Two Temple Place Letter" is represented by Hester Prynne and the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The two remaining characters are Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle and his daughter. At the feet of Rip Van Winkle is his dog and at those of his daughter is the gnomes’ keg of liquor, the drinking of which had sent Van Winkle into his long slumber and freedom from his bothersome wife for 20 years! The staircase hall is overlooked by a gallery that features statues made by Nicholls, having American literary associations, and a frieze in relief which features 82 characters from Shakespeare’s "Othello", "Henry VIII", "Antony
Rip Van Winkle out of sight for 70 years. When he awakens, he finds a fully mature tree and learns he has a grandson. When nobody believes that he is Honi, he prays to God, and God takes him from this world. The story also bears some similarities to stories from east Asia, including the third century AD Chinese tale of "Ranka", as retold by Lionel Giles in "A Gallery of Chinese Immortals", and the eighth-century Japanese tale "Urashima Tarō". The Hindu story of Muchukunda from the "Bhagavatam" also displays many similarities to the story of "Rip Van Winkle". The story has been