John Mayne (1759–1836) was a Scottish printer, journalist and poet born in Dumfries. In 1780, his poem ''The Siller Gun'' appeared in its original form in ''Ruddiman's Magazine'', published by

Walter Ruddiman Walter Ruddiman (1719 – 6 June 1781) was a Scottish printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor based in Edinburgh. Born in Alvah, near Banff, in the North-East of Scotland, he was the youngest son of the farmer James Ruddiman (c. 1680 – c. ...

in Edinburgh.Scottish Poetry of the Eighteenth Century By George Eyre-Todd
p. 151. Taylor & Francis It is a humorous work on an ancient custom in Dumfries of shooting for the "Siller Gun." He also wrote a poem on ''Hallowe'en'' in 1780 which influenced

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

's 1785 poem '' Halloween''.Robert Chamber
The Life and Works of Robert Burns, Volume 1
Lippincott, Grambo & co., 1854 Mayne also wrote a version of the ballad ''

Helen of Kirkconnel "Helen of Kirkconnel" is a famous Scottish ballad. History It was published by Walter Scott in Volume 2 of ''Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border''. An early version was also published by John Mayne. It is also known as "Kirkconnel Lea" and "Fair ...

''. His verses were admired by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

Life

He was born at Dumfries on 26 March 1759. Educated at the local grammar school, he became a printer in the office of the ''Dumfries Journal''. In 1782 he went with his family to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where he worked for five years in the publishing house of the brothers Foulis. In 1787 he settled in London, first as a printer, and then as proprietor and joint editor of '' The Star'', an evening paper, in which he placed his poems. He died at Lisson Grove, London, 14 March 1836.

Works

Mayne wrote poetry in Dumfries, and after 1777 he contributed poems to ''Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine'', Edinburgh. Between 1807 and 1817 several of his lyrics appeared in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

''. Mayne's ''Siller Gun'' was based on a Dumfries

wapinschaw A wapenshaw or ''wapinshaw'' (from the Old English for "weapon show") was originally a gathering and review of troops formerly held in every district in Scotland. The object was to satisfy the military chiefs that the arms of their retainers were in ...

: the competitors were members of the corporations, and the prize a silver cannon-shaped tube presented by James VI. It consisted of twelve stanzas when it appeared in 1777. Enlarged to two cantos in 1779, and to three and four in 1780 and 1808 respectively, it took final shape in five cantos with notes in 1836. It was conceived in the spirit of ''Peblis to the Play''. ''Hallowe'en'', published in ''Ruddiman's Weekly Magazine'' in November 1780, may have stimulated Burns's brilliant treatment of the same theme, according to Chambers, ''Life and Work of Burns'' (i. 154, ed. 1851). ''Logan Braes'', which appeared in the ''Star'', 23 May 1789, had two lines plagiarised by Burns in a ''Logan Braes'' of his own. ''Glasgow'', published in the ''Glasgow Magazine'' in December 1783, was enlarged and issued in 1803. In the same year Mayne published a patriotic address ''English, Scots, and Irishmen''.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayne, John 1759 births 1836 deaths Scottish poets Scottish journalists People from Dumfries