Letter from Hogg to Byron, 1 Jun 1814

Author(s): Hogg, James

Edin June 1st 1814
My Lord

You can scarcely conceive how much
gratified I was by the receipt of your kind letter
yesterday I conceive that you have conferred a great
favour on me without injuring yourself by honouring
my little repository with the first public favours of your
maiden tale; but pray my dear Lord if that particular
tale is like to be long of being set at the printing office
let me have a copy of it in M.S. for you to sit down
to copy it is out of the question it would be sacriledge even
to think of such a thing. But I can easily conceive you to
have some right saucy runagate clerks or amanuen[rs]'
fellows of whom one could have help Saying with the old wife
“It is weel dune to haud their nebs to the circumstane”
any of them will copy it for a word of your mouth
The Repository is now advertised for the first of Nov.r
and consider my lord what effect the very first article
of the very first number of the very first work of
the kind that ever Scotland saw will produce! “It
may be sport to you but it is death to me” The truth
is that you were the only Bard of whom I was afraid
I would get no assistance for from your poems I suspected
that you were a dour ill-natured chiel but I am beginning
to think I was quite mistaken and your letter has
put me in extraordinary spirits




As you have not mentioned either The Hunting
of Badlewe nor Anster fair I conclude you have
not been able to get them in London therefore
I have ordered my bookseller to send you copies,
it is worth your while to read them. I saw
Scott yesterday and I am persuaded he is busy I am
likewise persuaded that in a short time he will produce
something that will outdo any of his former works
a great deal but he is extremely close and therefore
you must view this only as guess work. I return
to the braes of Yarrow the day after to morrow
but do not be long in sending me the tale for I will
spa[re] and pine till I get it and never sleep sound
in the night time. If still grasping at something
onward constitutes a fool I am one and likewise
your Lordships most obliged and gratefull

James Hogg
Grieve & Scott's Edin
To the Rt Hon
Lord Byron


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Rt Hon Lord Byron
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Letter from Hogg to Byron, 1 Jun 1814

Document Information

Document ID	245
Title	Letter from Hogg to Byron, 1 Jun 1814
Year group	1800-1850
Genre	Personal writing
Year of publication	1814
Wordcount	442

Author information: Hogg, James

Author ID	234
Forenames	James
Surname	Hogg
AKA	The Ettrick Shepherd
Gender	Male
Year of birth	1770
Place of birth	Ettrick, Selkirkshire, Scotland
Occupation	Author, farmer, journalist
Father's occupation	Farmer
Education	Little formal schooling
Locations where resident	Ettrick, Edinburgh