I was bewildered--ecstatic.

This singing was for me.

I listened intently and heard the words of their song: Sweet is the sound of lute and voice When borne across the water.
Then two other sweets I could not quite catch, and the last lines sung with fervor: But sweeter still is the charming voice Of Professor Sanborn's daughter.
Two more stanzas and each with the refrain: The prettiest girl on Hanover Plain is Professor Sanborn's daughter.
Then the last verse: Hot is the sun whose golden rays Can reach from heaven to earth, And hot a tin pan newly scoured Placed on the blazing hearth, And hot a boy's ears boxed for doing That which he hadn't orter, But hotter still is the love I bear For Professor Sanborn's daughter.
with chorus as before.
I threw down lovely flowers and timidly thanked them.

They applauded, sang a rollicking farewell, and were gone.

If I could have removed my heart painlessly, I believe that would have gone out too.