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 Cavaliers_, and a novel, partly autobiographical, _Norman Sinclair_. Other works were _The Bon Gaultier Ballads_, jointly with Theodore Martin, and _Firmilian, a Spasmodic Tragedy_, under the _nom-de-plume_ of T. Percy Jones, intended to satirise a group of poets and critics, including Gilfillan, Dobell, Bailey, and Alexander Smith. In 1845 A. obtained the Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in Edinburgh University, which he filled with great success, raising the attendance from 30 to 150, and in 1852 he was appointed sheriff of Orkney and Shetland. He was married to a _dau._ of Professor Wilson (Christopher North).