be eaten in May, June, July
and August because then is the spawning
season, but even this apparently plain and
adequate solution Of great mystery is not
satisfactory, for oysters are good in the
spawning time and they do not spawn in
every place at the same season. But in
whatever this belief had its rise, certain it
is that it is generally held and prevents a
great deal Of genuine enjoyment in summer,
for what can be more refreshing to the
parchsd palate than . luscious oyster fresh
from the ice!
Now, however, that the "r's" again have
come to stay for eight long months, it Is not
becoming to waste vain regrets over the four
months past; rather it behooves the oyster
man to turn promptly to the subject on hand
and so do the delicate creature justice as
we'll as homage.
"As it is the only duty Of the scholar in
Shakespeare" says an epicure, "to bring
out the meaning Of the poet and not to tinker
or attempt to correct the text, SO the cook
must confne himself to the slucidation Of
the oyster, recognizing its ineffabls beauties,
feeling humbly before it and striving with
earnestness to comprehend it as far as it is
possible to man. Its highest perfection is
dreamed Of when it is reverently eaten in its
simplicity, without the Vandalism Of salt or
pepper, sauces or even lemon, and without
the butchery Of the knife. To triae with a
raw oyster i. to commit . very grave ofense
akin to that Of painting the lily. Its flavor
is SUI genera; what needs my oyster for his
honored lobes Of pepper, salt or any condi-
ment And il there men who are lacking in
the artistic sense and can be reached only
through the feelings, it should be pointed
out to them that the oyster has made many
short, pedunculated, soft brown eyes between
its fringss. and the sensibility Of its labial
processes is acute. Why then throw red
pepper into his eyes and touch its lips with
singing sauces." Aye! treat him like .
patrician, remembering he is lord, even
though he be called only New York count