Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-11-12
OLD RIPS BUMPS
Description of the
famous Actor, Joseph Jefferson.


chronological Description of the
famous Actor, Joseph Je Terson.
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
True genius is always phenomenal,
but 1t may BE either comprehensive,
broad and masculine, or partial, spec
fife and feminine. The greatest char
acters move the world by thro wing
their weight against it; while the Sec
ond class, like Orpheus with his Tyre,
by music and magic, sympathy and
subtilty, achieve In the end almost the
same results. The first are like scorch-
ing, torrid suns, and the second like
the quiet stars, subdued and serene.
Joseph Jefferson is remarkable, not
for masculine strength, bat for a
charming individuality, uniqueness,
qaaintness, and d gentleness almost
womanlY. From English ancestors
on the patArnal side, he inherlts a
pred1lec ion for the stage, and from
his French mother an equal love for
painting. He is a man of medium
weight, with head measuring twenty
two and quarter inches, which is a
good size, but not large. However,
the tempera ment is favorable to the
highest order :of activity. He has
dark blue eyes, fine silky brown hair,
and rather small features, which in
dictate great sensitivencss of feeling
and quickness Of judgement. He
strongly resembles his mother, and
possesses the feminine instincts and
intuitions In marked degree. And
here lies the secret of his dramatic
power. He is the embodiment of
tenderness, and the whole character
Of the man may almost be expressed
in the one word sympathy. He is so
EMOTIONAL AND RESPONSIVE
that with him to think is to feel and
to feel is to act, so that he stands as an
interpreter and mirror, rejecting "the
face and form OF natures per feet
self"
AS in case of nearly all persons who
contribute anything to the world, Mr..
JeffersOn's head is somewhat angular
more like a bsechnut than an acorn
in shape-but, to his credit, it may be
said that his weak facilities are, for
the most part, of class that would
never be missed, For example, there
is decided narrowness Just above the
ears IN the region Of secrecy, severity,
and the sense of possession or acquls-
itiveness; and what he lacks, at the
top of his head, in reverence, is
amply compensated by his love of
good deeds. Benevolence is very
strong, also firmness and conscien~
tiousness. But the impulse to protect
the young Or helpless, and dependent
Of any age, the faculty of philopre-
gentiveness, located in the center of
the back of the head, is the dominant
element in his social nature, and ex-
tends its influence even to his art, as
evinced by his fondness and singular
aptitude for the characters of
CALEB PLUMMER AND RIP VAN wINKLE.
A lack of self~esteem, of English
pride, is also another popularity com
mon to Doth the actor and the hero of
the Catskills. Tn fact, Mr.. Jefferson
is quite as affable and unassuming in
private life as rip" himself, with the
addition, however, of being a scholar
Iy gentleman. But his forehead is
study. The lower part, the physico-
percept1ve region, is wonderful de-
velopmeat. The eyebrows are high
and archen, indicatlng phenomenal
talent for facts, details. statistics, and
judgment Of all the properties of
material things, such as shape, color,
dimensions, weight, etc. These are
the faculties which give him dexterity
as painter. His memory of events
must also be remarkable. The fore
head is Of the French type, triangu-
lar, broad at the base, exceedingly
wide in the temporal region at con
structiveness but sloping latterally
from the center of the upper part,
hence he will be artistic, literary,
mechanical, scientific, and executive,
but not very theorical metaphysical,
Or abstract. Ideality is not large,
and ne will not manifest much love
for beauty in the direction of imagln~
alton. AS an artist, he will excel in
vividness of detail and warmth of
coloring, rather than in vague gen.
aralities, and the key to his success as
an actor ia his naturalIess and SYM
pathy, for he is not remarkable as
mimic n the ordinary sense.
In everything pertaining to hu-
mainly, he is as sensitive as an
Holian harp, and, altogether, ne is
well worthy of the fame he has at
tanned.