The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-30


Frederick Wellington Bel was born in
North HamDton county. North Carolina
ma ,s.- 7......,.... 80 80.
Oh Virginia ianiy VINO einlSfaled 10
North Carolina to begin life anew after
the smoke of civil strife had spread its
tl..,i,,., ,i,,.,. ,,,-,. ,,,,.. and r,rt,,,, g.;
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'lN tisli'A' am 80 '"'iil i'ei vas DOi II
Frederick W. Bell HIS fathers fortune
mad taken hignt at behoidlng grim Wis
aged war ana ms son Fred was not born
TO a zap OF luxury LIKE so many otheis
who have made the world great, ne had no
weapons with which to fight the battles Of
life, save ambition, and with that intieXl-
bic determination which ever after char
acterized his life, he commenced 70 lay
the foundation Of an edlhce that is charac-
terisuc and an honor to Southern boys
Never was bright May morning more
overcast never blacker pan oVershad-
owed homes, never mighter, more
crushing stroke fell from the Omnipotent
Hand than on that fatal morning, May
10, 1899 when the sad, crushing Intelligence
was made known to the world, He Is
dead For a. time our hearts stood still.
and our Hfe's blood refused to coursei
them as If awakening from some horrible,
maddening dream we were forced to the
realization: the death knell had indeed
sounded, and the princely friend, the IN
comparable gentleman was no more.
The sun had not yet risen upon that fatal
morn; al a time when light and darkness
seemed struggling for the mastery, the
sparkling dews still chung TO the bosom of
the rose, as life and hope chung to him
who would soon be no more; in that aw-
full, supreme moment there must have
been silence in heaven; the recording an
gel must have paused for a moment upon
the wings of eternity to witness the trag-
edy OF MN, against whom he had never
written condemnation.
Can 1t be that our princely friend is no
more2 can 1t be that the proud spirit
actuated by the cause of humanity is no
more among US? Can il be that the great
nob.e, generous heart that throbbed with
love, has ceased to beat and gone down to
ming.e itself with the dreamless dust?
No, God reigns and His purpose lives;
while the great engine of life is stiEed and
the princely friend is no more among US.
that proud, noble, loving spirit still lives
and will burn in the hearts of those yet to
come.
Can | who knew him, who loved him,
and felt the warm impress of his life,
tell his story? Could point to the great
source from whence he received his
magnitude and nobility of soul;
could any presume TO approach the
threshold of his inner life and with unhal-
lowed hand draw aside the curtains, and
expose TO view the great fountain the
mighty forge wherein was fashioned his
beautiful life. l feel my inability my I'M
worthiness. The sweet asylum Of his In
fancy fashioned his life; his great heart
was the crucble wherein was forged his
principles; the gigantic mountain peaks
that stand like eternal sentinels guarding
the just, was his inspiration. The smiling
valleys that lowered like peaceful lambs
beneath their watch smote upon his life
and left their impress; the opalescent lakes
lent beautiful coior to his Imagination. and
the peaceful babbAng brooks made rhyth-
mic music in his mighty soul
As it sometimes seems, our circum.
stances and environments east the dies of
our lives, and ho.d our destiny in their
firm, unrelentng grasp: while more fit
to fill the vacant seat of a Humboldt. or
sill in a council of peers, the circumstances
surrounding his early life cast his Ia,
among those who too often die at their
post. His energy, punctuality and relia.
bility won for him confidence and esteem
of his employers and promotion as far As
he could go in that line.
His Drpetipa1 and pa11a h1a q,