John Mayne (1759–1836) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

printer, journalist and poet born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

. In 1780, his poem ''The Siller Gun'' appeared in its original form in ''Ruddiman's Magazine'', published by Walter Ruddiman 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 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

's 1785 poem ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

''.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''. His verses were admired by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

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 is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, 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 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

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