A sudden thought [graphic]

"scene in a coffee-house or tavern, the tables (l.) separated by the high backs of benches topped by short curtains, leaving a wide floor-space (r.). A young man, fashionably dressed, postures as if terror-struck before two astonished waiters (r.); a broken decanter and spilt wine lie at his feet; the foremost waiter points to the mess. The second waiter holds a punch-bowl. A man seated at the nearest table watches in quizzical amusement. An ornate wall-mirror reflects a lighted candelabra. Below the design:'Like dire Macbeth, - with sudden glare and start, Young Vapid studious o'er the Tyrants part, Like a stuck pig he stares - and trembling stands, Down falls the glass and bottle from his hands, Th' affrighted Waiter saw his tackle broke, While thus his attitude - and thus he spoke "Thou canst not say I did it bloody Banquo? Yes cried the Waiter "by my soul I can though.'"--British Museum online catalogue