No. 267: The Heir of Linne
[Coffin points out a relationship with this ballad and "The Sea Captain" (See: US version collected by Perrow designated a version of Child 267) along with the US broadside ballads- Johnny the Sailor; Young Johnny. See versions (Recordings & Info: Folk Index) listed under "The Green Bed."]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (The footnotes are found at the end of Child's Narrative)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-B (Changes for B b and B c are found in End-Notes)
5. End-Notes
6. Appendix: The Drunkard's Legacy
7. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 267. The Heir of Linne
A. Roud No. 111: The Heir of Linne (19 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 267. The Heir of Linne (Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. US and Canadian Versions:
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-B)
Child's Narrative:267. The Heir of Linne
A. 'The Heir of Lin,' Percy Manuscript, p. 71; Hales and Furnivall, I, 174.
B. a. 'The Heir of Linne,' Buchan's Manuscripts, I, 40; Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 630; Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 30, Percy Society, vol. xvii.
b. 'The Weary Heir of Linne,' Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 114.
c. 'The Laird o Linne,' Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 112.
The three stanzas cited by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxviii, note 15 (wrongly as to 24), and repeated from Motherwell by Chambers, p. 310, Whitelaw, p. 81, Aytoun, II, 342, are from B a.
A. The heir of Linne, a Scots lord, took to cards, dice, and wine, sold his lands to John o the Scales, and went on in dissolute ways for three fourths of a year longer; then he was forced to go to Edinburgh and beg his bread. Some gave him, some refused him, some bade him go to the devil. Brooding over his destitution, he remembered that his father had left him a paper which he was not to look into till he should be in extreme need. This paper told him of a castle wall in which stood three chests of money. Filling three bags with gold, he went to John o Scales's house. John's wife wished herself a curse if she trusted him a penny. One good fellow in the company offered to lend him forty pence, and forty more, if wanted. John o Scales tendered him his lands back for twenty pounds less than they had been sold for. The heir of Linne called the lords present to witness, threw John a penny to bind the bargain, and counted out the money from his bags. Then he gave the good fellow forty pounds, and made him keeper of his forest, and beshrewed himself if ever he put his lands in jeopardy again.
B. The heir of Linne stands at his father's gates, and nobody asks him in. He is hungry, wet, and cold. As he goes down the town, gentlemen are drinking. Some say, Give him a glass; some say, Give him none. As he goes up the town, fishermen are sitting. Some say, Give him a fish; some say, Give him a fin. He takes the road to Linne,[1] and on the way begs of his nurse a slice of bread and a bottle of wine, promising to pay them back when he is laird of Linne; which he will never be, she says. A score of nobles are dining at Linne. Some say, Give him beef, some say, Give him the bone; some say, Give him nothing at all. The new laird will let him have a sip, and then he may go his gate. At his wits' end, he now recalls a little key given him by his mother before she died, which he was to keep till he was in his greatest need. This key fits a little door somewhere in the castle. He gets gold enough to free his lands. He returns to the company of nobles. The new laird offers him Linne back for a third of what had been paid for it. He takes the guests to witness, and tells the money down on a table. He pays the nurse for her bread and wine. His hose had been down at his ankles; now he has fifteen lords to escort him.[2]
Percy, Reliques, 1765, II, 309, 1794, II, 128 (with some readings of his manuscript restored in the later edition), as he puts it, revised and completed A by "the insertion of supplemental stanzas," "suggested by a modern ballad on a similar subject." In fact, Percy made a new ballad,[3] and a very good one, which, since his day, has passed for 'The Heir of Linne.' (Herd, 1769, p. 227, but afterwards dropped; Ritson, Scotish Songs, II, 129; Ritson, Ancient Songs and Ballads, 1829, II, 81, with a protest; even Chambers, p. 310, Aytoun, II, 342; for the Scottish version had not been printed when these collections appeared.)
