The Press. — London, England, 1854-05-06 00:00:00

MAY 6, 1854. NOTES ABOUT THE NAVY. IV.-" OLD CHARLEY," AND HIS TIMES. Cons ! while the ports in the Baltic are under blockade, and while the Peelites in the Cabinet are plotting to retard the occurrence of those " great events" for which so many hope, let me spin a yarn about " Old Charley," and tell of the brave deeds that he did in former days, when first he won his fame. Bonnie Scotland has contributed its ample share of brilliant illustrations to the history of the British navy. The gallant Duncan, so beloved by the fleets, the old hero of Camperdown ; Lord Keith, the cap tor of the Cape of Good Hope ; the Earl of Northesk, third in command at the battle whose name was stamped in his armorial bearings (Trafalgar) ; and the dashing Earl of Dundonald, who still survives, — all these eminent commanders derive their birth from Scotland. Spirit•stirring, indeed, are the stones connected with the great historical families of our northern fellow-subjects, and cold must be the mind that does not admire the spectacle of manly daring and fiery genius transmitted for twenty generations. Fortunate it is that, though Manchester can purchase old estates, it cannot buy our old names out of history's immortalising page! And, amongst the historical houses of the north, there are few that inherit more brilliant and far descended fame than " Old Charley's" family—the Napiers of Merchistoun. The historic origin of the name of Napier has something pleasingly pro phetic. It is traditionally told that one of the old Earls of Lennox bad three sons, the second of whom, Donald, he sent to fight for the King of Scots. At a critical moment Donald turned the fortunes of the day, and performed prodigies of valour. " You have all done well," cried the King after the battle, " but there is one amongst you that hath Na Pier" — which name was then given to Donald, as an augmen tation of honour. One need not pause to inquire whether this pretty story be true or not, but there are authentic particulars about the Napiers that must not be silently passed over. They were of great antiquity in the county of Dumbarton, and one of them defended Stirling Castle against Edward I. The direct ancestors of " Old Charley" were Provosts of Edinburgh, and governors of Edinburgh Castle in the fifteenth century, and one of them, in 1461, Sir Alexander Napier, was Vice-Admiral of Scotland. The great-grandson of the vice• admiral, another Sir Alexander Napier, fell at Flodden while his son was also killed at the battle of Pinkie. And then we come to one of the race that gave it world-wide renown, on whom a few words will be required. There is a small room at the top of the tower of Merchistoun whither a certain John Napier was in the habit of retiring. He was the great-grandson of the Napier who fell at Flodden, and resided at the family castle. By the common people of the vicinity he was looked upon as a warlock, and it is not im probable that be may have amused himself by en ° mraging a belief in his necromantic skill, by which possibly he might have been more enabled to pursue his studies undisturbed. Recollecting how strong is the marked family spirit running through all the Napiers, it is worth dwelling on this extraordinary personage, whom an illustrious historian not prone to enthusiasm has declared "merited the name of great man more than any other whom his country ever produced" (David Hume). There is a dash of the whimsical running through the Napier's, and it is curious that the inventor of logarithms should have been born while his father was only sixteen years of age. Educated at St. Andrew's, he travelled tin ongh France, Gemany, and Italy, and with a well-stored mind returned to Mercbistoun to study science and the holy scriptures. His success in the former branch of knowledge was evinced by his renowned discovery of the logarithmitic canon, the corre spondence between arithmetical and geometrical pro gression, a sublime invention of universal utility. His treatise on "Tbe Revelation of St. John " ( though erroneous in some particulars) proves his ardent study of holy writ. He had a most extraordinary versatility of mind. Sir Thomas Urquhartrecords that Napier had invented a " destroying engine that would cleat a space a mile in extent at each side of the enemy—in other words, of 30,000 Turks without the loss of a Christian." There i s another U rquhart in our generation, not Thomas, but David, who would probably desire that we could now have such a machine patented for the destruction of 30,000 Russians without the loss of a Turk. But let the Peelites and the Peace Society be comforted. When Napier, in his last illness, was requested to reveal the plan of this engine, he said, " That if he could lessen the means already existing for the destruction of man, he would with all his might apply himself to the purpose, but that they should never by his means be increased." He died in 1817. THE PRESS. His son and grandson were both distinguished in... the history of Scotland. The first of these was eminent for his agricultural knowledge, and pub lished a work, of which the title runs—" The New Order of Gooding and Manuring all