O precious evenings! all too swiftly sped! <br />Leaving us heirs to amplest heritages <br />Of all the best thoughts of the greatest sages, <br />And giving tongues unto the silent dead! <br />How our hearts glowed and trembled as she read, <br />Interpreting by tones the wondrous pages <br />Of the great poet who foreruns the ages, <br />Anticipating all that shall be said! <br />O happy Reader! having for thy text <br />The magic book, whose Sibylline leaves have caught <br />The rarest essence of all human thought! <br />O happy Poet! by no critic vext! <br />How must thy listening spirit now rejoice <br />To be interpreted by such a voice!<br /><br />Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sonnet-on-mrs-kemble-s-readings-from-shakespeare/