The modern ballad on a similar subject used by Percy was 'The Drunkard's Legacy,'[4] an inexpressibly pitiable ditty, from which Percy did not and could not take a line, but only, as he says, a suggestion for the improvement of the story. In this, a gentleman has a thriftless son given over to gaming and drunkenness. The father, foreseeing his ruin, builds a cottage on a waste plat of land, with one door, fastened by a spring-lock. On his death-bed he sends for his son, tells him of the cottage, and directs him, after he has lost all his friends and pawned his lands, to break open the door, for he shall find something within to end his troubles. After the father's death the son spent all his ready money, and then pawned his lands to the keeper of a tavern which he had frequented, who, in the end, kicked him out of doors. Recalling now his father's injunction, the son broke open the cottage, hoping to find money. He saw only 'a gibbet and a rope,' and a stool under the rope. He mounted the stool, put the rope round his neck, and jumped off. The ' gibbet ' broke, and a thousand pound in gold came tumbling about his ears. The young man, with a blessing on his father, vowed to give up drinking. He went to the vintner's, and getting a rough reception, complained of his so treating a man who had pawned to him for three hundred pounds lands bringing in eight score pounds' rent, and besides had spent the money in that shop. The vintner told him to bring a hundred pounds the next day and take the lands back. The young man asked a note to this effect, which was unsuspectingly given. He then went and fetched the money, bringing with him a comrade, 'who had made him drink when moneyless.' The vintner declared that he had spoken in jest, but 'this young man's friend' urged that the written agreement would 'cast' him in law; so the vintner had to take the hundred pounds and give up the deeds, and he cut his throat for mortification. From that time the prodigal lived a sober, charitable life.
Percy's introduction of the lonesome lodge, the hanging, the bursting ceiling, and the father's double admonition, is an improvement too striking to require or bear much comment. It is very far from certain that a young reprobate, who has spent everything in riotous living, will be turned into better courses by simply coming upon more money, as in the traditional ballad; whereas there is a very fair chance that the moral shock received in the other might be efficacious.
There are several Oriental stories which closely resemble that of 'The Drunkard's Legacy,' or of Percy's 'Heir of Linne.'
(1.) Sinadab was left by his father's will free to dispose of a large property, with the exception of a diminutive garden, at the end of which was a small house. This he was on no account to part with. He indulged in reckless profusion, and in about two years everything was spent. The friends of his affluent days abandoned him, all but one, who gave him ten sequins. With only this in hand he set out on a voyage which led to adventures which may be passed over. They ended in his coming again to extreme poverty. He then remembered the little garden which he had been forbidden to sell. He found a small box in the house, and eagerly broke it open. There was nothing in it but a rope, with a writing in his father's hand, rebuking him for his dissipation, and suggesting that, if he had sufficient resolution, he might put an end to his troubles by use of the rope. Sinadab accordingly got up on a stool, fastened the rope to the ceiling, adjusted a noose about his neck, and pushed back the stool. The ceiling gave way, and he was covered with a shower of gold pieces, which proved to be only a trifling part of riches concealed above. His career after this was serious and prudent. Gueulette, 'Les mille et un quart d'heure,' Contes Tartares, Cabinet des Fe*es, XXI, 66-70, 89-93.
(2.) Turkish. A merchant took his son to a certain house, and said, If you waste the wealth I leave, do not beg, but get a rope and hang yourself from this ring. The son squandered his inheritance with sycophants, who reviled him after he was stripped. He got a rope, went to the house, mounted a stool, fastened one end of the rope to the ring, the other about his neck, and threw himself from the stool. A board in which the ring was fastened gave way, the young man fell to the ground, and gold and jewels came pouring upon him. He repented of his profligacy, and reformed his ways. 'The Forty Vezirs,' Gibb, p. 244; Behrnauer, p. 253.
(3.) Arabic. A man charged his son not to beg if he should come to want, for he had hidden a treasure in his house, which, however, he was not to resort to until compelled by dire necessity. After his father's death, the son, without delay, broke into the place where the treasure had been said to be concealed, but found only an empty room, with a rope hanging from the ceiling. Under the rope was a pile of bricks, and a paper recommending him to get up on the bricks and hang himself. The young man went off, and with the assistance of parasites, was soon rid of all his wealth. After a taste of the sharpness of poverty and of the baseness of summer friends, he went to the room where he had expected to find the treasure, stepped on the pile of bricks, tied the rope round his neck, and kicked away the bricks. The rope parted, and a quantity of precious things tumbled from overhead. His false friends promptly returned with prosperity, but were put to shame. Tausend und eine Nacht, Deutsch von Habicht, v. d. Hagen u. Schall, 1840, XIV, 65-68.
(4.) The same story, with some of the details of both 2 and 3, in Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst, Oesterley, p. 400, from the edition of 1533. In Pauli's tale, the young man, after a year of exemplary life in the world, gives all his goods to the poor and turns hermit.
