There is not lurking in it some demon still,

Its tones and notes sound so awfully shrill.

I would not for a single moment profane

The memory of my dear aunt I still retain,

Nor at her sincere beliefs cast one single slur.

I write here what did actually occur.

A coolness between me and the fiddle I love

Sprang up from the incident related above,

That lasted all the days of my youth

When I might have learned the violin in truth;