the influence of the Oxford movement, and turned to writing tracts, the prose part of which Lady Harriet supplied, while Miss Humphreys contributed a number of poems. The tracts began to appear in 1842, excited some attention, and were collected into a volume in 1848. In 1846 Miss Humphreys published 'Verses for Holy Seasons' (London, 8vo), with a preface by Walter Farquhar Hook [q. v.]; it reached a sixth edition in 1888. There followed in 1848 her 'Hymns for Little Children,' for which John Keble [q. v.] wrote the preface; this volume reached a sixty-ninth edition in 1896. Many of her hymns, including 'All things bright and beautiful,' 'Once in royal David's city,' 'Jesus calls us o'er the tumult,' 'The roseate hues of early dawn,' 'When wounded sore the stricken soul,' and 'There is a green hill far away,' are in almost universal use in English-speaking communities. Gounod, when composing a musical setting for the last, said that the words seemed to set themselves to music.
On 15 Oct. 1850 Miss Humphreys was married at Camus-juxta-Mourne to the Rev. William Alexander, rector of Termonamongan in Tyrone. In 1855 her husband became rector of Upper Fahan on Lough Swilly, and in 1867 he was consecrated bishop of Derry and Raphoe. He remained in this diocese until 1896, the year after his wife's death, when he was created archbishop of Armagh. Mrs. Alexander devoted her life to charitable work, but she delighted in congenial society, and, apart from hymns, wrote much musical verse. Tennyson declared that he would be proud to be the author of her 'Legend of Stumpie's Brae.'
Mrs. Alexander died at the palace, Londonderry, on 12 Oct. 1895, and was buried on 18 Oct. at the city cemetery. She left two sons—Robert Jocelyn and Cecil John Francis—and two daughters, Eleanor Jane and Dorothea Agnes, married to George John Bowen.
Besides the works already mentioned, her chief publications are:
- 'The Lord of the Forest and his Vassals: an Allegory,' London, 1848, 8vo.
- 'Moral Songs,' London, 1849, 12mo; new edit., London, 1880, 8vo.
- 'Narrative Hymns for Village Schools,' London, 185.3, 4to; 8th edit., London, 1864, 16mo.
- 'Poems on Subjects in the Old Testament,' London, 1854, 8vo.
- 'Hymns, Descriptive and Devotional, for the use of Schools,' London, 1858, 32mo.
- 'The Legend of the Golden Prayers and other Poems,' London, 1859, 8vo.
- 'The Baron's Little Daughter and other Tales,' 6th edit., London, 1888, 8vo.
Mrs. Alexander also contributed to 'Lyra Anglicana,' to the 'Dublin University Magazine,' and to the 'Contemporary Review.' In 1864 she edited for 'Golden Treasury Series' a selection of poems by various authors, entitled 'The Sunday Book of Poetry.' In 1896 the archbishop of Armagh published, with a biographical preface, a collective edition of her previously published poems, excluding only some on scriptural subjects.
[Preface to Mrs. Alexander's Poems, 1894; Times, 14, 19 Oct. 1893; Irish Times, 19, 22 Oct. 1895; Londonderry Sentinel, 15, 17, 19, 22 Oct. 1895; Dublin University Magazine, October 1858, September 1859; Stephen Gwynn in Sunday Magazine, January 1896; Julian's Diet, of Hymnology.]
ALEXANDER, Sir JAMES EDWARD (1803–1885), general, born on 16 Oct. 1803, was eldest son of Edward Alexander of Powis, Clackmannanshire, by Catherine, daughter of John Glas, provost of Stirling. He obtained a Madras cadetship in 1820, and a cornetcy in the 1st light cavalry on 13 Feb. 1821. He was made adjutant of the bodyguard by Sir Thomas Munro, and served in the Burmese war of 1824. Leaving the East India Company's service, he joined the 13th light dragoons as cornet on 20 Jan. 1825. He was given a lieutenancy on half-pay on 26 Nov. As aide-de-camp to Colonel (afterwards Sir John Macdonald) Kinneir [q. v.], British envoy to Persia, he was present with the Persian army during the war of 1826 with Russia, and received the Persian order of the Lion and Sun (2nd class). On 26 Oct. 1827 he was gazetted to the 16th lancers. He went to the Balkans during the Russo-Turkish war of 1829, and received the Turkish order of the Crescent (2nd class).
He was promoted captain on half-pay on 18 June 1830, and exchanged to the 42nd Highlanders on 9 March 1832. He went to Portugal during the Miguelite war (1832-1834), and afterwards visited South America and explored the Essequibo. Passing next to South Africa, he served in the Kaffir war of 1835 as aide-de-camp to Sir Benjamin D'Urban [q. v.]. He led an exploring party into Namaqualand and Damaraland, for which he was knighted in 1838. He went on half-pay on 24 April 1838, but exchanged to the 14th foot on 11 Sept. 1840, and went to Canada with that regiment in 1841. From 1847 to 1855 he was aide-de-camp to D'Urban and to Sir William Rowan, who succeeded D'Urban in command of the troops in Canada. He became major in the army on 9 Nov. 1846, lieutenant--
