The Shepherd of Ettrick Vale

According to the Cape Argus of 15 September 1863 (as cited by F.C.L Bosman, 1980: p. 298), The Shepherd of Ettrick Vale is the name given to a performance of some kind by the officers of the 10th Regiment during September of 1863.

One can only assume that the title is most probably a reference to the Scottish poet, novelist and essayist James Hogg (1770–1835)[1], widely known as "The Ettrick Shepherd" of "The Shepherd of Ettrick Vale". However, no play by this specific name can be traced.

The performance may thus have been either a reading of the poems and/or stories of "The Ettrick Shepherd", or it was a performance of a play called The Rose of Ettrick Vale, which was popular among the British militia in the Cape Colony in the 1860s. Unless it was a wrongly reported title for The Shepherd of Derwent Vale[2], a drama in two acts by Joseph Lunn (1784-1863)[]

The shepherd of Derwent Vale : a drama in two acts / by Joseph Lunn ; printed from the acting copy, with remarks, biographical and critical ... ; embellished with a wood engraving by Mr. White . Joseph Lunn 1784-1863. London : J. Cumberland 18--; G.H. Davidson, 1860

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hogg

Charles Rogers. 1809. Ettrick Forest, the Ettrick Shepherd, and his monument. John Menzies, Ediburgh [3]

Edinburgh Dramatic Review, Volumes 3-5[4]