Hawick shoemaker and poet

I am aacquainted with the whole of the Scottish border, from Berwick to Carlisle, and I am a native of the town of Hawick. I was born in the year 1800, and am consequently in my forty-seventh year. My father was arespectable tradesman, andbrought me up to his own business, which was that of a shoemaker. I received a plain English education, and, at an early period of life, became fond of reading. Poetry was my first and favourite study, and Iqualified myself forbecoming a contributor to the local newspapers, by composing a littlesometimes for the one, and sometimes for the other. As I grew up, I extended the sphere of my observation, and, in the summer of 1820, I published a small volume of Border