most happy literary effort, "The Queen's Wake,"--a composition
suggested by Mr Grieve. This ingenious individual had conceived the
opinion that a republication of several of the Shepherd's ballads in
"The Spy," in connexion with an original narrative poem, would arrest
public attention as to the author's merits; while a narrative having
reference to the landing of the beautiful and unfortunate Queen Mary,
seemed admirably calculated to induce a general interest in the poem.
The proposal, submitted to Allan Cunningham and Mr Gray, received their
warm approbation; and in a few months the entire composition was ready
for the press. Mr Constable at once consented to undertake the
publication; but a more advantageous offer being made by Mr George
Goldie, a young bookseller, "The Queen's Wake" issued from his
establishment in the spring of 1813. Its success was complete; two
editions were speedily circulated, and the fame of the author was
established. With the exception of the _Eclectic Review_, every
periodical accorded its warmest approbation to the performance; and
vacillating friends, who began to doubt the Shepherd's power of
sustaining the character he had assumed as a poet and a man of letters,
ceased to entertain their misgivings, and accorded the warmest tributes
to his genius. A commendatory article in the _Edinburgh Review_, in
November 1814, hailed the advent of a third edition.

By the unexpected insolvency of his publisher, while the third edition
was in process of sale, Hogg had nearly sustained a recurrence of
pecuniary loss. This was, however, fortunately prevented by the
considerate beneficence of Mr Goldie's trustees, who, on receiving
payment of the printing expenses, made over the remainder of the
impression to the author. One of the trustees was Mr Blackwood,
afterwards the celebrated publisher of _Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine_.
Hogg had now attained the unenviable reputation of a literary prodigy,