Most welcome to Ba-ath, sir."

For the story of the various adventures which overtook the
Pickwickians in the famous city, what they saw, and what they did,
the reader must be referred to the official chronicle, except where
they are connected with some inn or tavern.

So far as the "White Hart" is concerned, there is little to be said
in this direction. After the reception at the Assembly Rooms on the
evening after their arrival, Mr. Pickwick accompanied his friends
back to the "White Hart," and "having soothed his feelings with
something hot, went to bed, and to sleep, almost simultaneously."

As Mr. Pickwick contemplated staying in Bath for at least two
months, he deemed it advisable to take lodgings for himself and his
friends for that period. This he did, and the "White Hart" has no
further association with his person during his stay in the gay city.

The "White Hart," nevertheless, has a very strong claim to Pickwickian
fame, apart from the brief fact that the founder of the club stayed
there a night or two. At the time, the "White Hart" belonged to the
very Moses Pickwick whose name on the coach so worried poor Sam Weller
at the start of their journey down from London.

[illustration: The "White Hart," Bath. From an engraving]

This Moses Pickwick was a grandson of Eleazer Pickwick, who, it is
recorded, was a foundling. The story told concerning him is that
when an infant he was picked up by a lady in the village of Wick near
Bath, carried to her home, adopted and educated. Hence, according to