(5.) Persian. Atalmulc's extravagances cause his father great anxiety. The father, when near his end, charges his son, if he should be so unhappy as to dissipate the fortune he will receive, to hang himself to a branch of a tree in the middle of the garden. The bough breaks, and the trunk is found to be full of precious stones. Petis de la Croix, Les Mille et un Jour, Cabinet des Fées, XIV, 457.
There is another and seemingly an independent story, summarized in two distichs in the Greek Anthology (IX, 44, 45, translated by Ausonius, Epigrammata, 22, 23), how a man, who was about to hang himself, found some money, and left his rope behind, and how the owner of the money, coming for it and not finding it, hanged himself with the rope.[5] La Fontaine's fable, 'Le Trésor et les deux Hommes,' IX, 16, is this story, with a wall falling, not by precontrivance, but from its ruinous condition.
The eighth tale in the ninth decade of Giraldi Cinthio's Hecatommithi, 1565, II, 563, is a modification of what may be called the Greek story. "Chera hid a treasure. Elisa, going about to hang herself, and tying the halter about a beam, found that treasure, and in place thereof left the halter. Philene, the daughter of Chera, going for that treasure, and busily searching for the same, found the halter, wherewithal, in despair, she would have hanged herself, but," etc. (Painter's argument to his translation of Cinthio's tale in the Palace of Pleasure, 2d Tome (1567), 11th novel, ed. Jacobs, II, 264.)
The Greek Syntipas has another variety. A man, reduced to want, takes a sword and goes to a lonely place to end his misery. He finds in a deep hole or fosse a quantity of gold which has been hidden there by a cyclops, takes it, and goes back to his house very happy. The cyclops, coming to the spot and not finding his gold, but seeing the sword lying about, slays himself. Matthæi, Syntipæ Fabulæ, 1781, p. 38, #956;η; Coray, Æsop, p. 246, No 384.[6]
A tale in Anvár-i Suhailí has been cited in connection with the foregoing, which has only a general and remote resemblance to 'The Heir of Linne.' A wise king, perceiving that his two unpromising sons would misuse his treasures, buries them in a hermitage. After his death, his sons quarrel about the succession. The younger is worsted, and brought so low that he abandons the world, and selects this hermitage for his retirement. Here he learns wisdom that is better than riches, and also discovers the buried treasure. Both the elder brother and a king with whom he is at variance are killed in a fight, and the younger is offered a double kingdom. (Chapter I, story II, Eastwick, p. 74; also, Contes et Fables Indiennes de Bidpaï et de Lokman (Galland), Cabinet des Fées, XVII, 122; The Fables of Pilpay, London, 1818, p. 51.)
Percy's ballad is translated by Bodmer, II, 117, and by Knortz, Lieder und Romanzen Alt-Englands, p. 78.
Footnotes:
1. Cane in hand, 103, 223. This is bad enough, but not quite so bad as the woman with cane in hand, 'Tam Lin,' III, 505, 162, and 'The Kitchie-Boy,' No 252, E 62. The mantle and cane are a commonplace. See also E 14 of No 252, No 76, G 3, and No 97, B 202.
2. The Gallowgate port of B a 35 belongs to Aberdeen.
3. Of the 212 lines of Percy's ballad, some 80, or the substance of them, occur in the Manuscript copy, and half a dozen more of the 216 lines of the 4th edition.
4. Reprinted by Dixon, Ancient Poems, Ballads, etc., p. 151, Percy Society, vol. xvii, from a chap-book.
5. 44. Χρυσὸν ἀνὴρ εὑρὼν ἔλιπε βρόχον· αὐτὰρ ὁ χρυσὸν ὅν λίπεν οὐχ εὑρὼν ἧψεν ὅν εὗρε βρόχον.
6. All the above tales, except Pauli's, have been cited, in one connection or another, by Dunlop, History of Fiction, (II, 201, of Wilson's late edition); by Benfey, Pantschatantra, I, 97 f.; or by Liebrecht, Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen, 1868, p. 1891. Oesterley, in his note to Pauli, 16, p. 552 f., refers to three sixteenth-century story-books which I have not seen. Robert, Fables Inédites, etc., II, 232, in his note to La Fontaine, IX, 16, refers to other fabulists. Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions, II, 55, gives from some old magazine a story after the pattern of the Greek distich.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
Percy, Reliques, 1765, n, 309 (1794, n, 128), revised and completed A by "the insertion of supplemental stanzas," "suggested by a modern ballad on a similar subject." In fact, Percy made a new ballad, and a very good one, which since his day has passed for 'The Heir of Linne.' The modern ballad on a similar subject used by Percy was 'The Drunkard's Legacy,' an inexpressibly pitiable ditty, from which Percy did not and could not take a line, but only, as he says, a suggestion for the improvement of the story.