Sorts of Field Land with Common Salt, set forth by Archibald Napier, the Appeirant of Merchistoun. Imprinted by Robert Waldegrave, Printer to his Majestie 1508." He was raised to the peerage of Scotland, and became the first Lord Napier. He married the sister of the first Marquis of Montrose; and the second Lord Napier was a foremost adherent to his uncle Montrose, and was in the battles of Aldern, Alford, and Kilsyth, in 1645. He had the honour of being specially exempted by Cromwell from grace and pardon, and died in Holland before the Restora tion. The third Lord Napier died a bachelor, but obtained an enlargement of his patent, by which the female heirs could inherit, and the title then passed into the eminent family of Scott of Thiilestane, sup posed to be a junior branch of the house of Rue clench. Readers of Sir Walter Scott recollect how, in " The Lay of the Last Minstrel," he commemorates the motto which the Scotts of Thirlestano have given to the Napiers of Merchistoun " His ready lances Thirlestane brave Arrayed beneath a banner bright, The treasured fleur-de-lis he claims, T. wreathe his shield, since royal James Encamped by Fala's mossy wave The proud distinction grateful gave. • s • • • • ♦ • And hence, in fair remembrance worn, You sheaf of spears his crest has borne, Hence his high motto shines revealed— ' Heady, aye ready,' for the Held." But we must pass hastily over much that is most curious and interesting iu the ancestral story of this famous family. What good blood is intermingled in its veins will be seen in the fact, that in the names of its female descent are those of Monteith, Doug las, Chisholm, Campbell, Bothwell, Stirling, Gra ham, Erskine, Brisbane, Hope, and Cathcart. It will be well, however, to indicate the exact ties of rela tionship in our age between " Old Charley" and those famous brothers who, in war and literature, base made their names renowned. Proud indeed may that family be which looks back on a line of ancestry radiant with martial and intellectual glory, and which can point in our times to men whose exploits at once illustrate and verify their pedigrees. The conqueror of Scinde—the historian "whose page is already classic," as Mr. Disraeli said—and that brave admiral whose career PILOT will endeavour to record—are near relatives. The fifth Lord Napier was their common grandfather. From his first marriage descends "Old Charley." He married a second time an Irish lady, and the eldest eon of that union was the Colonel George Napier who married, in 1791, the celebrated beauty, Lady Sarah Lennox, daughter of Charles Lennox, second Duke of Rich mond. It will be recollected that the origin of the name of Napier is (traditionally) traced to the Earls of Lennox, and the junction of their names at the end of the eighteenth century is not a little singular. Lady Sarah Napier was one of the most brilliantly endowed women that ever graced high birth and rank. It was she who first woke the tender passion in the heart of King George 111. ; and Henry Fox, the first Lord Holland, who had married Lady Sarah's eldest sister, fondly hoped that the young King would be his brother in-law. Dressed in fan ciful attire, Lady Sarah was to be seen in the graceful occupation of haymaking while the young King passed along the Kensington-road. One cannot be lieve all that Horace Walpole has said, in his sprightly way, about the subject, but there are some very curious revelations in the " Grenville Corre spondence" about the King (before his marriage) asking Lady Susan Strangways whether Lady Sarah Lennox would not become the throne as Queen admirably? At that very time Lady Sarah was in love with Lord Newbottle (afterwards the fifth Marquis of Lothian). According to the prosaic Mr. Grenville's account of this most romantic love affair, Lord and Lady Holland persuaded Lady Sarah to break off, most reluctantly, with Lord New bottle. Then Lady Sarah left town ; and the King was worked upon by certain courtiers, and he, in his turn, abandoned all thoughts of marrying Lady Sarah, who was unfortunate enough to lose both of her lovers at the same time. Partly the German pride of the King and partly the fears of Lord Bute (of the connection with the Fox family) prevented George 111. from marrying one of his subjects. Lady Sarah was afterwards the first of the ten un married daughters of peers who held the bridal train of Queen Charlotte. Her second husband was Colonel Napier, with whom she resided at Oak Park. Cellbridge, in the county of Kildare, in Ireland. She resided there for the pleasure of being near Carton, where her sister, the Duchess of Leinster, dwelt. It is a place beautifully situated. Not far from it is the scene where Swift and Vanessa spent their hap piest hours. Within the circle of a picturesque land scape are there concentrated many brilliant associa eons—the place where "The stern satirist and the witty maid Talked pretty love, nor yet profaned the shade," 41 was the very spot by the banks of the Liffey, in Dean Marlay's garden, where ()rotten, the orator, mused and meditated upon Ireland and eloquence ; not far from it is one of the retreats where Lord Edward Fitzgerald sojourned ; and not the least interesting