Possibly he had not the coolness which forms a Wellington, but he had the power of inspiring his soldiers with an enthusiastic love and admiration which Wellington could never inspire. Besides being a great soldier he was a very great administrator, and both in Cephalonia and in Sind proved what work a man never fatigued and never afraid of responsibility could do. The most discussed question in his life is the conquest of Sind. There can be no doubt that he hurried on that conquest. There can be no doubt that the conquest was disapproved by statesmen in England. Mr Gladstone’s own testimony is to the effect that the conquest of Sind "was disapproved unanimously by the cabinet of Sir Robert Peel, of which I can speak, as I had just entered it at that time. But the ministry were powerless inasmuch as the mischief of retaining was less than the mischief of abandoning it, and it remains an accomplished fact" (Contemporary Review, November 1876). But that the mischief was not greater was due to Sir Charles’s administrative power. Many men have been gallant generals, great soldiers, and even great administrators, but no man of the 19th century was a hero as well, and it is the heroic side of his character which it is most difficult to analyse, and most easy to perceive. It appears all through Sir William Napier’s life of his brother, but it is most clearly and trenchantly brought out in a letter of Carlyle to the biographer. "The fine and noble qualities of the man are very recognizable to me: his subtle piercing intellect turned all to the practical, giving him just insight into men and into things; his in exhaustible adroit contrivances, his fiery valour, sharp promptitude to seize the good moment that will not return. A lynx-eyed fiery man, with the spirit of an old knight in him, more of a hero than any modern I have seen for a long time. "
The chief authority for Sir Charles Napier’s life is his Life and Opinions, by his brother, 1857; consult also MacCall, Career and Character of C. J. Napier, 1857; and M’Dougall, General Sir C. J. Napier, Conqueror and Governor of Scinde, 1860. His own works are Memoir of the Roads of Cephalonia, 1825; The Colonies, 1833; Colonization, 1835; Remarks on Military law and the Punishment of Flogging, 1837; A Letter on the Defence of England by Corps of Volunteers and Militia, 1852; A Letter to the Right Honourable Sir J. C. Hobhouse on the Baggage of the Indian Army, 1849; Defects, Civil and Military, of the Indian Government, 1853; and William the Conqueror, a Historical Romance, edited by Sir W. Napier, 1858. On Sind, consult primarily Sir W. Napier, The Conquest of Scinde, 1845; The Administration of Scinde, 1851; Compilation of General Orders issued by Sir C. Napier, 1850; and Outram, The Conquest of Scinde, a Commentary, 1846. For his command-in-chief, and the controversy about his resignation, consult J. Mawson, Records of the Indian Command of General Sir C. J. Napier, Calcutta, 1851; Minutes on the Resignation of the late General Sir C. Napier, by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, &c., 1854; Comments by Sir W. Napier on a Memorandum of the Duke of Wellington, 1854; and Sir William Napier, General Sir C. Napier and the Directors of the East India Company, 1857. (H. M. S.)
NAPIER, John (1550-1617), the inventor of logarithms, was born at Merchiston near Edinburgh in 1550, and was the eighth Napier of Merchiston. The first Napier of Merchiston, "Alexander Napare," acquired the Merchiston estate before the year 1438, from James I. of Scotland. He was provost of Edinburgh in 1437, and was otherwise distinguished. His eldest son Alexander, who succeeded him in 1454, was provost of Edinburgh in 1455, 1457, and 1469; he was knighted and held various important court offices under successive monarchs; at the time of his death in 1473 he was master of the household to James III. His son, John Napier of Rusky, the third of Merchiston, belonged to the royal household in the lifetime of his father. He also was provost of Edinburgh at various times, and it is a remarkable instance of the esteem in which the lairds of Merchiston were held that three of them in immediate lineal succession repeatedly filled so important an office during perhaps the most memorable period in the history of the city. He married a great-granddaughter of Duncan, eighth earl of Levenax (or Lennox), and besides this relationship by marriage the Napiers claimed a lineal male cadency from the ancient family of Levenax. His eldest son, Archibald Napier of Edinbellie, the fourth of Merchiston, belonged to the household of James IV. He fought at Flodden and escaped with his life, but his eldest son Alexander (fifth of Merchiston) was killed. Alexander’s eldest son (Alexander, sixth of Merchiston) was born in 1513, and fell at the battle of Pinkie in 1547. His eldest son was Archibald, seventh of Merchiston, and the father of John Napier, the subject of this article.
