Were man and wife, or (in another

And holier parlance) sister and brother.

As a man of the world I noticed it,

And it made me speculate a bit,

For the situation was to my mind

A phenomenon of a curious kind—

A person in love with his wife, 'twas clear,

But afraid, when another soul was near,

Of showing his feelings in any way

Because—there would be the Devil to pay!