Sir Walter Scott (1771- 1832)was a Scottish author and poet. When a young boy, Scott contracted polio and was sent to his grandfather's farm at Sandyknowle to recuperate, and therefore got to know the Border country which had a profound influence on his future writing. Educated at Edinburgh University, Scott became a law clerk in his father's office. After 1792 Scott worked as an advocate but his main ambition was to become a writer. In 1797 he published a translation of Burger's The Wild Huntsmen. This was followed by the three volumes, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802-1803) and The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805).