NAIRNE, CAROLINA (OLIPHANT), BARONESS (1766-1845).—­B. at the House of Gask ("the auld house"), m. in 1806 her second cousin, Major Nairne, who on reversal of attainder became 5th Lord Nairne.  On his death, after residing in various places in England, Ireland, and on the Continent, she settled at the new house of Gask (the old one having been pulled down in 1801).  Of her songs—­87 in number—­many first appeared anonymously in The Scottish Minstrel (1821-24); a collected ed. with her name, under the title of Lays’ from Strathearn, was pub. after her death.  Although the songs, some of which were founded on older compositions, had from the first an extraordinary popularity, the authoress maintained a strict anonymity during her life.  For direct simplicity and poetic feeling Lady N. perhaps comes nearer than any other Scottish song-writer to Burns, and many of her lyrics are enshrined in the hearts of her fellow-countrymen.  Among the best of them are The Land of the Leal (1798), Caller Herrin’, The Laird o’ Cockpen, The Auld House, The Rowan Tree, The Hundred Pipers, and Will ye no come back Again? The Jacobitism of some of these and many others was, of course, purely sentimental and poetical, like that of Scott.  She was a truly religious and benevolent character, and the same modesty which concealed her authorship withdrew from public knowledge her many deeds of charity.

NAPIER, MARK (1798-1879).—­Historian, s. of a lawyer in Edinburgh, was called to the Bar, practised as an advocate, and was made Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway.  He pub. Memoirs of the Napiers, of Montrose, and of Graham of Claverhouse, the last of which gave rise to much controversy.  N. wrote from a strongly Cavalier and Jacobite standpoint, and had remarkably little of the judicial spirit in his methods.  His writings, however, have some historical value.

NAPIER, SIR WILLIAM FRANCIS PATRICK (1785-1860).—­was one of the sons of Col. the Hon. George N. and Lady Sarah Lennox, dau. of the 2nd Duke of Richmond, and the object of a romantic attachment on the part of George III.  One of his brothers was Sir Charles N., the conqueror of Scinde.  Entering the army at 15, he served with great distinction in the Peninsula under Moore and Wellington.  His experiences as a witness and participator in the stupendous events of the war combined with the possession of remarkable acumen and a brilliant style to qualify him for the great work of his life as its historian. The History of the War in the Peninsula and in the South of France from 1807-14 (1828-40) at once took rank as a classic, and superseded all existing works on the subject.  Though not free from prejudice and consequent bias, it remains a masterpiece of historical writing, especially in the description of military operations.  It was translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Persian.  N. also pub. The Conquest of Scinde (1844-46), mainly a defence of his brother Charles, whose life he subsequently wrote.  He became K.C.B. in 1848, and General 1859.