We have the painting, “The Glade” by Stewart hanging at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I’ve described it as “18th century porn” because works like these were usually painted for wealthy young men to hang in their libraries. I also describe it as “The first thing a new wife would send to the dustbin or the attic after that young man got married.”
The term "two bits comes from the Spanish dollar which was worth eight Reals. The coin was minted with groves so that the silver coin could be broken apart into eight “bits” worth one Spanish Real apiece. The American dollar was based on the Spanish dollar and the term “two bits,” which meant a quarter of a dollar, stuck to the quarter-dollar coin.
It was money that got him ice cream at the beach. You think he’d really care even if he knew better? NOPE!