1256 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



IN MEMORIAM OF E. 

 DER. 



W. ALEXAN- 



BY REV. D. EVERETT LYON. 



On Saturday, Sept. 19, there passed from earth 

 to heaven, in the death of E. W. Alexander, of 

 Delanson, N. Y., not only a prince of bee-keep- 

 ers but also one of the purest and most sympa- 

 thetic of men who ever lived. For many months 

 this kind-hearted man was a great sufferer from 

 an abdominal affliction; and when the end came 

 it was to him a welcome release from his untold 

 suffering. The end came not to our brother as 

 a surprise, but was the culmination of his expec- 

 tation, and the summons found him with his 

 spiritual house in order, ready to receive his 

 well-merited reward. 



For a year or more he often expressed to his 

 devoted wife the desire that the writer might offi- 

 ciate at his funeral, and preach the sermon; and 

 when the telegram called me to Delanson for 

 that purpose I felt that it was a sacred duty that 

 could not be ignored. 



Leaving home immediately at the close of my 

 Sunday-evening preaching service on Sept. 20 1 

 arrived in Delanson the following morning, and 

 proceeded at once to the house of mourning. 

 Our dear brother had but recently purchased a 

 beautiful little home, and it seemed a strange 

 providence that he at only 63 years of age should 

 so soon be carried from it. 



When the hour of the service arrived, a vast 

 throng of people crowded in and about the home 

 to pay a last tribute of respect to one esteemed, 

 and an honor to the community in which he re- 

 sided. Though a great sufferer in the last few 

 months of his life, yet in death his face seemed 

 singularly peaceful, with just a trace of that gen- 

 ial smile that made every one feel that he was 

 their friend. 



I felt it a great honor to be permitted to stand 

 beside his coffin and speak of his many virtues, 

 and refer to his beautiful Christian character. 

 After the service his three sons — Frank, Fred, 

 and Bert — and his devoted son-in-law, acted as 

 pall- bearers, at their father's request, and tender- 

 ly carried his remains to the waiting hearse. 



A ride of four miles brought us to the beauti- 

 ful cemetery at Esperance, where his poor tired 

 body was laid at rest to await the resurrection of 

 the just; and as I turned from the grave I felt 

 that the bee-keepers had sustained a great loss in 

 the death of such a friend. 



May I be permitted to say a few words of ap- 

 preciation concerning one who, as a bee-keeper, 

 was a prince among us — the greatest Roman of 

 us all — a very Gamaliel at whose feet we learned 

 so much ? Let me speak of him, first, as a vian. 



E. W. Alexander was every inch of him a man. 

 Every thing that was mean and base he spurned 

 with contempt, while every thing high and noble 

 found in him its earnest advocate. 



Like Longfellow's blacksmith, he could "look 

 the whole world in the face," so pure and upright 

 was his character. 



Singularly sympathetic, he had a kind word 

 for every one, and special sympathy for the man 

 who was down and out. 



All the years of valuable experience as a bee- 

 keeper, much of it the result of costly experiment, 



he freely gave to his fellow bee keepers, and 

 nothing delighted him better than to see the suc- 

 cess of others. 



As a bee-keeper remarked to me after the ser- 

 vice, " He was the great reference-book for us 

 all." Yet withal he was the most modest of men, 

 and, though deeply touched by Dr. Miller's re- 

 cent note, that he, as one of the rank and file, 

 saluted him in his triumphant march to receive 

 his crown of rejoicing, he said to his wife, " That 

 was very kind of Dr. Miller, but, really, I don't 

 deserve it." 



Second, as a bee-keeper. Our friend was a truly 

 great bee-keeper, not so much from the fact that 

 he managed with his dear son Frank the largest 

 apiary in the world in one yard, as that his man- 

 agement was so thorough and systematic, as based 

 upon such a complete knowledge of the habits ot 

 the bee. 



If for no other reason, his method of treating 

 weak colonies in the spring, and other helpful 

 suggestions, have placed the bee-keeping fraterni- 

 ty under lasting obligation to revere his memory. 



As a frequent visitor to his apiary I can posi- 

 tively assert that all the wonderful achievements 

 ascribed to him were literally true, as he was suc- 

 cessful in every sense of the word. 



It often pained him that others questioned the 

 merit of some of his methods, notably that of 

 strengthening a weak colony by placing it over 

 a strong one, but he would frequently point out 

 where failure was the result of bee-keepers over- 

 looking some little though essential detail. 



Every plan he suggested was the result of suc- 

 cessful experiment, and he was actuated solely by 

 a sincere desire to see his fellow bee-keepers suc- 

 ceed; in fact, the success of others was a passion 

 with him. 



What he has done for the bee-keeping world 

 entitles him to a place with Langstroth, Dadant, 

 Dzierzon, and other stars of the first magnitude. 



Third, as a husband and father. 



It has been my privilege as a clergyman to en- 

 ter many homes in various parts of the country, 

 and yet I must say that, for happiness, harmony, 

 and contentment, the home of our brother was an 

 ideal one. He loved his home, his wife, and his 

 children. On the occasion of a visit he related 

 to me with much pardonable pride the satisfaction 

 he felt in the fact that his children were all doing 

 well, and that none of them had ever caused them 

 a heartache. What a comfort this must be to his 

 sons — noble, manly fellows, every one of them — 

 and to his devoted wife and daughter! It is such 

 sweet homes as this that constitute the bulwark 

 of our national righteousness. 



In closing I desire to speak of our brother, 

 fourth, as a Christian. 



Brother Alexander was not only a Christian by 

 profession, but, best of all, he lived the Christ life, 

 and followed the example of his Savior, who 

 "went about doing good." 



Our friend made no loud profession; but every- 

 body knew that he loved God with all his heart 

 and his neighbor as himself, and Christ said this 

 was the sum total of religion. 



A few days before his death, his dear wife, one 

 of the biggest-hearted and most motherly of wo- 

 men, played on the organ, and sang, at his re- 

 quest, his two favorite hymns, "Jesus, Lover of 

 My Soul," and "Nearer, My God, to Thee;" 



