Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VIII. 1821—1825. Not content with the good the gods had provided for him, the Shepherd unfortunately took a lease of a farm adjoining the little nook given him by the Duke of Buccleuch. Mount Benger was the name of the farm, and many of his pieces and compositions were written while living there, so that the name of the place became familiar to the readers ofBlackwood and to the public. To it he removed a year or two subsequent to his marriage. The misfortunes which had hitherto attended Hogg now descended also on his father-in-law, who had up to this time been a prosperous man. Mr. Phillips, in this not unlike his son-in-law, was singularly kind hearted and " aefauld;" and, owing a good deal to these qualities, he incurred severe losses, so severe as to result in his becoming all but bankrupt. These misfortunes, occurring just aboutthe time of Hogg's taking possession of Mount Benger, caused, no doubt, great disappointment, and were indeed disastrous for the poet. In taking this new farm he had hoped for help from his wife's tocher. But all the dowry he received with Mrs. Hogg, lay in her good looks, good sense, and her many excellent qualities of head and heart. With these he was satisfied. But meanwhile Mount Benger had to be stocked, and the Shepherd had been reckoning without his host. He writes to Mr. William Laidlaw on the subject:— "Eltrive Lake, April 2nd, 1821. " Dear Laidlaw, " Jenny of Bowerhope, has just called and says she is coming to see you. I have not time to write, being engaged, but I wish very much to see you, and ask your advice about some things. I am like to lose the Mount Benger stock for want of security, and though conscious myself that I am a good enough merchant, I have not the face to ask any one to be caution for me for s...