AINSWORTH, WILLIAM HARRISON (1805-1882).--Novelist, _s._ of a solicitor, was _b._ in Manchester. He was destined for the legal profession, which, however, had no attraction for him; and going to London to complete his studies made the acquaintance of Mr. John Ebers, publisher, and at that time manager of the Opera House, by whom he was introduced to literary and dramatic circles, and whose _dau._ he afterwards married. For a short time he tried the publishing business, but soon gave it up and devoted himself to journalism and literature. His first successful novel was _Rookwood_, _pub._ in 1834, of which Dick Turpin is the leading character, and thenceforward he continued to pour forth till 1881 a stream of novels, to the number of 39, of which the best known are _The Tower of London_ (1840), _Old St. Paul's_ (1841), _Lancashire Witches_, and _The Constable of the Tower_. The titles of some of his other novels are _Crichton_ (1837), _Jack Sheppard_ (1839), _Guy Fawkes_, _The Star Chamber_, _The Flitch of Bacon_, _The Miser's Daughter_ (1842), and _Windsor Castle_ (1843). A. depends for his effects on striking situations and powerful descriptions: he has little humour or power of delineating character. AIRD, THOMAS (1802-1876).--Poet, _b._ at Bowden, Roxburghshire, went to Edinburgh, where he became the friend of Professor Wilson, Carlyle, and other men of letters. He contributed to _Blackwood's Magazine_, and was editor of the _Dumfries Herald_ (1835-63). His chief poem is _The Captive of Fez_ (1830); and in prose he wrote _Religious Characteristics_, and _The Old Bachelor in the Old Scottish Village_ (1848), all of which were received with favour. Carlyle said that in his poetry he found everywhere "a healthy breath as of mountain breezes." AKENSIDE, MARK (1721-1770).--Poet, _s._ of a butcher at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, gave early indications of talent, and was sent to the University of Edinburgh with the view of becoming a dissenting minister. While there, however, he changed his mind and studied for the medical profession. Thereafter he went to Leyden, where he took his degree of M.D. in 1744. While there he wrote his principal poem, _The Pleasures of the Imagination_, which was well received, and was subsequently translated into more than one foreign language. After trying Northampton, he settled as a physician in London; but was for long largely dependent for his livelihood on a Mr. Dyson. His talents brought him a good deal of consideration in society, but the solemn and pompous manner which he affected laid him open to some ridicule, and he is said to have been satirised by Smollett (_q.v._) in his _Peregrine Pickle_. He endeavoured to reconstruct his poem, but the result was a failure. His collected poems were _pub._ 1772. His works, however, are now little read. Mr. Gosse has described him as "a sort of frozen Keats."