Dr. Codman as "the mysterious and profound, with his long, dark, straight
locks of hair, one of which was continually being brushed away from his
forehead as it continually fell; with his gold-bowed eye-glass, his large
nose and peculiar blue eyes, his spasmodic expressions of nervous horror,
and his cachinnatious laugh." Newcomb was for many years a resident of
Providence, afterwards finding a home in England and in Paris. He was
early a member of Brook Farm--a solitary, self-involved person, preferring
to associate with children rather than with older persons. He read much in
the literature of the mystics, and was laughingly said to prefer paganism
to Christianity. He had a feminine temperament, was full of sensibility,
and of an indolent turn of mind. Emerson was attracted to him, and at one
time had great expectations concerning his genius. His paper, published in
_The Dial_, under the title of "The Two Dolons," was much admired by some
of the Transcendentalists when it was printed there; and it is referred to
by Hawthorne in his "Hall of Phantasy." In June, 1842, Emerson wrote to
Margaret Fuller: "I wish you to know that I have 'Dolon' in black and
white, and that I account Charles N. a true genius; his writing fills me
with joy, so simple, so subtle, and so strong is it. There are sentences
in 'Dolon' worth the printing of _The Dial_ that they may go forth." This
paper was given him for publication at Emerson's urgent request, and it is
not known that Newcomb has published anything else. In 1850 Emerson said
he had come to doubt Newcomb's genius, having found that he did not care
for an audience.

Another person of whom Curtis speaks is Isaac Hecker, who became a member
of the Catholic Church, under the guidance of Orestes Brownson. He was
born in New York City, was brought up under Methodist auspices, became a
baker, developed a strong taste for philosophy, and went to Brook Farm at
the age of twenty-two. He remained for a few months as a student, and then
tried Alcott's Fruitlands for a fortnight. He was naturally of an ascetic