The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-06-18
Life in Bath in the Eighteenth Cen.
fury.

a visitor, II a person or quality.
would probably put up at the White
Hart (not the present inn by thai
name, but a hostelry which stood
where now stands the Grand Pump
Room HoteD, and on the following
morning either in pursuit OF
health, or for the qualification Of
curiosity, he would betake himself
to the baths. If medical advice was
required beforehand, DR.. Pierce.
the great man OF the day, would
probably be consulted, though as
many as tWenty-four temp 1rarily
practitioners competed with this
physician Of the corporation for the
fees of the invalid. Arrived at the
bath he would enter one of the
fslips," the humble ancestors of the
present luxurious dressing,
where he would find barely room
enough for his clothes; and then
under the guidance of one OF the
"serjesnts of the BATH" he would
descend into its waters. After a
stay there of half an hour or so, or
as much longer as suited his taste
(for the bathers of those days seem
to have had no fear of the constitu
tional effect Of excessive i'm mefsiOn)
he would be wrapped in flannel, and
unless he had specially engaged one
of the rooms adjoining the bath, car
ried back in a sedan chair TO his inn
or lodging, to dress. The whole
business as a rule, could be con-
cluded by an early hour OF the
morning (Pepys seems to have risen
at 4 am. to take his bath on July
Is, 1869 and the visitor after having
cooled and breakfasted, would have
the whole day before him. His oppor.
tunities Of amusement were ample.
The royal game Of tennis could be
enjoyed in the tennis-court, one of
the entrances to which was from
the Queens bath; | rye racquet
court and tives-court stood imme-
diately outside the west gate there
were bowling green's for the grave
and lelsurely recreation Of bowls;
there was fishing in the river and in
the most In the Ham Gardens there
was a cock pit for the noble sport of
cock-fghting, and hull ring FOR The
gentle pastims OF bull batting. Nor
was there wanting food for the in
quiring mind. The days of clubs
and reading rooms were not yet, but
the visitor to Bath was not con-
demned to burst in Ignorance OF what
was going on in the greater world
OF London. An entry in the coun-
Gil book records a resolution by
general consent" Of the City
Fathers "thAt i've and-twenty shil-
liDgs shall be quarterly paid for n
sNeWes~Letter' to be sent to the
Mayor CT the CITY for the TYNE
being. and to remayne at his HOUSE
for the publique view of thisi Tor
poration, the frat quarter beginning
from the sixth dag of the present
February" And to this ancient
forerunner of the piles OF "dailiss"
which the $50 q. m. train from Pad
dington delivers nowadays each
morning at the Bath railway sta
ton the visitor, it seems, was per-
mitted access. The prlncipa' prom
enade Of the city was then, az for
many years afterwards, the Gravel
Walk, now known as Orange Grove,
q spot commanding a fine view of
the beautiful valley to the east,
with t&e hamlet OF Bathwick strag-
Cling up the hill now covered by
the handsome suburb of that name,
and the distant CHURCH Of Bath
Hampton Nesting among It's coeval
trees.-From "The English Illuss
trated Magazine" June.