There are several Oriental stories which closely resemble that of 'The Drunkard's Legacy,' or of Percy's 'Heir of Linne.' Such are the tale of Sinadab (Gueulette. Contes Tartares. Cabinet des Fées, xxi, 66 ff., 89 ff.); The Forty Vezirs, Gibb, p. 244; Arabian Nights. Habicht, von der Hagen u. Schall, 1840, xiv, 65 ff., etc. Cf . also the Greek Anthology, ix, 44, 45 (translated by Ausonius, Epigrammata, 22, 23); Giraldi Cinthio, Hecatommithi, 1565, n, 563; the Greek Syntipas, AEsop, ed. Coray, p. 246, No, 384; Anvar-i Suhaill, Eastwick, p. 74.
Child's Ballad Texts
'The Heir of Lin'- Version A; Child 267 The Heir of Linne
Percy Manuscript, p. 71; Hales and Furnivall, I, 174.
1 Off all the lords in faire Scottland
A song I will begin;
Amongst them all there dweld a lord
Which was the vnthrifty lord of Linne.
2 His father and mother were dead him froe,
And soe was the head of all his kinne;
To the cards and dice that he did run
He did neither cease no bl[i]nne.
3 To drinke the wine that was soe cleere,
With euery man he wold make merry;
And then bespake him Iohn of the Scales,
Vnto the heire of Linne sayd hee.
4 Sayes, How dost thou, Lord of Linne?
Doest either want gold or fee?
Wilt thou not sell they lands soe brode
To such a good fellow as me?
5 'Ffor . . I . '.' he said,
'My land, take it vnto thee;'
'I draw you to record, my lord[ ]s all;'
With that he cast him a god's peny.
6 He told him the gold vpon the bord,
It wanted neuer a bare penny:
'That gold is thine, the land is mine,
The heire of Linne I wilbee.'
7 'Heere's gold inoughe,' saithe the heire of Linne,
'Both for me and my company:'
He drunke the wine that was soe cleere,
And with euery man he made merry.
8 With-in three quarters of a yeere
His gold and fee it waxed thinne,
His merry men were from him gone,
And left him himselfe all alone.
9 He had neuer a penny left in his pursse,
Neuer a penny [left] but three,
And one was brasse, and another was lead,
And another was white mony.
10 'Now well-aday!' said the heire of Linne,
'Now welladay, and woe is mee!
For when I was the lord of Linne,
I neither wanted gold nor fee.
11 'For I haue sold my lands soe broad,
And haue not left me one penny;
I must goe now and take some read
Vnto Edenborrow, and begg my bread.'
12 He had not beene in Edenborrow
Not three qwarters of a yeere,
But some did giue him, and some said nay,
And some bid 'To the deele gang yee!
13 'For if we shold hang any landles feer,
The first we wold begin with thee.'
'Now welladay!' said the heire of Linne,
'No[w] welladay, and woe is mee!
14 'For now I have sold my lands soe broad,
That mery man is irke with mee;
But when that I was the lord of Linne,
Then on my land I liued merrily.
15 'And now I have sold my land soe broade
That I haue not left me one pennye!
God be with my father!' he said,
'On his land he liued merrily.'
16 Still in a study there as he stood,
He vnbethought him of [a] bill;
He vnbethought him of [a] bill
Which his father had left with him.
17 Bade him he shold neuer on it looke
Till he was in extreame neede,
'And by my faith,' said the heire of Linne,
'Then now I had neuer more neede.'
18 He tooke the bill, and looked it on,
Good comfort that he found there;
Itt told him of a castle wall
Where there stood three chests in feare.
19 Two were full of the beaten gold,
The third was full of white mony;
He turned then downe his baggs of bread,
And filled them full of gold soe red.
20 Then he did neuer cease nor blinne
Till Ihon of the Scales house he did winne.
When that he came to Iohn of the Scales,
Vpp at the speere he looked then.
21 There sate three lords vpon a rowe,
And Iohn o the Scales sate at the bord's head,
And Iohn o the Scales sate at the bord's head,
Because he was the lord of Linne.
22 And then bespake the heire of Linne,
To Iohn o the Scales' wiffe thus sayd hee:
Sayd, Dame, wilt thou not trust me one shott
That I may sitt downe in this company?
23 'Now, Christ's curse on my head,' shee said,
'If I doe trust thee one pennye;
Then be-spake a good fellowe,
Which sate by Iohn o the Scales his knee.
24 Said, Haue thou here, thou heire of Linne,
Forty pence I will lend thee;
Some time a good fellow thou hast beene;
And other forty if neede bee.
25 Th dru[n]ken wine that was soe cleere,
And euery man th made merry;
And then bespake him Iohn o the Scales,
Vnto the lord of Linne said hee.
26 Said, How doest thou, heire of Linne,
Since I did buy thy lands of thee?
I will sell it to thee twenty pound better cheepe
Nor euer I did buy it of thee.
27 'I draw you to recorde, lord[ ]s all,'
With that he cast him [a] god's penny;
Then he tooke to his baggs of bread,
And they were full of the gold soe redd.
28 He told him the gold then over the borde,
It wanted neuer a broad pennye:
'that gold is thine, the land is mine,
And the heire of Linne againe I wilbee.'
29 'Now welladay!' said Iohn o the Scales' wife,
'Welladay, and woe is me!
Yesterday I was the lady of Linne,
And now I am but Iohn o the Scales' wiffe!'
30 Saies, Haue thou heere, thou good fellow,
Forty pence thou did lend me,
Forty pence thou did lend me,
And forty pound I will giue thee.
31 'Ile make thee keeper of my forrest
Both of the wild deere and the tame,'
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
32 But then bespake the heire of Linne,
These were the words, and thus said hee,
Christs curse light vpon my crowne
If ere my land stand in any ieopardye!
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'The Heir of Linne'- Version B; Child 267 The Heir of Linne
a. Buchan's Manuscripts, I, 40.
1 'The bonny heir, and the well-faird heir,
And the weary heir o Linne,
Yonder he stands at his father's yetts,
And naebody bids him come in.
2 'O see for he gangs, an see for he stands,
The weary heir o Linne!
O see for he stands on the cauld casey,
And nae an bids him come in!
3 'But if he had been his father's heir,
Or yet the heir o Linne,
He wadna stand on the cauld casey,
Some an woud taen him in.'
4 'Sing ower again that sang, nourice,
The sang ye sung just now;'
'I never sung a sang in my life
But I woud sing ower to you.
5 'O see for he gangs, an see for he stands,
The weary heir o Linne!
O see for he stands on the cauld casey,
An nae an bids him come in!
6 'But if he had been his father's heir,
Or yet the heir o Linne,
He woudna stand on the cauld casye,
Some an woud taen him in.
7 'When his father's lands a selling were,
His claise lay well in fauld,
But now he wanders on the shore,
Baith hungry, weet, and cauld.'
8 As Willie he gaed down the town,
The gentlemen were drinking;
Some bade gie Willie a glass, a glass,
And some bade him gie nane,
Some bade gie Willie a glass, a glass,
The weary heir o Linne.
9 As Willie he came up the town,
The fishers were a' sitting;
Some bade gie Willie a fish, a fish,
Some bade gie him a fin,
Some bade gie him a fish, a fish,
And lat the palmer gang.
10 He turned him right and round about,
As will as a woman's son,
And taen his cane into his hand,
And on his way to Linne.
11 His nourice at her window lookd,
Beholding dale and down,
And she beheld this distressd young man
Come walking to the town.
12 'Come here, come here, Willie,' she said,
'And rest yoursel wi me;
I hae seen you in better days,
And in jovial companie.'
13 'Gie me a sheave o your bread, nourice,
And a bottle o your wine,
And I'll pay you it a' ower again,
When I'm laird o Linne.'
14 'Ye'se get a sheave o my bread, Willie,
And a bottle o my wine,
But ye'll pay me when the seas gang dry,
For ye'll neer be heir o Linne.'
15 Then he turnd him right and round about,
As will as woman's son,
And aff he set, and bent his way,
And straightway came to Linne.
16 But when he came to that castle,
They were set down to dine;
A score o nobles there he saw,
Sat drinking at the wine.
17 Then some bade gie him beef, the beef,
And some bade gie him the bane;
And some bade gie him naething at a',
But lat the palmer gang.
