Description
Rare Irish issued satirical etching copied from Charles William’s, published by S.W. Forres in 1817 (BM Satires 12945)
Scene in a handsomely furnished dressing-room. A comely young woman,
wearing a short, décolletée dress, stands full-face near her
dressing-table on which is a book: ‘Goldsmith Works’, kept open by
curling-tongs. Her arms are dropped, the fingers interlaced; she says,
adapting Goldsmith’s words: “Man wants that [altered to] but little here
below nor wants that little long! then turn tonight and freely
share—heigh ho!” On the floor, discarded, are other books, one being
‘Sturm’s Reflections’ (a devotional work for daily reading (many English
translations, 1788-1867) from ‘Unterhaltung mit Gott . . .’, 1768, by
C. C. Sturm). On an ornate sofa a cat rolls on its back.
“Man wants that but little here below nor wants that little long.”
