urpose in the _role_ of Bob Acres that it does
in other characters. It is full of points, so judiciously chosen, so
thoroughly apt, so naturally made and so characteristically preserved,
that the part with Jefferson is a great one. The man of the 'oath
referential, or sentimental swearing,' makes the entire scope of the
part an 'echo to the sense.' Even in so poor a farce as that of 'A
Regular Fix,' Mr. Jefferson makes the eccentricities of Hugh de Brass
immensely funny. The same style is preserved in every character, but
with an application that gives to each a separate being."

After a season of great success in this country Mr. Jefferson decided to
visit England. He appeared at the Adelphi Theater, in London, and at
once became as popular as he had been at home. His Asa Trenchard, in
"Our American Cousin," was received by the English with delight; but his
greatest triumphs were won in Boucicault's version of "Rip Van Winkle,"
which he has since immortalized. This play was first produced at the
Adelphi, where it enjoyed an uninterrupted run of nearly two hundred
nights.

Returning to the United States in the autumn of 1867, Mr. Jefferson
appeared at the Olympic Theater, in New York, in the play of "Rip Van
Winkle." Since then he has traveled extensively throughout the United
States, and has devoted himself exclusively to the character of Rip Van
Winkle; so exclusively, indeed, that many persons are ignorant of his
great merits in other roles. By adopting this as his specialty, he has
rendered himself so perfect in it that he has almost made the
improvident, light-hearted Rip a living creature. A writer in a popular
periodical draws the following graphic sketch of his performance of this
character:

If there is something especially charming in the ideal of Rip Van
Winkle that Irving has drawn, there is something even more human,
sympathetic and attractive in the character reproduced by
Jefferson. A smile that reflects the generous impulses of the man;
a face that is the mirror of character; great, luminous eyes that
are rich wells of expression; a grace that is statuesque without
being studied; an inherent laziness which commands the respect of
no one, but a gentle nature that wins the affections of all; poor
as he is honest, jolly as he is poor, unfortunate as he is jolly,
yet possessed of a spontaneity of nature that springs up and flows
along like a rivulet