inspiration, at the close of last century, over several sons of song,
worthy to bear the lyre of their minstrel sires. Of these,
unquestionably the most remarkable was James Hogg, commonly designated
"The Ettrick Shepherd." This distinguished individual was born in the
bosom of the romantic vale of Ettrick, in Selkirkshire,--one of the most
mountainous and picturesque districts of Scotland. The family of Hogg
claimed descent from Hougo, a Norwegian baron; and the poet's paternal
ancestors at one period possessed the lands of Fauldshope in Ettrick
Forest, and were followers, under the feudal system, of the Knights of
Harden. For several generations they had adopted the simple occupation
of shepherds. On the mother's side, the poet was descended from the
respectable family of Laidlaw,--one of the oldest in Tweeddale, and of
which all the representatives bore the reputation of excelling either in
intellectual vigour or physical energy; they generally devoted
themselves to the pastoral life. Robert Hogg, the poet's father, was a
person of very ordinary sagacity, presenting in this respect a decided
contrast to his wife, Margaret Laidlaw, a woman of superior energy and
cultivated mind. Their family consisted of four sons, of whom the second
was James, the subject of this Memoir. The precise date of his birth is
unknown: he was baptised, according to the Baptismal Register of
Ettrick, his native parish, on the 9th of December 1770.[28]

At the period of his marriage, Robert Hogg was in circumstances of
considerable affluence; he had saved money as a shepherd, and, taking on
lease the two adjoining pastoral farms of Ettrick-hall and
Ettrick-house, he largely stocked them with sheep adapted both for the
Scottish and English markets. During several years he continued to
prosper; but a sudden depression in the market, and the absconding of a
party who was indebted to him, at length exhausted his finances, and
involved him in bankruptcy. The future poet was then in his sixth year.