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15

OYSTER MAN.

He was a phantom of a fright,
When first he burst upon my sight,
A ragged apparition lent
To charm away my latest cent!
His eyes like bits of charcoal were,
Like charcoal too, his dusky hair;
But all things else about him drawn,
From dust and mud and ways forlorn;
A wondrous shape—a lump of clay—
To haunt—to startle—and waylay!
 

The Bays of Long Island, Staten Island and New Jersey, abound in Oysters, which are taken by men in boats, who raise the Oysters by means of tongs, shaped like two rakes. It is estimated that one and a half million of dollars are paid for Oysters in one year by the citizens of New York.

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