Surely the antiquity of oysters cannot be doubted; but there is some
reason to believe that grottoes are of a more recent origin. There is a
grotto of the Cumæan Sybil at Naples; but it does not seem to have been
constructed of oyster-shells—though its position near the sea would
indicate that shells of some kind were probably used in its
construction.
The first oyster ever introduced into this country was probably brought
over by Sir Walter Raleigh; who, as he imported cigars, potatoes, and
saltpetre, may, probably, have met with oysters in his celebrated
journey round the world, and carried over a barrel with him on his
return to England; which would surely have been quite as reasonable a
piece of luggage as a barrel of gunpowder. This theory is further
supported by the well-known proverb, that "he must have been a bold man
who first ate an oyster;" and as the courage of Raleigh was never
doubted, we may fix upon him with some degree of confidence as the first
oyster-eater that this country can boast of. But valour of this kind was
never so eminently displayed as in the comparatively recent instance of
Dando, who, to the courage of eating oysters to an unlimited extent,
added the far greater boldness of declining to pay for them. Dando was,
however, "native, and to the manner born" for it. To return to the
subject of grottoes: the annual grotto feast is observed by the children
of the humbler classes, who, with infantine simplicity, insist on
declaring that it is "only once a year" for several days in succession.
There is a remnant of feudalism in the mode adopted by some of the
bigger boys to obtain possession of the grottoes constructed by weaker
children. The former descend in rude and barbarous hordes, beating off
the original possessors, and exacting custom from the surrounding
neighbourhood. This is in strict conformity with the law of
primogeniture; for the elder boys generally "take," as the lawyers say,
to the exclusion of the younger.