V.
THE HEIR OF LINNE.
The original of this ballad is found in the Editor's folio MS., the breaches and defects in which rendered the insertion of supplemental stanzas necessary. These, it is hoped, the reader will pardon, as indeed the completion of the story was suggested by a modern ballad on a similar subject.
From the Scottish phrases here and there discernible in this poem, it should seem to have been originally composed beyond the Tweed.
The Heir of Linne appears not to have been a Lord of Parliament, but a Laird, whose title went along with his estate.
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[In the folio MS. Percy wrote the following note: "This old copy (tho' a very indifferent fragment) I thought deserving of some attention. I have therefore bestowed an entire revisal of the subject for my _Reliques_, &c." In this revisal, the Bishop swelled out the 125 lines of the original into the 216 of his own version. It has, therefore, been necessary to print a copy of the original at the end of the present ballad. The modern ballad referred to above is the _Drunkard's Legacy_, printed in J. H. Dixon's _Ballads of the Peasantry_, but it is only comparatively modern, as it dates back to a period long before Percy's time. The portion which Percy interpolated and took from this ballad, forms the end of the first part and beginning of the second part of the following version.
The incident by which the hidden treasure is discovered occurs in one of the stories of Cinthio's _Heccatomithi_ (Dec. ix. Nov. 8), but the arguments of the two tales are in other respects different. The Scotch claim this ballad as their own. Some suppose the hero to have been an Ayrshire laird, and others that he was from Galloway. Motherwell gives the following verses as the commencement of the traditionary version extant in Scotland:
"The bonnie heir, the weel-faur'd heir, And the weary heir o' Linne, Yonder he stands at his father's gate, And naebody bids him come in, O see whare he gaup and see whare he stands, The weary heir o' Linne, O see whare he stands on the cauld causey, Some ane wuld ta'en him in. But if he had been his father's heir, Or yet the heir o' Linne, He wadna stand on the cauld causey, Some ane wuld ta'en him in."]
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PART THE FIRST.
Lithe[539] and listen, gentlemen, To sing a song I will beginne: It is of a lord of faire Scotlànd, Which was the unthrifty heire of Linne.
His father was a right good lord, 5 His mother a lady of high degree; But they, alas! were dead, him froe, And he lov'd keeping companie.
To spend the daye with merry cheare, To drinke and revell every night, 10 To card and dice from eve to morne, It was, I ween, his hearts delighte
To ride, to runne, to rant, to roare, To alwaye spend and never spare, I wott, an' it were the king himselfe, 15 Of gold and fee he mote be bare.
Soe fares the unthrifty lord of Linne Till all his gold is gone and spent; And he maun sell his landes so broad, His house, and landes, and all his rent. 20
His father had a keen stewàrde, And John o' the Scales was called hee: But John is become a gentel-man, And John has gott both gold and fee.[540]
Sayes, Welcome, welcome, lord of Linne, 25 Let nought disturb thy merry cheere; Iff thou wilt sell thy landes soe broad, Good store of gold Ile give thee heere.
My gold is gone, my money is spent; My lande nowe take it unto the: 30 Give me the golde, good John o' the Scales, And thine for aye my lande shall bee.
Then John he did him to record draw, And John he cast him a gods-pennie;[541] But for every pounde that John agreed, 35 The lande, I wis, was well worth three.
He told him the gold upon the borde, He was right glad his land to winne: The gold is thine, the land is mine, And now Ile be the lord of Linne. 40
Thus he hath sold his land soe broad, Both hill and holt,[542] and moore and fenne, All but a poore and lonesome lodge, That stood far off in a lonely glenne.
For soe he to his father hight. 45 My sonne, when I am gonne, sayd hee, Then thou wilt spend thy lande so broad, And thou wilt spend thy gold so free:
But sweare me nowe upon the roode, That lonesome lodge thou'lt never spend; 50 For when all the world doth frown on thee, Thou there shalt find a faithful friend.
The heire of Linne is full of golde: And come with me, my friends, sayd hee, Let's drinke, and rant, and merry make, 55 And he that spares, ne'er mote he thee.
They ranted, drank, and merry made, Till all his gold it waxed thinne; And then his friendes they slunk away; They left the unthrifty heire of Linne. 60
He had never a penny left in his purse, Never a penny left but three, And one was brass, another was lead,[543] And another it was white monèy.[543]
Nowe well-aday, sayd the heire of Linne,[543] 65 Nowe well-aday, and woe is mee, For when I was the lord of Linne, I never wanted gold nor fee.
But many a trustye friend have I, And why shold I feel dole or care? 70 Ile borrow of them all by turnes, Soe need I not be never bare.
But one, I wis, was not at home; Another had payd his gold away; Another call'd him thriftless loone, 75 And bade him sharpely wend his way.
Now well-aday, sayd the heire of Linne, Now well-aday, and woe is me! For when I had my landes so broad, On me they liv'd right merrilee. 80
To beg my bread from door to door I wis, it were a brenning shame: To rob and steal it were a sinne: To worke my limbs I cannot frame.
Now Ile away to lonesome lodge, 85 For there my father bade me wend; When all the world should frown on mee, I there shold find a trusty friend.
