The young couple are seen in a large, well-furnished room that is in a state of disorder after a night's entertainment; the Viscount is collapsed in a chair having just arrived, the clock showing 1:20 a.m. His sword lies at his feet, broken, and a bonnet hangs from his pocket, suggesting his infidelity; the lap dog sniffs at him suspiciously. The wife's evening's activities at home are suggested by the book "Hoyle on whist" open on the rug in the middle of the floor, a deck of cards on the floor below a card table in the next room, and in the foreground two violins, one with its case open, on the back of an overturned chair, suggesting the wife's own infidelity. The estate steward walks away in disgust at his apparent failure to engage either the husband or the wife in addressing the wad of bills that he has in his hands or the ledger under his arm; in his pocket he carries a pamphlet entitled "Regeneration." Through an archway, a disheveled and sleepy servant scratches his cap; the walls are decorated with paintings of religious figures
Alternative Title:
Marriage à-la-Mode, Pl. 2.
Description:
Title etched below image., State from Paulson., After the painting "Tête à Tête" in the National Gallery, London., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Image 'touched': Stray hair and lock added in ink, presumably by Hogarth.