of its recollections are of the place where the conqueror of Scinde and the fascinating historian of the Penin sular War sported and carolled in their youthful days. Not many years since there were many of the aged peasantry who remembered the young Napiers and their feats of early spirit. The old general (Sir Charles) visited the spot with great interest awl emotion about fifteen years ago, and he pointed to the old trees which he bad so often climbed. The readers of the PRESS will recollect an original letter (PaEss, vol. i., p. 8M) from Sir Charles (first com municated to this journal), in which he says, " I have a regard for every one reared at Castletown, for 1 was reared there myself." And in the brilliant article in the Edinburgh lirriew on the life of Sir John Moore, Pilot thinks that he can detect some allusions to the days when the young Napiers were in Ireland. Some most interesting letters ft•om the pen of Lad?' Sarah Napier are to he found in Moore's "Lilo of Lord Edward Fitzgerald." And now having given some account of the stock from which " Old Charley " sprung, Pilot will pro ceed to show how the admiral has acted throughout life, as if he felt the sentiment expressed by Sir Edward Lytton in the most popular drama of our times—" that rank and ancestry are to be highly valued when they are the incentives to noble actions." Nor is the foregoing account of the old admiral's family superfluous, seeing how truly it illustrates the lines— "Howe his high menu shines revealed— ' J:tmly, aye truly; fur the livid." PILOT. [To be continued:l PRIN'ATEERINO. THIS savage business—the destruction or confiscati , ei of private property in war—has, we trust, received its death. blow. England and France have both decided not to issue letters of marque to Americans ; and it is believed that our Government has expressed to those powers its determina tion not to tolerate the fitting out of privateers within its jurisdiction to operate against the vessels of either of the belligerents. If this determinetiou should be faithfully carried out, it will obviate the greatest danger which exists of our being ultimately involved in the conflict. A few years ago the United States was at war with Mexico. Our commerce was floating on every sea, and If privateers had been fitted out in England and France, or either of Oem, with letters of marque from Mexico, the damage done to our commercial interests would have been immense. But during the whole of that war not a single American mer chantman was captured on the high seas. This shows that the English and French Governments afforded no countenance to such acts of robbery—nay, that they exerted their influence to prevent them. The United States now has wi opportunity to return the compliment. By all means let her do so, not merely because it is a just reci procity, but because it is right in itself, and its opposite is wrong. A convention between the United States and Eng land and France is probably under negotiation at this mo ment, which will henceforth prevent privateering, and will also establish, by mutual consent, the principle long con tended for by the United States, that neutral ships make flee goods, except contraband of war. The admission of this principle on the part of the belligerents will create an immense demand for our vessels during the war, both steamers and sailing-vessels. For all freights and pas sengers it will give our vessels a decided preference over English, French, Russian, and, in fact, over the vessels of any other nation. We hope our people, as well as our Go vernment, will have the wisdom to use their privileges without abusing them. We must expect some annoyances here and there, growing out of the war : but if we are pa tient and forbearing, even under provocations (which we can well afford to be), they will not harm us. As lookers on, and perhaps ultimately as an umpire between the bel ligerents, the United States has its proper work to perform, and we trust will not be found wanting.—New York Jeweils I of Commerce. THE FAST-DAT COLLECTIONS IN THE EASTERN CORN TIER indicate an extraordinary spirit of liberality. The collections returned at Norwich amount to 1261. 25.; Yarmouth, 771. 13s. Md.; Ipswich, 110/. fls. 81d.; Lincoln, 67!.; Peterborough, 991. 19s. ; Cambridge, 216/. Os. sd. ; Wisbech, 391.; Ring's Lynn, 211.; Huntingdon, 241. Bs. Od.; Stamford, 041. 7s. Bd. ; Boston, 381. 138. 3d. ; Doddington, 321. ; Ramsey, 18!. Bs. 3d.; Whittlesey, 151. 145.; Horncastle, 171. 41. 4d. ; Gainsborough, 201. ; Halesworth, 121. 138. 7d.; Sproughton, 13/. Ils. 10d.; Framlingham, 101.; Whitton, 71. 145.; Beccles, 151. Is. 9d.; North Walsbam, 91. 15s. 6d. ; Aylsham, 91. ; Downham, 101.; Castle Rising, 12!. ss. sd. ; Royston, 131.; d•c. In many other parishes amounts exceeding 5/. were raised ; but in others no alms were solicited. In one or two instances the churches were not opened. THE sums paid oat of the Consolidated Fund, under the acts of 2 and 3 of William IV., upcn that part of the Greek loan guaranteed by this country, amount to 503,602!. 16s. sd. The amount repaid by the Greek Government, up to 1848, has been 31,084!. Ils. Bd., leaving 472,518/. 4s. 9d. as balance due. ■