A woman was playing,
A man looking on;
And the mould of her face,
And her neck and her hair,
Which the rays fell upon
Of the two candles there,
Sent him mentally straying
 ... 
Where pain had no trace.

A cowled apparition
Came pushing between;
And her notes seemed to sigh;
And the lights to burn pale,
As a spell numbed the scene.
But the maid saw no bale,
And the man no monition
And Time laughed awry,
And the Phantom hid nigh.