Undaunted by the fact that his resources were extremely low, Mr. Micawber pressed David to dine with him, and the repast was accordingly arranged. David describes it as "a beautiful little dinner. Quite an elegant dish of fish; the kidney end of a loin of veal, roasted; fried sausage-meat, a partridge, and a pudding. There was wine and there was strong ale; and after dinner Mrs. Micawber made us a bowl of hot punch with her own hands. Mr. Micawber was uncommonly convivial.... He got cheerfully sentimental about the town and proposed success to it, observing that Mrs. Micawber and himself had been made extremely snug and comfortable.... As the punch disappeared, Mr. Micawber became still more friendly and convivial. Mrs. Micawber's spirits becoming elevated, too, we sang 'Auld Lang Syne.'... In a word, I never saw anybody so thoroughly jovial as Mr. Micawber was, down to the very last moment of the evening, when I took a hearty farewell of himself and his amiable wife." [Illustration: "The Little Inn" Canterbury _Drawn by F. G. Kitton_] The "little inn" is the scene of another incident in the book, as narrated in Chapter LII, where Uriah Heep is exposed. David, Mr. Dick, Traddles, and Betsey Trotwood are invited down to Canterbury "to assist at an explosion." Arriving by the Dover Mail, they all put up at this inn on the recommendation of Mr. Micawber, and there awaited his arrival. It is recorded that they got into the hotel with some trouble in the middle of the night, and "went shivering at that uncomfortable hour" to their respective beds, through various close passages, "which smelt as if they had been steeped for ages in a solution of soup and stables." In the morning David took a stroll, and states how he "looked at the old house from the corner of the street ... the early sun was striking edgewise on its gables and lattice-windows, touching them with gold, and some beams of its old peace seemed to touch my heart." They all breakfasted together, full of anxiety and impatience for Mr. Micawber's appearance, which was punctually timed at the first chime of the half-hour. This "little inn," with its gables and lattices telling of its age, still occupies the angle of the peaceful streets close to the Cathedral Close. But Dickens's designation of it is hardly fitting, for it is quite a commodious building with stabling for about a dozen horses. It is, perhaps, a trifle smaller than when Dickens knew it, for the rooms on the ground-floor corner and one side are used as a jeweller's and a butcher's shop respectively. The inn still boasts of its "splendid accommodation for all," and is determined that its identification with Dickens should not be overlooked. On one side of the building is a hanging sign bearing the words: THE SUN INN BUILT 1503 THE "LITTLE INN" OF DICKENS FAME whilst in case this should be missed by pilgrims, it has, painted up on the wall the other side: