John Mayne

Who was John Mayne?

John Mayne 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.