The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-06-08
The Passing Of a Great Man.
(The Calf Weekly Gazette.)


1t is with profound sorrow and deep
regret that we are called upon to chroni-
Gle the death of DR.. Alexander Monta.
que in this issue of the Gazette. After
close personal acquaintance of twenty
one years with our late friend and fell
low townsman, we find ourselves unable
to the task of writing a reasonably COM
plete sketch of the mans life. his worth,
good deeds and greatness.
DR.. Montague was not only an emf
nent physician, but he was a man OF
letters and profound scholar entitled
so by rank, having passed the curricu-
lum of the academy, and was able to
boast of his degrees in arts and sciences
from the first universities Of the land.
His early training and education were of
the best. and he was a tireless student
and managed to acquire a knowledge of
the breadth and depth of all subjects
that enter into the life of men. Thus
did he become. and he was. the intellec-
tual equal of any man in the State. He
was close student of the old masters
and wise men. Everywhere and always
he was the self-contained, strong willed,
brave man; not an imitator but simply
himself. If obliged to sum up his chief
traits in a few words, we should say
that he was distinguished as self-reliant,
-asserting-qualities softened, how
ever, by great good sense and tempered
by a desire to be just; that he was indie
pendent of thought and prompt of action;
that he had great decision of character
and an utter diregard of all those arts
employed by the demagogue; that he
was honest in his convictions and fear
less in their assertion. He was a man
of versatility, in that he could readily
adapt himself to whatever circumstances
surrounded him. AS an illustration, he
was entirely at home in the humblest
shanty in the village and was equally
so in the drawing rooms of the wealthy,
and amidst the elegancies of refined So
ciety. He found pleasure in conversation
with the illiterate as well as with the
erudite, always willing and anxious to
learn something, and was never back
ward in asking questions, no matter how
trivial or profound the subject. He was
ever an attentive listener.
DR.. Montague was noble specimen
of the men of brains. His conscience
and high sense of duty shone out as
clearly as the light of day. He was
urbane and gentle. yet he was firm and
positive. He was a believer in the right
of man as man. In the better condition
of this truth. he came to understand
believe and declare
To thine own self be true:
And it must follow, as the night the day.
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
In later years. DR.. Montague devoted
much time to the study of scientific
government and all questions touching
political economy. He ceased to be a
partisan in a political sense. and his
views on public questions were as broad
and deep as the earth itself. He ex-
pressed fear for the fate that awaits the
poor toilers of the universe under our
present form of government and became
welded to the ideal theories of socialism
He evinced not little trouble on the
probable outcome of the race question
in this country and felt agrieved over
the treatment the Beers had received
from the English people.
The death of DR.. Montague will prove
an irreparable loss to the people of
Gait, rich and poor alike. His minis
trations to the sick and needy, his good
advice and solace to those in trouble and
distress came unsolicited, and he was
truly benevolent and worthy citizen.
. DR.. Montague listened to his teachers,
one and all. Education came to him like
the sunlight of heaven. He was a man
with mind ever thirsty for knowledge
and had heart always swift to respond
to the suffering of humanity. His teach
~
face. His teacher was the mountain and
the stream. His teacher was the face
of poverty and also of the well-clothed,
the well-fed and the prosperous citizen.
1t was the widows sigh and the orphan s
tear. He had the grasp of mind to COM
prehend what they said and what they
meant. He was ever a student of human
nature, and, like Pope. thought "The
proper study OF mankind is man."
On matters of religion DR.. Montague
was broad minded and liberal. and he
was profound Biblical student He was
thoroughly familiar with the various
UNCONVENTIONAL interpretations and teach
ings of the Bible, creeds, etc. He was a
religious man, in the broad acceptation
of the term, and while he did not COM
mune with any particular sect or creed,
he was a strong believer in future
State. The study of theosophy and a
thorough knowledge of the works of
Huxley, Darwin and other scientific
writer's seemed to have shaped the doc
tors mind to a certain extent in later
years on religious matters. While he
did not agree with all the teachings of
theosophy or with the writer's of science
in everything they had to offer, still he
was convinced and accepted much that
was presented on those lines.
We pass softly and with reyerent tread
from CONCENTRATIONS of the character and
life OF the man of busy habits and public
activity to that of the husband and pro-
tector, within the sacred circle of home
life and love. We stand with bowed
head and face averted in the presence of
grief and anguish, too profound and COM
fortress for even the tenderest human
sympathy to relieve. the broadest philo-