The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-04-14
Mercia Van Dresser.


and then add to these an undefna
BILE and utterly lndiscribable charm
that counts for incomparably NOR,
than all that is defnabIe and tan
gible. Of this exceptional type il
Mercia Van Dresser, who set tn,
fashionable and insule self-posses
sed patrons of the Tulane Theatre
in a futter of excitement during
the engagement of the Bostonians
The artist who would study the
human face and form by the canons
of his guild would find in Miss
Van Dresser a fawless model.
Add to this that her beauty has
that exquisite freshness of bud.
ding womanhood, unscathed by
pain or sorrow or care; freshness
that suggests the dew-gemmed rose
at sunrise; and yet there is world
Of sweetness unaccounted for. II
is that which cannot be told, that
conjures and wins through this
dainty, sparkling cluster of wo-
manly PROJECTIONS.
Mold and forge the steel to q
shape of peerless beauty, FURNISH
it until it sparkles like a diamond
OF the purest water, engrave upon
1T the fairest and rarest designs.
and yet, until it has been charged
with thut substile current that
blazes and futters In the blue
black night sky above the frozen
pole, 1t cannot mysteriously win
its kind with neither beck nor call
1t is no magnet, only cold and
lifeless metal.
The magnetic current is one of
the least understood of natures
forces, but it is not of more mys-
FERROUS origin than this strange
power, the possession Of which
VIII make one beautiful woman
incomparably more winsome than
another who in all tangible and
defnable qualities is quite her
equal. Perhaps it is APPLY called
magnetism, at all event nobody
seems to have been able to dis
cover a better name for it. I'm
doubleday Mercia Van Dresser is
charged with this mysterious in
tangible current to her small pink
finger tips, for all who see her,
young and old, men and women.
become her worshipers.
From the stage Miss Van Ores
ser lmpresses one as a brunette of
pronounced type, although near
en- view reveals that instead of be-
ing the shade of the ravens wing
her great wealth of hair is of
rich dark brown, while her large,
1quld, lustrous eyes. that can now
and then flash like like great black
diamonds, are, in repose, a very
lark hazel brown. Her complex
lon is OF that peculiarly clear olive
mt that goes with silken texture.
1t has scarcely tinge of pink ex-
,ept for the little ea-sheIl-shaded |
ears and bright roseIeaf lips; and
yet it would suggest the incarna-
ion of fresh magnolia blooms.
der features are classic, with a
ightness and delicacy of outline
hat the poet might characterize as
'fawn like" but which the horse
nan with at least as apt smile
would call thoroughbred" There
S cleancut grace and lightness
n every outline, and never did
ny woman's face harmonic with
Ter form with more artistic accur-
cy. Bust, arms, waist and limbs
re simply the ideal of early wo-
manhood. There is not a curve
hat could be wished otherwise.
here is nowhere even a sugges-
ion of grossness, and yet the whole
orm is inclosed in exquisitely
outlines.
On or off the stage it seems ut !
erly impossible for Miss Van
dresser to move other than grace I
ally. Hers is that native grace (
nat tells of one reason in an at
losphere of refinement from the
'adle. She is graceful as if she
id not how to be otherwise.
With these natural advantages,
easy to predict for Miss Van
'resser's brilliant future in the
FANATIC profession. She has a 2
oh high contralto voice, which :
'uld not fail to win distinction !
II her on the operate stage, but !
would seem like a waste of in |
llectual and physical endow- 7
ents for her TO continue In the ?
ric profession. Such exquisite .
'auty, lnimitable grace and I'M )
'uhted dramatic talent should l
elk the broader, more crowded !
d more arduous road to fame 7
rough the classic drama. This ?
" lies the path marked out for .
rarely gifted, and Miss Van ;
'esser will not shirk the splen-
responsibilities imposed upon :
ose who are richly pndued with }
liabilities for making the lives l
their fellow-being brighter, |
ppier, purer and more refined. 7
Miss Van Dresser is about twer- :
three years old, the daughter of :
aristocratc old Southern fami-
who have a handsome home in
of the old fashionable resi-