ALEXANDRIA, BENTON CO., ALA., July 13, 1845.
Mr. G. Ripley,
DEAR SIR: Will you step aside for a moment from the many duties, the interesting cares and soul-stirring pleasures of your enviable situation, and read a few lines from a stranger? They come to you, not from the cold and sterile regions of the North, nor from the luxuriant yet untamed wilds of the West, but from the bright and sunny land where cotton flowers bloom, where nature has placed her signet of beauty and fertility. Yes, sir; the science that the immortal Fourier brought to light has reached the far South, and I trust has warmed many hearts, and interested many minds; but of ours alone will I write.
It is to me the dawn of a brighter day than has ever yet risen upon the world—a day when man shall be redeemed from his more than "Egyptian bondage" and stand erect in moral, intellectual and physical beauty.
I have lived forty years in the world, and divided that time between the eastern, middle and southern states—have seen life as exhibited, in city and country, have mingled with the most intelligent and with the unlettered rustic—have marked society in a variety of phases, and find, amid all, that selfishness has warped the judgment, chilled the affections and blunted all the finer feelings of the soul. I am weary and worn with the heartless folly, the wicked vanity and shameless iniquity which the civilized world everywhere presents. Long have I sighed for something higher, nobler, holier than aught found in this world, and have sometimes longed to lay my body down where the weary rest, that my spirit might dwell in perfect harmony. But since the beautiful science of unity has dawned upon my mind, my heart has loved to cherish the bright anticipations of hope, and I see in the dim distance the realization of all my wishes. I see a generation coming on the arena of action bearing on their brows the impress of their noble origin, and cultivating in their hearts the pure and exalted feelings that should ever distinguish those who bear the image of their Maker. Association is destined to do much for poor, suffering humanity—to elevate, refine, redeem the race and restore the purity and love that made the bowers of Eden so surpassingly beautiful. You, sir, and your associates are pioneers in a noble reform. May the blessing of God attend you.
I am anxious to be with you for various reasons. The first is: I have two little daughters whom I wish to bring up amid healthful influences, with healthful and untrammelled bodies, pure minds and all their young affections and sympathies clustering around their hearts. I never wish their minds to be under the influence of the god of this generation—fashion—nor their hearts to become callous to the sufferings of their fellows. I never wish them to regard labor as degrading, nor poverty as a crime. Situated as I am I cannot rear them in health and purity, and, therefore, I am anxious to remove them from the baneful influences that surround them. Again: I look upon labor as a blessing, and feel that every man and woman should spend some portion of each day in healthful employment. It is absolutely necessary to health, and is also a source of enjoyment, even in isolation; how much would that pleasure be increased could I have several kindred spirits around me with whom I could interchange thought, and whose feelings and desires flow in the same channel as my own! O, sir! I must live, labor and die in Association.
Again: my heart is pained with the woes of my fellows—with the distressing poverty and excessive labor which are bearing to the grave a portion of the human family. Gladly would I bear my part in raising them to a higher and happier condition; and how can I better do this than by uniting myself with the noble reformers of Brook Farm, where caste is thrown aside, and rich and poor constitute one family. I have not a large fortune, but sufficient to live comfortable anywhere. A large part of it is now invested in houses and lands in Georgia. Such is the low price of cotton that real estate cannot be sold at this time without a serious sacrifice. Most of my Georgia property rents for more than the interest of its cost at 8 per cent. I have also houses and land in this state, but cannot for the above named reason find a purchaser. Therefore, if I go into Association I shall be obliged to leave some of my possessions unsold, and be content to receive the rent until I can effect a sale.
I have no negroes—thank God. Now if you are not full at Brook Farm, and do not object to myself, wife and two daughters, one four years and the other six months old, presenting ourselves as candidates for admission, and $2500 or $3000 will be sufficient for an initiation fee, I shall, as soon as I can arrange my affairs, be with you.
I will thank you to write to me, informing me with how much ready cash, with an income of $500 or $600 per year, I can be received. Mrs. Clarke and myself will wish to engage daily in labor. We both labored in our youth—we wish to resume it again.
Very respectfully,