John Mayne

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 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. Provided by Wikipedia