Volume 1 - Electric Scotland

356 WILLIAM BLACKWOOD.
merits and actions which I detest, and which have proved highly
detrimental to me.
I care nothing about More. Tweedie has not been half so
severe upon him as me. I consider him the most monotonous
and the least original of all poets, bating his harmony of num-
bers, which is delightful. As to his great goodness of heart I
dispute that : do you remember showing me a letter of his ad-
vising you to have nothing to do with a MS. publication of mine,
for that I was incapable of producing any work that would go
down with the public ? Mr A. A. "Watts has written to me
thrice respecting a parcel he sent to me to the care of Mr More
but I despise the fellow so much I would not even inquire what
became of it.
An author so much kept dovrn by unfavourable
criticism as the Shepherd, and so cruelly played with
by all the wits, may perhaps be excused for believing
that no one who considered him incapable of producing
" any work that would go down with the public "
was to be credited with a good heart ; but this was
the always kind and friendly Delta, most beloved
perhaps of all the contributors, the excellent Dr Moir
(generally pronounced More in these days).
Hogg's opinion of himself, however, perhaps for-
tunately for him, never changed. " I wish," he says
on one occasion, " the writers in ' Maga ' would not
borrow my incidents. Desire the author of ' Sir
Frizzle Pumpkin ' to look at Bazil Lee in the ' Winter
Evenings.' " " I fear," he says again, " it is needless
for me to attempt anything further for ' Maga ' without
giving up the London Magazines, which I would
with great pleasure do could I please you ; but one
does not like to lose his little lucubrations altogether."
At another time he praises the " twin Magas," the
double number, which on more than one occasion
;