18 Then out it speaks the new-come laird,
A saucy word spake hee;
'Put round the cup, gie my rival a sup,
Let him fare on his way.'
19 Then out it speaks Sir Ned Magnew,
Ane o young Willie's kin;
'This youth was ance a sprightly boy
As ever lived in Linne.'
20 He turned him right and round about,
As will as woman's son,
Then minded him on a little wee key,
That his mother left to him.
21 His mother left [him] this little wee key
A little before she died;
And bade him keep this little wee key
Till he was in maist need.
22 Then forth he went, these nobles left,
All drinkin' in the room,
Wi walking rod intill his hand,
He walked the castle roun.
23 There he found out a little door,
For there the key slipped in,
And there [he] got as muckle red gowd
As freed the lands o Linne.
24 Back through the nobles then he went,
A saucy man was then:
'I'll take the cup frae this new-come laird,
For he neer bade me sit down.'
25 Then out it speaks the new-come laird,
He spake wi mock an jeer;
'I'd gie a seat to the laird o Linne,
Sae be that he were here.
26 'When the lands o Linne a selling were,
A' men said they were free;
This lad shall hae them frae me this day,
If he'll gie the third pennie.'
27 'I take ye witness, nobles a',
Guide witnesses ye'll be;
I'm promisd the lands o Linne this day,
If I gie the third pennie.'
28 'Ye've taen us witness, Willie,' they said,
'Guide witnesses we'll be;'
'Buy the lands o Linne who likes,
They'll neer be bought by thee.'
29 He's done him to a gaming-table,
For it stood fair and clean;
There he tauld down as much rich gowd
As freed the lands o Linne.
30 Thus having done, he turnd about,
A saucy man was he;
'Take up your monie, my lad,' he says,
'Take up your third pennie.
31 'Aft hae I gane wi barefeet cauld,
Likewise wi legs full bare,
An mony days walkd at these yetts
Wi muckle dool and care.
32 'But now my sorrow's past and gane,
And joy's returned to me,
And here i've gowd enough forbye,
Ahin this third pennie.'
33 As Willie he gaed down the town,
There he crawd wonderous crouse;
He calld the may afore them a',
The nourice o the house,
34 'Come here, come here, my nurse,' he says,
'I'll pay your bread and wine;
Seas ebb and flow [as] they wont to do,
Yet i'm the laird o Linne.'
35 As he gaed up the Gallowgate port,
His hose abeen his sheen;
But lang ere he came down again
Was convoyed by lords fifeteen.
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End-Notes
A. 2. The third and fourth lines are fourth and third.
3. There is probably a gap after the second line.
51. Ffor wanting: supplied from the bottom of the preceding page.
54. a good-se.
71. Lime.
81, 92, 122, 184, 192, 211. 3.
131. Land self eer.
162 has bis prefixed to it.
191. 2.
201. blime.
203. Scalels: misprint?
212 has bis prefixed.
20, 21, are written together.
242,4, 302,3. 40.
263. 20li.
284, 321. Lime,
302 marked bis.
304. 40li.
B. a. 92. a; b, all.
142. o your.
144. But ye'll: cf. b.
232. For there; perhaps simply For ( = Where).
b. 1 wanting.
23. on that.
23, 33, 53, 63. causey.
41. that sang again.
61. if ye, wrongly.
13, 14 follow 6.
7 wanting.
92. were all.
95. And some: gie 'm.
10-12 wanting.
131. twa sheaves.
132. And ae glass.
133. And I will pay you them back again.
134. The day I'm heir of.
141. get three sheaves.
142. And twa glass.
143. But I'll he paid: sea gangs.
144. For ye'll.
15-19 wanting.
201,2. As Willie was sitting one day alane,
And nae hody him wi.
203. He minded on.
204. That's mither to him did gie.
205,6. Bade him never open a lock wi it
Ere the greatest strait he could see.
21, 22 wanting.
23. Then he did spy a little wee lock,
And the key gied linking in,
And he got goud and money therein
To pay the lands o Linne.
24-32 wanting.
35, 33, 34, for 33-35.
331,2. When Willie he came to the ha,
There he cried out wonderous crouse.
