Cards were unknown. The General was said to like a quiet
game of whist in his own room, but if he had a pack of cards, it was
probably the only one on the Farm. There was no prejudice against cards
or chess or any other game so far as I know, but no one cared for any
form of amusement that separated two or four from all the others. I
imagine that even courting, the divine solitude of two, must have been
handicapped by this persistent penchant for all being together.
The spell that drew these sympathetic associates like a magnet was in
great part that charm of the general conversation, the memory of which
still lingers wherever traditions of Brook Farm are cherished. The never
failing succession of entertainments especially in summer were enjoyed
to the full by the happy Farmers, but it was conversation, the mutual
exchange of bright ideas that afforded their chiefest enjoyment. Not
literature, not the drama, not the dance, but the fascination of human
speech in its best employ attracted and held their enthralled attention.
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