ROBERT SERVICE. 35 



spondents, I have stated : " With so many wilHng 

 assistants it becomes almost invidious to mention any 

 by name ; it is, however, quite certain that pre-eminent 

 among them stands Mr. Robert Service." I had here 

 added the words, "without whose assistance this book 

 could never have been written ; " and it was only at 

 his express desire, and much against my will, that these 

 ten words were struck out. 



He possessed an extensive collection of birds, many of 

 them local rarities ; and among his eggs was one of a Golden 

 Eagle taken locall}'. His collection of books might have 

 been described as a good working library, and with other 

 desirable editions he used especially to show a Histoire 

 Naturelle en Miniature de de [sic] 48 Oiseaux (96 pp., 

 Paris, 1816), the smallest book on ornithology with which 

 Professor Newton was acquainted, and which measures 

 but 2-6 by 2*15 inches. 



His generosity was remarkable, and he was willing at 

 any time to give a bird from his collection if, by so doing, 

 he thought he could in any way assist the recipient in 

 some particular branch of study. The National Collection 

 in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, includes 

 many of his valuable donations, and none is more prized 

 than the specimen of the AVhiskered Tern (Hijdrochelidon 

 hybrida), the first of its species to be shot in Scotland. 

 It Avas obtained some six miles NN.W. of Dumfries on 

 2nd May, 1894. 



He was always willing to deliver one of his scientific 

 addresses in aid of charity, and perhaps one of his kindliest 

 acts was his lecture on birds given annually at Christmas 

 to the prisoners in the local jail. When, in recent years, 

 a junior Field-Naturalists' Club, known as the Solway 

 Ramblers, was organized locally, he often acted as con- 

 ductor on their excursions. Devoted to science, he was 

 only too pleased to do all he could to teach others to share 

 his enjoyment of Nature. 



He has been described as " a man of intense nature, a 

 formidable opponent, and a fast friend," and if I had to 



