A dancing woman wears a veil and a brightly colored gown. The first line of the verse alludes to Milton's L'Allegro (1645) and refers to dancing. She wears a necklace and bracelet., Text: To trip it on the light fantastic toe-- / To every ball and rout you wish to go; / Your only loves, my charmer, now confess, / Are but the loves of balls and loves of dress., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The woman depicted is thin, gaunt, tall, and has a pinched face. Her arms are raised. She wears a poke-bonnet and a dress with a high neckline and thin skirt., Text: "A Ball, a Ball --- an abomination!" / It's a scandal to all creation : / Now no one would take you; you groan and bawl, / And say that the Dev-l will take us all., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman wears a dress with a yellow skirt with furbelows and a small red bodice. Behind her a couple dances underneath a chandelier, and a man plays a cello on a balcony. The valentine mocks the recipient for being a wall-flower., Text: Why do you mingle in the whirl / Where the dancers close are clinging? / You're but a wall-flower, my girl, / While a belle should surely ring in!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