341. Come down, come down, nourice, he said.
342. Ere I pay you your.
343. For ye will be paid ere the seas gang dry.
344. For this day I 'm heir.
351. As Willie he gied down the town.
353. But when that he came up again.
Both Motherwell in copying the ballad (which he in all likelihood received from Buchan), and Dixon in printing it, made a few changes: as (Motherwell) the northern for in 21,3, to whare, but not in 292, where for also = where.
c. "The editor can trace the air and ballad here given as far back as 1775, through an aged relative who died in 1842 in her eightieth year, and who had it from her mother." Christie neither professed nor practised a rigid fidelity to texts, and this copy, at best not a valuable one,' is given for the little it may be worth.
1 O yonder he stands, and there he gangs,
The weary heir o Linne,
Yonder he stands on the cauld causey,
And nane bids him come in.
2 But it fell ance upon a day
The sheets were laid in fauld,
And poor Willie found he had nae friends,
And it was wondrous cauld.
3 'Oh, one sheave o your bread, nourice,
And one glass o your wine,
And I will pay you oer again
When I am laird o Linne.'
4 'Oh, one sheave o my bread, Willie,
And one glass o my wine,
But the seas will be dry ere ye pay me again,
For ye'll never be laird o Linne.'
5 But he mind't him up, and he mind't him down,
And he mind't him oer again,
And he mind't him on a little wee key
That his mother gae to him.
6 He did him to the house o Linne,
He sought it up and down,
And there he found a little wee door,
And the key gaed slippin in.
7 And he got gowd, and he got gear,
He got gowd stord within,
And he got gowd, and he got gear,
Thrice worth the lands o Linne.
8 He did him to the tavern straight,
Where nobles were drinking therein;
The greatest noble among them a'
Was near to Willie o kin.
9 And some of them bade him fish to eat,
And some of them bade him a fin,
And some of them bade him nothing at a',
For he 'd never be father's son.
10 But out it spake an aged knicht,
And vow but he spake slie!
'I'll sell you your father's land back again
All for the third pennie.'
11 'I take witness upon you here,' he says,
'I take witness upon thee,
That you will sell me my father's land again
All for the third pennie.'
12 Then he took out a little wee coffer,
And he set it on his knee,
And he told the goud down on the table roun,
Says, Tak up your third pennie.
13 Come ben, come ben, my good nourice,
I'll pay you when you come ben;
For the seas are not dry, and I'll pay you back again,
For I'm again the laird o Linne.'
14 Poor Willie that night at eight o'clock
Had his stockings abeen his sheen,
But ere the morrow at twelve o'clock
He was convoyd by lords sixteen.
Appendix: The Heir of Linne
(From a Broadside among Percy's Papers.)
The Drunkard's Legacy
In three parts
Part I
1 Young people all I pray draw near,
And listen to my ditty here,
Which subject shews that drunkenness
Brings many mortals to distress.
2 As for example now I can
Tell you of one, a gentleman,
Who had a very good estate;
His earthly travels they were great.
3 We understand he had a son
Who a lewd wicked race did run;
He daily spent his father's store,
When moneyless he came for more.
4 The father oftentimes with tears
Would sound this alarm in his ears:
'Son, thou dost all thy comforts blast,
And thou wilt come to want at last.'
5 The son these words did little mind;
To cards and dice he was inclind,
Feeding his drunken appetite
In taverns, which was his delight
6 The father, ere it was too late,
He had a project in his pate,
Before his aged days were gone
To make provision for his son.
7 Near to his house, we understand,
He had a waste plat of land,
Which did but little profit yield,
On which he had a cottage built.
8 'The Wise-Man's Project' was its name;
There was few windows in the same;
Only one door, substanti[a]l thing,
Shut by a lock went by a spring.
9 Soon after he had playd this trick,
It was his lot for to fall sick;
As on his bed he did lament,
Then for his drunken son he sent.
10 Who, sent for, came to his bed-side;
Seeing his son, he then reply'd,
'I sent for you to make my will,
Which do you faithfully fulfil.
11 'To such one cottage is one door;
Neer open it, do thou be sure,
Until thou art so poor that all
Do then despise you, great and small.
12 'For to my grief I do perceive
When I am dead this life you live
Will soon melt all thou hast away:
Do not forget these words, I pray.
13 'When thou hast made thy friends thy foes,
Pawnd all thy lands, and sold thy cloaths,
Break ope the door, and there depend
To find something thy grief to end.'
14 Thus being spoke, the son did say,
Your dying words I will obey;
Soon after this his father dear
Did die and buried was, we hear.
Part II
15 Now pray observe the second part,
And you shall hear his sottish heart:
He did in taverns so frequent
Till he three hundred pounds had spent.