In 1549 Archibald Napier, at the early age of about fifteen, married Janet, daughter of Francis Bothwell, and in the following year John Napier was born. In the criminal court of Scotland, the earl of Argyll, hereditary justice-general of the kingdom, sometimes presided in person, but more frequently he delegated his functions; and it appears that in 1561 Archibald Napier was appointed one of the justice-deputes. In the register of the court, extending over 1563 and 1564, the justice-deputes named are "Archibald Naper of Merclaistoune, Alexander Bannatyne, burgess of Edinburgh, James Stirling of Keir, and Mr Thomas Craig." About 1565 he was knighted at the same time as James Stirling, his colleague, whose daughter John Napier subsequently married. In 1582 Sir Archibald was appointed master of the mint in Scotland, with the sole charge of superintending the mines and minerals within the realm, and this office he held till his death in 1608. His first wife died in 1563, and in 1572 he married a cousin, Elizabeth Mowbray, by whom he had three sons, the eldest of whom was named Alexander.[1]
As stated above, John Napier was born in 1550, the year in which the Reformation in Scotland may be said to have commenced. In 1563, the year in which his mother died, he matriculated at St Salvator’s College, St Andrews. He early became a Protestant champion, and the one solitary anecdote of his youth that is known to exist occurs in his address “ to the Godly and Christian reader” prefixed to his Plaine Discovery. He writes:—
"In my tender yeares, and barneage in Sanct-Androis at the Schooles, having, on the one parte, contracted a loving familiaritie with a certaine Gentleman, &c. a Papist; And on the other part, being attentive to the sermons of that worthie man of God, Maister Christopher Goodman, teaching upon the Apocalyps, I was so mooved in admiration, against the blindnes of Papists, that could not most evidently see their seven hilled citie Rome, painted out there so lively by Saint John, as the mother of all spiritual whoredome, that not onely bursted I out in continual reasoning against my said familiar, but also from thenceforth, I determined with my selfe (by the assistance of Gods spirit) to employ my studie and diligence to search out the remanent mysteries of that holy Book: as to this houre (praised be the Lorde) I have bin doing at al such times as conveniently I might have occasion.”
The names of nearly all Napier s classfellows can be traced as becoming determinantes in 1566 and masters of arts in 1568; but his own name does not appear in the
- ↑ The descent of the first Napier of Merchiston has been traced to “Jolian le Naper del Counte de Dunbretan,” who was one of those who swore fealty to Edward I. in 1296 and defended the castle of Stirling against him in 1304; but there is no authority for this genealogy. The legend with regard to the origin of the name Napier was given by Sir Alexander Napier, eldest son of John Napier, in 1625, in these words:— “ One of the ancient earls of Lennox in Scotland had issue three sons: the eldest, that succeeded him to the earldom of Lennox; the second, whose name was Donald; and the third, named Gilchrist. The then king of Scotland having wars, did convocate his lieges to battle, amongst whom that was commanded was the earl of Lennox, who, keeping his eldest son at home, sent his two sons to serve for him with the forces that were under his command. This battle went hard with the Scots; for the enemy pressing furiously upon them forced them to lose ground until it came to flat running away, which being perceived by Donald, he pulled his father’s standard from the bearer thereof, and valiantly encountering the foe, being well followed by the earl of Lennox’s men, he repulsed the enemy and changed the fortune of the day, whereby a great victory was got. After the battle, as the manner is, every one drawing and setting forth his own acts, the king said unto them, ye have all done valiantly, but there is one amongst you who hath Na-Peer [i.e., no equal]; and calling Donald into his presence commanded him, in regard to his worthy service, and in augmentation of his honour, to change his name from Lennox to Napier, and gave him the lands of Gosford, and lands in Fife, and made him his own servant, which discourse is confirmed by evidences of mine, wherein we are called Lennox alias Napier.” Sir Archibald adds that this is “the origin of our name, as, by tradition from father to son, we have generally and without any doubt received the same.” This written statement of the legend was occasioned by the following circumstance. Robert Napier, a cousin of John Napier, had amassed riches abroad as a merchant; he was created a baronet in 1612, and in order to put his genealogy formally on record in the heralds books, he applied for an authentic certificate to Sir Archibald, afterwards Lord Napier, who resided at Merchiston, as the head of the family; and Sir Archibald in reply wrote out in his own hand the document from which the preceding extract has been made.
