tch costumes; the River and Mountain scenery painted by Mr.
Evers, all of which will be particularly described in the bills of
the day.--Principal characters--_Rip Van Winkle_, Mr. Hackett;
_Knickerbocker_, Mr. Placide; _Vedder_, Mr. Chapman; _Van Slous_,
Mr. Blakely; _Herman_, Mr. Richings; _Dame Rip Van Winkle_, Mrs.
Wheatley; _Alice_, Mrs. Hackett; _Lowenna_, Mrs. Wallack.

Durang refers to the dramatist who is reputed to have done the version for
Mr. Hackett, as "Old Mr. Kerr," an actor, who appeared in Philadelphia
under the management of F. C. Wemyss. However much of an actor John Kerr
was, he must have gained some small reputation as a playwright. In 1818,
Duncombe issued Kerr's "Ancient Legends or Simple and Romantic Tales," and
at the Harvard Library, where there is a copy of this book, the catalogue
gives Kerr's position in London at the time as Prompter of the Regency
Theatre. He must have ventured, with a relative, into independent
publishing, for there was issued, in 1826, by J. & H. Kerr, the former's
freely translated melodramatic romance, "The Monster and Magician; or, The
Fate of Frankenstein," taken from the French of J. T. Merle and A. N.
Bi?1/2raud. He did constant translation, and it is interesting to note the
similarity between his "The Wandering Boys! or, The Castle of Olival,"
announced as an original comedy, and M. M. Noah's play of the same name.

There is valuable material in possession of Mr. James K. Hackett for a
much needed life of his father. This may throw light on his negotiations
with Kerr; it may also detail more thoroughly than the records now show
why it was that, when he went to England in 1832, he engaged Bayle Bernard
to make a new draft of the piece, given in New York at the Park Theatre,
September 4, 1833. It may have been because he saw, when he reached
London, a version which Bernard had shaped for the Adelphi Theatre,
1831-32, when Yates, John Reeve, and J. B. Buckstone had played together.
But I am inclined to think that, whatever the outlines of the piece as
given by Hackett, it was his acting which constituted the chief creative
part of the performance. Like Jefferson, he must have been largely
responsible for the finished product.

Hackett's success in dialect made him eager for any picturesque material
which would exploit this ability. Obviously, local character was the best
vehicle. That was his chief interest in encouraging American plays. Bayle