John Mayne. Biography

John Mayne (1759–1836) was a Scottish printer, journalist and poet born in Dumfries, South West Scotland. In 1780, his poem The Siller Gun appeared in its original form in Ruddiman's Magazine, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh. 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's 1785 poem "Halloween". Mayne also wrote a version of the ballad, "Helen of Kirkconnel". His verses were admired by Walter Scott.

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, 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.

John Mayne's Poems:

1. Halloween
2. To the Army and Navy Returning from the War
3. Bonaparte, O’er the Sea
4. English, Scots, and Irishmen
5. Mary Marton
6. The Muffled Drum
7. The Curieux
8. Logan Braes