ospel of hope to those who looked for a speedy regeneration of
society. George Ripley, an eminent scholar and critic, determined to
embody this hope in a grand experiment, and bravely organized the Brook
Farm Community upon a plan as nearly in accordance with the principles
laid down by Fourier as circumstances would allow. He was accompanied in
this new departure by a little band of fellow-workers, of whom one or
two were already well known as literary men, while others of them have
since attained distinction in various walks of life.

While all the Transcendentalists were not associationists, the family at
Brook Farm was yet considered as an outcome of the new movement, and as
such was regarded by its promoters with great sympathy and interest.

Margaret's position among the Transcendentalists may easily be imagined.
In such a group of awakened thinkers her place was soon determined. At
their frequent reunions she was a most welcome and honored guest. More
than this. Among those who claimed a fresh outpouring of the Spirit
Margaret was recognized as a bearer of the living word. She was not in
haste to speak on these occasions, but seemed for a time absorbed in
listening and in observation. When the moment came, she showed the
results of this attention by briefly restating the points already
touched upon, passing thence to the unfolding of her own views. This she
seems always to have done with much force, and with a grace no less
remarkable. She spoke slowly at first, with the deliberation inseparable
from weight of thought. As she proceeded, images and illustrations
suggested themselves to her mind in rapid succession. "The sweep of her
speech became grand," says Mr. Channing. Her eloquence was direct and
vigorous. Her wide range of reading supplied her with ready and copious
illustrations. The commonplace became original from her way of treating
it. She had power to analyze, power to sum up. Her use of language had a
rhythmic charm. She was sometimes grandiloquent, sometimes excessive in
her denunciation of popular evils and abuses, but her sincerity of
purpose, her grasp of thought and keenness of apprehension, were felt
throughout.

* * * * *

The source of these and similar sibylline manifestations is a subtle
one. Such a speaker, consciously or unconsciously, draws much of her
inspiration from the minds of those around her. Each of these in a
measure affects her, while she still