68 Notice of James Service, by Mr. James Hardy. 



From his writings we glean that, when abroad, he visited 

 Hindostan. One of his poems is headed, " Stanzas on 

 leaving Bengal, written at Diamond Harbour, on board the 

 ship Rockingham." He had been at home in 1820 and 

 1821. At p. 117 he speaks of being a hapless emigrant, and 

 at p. 118 are verses on leaving England for the West Indies; 

 and at p. 120 he commemorates " William Wilson, a par- 

 ticular friend, who died December 16, 1841, in St. George's 

 Town, St. David's Island, Bermuda." His first publication 

 was, " The Wandering Knight of Dunstanborough Castle, a 

 Northumbrian Legend; and Miscellaneous Poems. By 

 James Service. Alnwick, printed for the author, by William 

 Davison. 1822." (pp. 136, 18mo.) It was about that date, 

 or in 1823, that, according to my informant, he officiated as 

 school-master at Chatton. He was not prepossessing in 

 appearance, being " a short man, not very well faur'd," i.e., 

 not over handsome, and rather too fond of the bottle — a 

 propensity which the hospitalities of the hard-drinking 

 farmers, whose board he frequented, was not calculated to 

 discourage. 



From a paragraph in the " Newcastle Magazine " for Oct., 

 1827, he was then again proposing authorship ; and a 

 specimen is given of " Part of a Chapter of a Voyage to 

 India : Hindoo Castes, Parias, Morals and Manners, Litera- 

 ture, &c." — a " work about to issue from the press." The 

 editor remarks, " from his observing mind and generally 

 correct judgment, his personal residence in India must have 

 enabled him to add considerably to the stores of knowledge 

 on almost every subject connected with our Eastern empire." 

 This proceeded, I suppose, no further than the announce- 

 ment. Another poetical attempt, which I have not seen, is 

 entitled " Metrical Legends of Northumberland."* When 

 Richardson's "Table Book" was issued in 1842, he con- 

 tributed verses dated from Temple, near Warenford. Like 

 his own " wandering knight," he was unsettled. Years 

 previous he was conscious that his life had been a failure — 

 " Alas ! with youth's warm hopes have died 

 Youth's soaring energies of soul. 



My powers of song, my minstrel pride, 

 Have found their final goal ! 



My heart is cold — my hopes are o'er — 



And I can feel— but sing no more." 



* I have since heard that this work, which was published by "W. Davison in 

 1834, was edited and not written by Service. Some of the productions are his. 



