But Scott,
publishing the ballad in The Minstrelsy (1803), says it is given "as
written down from the recitation of the mother of Mr. James Hogg, who
sings, or rather chants, it with great animation" (manifestly he had
heard the recitation which he describes).
It seems that Scott, before he wrote to Ellis in May 1802, had
misgivings about the ballad. Says Carruthers, he "made another visit
to Blackhouse for the purpose of getting Laidlaw as a guide to
Ettrick," being "curious to see the poetical shepherd."
Laidlaw's MS., used by Carruthers, describes the wild ride by the
marshes at the head of the Loch of the Lowes, through the bogs on the
knees of the hills, down a footpath to Ramseycleuch in Ettrick. They
sent to Ettrick House for Hogg; Scott was surprised and pleased with
James's appearance. They had a delightful evening: "the qualities
of Hogg came out at every instant, and his unaffected simplicity and
fearless frankness both surprised and pleased the Sheriff." {26a}
Next morning they visited Hogg and his mother at her cottage, and
Hogg tells how the old lady recited Auld Maitland.
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