Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing (CMSW) - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/cmsw/ Document : 245 Title: 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 [¿] [¿] 1814 Add[¿] 1 2 [¿] [¿] 1814 Rt Hon Lord Byron London JUN B 30 E 1814