e never coloured by
her own personality. Her view of life is genial in the main, with a
strong dash of gentle but keen satire: she appeals rarely and slightly to
the deeper feelings; and the enforcement of the excellent lessons she
teaches is left altogether to the story, without a word of formal
moralising. Among her admirers was Sir W. Scott, who said, "That young
lady has a talent for describing the involvements of feelings and
characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met
with;" others were Macaulay (who thought that in the world there were no
compositions which approached nearer to perfection), Coleridge, Southey,
Sydney Smith, and E. FitzGerald.

AUSTIN, JOHN (1790-1859).--Jurist, served in the army in Sicily and
Malta, but, selling his commission, studied law, and was called to the
Bar 1818. He did not long continue to practise, but devoted himself to
the study of law as a science, and became Professor of Jurisprudence in
London University 1826-32. Thereafter he served on various Royal
Commissions. By his works he exercised a profound influence on the views
of jurisprudence held in England. These include _The Province of
Jurisprudence Determined_ (1832), and his _Lectures on Jurisprudence_.

AYTON, SIR ROBERT (1570-1638).--Poet, _s._ of A. of Kinaldie in Fife.
After _grad._ at St. Andrews, he studied law at Paris, became ambassador
to the Emperor, and held other court offices. He appears to have been
well-known to his literary contemporaries in England. He wrote poems in
Latin, Greek, and English, and was one of the first Scotsmen to write in
the last. His chief poem is _Diophantus and Charidora; Inconstancy
Upbraided_ is perhaps the best of his short poems. He is credited with a
little poem, _Old Long Syne_, which probably suggested Burns's famous
_Auld Lang Syne_.

AYTOUN, WILLIAM EDMONSTONE (1813-1865).--Poet and humorist, _s._ of Roger
A., a Writer to the Signet, was _b._ in Edinburgh and _ed._ there, and
was brought up to the law, which, however, as he said, he "followed but
could never overtake." He became a contributor to _Blackwood's Magazine_
in 1836, and continued his connection with it until his death. In it
appeared most of his humorous prose pieces, such as _The Glenmutchkin
Railway_, _How I Became a Yeoman_, and _How I Stood for the Dreepdaily
Burghs_, all full of vigorous fun. In the same pages began to appear his
chief poetical work, the _Lays of the Scottish Cav