The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-31


have been speaking Of, with Mr.. Ripley and
his associates, no emphsticslly declined. The
ranscendentslists said: LET us all TO In to
eether and put our resources together. then va
shall be . good deal stronger and our chance OF
success will DO increased" Mo- said Mr.. Bal
lou. I'VE cannot do 1t. We are non.resistants. and
you tolerate the application OF force in Govern
meat. Therefore. we must remain apart"
II was In the spring Of 1s41 that Mr.. Ripley and
his friends determined TO buy q farm Of two
hundred and odd acres In West Roxbury. about
eight miles from Boston. II was q very pretty
piece OF land, most excellently situated. well
wstsred, and not q bad soil, Z very eligible place.
They organized q society called the Brook Farm
Institute Of Agriculture and Education. and
began work. This organization was conceived
In transoendentalism, and designed 10 carry
on social life in accordance with demo-
cratic and Christian ideas. There had
been all the time q notable agitation re-
speotinT the unsanitary habits Of college
students. Of people who pursued literature and
learning. They used TO sit In their studies and
get no regular exercise. and had no life In nature,
they did not 20 out In the free air and gain
their livelihood by the sweat Of their
brows. The argument was that while any
one was pursuing philosophy and literature
and philology and mathematics. he ought to
work on the land. to cultivate the earth, and
INC man VINO utun Work on the lanu cOulu nob
have f~rst-rate health. This was their posi-
tlon. SO. in order TO reform society. in order
to rsEenerate tho world, in order to realise
democracy In tho social relations, those friends
of ours determined that their society should
hrst pursue agriculture. which would give every
man plenty Of outdoor labor In the free air. and
At the same time the opportunity Of study. Of
instruction. of becoming familiar with every
thing in literature and In learning. 30 they be-
gan the Brook Farm Institute Of Agriculture
and Education. They went out in the spring
and took possession Of their farm. Next TO Mrs.
Ripley and Mr.. Ripley. the most distinguished
person who went with them was Nathaniel
Hawthorne. He had also adopted tho idea
that no would like TO work outdoors. He had got
tired OF the routine OF literary life In his study.
and OF tho moro tedious routine OF official life In
the Salem Custom House; and so no started
In. by advancing money toward buying the
farm along the brook.
A large majority OF tho Brook Farmers were
literary people or OF literary associations. but
there were people Of other callings among them.
too. There was . pressman and . grocer. each
with his family. Several had been farmers
hired men. There was an English girl who had
been . domestic. and q very superior woman
she was. also remember particularly an Eng
lishman who came to Brook Farm from his
service as valet to an English baronet then
staying In Boston. His name was John
Chccver and he proved to be one of
the most entertaining members Of the
society. He was very amusing. and always
pleasant as q companion at table. for wa all
took our meals in the same room. There was
no social differentiation at Brook Farm.
They began operations with zeal. They planted
their crops and cultivated them. and these stu
dious men. whose hands were soft tefors. and
who had never touched = ploughshare or u
sickle in all their lives, now set to work as
farmers. IA . result their health was improved.
and they had q great deal Of entertainment ont
OF It And the people who read the newspapers
Got some entertainment. too. because their do
ings and transactions wero occasionally reported.
i was not there. but I afterward became ono OF
them. J broke down my eyes at Harvard Coll
lcge. and candor compels mo to say. however.
that I didn't break them down studying. sat
up . good part OF one night and read Oliver
Twist" by candle light. Tho book was Just
then published. and was very badly printed.
When l got through l thought I would never
SEQ again. 1t was 3 o'clock in the morning.
Well. In those days when . person broke down
his eyes he had to try farming or else TO 20
to sea: my cousin, Richard Henry Dana,
spent two years before the mast for
that reason, and . noble book he made
out of It. Some Of my friends said to me:
NoW ~ 1ouE CuhnCc. no out 10 brOOk fhrm.t
So / went there. had known them well be-
fore. and they kindly took me In. Aftor had
been there q month ~ or two I was elected one Of
the trustees, aud from that time out 1 was
fully in the movement
A great deal Of romance has been written
and moro has been talke ID about the trans
actions at Brook Farm. The city people who
went there occasionally on nne summer days
and walked over those beautiful fields where
our philosophers wero moving or ~reAplng, or
those who stayed 10 the evening and attended
one Of the literary conferences. which were
often held. were always much impressed.
Mr.. Emerson came once or twice . year, and
when ho came. there was = gathering In the
parlor. and he would discourse. and some one
else would discourse, and others would ask
questions. and there would be . discussion
OF some interesting literary or philosophical
theme, and everybody listened with pleasure
to this high debate. The Same was the case
whom Margaret Fuller paid rs an occa-
sional visit. Il was really delightful. and
It gave . kind OF character and reputation
to the place that II never would have got from
the more prosaic moving aud hsying that went
on there In the daytime. Then the opportu-
nifty of education was opon to everybody who
belonged to the society. Every person, member
or members child. paid 80 much for his board,
and the Greek and Latin, the msthetio philoso-
ply. the singing and dancing were thrown in.
But the regular students who were not mem
bers, paid. and some OF them worked. too, because
they liked 1t. I remember one young gentle.
man from an aristocratic family In Boston had
the misfortune to get rusticated at Harvard,
and he was sent OF for six or eight months. Well.
he came to Brook Farm; and I remember that
some OF his natural predictions developed
themselves there as they had not before
been able to do. Ono of his passIon. wa.