that my father was attracted by the philosophic ideals presented by his
Boston friends. A tired business man might well be impressed by the
Transcendental teaching that our civilization has gone wrong in forcing
all human energy into the one pursuit, that of getting riches. They held
that while hard work rarely harms any one, the monotonous grind in the
money making mills results in arrested development. Work as hard as you
please, spend all the energy, all the talent, all the skill you have but
not in seeking wealth. That is not worth while, and it prevents the
doing of what is worth while. Do your best in the world; give all you
can, but be sure to get a fair return, not in money but in better
things. Seek culture, seek knowledge, seek character, seek friendship,
good will, good health, good conscience, and the peace that passeth
understanding shall be added unto you. Be content with a small measure
of this world's wealth and do not crave costly luxuries to make a show
withal. To this end, go out into the country; raise what you need as far
as possible with your own hands, and enough more to exchange for such
things as you cannot produce. Abandon the world, the flesh and the Devil
and go back to the soil and find the Garden of Eden.

My father accepted these teachings in good faith and gave in his
testimony with those who in _The Dial_ and through other agencies
were propagating the new philosophy. His engagements with others were
such that he could not break away at the time to put these novel ideas
to the test of actual experiment but no doubt he thought it wise and
well to give his children an early initiation into the new life that was
to regenerate the world.

Dr. Ripley was, as said, the leader of the Transcendental coterie and he
had all the vitalizing enthusiasm that a leader must necessarily
possess. He was a solidly built man of medium height with brown hair and