Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1871-03-17
SrrERRaoM Al ssRIP VAS WIN
RLE.0

II anv f,dv has in his mind an image
.r ,;-, xfsn IVinlxIe before he went up
mo Fbe mountains and slept his long
sieep It IS, doubtless. just the goo9-
Numbered. careless, affectonate, snre - \,
loitering fellow who comes n Win - -
-hiIdren hanging all about him -
ehoee children. with the Little -.
afferward at his knees. give US els si. -
- the mar. They are his gooG elie~iS
slv,ave IJncousciously, ~ INC ~ mus. "
bis idleuess. and the maudlln toiAy tles
-,raarrrafes his wife, the children plead
f.,v him in our hearts he IS not DAD
,-hon, children love. Shlttess, reckless
even drunken, he may be, but not bad.
THE wife orders him out into the black
night and storm, but the little daughter
clings to him. He, after all, IS child,
and they mutually love with the fond
ness Of children. The pathos of the play
eliminates in Rips fearful Conscious
ness that his child noes not know him.
PerhapS the author was wiser Than ne
knew. But Rip would not be 50 Perpet-
uallv absolved by US, as we look. It we
did not know that the children love him.
Il IS wholly a study of character.
There is no proper action IN the play.
The plot is slight a good-natured, drum
ken idler squanders his property, and
leaves his wife to scrub and toll hope
lessly. She loves and despairs. and he,
drunk or sober, only smiles good-natur
edly, until, stung by the fatal discovery
that his pretended affectionate sympathy
for hei passionate sorrow IS only trick
20 steal the bottle from her pocket, she
delivers in one terrible sentence the ac
cumulated heart-break Of life by bid
ding him begone from the house, which
is hers, and never 70 return. He obeys.
although. as the door opens into the
awful tempest, she prays him to turn
back. He disappears IN the storm ; re-
appears upon the mountain, and among
the ghostly crew Of Hendrick Hudson A.;
drinks, and sleeps for twenty years then
awalzens. an cid man, and descends TO
the village to fnd himself forgotten. his
wife married to the usurer, who beats
her, house itself destroyed, and even his
daughter repelling him. Then comes
the proof that It is he-thst his property
was never rightfully lost; and with his
restored wife and daughter pressing up
on him the cup which has caused all the
sorrow, the curtain falls.
Rip is a racy original, one Of the men
who are everywhere and always delight
full, from what is fondly called their pro
fuse human nature, by which we really
mean entire simplicity and kindliness-
a heart overhowing with love and sym
pathy, but brave as a lion under all
This character is portrayed by Mr.. JEFF
ferson with such subtle felicity that if We
ealy fancy him sometimes writing poe,
Try, we can imagine that we see ROber
Burns. There are always those in the
audience who feel toward Rip as many
good people in Dummies felt toward
Burns. They were impatient with him
They were ashamed Of human nature
when they thought Of him. He was ar
idle, 0issOlute reprobate. IF death hadni
wanted him, says Robert Collyer in hi.
noble lecture upon Burns. the sheriff wa:
waiting for him. so he died, and thS
good people hurried to bury him and al
his nastiness out Of sight but they might
as well have tried to bury the sunshiner
Mr.. Jefferson shows us this kind Of char.
acter perfectly the man who is beloved
by children and the unprosperous, by
hostlers and fisherman and plow-boys
who brings no dinner to his wife unles:
he has had good luck in shooting o.
trapping. but who, despite all. is kind
ly human l7aSbeg's Magazine Jo,
March.