had
extended the hand of hospitality to Burns, and he received with equal
warmth the author of "The Forest Minstrel." In the exercise of
disinterested beneficence, he was aided and encouraged by his second
wife, formerly Miss Peacock, who sympathised in the lettered tastes of
her husband, and took delight in the society of men of letters. They
together made annual pedestrian excursions into the Highlands, and the
narrative of their adventures proved a source of delightful instruction
to their friends. Mr Gray, after a lengthened period of residence in
Edinburgh, accepted, in the year 1821, the Professorship of Latin in the
Institution at Belfast; he subsequently took orders in the Church of
England, and proceeded to India as a chaplain. In addition to his
chaplaincy, he held the office of preceptor to one of the native princes
of Hindostan. He died at Bhoog, in the kingdom of Cutch, on the 25th of
September 1830; and if we add that he was a man of remarkable learning,
his elegy may be transcribed from the "Queen's Wake:"--

"Alike to him the south and north,
So high he held the minstrel worth;
So high his ardent mind was wrought,
Once of himself he never thought."

As the circle of the poet's friends increased, a scheme was originated
among them, which was especially entertained by the juniors, of
establishing a debating society for mutual improvement. This institution
became known as the Forum; meetings were held weekly in a public hall of
the city, and strangers were admitted to the discussions on the payment
of sixpence a-head. The meetings were uniformly crowded; and the
Shepherd, who held the office of secretary, made a point of taking a
prominent lead in the discussions. He spoke once, and sometimes more
frequently, at every meeting, making speeches, both studied and
extemporaneous, on every variety of theme; and especially contributed,
by his rough-spun eloquence, to the popularity of the institution. The
society existed three years; and though yielding the secretary no
pecuniary emolument, proved a new and effective mean of extending his
acquaintance with general knowledge.

Hogg now took an interest in theatricals, and produced two dramas, one
of which, a sort of musical farce, was intended as a burlesque on the
prominent members of the Forum, himself included. This he was induced,
on account of the marked personalities, to confine to his repositories;
he submitted the other to Mr Siddons,