New-York tribune., 1900-03-04

ooK FARM: IT'S MEMBERS, - iIt;5 fiotthltS
sst,dIes IN American Letters) Ocla'o' PIP l.
r. The Macmillan Company
.ho current number Of THE Atlantic
.,,v" there is a chapter OF "reminiscences
0.-ihuted under the title of "a Girl Of Sixteen
n--,op Farm by Mrs G b. Sedgwick, the
racnett who according to Mr.. Swift, dared
y .osse Hawthorne within the precincts OF the
ous Farm. The teasing as Mrs. SedgWlck
..,o-5,,es it, was not in the least irritating to
,-.a+horne zone evening" she writes, he was
.,o,A in the hall sitting on chair at the
,.r,ber end when my roommate, Ellen Slade,
nd nyseif were going upstairs. She whispered
me- Let's throw the sofa pillows at Mr.. Haw-
-, Reaching over the bansters We each
- cushion and threw it. Quick flash
,rt out his hand seized a broom that was
r.,efng near him. warled off our cushions and
,.,.u Them back with sure aim. As fast as we
.onld throw them at him he returned them with
.roct hitting US every time while We could nit
,,lv the broom. He must have been very quick
=, MS movements. Through il all not 4 word
.s snoken We laughed and laughed, and his
.,os sbone and twinFled like stars Wonderful
.s they We're" We quote this because it is
characteristics They were always cheerful at
rrook Farm. And il is significant to find Mrs.
sedggick after Tecounting this anecdote OF
wholesome fun citing remark of George Will
lam curtis's In many places where I lecture"
se said, q meet old Brook Farmers whom 1
have not seen for years, and they are always
and among the very best people of the place.
This testimony IS confirmed by Mr. Swift IN
,be little volume he has prepared for the series
NJ National Studies in American Letters" but
he is mOsS interesting in the impartial account
that he gives Of Brook Farm, an account in
which the defects Is well S the virtues of Dr.
Ripevs experiment set forth with uniform
care Perhaps the weakness of the enterprise
Was really part Of its strength In the long run-
If Brook Farm had been organized with COM
nlste success il it had put Of the doctrines
of Fourier into full practice it is probable that
the members Of the community would have be-
come crystalIized in ways Of life out OF harmony
wifi the natural developments Of American
civilization. Fortunately, the '-phalanstery''
protected with so much zeal burned 10 the
spound Just on the eve OF it's occupancy by the
Brook Farmers ana as this disaster was accom-
panied and followed by other incidents of a
diseouraging nature. the end Of the adventure
rapidIy drew near. In April, 1S41, the Ripleys
with some fifteen others, Hawthorne among
them went TO live the estate at West Rox-
bury. In little more than five yeans the mem
bers had been scattered, and in August 1S4I
Ripley was living on Long Island, engaged upon
hbors which ultimately led to his kong associa-
ton with The Tribune The period of trial had
been mercifuIly short, giving the enthusiasts no
chance sink irremediabiy into a false con-
eeption Of life But il had been long enough to
give everyone involved a useful experience
They passed through a stimulating state of
mind They learned something of life and wis
dom Accordingly, as Curtis said. Brook
Farmer was generally found in after life to be
Swift is careful 10 show that it was the general
tone of existence on the farm, and not tram
scendentalism that brought about this result
One anonymous critic who is quoted by Mr..
Swift declared that there must be a screw loose
somewhere IN a man who graduated from that
mnatic school at Brook Farm" An observation
Ike this takes account solely of the oddities in
which the Brook Farmers sometimes INDUCED.
The truth is that however much Ripley and his
companions may have dreamed philosophical
dreams when they came down TO the daily rou-
tine they drove simply al the desideratum Of
the poet, plain living and high thinking" This
inevitably helpful. The transcendentalisn
passed. The healthy discipline left its mark
George william Curtis. for example, full of
IDEAS and shared no doubt, In many OF the
high flown discussions that took place after the
days work done. But he danced for his
friends in a short green skirt, initiating Fanny
Essler and this episode was in its way as i'm
portant any other that was much more schol-
arty and philosophical. When Hawthorne began
his experience on the Farm he was eager to
share in all the manual tasks. He plowed- He