Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-01-20
A MODEST GENIUS.
Ter Own Husband Didn't Know She Had
Gained Fame.

Her Own Husband Didn't Know She Had
Gained Fame.
The Land O. the Leal" was not
written by Bobby Burns, as is pop
ularly supposed. but by a woman
who wrote many songs as popular
as his and perhaps as much sung
today, yet whose name is little
known and whose literary history is
very strange.
In 1866 a baby girl was born in an
old house in Perthshire, Scotland,
to Lawrence Oliphant, a Jacobite
gentleman, whose whole family had
impoverished themselves in the
Stuart cause. His father had been
tout" in the rebellion Of 1715, and
he himself had fought for Prince
Charley in 1745. He had fled Scot
land for his life, and only couple
of years before the birth of this his
first child had he been allowed to
return and settle down on the rem.
nant of his estates. The baby was to
have been named Charles, for the
last Stuart, had it been boy, but
as it was girl her father had to
compromise by calling her Carolina.
Mr.. Oliphant was loyal to the lost
cause to the last, and Carolina grew
up amid love stories and songs of
'bonny Prince Charley" songs
that she was to supersede with her
own. The incest story you will ever
hear about old King George III re-
lates how he sent message to Mr..
Oliphant. When the laird was grow
ing old and as stubborn Jacobite
as ever, the king one day said to
the member Of parliament for Perth
shire, when you go home give my
complimentary the compliments
of the king of England, but those of
the elector of Hanover-to Mr.. Oil
plant, and tell him how much re-
spect him for the steadiness of his
principles.
Carolina was great singer and
dancer IN her youth, but she had
become a sober, middle aged wom-
an before her wedding day dawned.
She was betrothed in her teens to
distant cousin, who, like the rest Of
them, had spent all, for the king
over the water, and was for long
years too poor to marry. At last,
when the lady was in her fortieth
year and he nine years older, she
was welded to her first love, Major
Marine.
In 1924 Major Marine was restored
to a title that had been obtained in
1715 and became Baron Marine.
Lady Marine was left widow ere
long, and soon her only child, a son,
died, too, and she spent the rest of
her life in Edinburgh absorbed in
religion and charity, respected as
saint, looked upon with interest
because OF the romantic political
history of her family and the sweet
Scotch constancy of her love story,
but no one suspecting that she had
any claims as an author. Sir Walter
Scott had known her we'll, but had
never dreamed Of her secret; it was
better kept than the authorship of
"Waverley.' Yet for so years, no
less, young and old on every side
had been singing her own songs all
around her. The husband died with
out knowing she had written a line
of poetry, and she all but carried
the knowledge of her authorship to
her own grave. But one sister had
been her confdante, and when Lady
Marine had passed away the sister
thought there was no longer any
need of protecting her old fashioned
womanly modesty and told the
story and published collection of
the songs. Besides the Land O. the
Leal, . some of the others were
Who'll Be King but Charley
"The Laird O. Cockpen,' 'sWha'll
Buy Ny Caller Herrin' and "a Hun
dred Pipers and A and A. "-Phila-
delphia Inquirer.