11 o'clock
A column of `` Queries '' and a few brief stories and jokes brighten the sheet . The price is fifteen cents , and every copy of `` The Ocean Breeze '' is highly prized . On the whole , people at sea enjoy most the enforced rest , for they escape newspapers , telegrams , creditors , and the tax-gatherer . At 11 o'clock on the deck , every pleasant day , a large , well-dressed man , attended by his valet , generously opened a barrel of fresh oysters for the passengers . This benevolent gentleman proved to be a famous Saratoga gambler . In this way he made many acquaintances and friends , and each day he increased his winnings at cards and in bets on the vessel 's run , till finally , not he , but the guileless passengers paid for the oysters . Gambling was the business of the man who advertised by his oysters ; with the actor , who romped with the pretty child , gambling was a passion .