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Indiana UNnrERSiTY Studies 



luctantly complied, but at the same time told his persecutors that he 

 would soon find a way to expose their ignorance and sacrilegious con- 

 duct to the world ; and immediately he set about writing his Scots Gentle- 

 man, a comedy in five acts, one of which was entirely occupied vdih the 

 examination of the fishers. This piece, though it no doubt has its faults, 

 yet, in general, is not destitute of merit; the last mentioned part in par- 

 ticular is so replete with blunt but natural answers, that it never fails 

 to excite the most lively burst of laughter when read to an Ettrick 

 audience. 



The recovery from a serious illness was conmiemorated in 

 1798 by Fareivell ye Grots, Farewell ye Glens. Hogg records 

 this illness in the Autohiograpliij but omits the account of the 

 poem contained in the corresponding Autobiographical Letter. 

 And previous to 1799 Hogg had published several pieces in The 

 Edin b urg h Mag azine . 



In the year 1800, I began and finished the first two acts of a tragedy, 

 denominated The Castle in the Wood; and flattering myself that it was 

 about to be a masterpiece I showed it to Mr. William Laidlaw, my liter- 

 ary confessor; who, on returning it, declared it faulty in the extreme; 

 and perceiving that he had black strokes drawn down through several 

 of my most elaborate speeches, I cursed his stupidity, threw it away, 

 and never added another line.-° 



While it is true that none of this verse belies the editorial 

 note quoted above, and none is worth republishing in a col- 

 lective edition of the Shepherd's w^orks, an examination of it 

 fully prepares one to find him in 1800 the author of a spirited 

 and finished song that at once caught the popular fancy and 

 went far towards bringing fame to one who had hitherto en- 

 joyed only a local and anonymous reputation on a small scale. 



-° This paragraph appeared in the Autobiography of 1807, and 1821, but was omitted 

 from the later editions. 



The above fact explains Mrs. Garden's ignorance of the identity of the Scotch Gentle- 

 man "whom Hogg murdered" as set forth in his earliest extant letter. See Mrs. Gar- 

 den's Memoirs, page 37. 



