He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, taking his degree in 1816. Entering into partnership with a Musselburgh doctor he practised there until his death. He was a contributor of both prose and verse to the magazines, and particularly, with the signature of Delta, to Blackwood's Magazine.
A collection of his poetry was edited in 1852 by Thomas Aird. Among his publications were the famous Life of Mansie Wauch, Tailor (1828), which shows his gifts as a humorist, Outlines of the Ancient History of Medicine (1831), and Sketch of the Poetical Literature of the Past Half Century (1851).
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