16 This being done, we understand
He pawnd the deeds of all his land
Unto a tavern-keeper, who
When poor did him no favour shew.
17 For to fulfil his father's will
He did command this cottage still;
At length great sorrow was his share,
Quite moneyless, with garments bare.
18 Being not able for to work,
He in the tavern there did lurk,
From box to box, among rich men,
Who often times revil'd him then.
19 To see him sneak so up and down,
The vintner on him he did frown,
And one night kickd him out of door,
Charging him to come there no more.
20 He in a stall did lie all night,
In this most sad and w[r]etched plight;
Then thought it was high time for he
His father's legacy to see.
21 Next morning, then, opprest with woe,
This young man got an iron crow,
And, as in tears he did lament,
Unto this little cottage went.
22 When he this door had open got,
This poor distressed drunken sot,
Who did for store of money hope,
He saw a gibbet and a rope.
23 Under this rope was plac'd a stool,
Which made him look much like a fool,
Crying, Alas, what shall I do!
Destruction now appears in view.
24 'As my father foresaw this thing,
What sottishness to me would bring,
As moneyless and free of grace,
This legacy I will embrace.'
25 So then, opprest with discontent,
Upon the stool he sighing went,
And then, his precious life to check,
Did place this rope about his neck.
26 Crying, Thou God, who sittst on high,
Who on my sorrows hast an eye,
But thou knowst I have not done well,
Preserve my precious soul from hell.
27 'T is true the slighting of thy grace
Brought me to this most wretched case,
And as thro folly I 'm undone,
I'll now eclipse my morning sun.'
28 When he with sigh had these words spoke,
Jumpt off, and down the gibbet broke;
In falling, as it plain appears,
Droppd down about this young man's ears,
29 In shining gold, a thousand pound,
Which made the blood his ears surround:
Tho in amaze, he cry'd, I 'm sure
This golden salve will heal the sore.
30 'Blest be my father,' then he cry'd,
'Who did this portion for me hide,
And while I do alive remain
I never will be drunk again.'
Part III
31 Now by [the] third part you will hear
This young man, as it does appear,
With care he then secur'd his chink,
And to this vintner went to drink.
32 When the proud vintner did him see,
He frownd on him immediately,
And said, Begone, or else with speed
I'll kick thee out of doors indeed.
33 With smiles the young man he did say,
Thou cruel knave, tell me, I pray,
As I have here consum'd my store,
What makes thee kick me out of door?
34 To me thou hast been too severe,
The deeds of eight-score pounds a year
I pawnd them for three hundred pound;
Which I spent here; what makes thee frown?
35 The vintner said unto him, Sirrah,
Bring me one hundred pounds tomorrow
By nine o'clock, take them again:
So get you out of doors till then.
36 He answerd, If this chink I bring,
I fear thou wilt do no such thing;
He said, I'll give under mine hand
A note that I to this will stand.
37 Having the note, away he goes,
And straightway went to one of those
Who made him drink when moneyless,
And did the truth to him confess.
38 They both went to this heap of gold,
Wherre in a bag he fairly told
A thousand pounds in yellow boys,
And to this tavern went their ways.
39 This bag they on the table set,
Which made the vintner for to fret,
And said, Young man, this will not do,
For I was but in jest with you.
40 So then bespoke this young man's friend,
And [said], Vintner, thou mayst depend
In law this note it will you cast,
And he must have his land at last.
41 This made the vintner to comply,
Who fetchd the deeds immediately;
He had one hundred pounds, and then
The young man got his deeds again.
42 At length, the vintner, for to think
How he was foold out of his chink,
Said, When 't is found how I came off
My neighbours will me game and scoff.
43 So, to prevent their game and laughter,
The vintner, in a few days after,
Being void of grace, as will appear,
He cut his throat from ear to ear.
44 Thus he untimely left the world,
Who to this young man prov'd a churl;
Now he who followd drunkenness
Lives sober and [does] his lands possess.
45 Instead of wasting all his store,
As formerly, resolves no more
To act the same, but does inde[e]d
Poor fatherless and mother-feed.
46 'And let all young men, for my sake,
Take care how you such havock make,
For drunkenness, you plain may see,
Was near my ruin for to be.'
Printed and sold in Bow-Church-Yard, London.
Additions and Corrections
Supplementary
18 a. For C read c. [Changed above]