Scottish dramatist and poet, born in Lanarkshire in 1762. She published Poems: Wherein It is Attempted to Describe Certain Views of Nature and of Rustic Manners in 1790. Her first volume, Plays on the Passions, brought her the friendship of Sir Walter Scott, who wrote a prologue for her most successful play, The Family Legend (1810), founded upon the feud between the lord of Argyle and the chieftain of Maclean. In the Metrical Legends (1821) are included most of her literary ballads cast in an antique style.      (M. Y.)