The Busy Bodies. American wit and humor. Gossip -- Caricatures and cartoons. Women -- Caricatures and cartoons. The valentine shows two fashionable women holding hands. They wear gowns and have upturned noses. The valentine condemns the women for their slander, gossip, and spleen [i.e., their ill temper]. Text: Envenomed, tattling, mischievous souls, / Whose breath with slander onward rolls, / Your tongues keep going like a bell, / But never knew the truth to tell. / The purer the mark, the bolder your attack, / And always deceitful behind one's back; / On all you vent your spleen and ire, / Your home should be "the place of fire." Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector. [S.l. : s.n.] [between 1840 and 1880?] Caricatures and cartoons. Comic valentines. digitool:6341 Comic Valentines, 2.15