s opened, with its own gravy in
the under shell; if not eaten while absolutely alive, its flavour and
spirit are lost.

The true lover of an oyster will have some regard for the feelings of
his little favourite, and will never abandon it to the mercy of a
bungling operator, but will open it himself, and contrive to detach the
fish from the shell so dexterously, that the oyster is hardly conscious
he has been ejected from his lodging, till he feels the teeth of the
piscivorous gourmand tickling him to death.

N.B. Fish is less nutritious than flesh: as a proof, when the trainer of
Newmarket wishes to waste a jockey, he is not allowed meat, nor even
pudding, if fish can be had. The white kinds of fish, turbots, soles,
whiting, cod, haddock, flounders, smelts, &c. are less nutritious than
the oily, fat fish, such as eels, salmon, herrings, sprats, &c.: the
latter, however, are more difficult to digest, and often disturb weak
stomachs, so that they are obliged to call in the assistance of Cayenne,
Cognac, &c.

Shell-fish have long held a high rank in the catalogue of easily
digestible and speedily restorative foods; of these the oyster certainly
deserves the best character, but we think it has acquired not a little
more reputation for these qualities than it deserves; a well-dressed
chop[191-*] or steak, see No. 94, will invigorate the heart in a much
higher ratio; to recruit the animal spirits, and support strength, there
is nothing equal to animal food; when kept till properly tender, none
will give so little trouble to the digestive organs, and so much
substantial excitement to the constitution. See note under No. 185.

See Dr. WALLIS and Mr. TYSON'S Papers on men's feeding on flesh, in
_Phil. Trans._ vol. xxii. p. 769 to 774; and PORPHYRY on Abstinence from
Animal Food, translated by Thomas Taylor, 8vo. 1823.

We could easily say as much in praise of mutton as Mr. Ritson has
against it, in his "_Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral
Duty_," 8vo. London, 1802, p. 102. He says, "The Pagan priests were the
first eaters of animal food; it corrupted their taste, and so excited
them to gluttony, that when they had eaten the same thing repeatedly,
their luxurious appetites called for variety. He who had devoured the
sheep, longed to masticate the shepherd!!!

"Nature seems to have provided other animals for the food of man, from
the astonishing increase of those which instinct points out to him as
peculiarly