When Maiden Loves

Phoebe sings of her love for Colonel Fairfax, as her admirer, the jailer Wilfred Shadbolt, listens in on her.

When Maiden loves, she mopes apart,
As owl mopes on a tree;
Although she keenly feels the smart,
She cannot tell what ails her heart
With its sad "Ah, me!'
'Tis but a foolish sigh - "Ah, me!"
Born but to droop and die - "Ah, me!"
Yet all the sense
Of eloquence
Lies hidden in a maid's "Ah, me!"