A young man removes his hat as he is introduced to a young lady by an older man. Engraving by W. Basell after himself, 1842.

The young man's memory of the episode is described in a poem "The introduction" in The ladies' cabinet, loc. cit.: "'Twas when thy years were tender, love! and beauty's budding rose / Was on thy cheek, like summer's tint on Alp's eternal snow's; / And when thy maiden thoughts were pure as dew-drops on the lawn, / Or virgin breeze that fann'd the flowers on Eden's natal dawn; / 'Twas then our hopes, our fears, our joys, our sorrows were begun, / And then our hearts, like kindred drops, were mingled into one. / And years have flown since first we met, and many a smile and tear / Have mark'd the hours, the days, the months of each revolving year; / The joys of hope, the pangs of fear, have proved their varying powers, / And fancy used our waking thoughts to gild our dreaming hours; / Thus time may roll his chariot on till all his race be run, / And find our hearts, like kindred drops, still mingling into one. / Deluded man may search for bliss in power, or fame, or wealth, / I seek the joys of wedded love, of competence and health ! / To these let heaven in mercy add, from love's exhaustless store, / A heart that glows with charity-and I would crave no more- / For then, like thine, in paths of truth my hastening steps shall run. / And thus our hearts, like kindred drops, shall mingle into one. / Ye glittering gems that ceaseless gild the azure robe of night, / Beyond your spheres shall love reveal a world of holier light; / There fairer stars, in purer skies, o'er lovelier landscapes move, / Where every thought is perfect truth, and each emotion love: / There shall we, dearest! ever gaze on heaven's unclouded sun, / And there our hearts, like kindred drops, be mingled into one."

The unnamed young man enters a well-appointed house by the garden door, where he is introduced by an older man to the latter's daughter. The father wears a dressing gown or banyan. On the walll by the door is a painting in an elaborate frame: it is a portrait of the daughter (or her mother). An ornate chair and a jardiniere placed against a pilaster are shown on the right. On the floor by the chair is an open book that the young woman has been reading

London (2, Old Bailey) : Geo. Henderson, [1842]

1 print : engraving ; image 9.7 x 7.3 cm

The introduction. Drawn and engraved by W. Basell.

Wellcome Collection 28258i