Stephenson: The Ettrick Shepherd 



11 



For six years the family led a comfortable life at Ettrick- 

 hall. His brother William writes the following interesting 

 account of these early days : 



He was remarkably fond of hearing stories, and our mother to keep 

 us boys quiet would often tell us tales of kings, giants, knights, fairies, 

 kelpies, brownies, etc., etc. These stories fixed both our eyes and atten- 

 tion, and our mother got forv/ard with her housewifery affairs in a more 

 regular Avay. She also often repeated to us the metre psalms, and accus- 

 tomed us to repeat them after her; and I think it was the 122d which 

 Jamie (for I love the words and names used among us at that day) 

 could have said. I think this was before he knew any of the letters. I 

 am certain before he could spell a word. After he could read with 

 fluency, the historical part of the Bible was his chief delight, and no 

 person whom I have been acquainted with knew it so well. If one en- 

 tered into conversation on that subject, he could with ease have repeated 

 the names of the several Kings of Israel and Judah in succession, with 

 the names of their kingdoms.' 



The parish school was close adjoining the cottage at Ettrick- 

 hall and little Jamie was soon introduced as a pupil. As was 

 usual, the Shorter Catechism and the Book of Proverbs were 

 used as textbooks, and James made progress for the short 

 space of two or three months. Then came the crash in the 

 family fortunes. 



Hogg writes of his father at the time he took a lease of 

 Ettrickhall : 



He then commenced dealing in sheep — bought up great numbers and 

 drove them to the English and Scottish markets; but at length, owing 

 to a great fall in the price of sheep, and the absconding of his principal 

 debtor, he was ruined, became bankrupt, everything was sold by auction, 

 and my parents were turned out of doors without a farthing in the 

 world. I was then in the sixth year of my age, and remember well the 

 distressed and destitute condition that we were in. At length the late 

 worthy Mr. Brydon, of Crosslea, took compassion upon us; and, taking 

 a short lease of the farm of Ettrickhouse, placed my father there as his 

 shepherd, and thus afforded him the means of supporting us for a time. 



says that he had already seen Scott's Minstrelsy (published in 1802-3). Doubtless Hogs' 

 recollected the date oi" his birth wrong', and never felt impelled to discover the truth. 



The parish register records his baptism, December 9, 1770. Ettrickhall was hardly 

 a stone's throw from the church, and there is no reason to believe that the ceremony of 

 baptism was deferred beyond the necessary lime. Mrs. Garden guesses November 25 as 

 the day of her father's birth. 



It may be noted here that there is an obscurity about a few other dates of his early 

 childhood. In his Autohiographii he refers to several incidents of which there is no 

 other record as having occurred in such and such a year of his life. Should we reckon 

 from the end of 1770 or from the beginninv of 1772 ? The doubt is nowhere of conse- 

 quence, and in the following pages no further notice will be taken of the fact. 



' Quoted by Mrs. Garden, page 13. 



