Born in 1771, died in 1832; educated at Edinburgh; sheriff
of Selkirkshire in 1799; published "The Minstrelsy of the
Scottish Border" in 1802-03; "The Lay of the Last Minstrel"
in 1805, followed by "Marmion" in 1808, and "The Lady of the
Lake" in 1810; his first novel, "Waverley," published in
1814; involved to the extent of £120,000 in the failure of
his publishers in 1826; with additional private debts of
£30,000; struggled the rest of his life under this load of
debt, which his writings finally extinguished; made a
baronet in 1820; lived at Abbotsford, 1812-1826.
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