Who was "The Mountain Muse"?William Mather Robertson - born in Longforgan, Scotland on 3rd January, 1810 the 3rd son of Robert Robertson and Elspeth Hall.
His father Robert was the Gamekeeper at nearby Castle Huntly and his mother was the hen-wife. The Robertsons were employed by George Paterson who had bought Castle Lyon and renamed it Castle Huntly in honour of his wife's family as they were previously connected with the property.
"He [George Paterson] was greatly interested in education and gave a yearly allowance of £30 to increase the salary of the local schoolmaster to £50 per annum; made an allowance to pay the fees of poor scholars; presented Bibles, Testaments and prizes to poor scholars and in 1825 set up a new school. He was good to the tenants in the village and the workers on his estate." 1
William may have benefited from George Paterson's interest in education in his early years but certainly when he was aged around 7 his parents took up another position in Glengarry, Inverness-shire where was put to school and recieved a basic education.
His education stood William in good stead, allowing him to become a poet in the latter years of his life and to self-publish two books of poetry, "The Mountain Muse" published in 1884 (printed by John Leng & Co of Bank Street, Dundee and "The Echoes of the Mountain Muse" published in 1893 and printed by R. S. Barrie of 16 Panmure Street Dundee. Many of the poems included in the two books had also been printed in the local newspaper.
1 http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kenneill/huntly/the_people.htm
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