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PART THE SECOND.
Away then hyed the heire of Linne O'er hill and holt,[544] and moor and fenne, Untill he came to lonesome lodge, That stood so lowe in a lonely glenne.
He looked up, he looked downe, 5 In hope some comfort for to winne: But bare and lothly[545] were the walles. Here's sorry cheare, quo' the heire of Linne.
The little windowe dim and darke Was hung with ivy, brere, and yewe; 10 No shimmering sunn here ever shone; No halesome breeze here ever blew.
No chair, ne table he mote spye, No chearful hearth, ne welcome bed, Nought save a rope with renning noose, 15 That dangling hung up o'er his head.
And over it in broad lettèrs, These words were written so plain to see: "Ah! gracelesse wretch, hast spent thine all, And brought thyselfe to penurìe? 20
"And this my boding mind misgave, I therefore left this trusty friend: Let it now sheeld thy foule disgrace, And all thy shame and sorrows end."
Sorely shent[546] wi' this rebuke, 25 Sorely shent was the heire of Linne; His heart, I wis, was near to brast With guilt and sorrowe, shame and sinne.
Never a word spake the heire of Linne, Never a word he spake but three: 30 "This is a trusty friend indeed, And is right welcome unto mee."
Then round his necke the corde he drewe, And sprang aloft with his bodìe:[556] When lo! the ceiling burst in twaine, 35 And to the ground came tumbling hee.
Astonyed lay the heire of Linne, Ne knewe if he were live or dead: At length he looked, and sawe a bille,[547] And in it a key of gold so redd. 40
He took the bill, and lookt it on, Strait good comfort found he there: Itt told him of a hole in the wall, In which there stood three chests in-fere.[548]
Two were full of the beaten golde, 45 The third was full of white monèy; And over them in broad lettèrs These words were written so plaine to see:
"Once more, my sonne, I sette thee clere; Amend thy life and follies past; 50 For but thou amend thee of thy life, That rope must be thy end at last."
And let it bee, sayd the heire of Linne; And let it bee, but if I amend:[549] For here I will make mine avow, 55 This reade[550] shall guide me to the end.
Away then went with a merry cheare, Away then went the heire of Linne; I wis, he neither ceas'd ne blanne,[551] Till John o' the Scales house he did winne.[552] 60
And when he came to John o' the Scales, Upp at the speere[553] then looked hee; There sate three lords upon a rowe, Were drinking of the wine so free.
And John himself sate at the bord-head, 65 Because now lord of Linne was hee. I pray thee, he said, good John o' the Scales, One forty pence for to lend mee.
Away, away, thou thriftless loone; Away, away, this may not bee: 70 For Christs curse on my head, he sayd, If ever I trust thee one pennìe.
Then bespake the heire of Linne, To John o' the Scales wife then spake he: Madame, some almes on me bestowe, 75 I pray for sweet saint Charitìe.
Away, away, thou thriftless loone, I swear thou gettest no almes of mee; For if we shold hang any losel[554] heere, The first we wold begin with thee. 80
Then bespake a good fellòwe, Which sat at John o' the Scales his bord; Sayd, Turn againe, thou heire of Linne; Some time thou wast a well good lord:
Some time a good fellow thou hast been, 85 And sparedst not thy gold and fee; Therefore Ile lend thee forty pence, And other forty if need bee.
And ever, I pray thee, John o' the Scales, To let him sit in thy companie: 90 For well I wot thou hadst his land, And a good bargain it was to thee.
Up then spake him John o' the Scales, All wood[555] he answer'd him againe: Now Christs curse on my head, he sayd, 95 But I did lose by that bargàine.
And here I proffer thee, heire of Linne, Before these lords so faire and free, Thou shalt have it backe again better cheape, By a hundred markes, than I had it of thee. 100
I drawe you to record, lords, he said. With that he cast him a gods pennie:[556] Now by my fay, sayd the heire of Linne, And here, good John, is thy monèy.
And he pull'd forth three bagges of gold, 105 And layd them down upon the bord: All woe begone was John o' the Scales, Soe shent he cold say never a word.
He told him forth the good red gold, He told it forth [with] mickle dinne. 110 The gold is thine, the land is mine, And now Ime againe the lord of Linne.
Sayes, Have thou here, thou good fellòwe, Forty pence thou didst lend mee: Now I am againe the lord of Linne, 115 And forty pounds I will give thee.
Ile make the keeper of my forrest, Both of the wild deere and the tame; For but[557] I reward thy bounteous heart, I wis, good fellowe, I were to blame. 120
Now welladay! sayth Joan o' the Scales: Now welladay! and woe is my life! Yesterday I was lady of Linne, Now Ime but John o' the Scales his wife.
Now fare thee well, sayd the heire of Linne; 125 Farewell now, John o' the Scales, said hee: Christs curse light on me, if ever again I bring my lands in jeopardy.
[***]
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[+±+] In the present edition of this ballad several ancient readings are restored from the folio MS.
[Illustration]
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The following original version of the _Heir of Linne_ is reprinted from Hales and Furnivall's edition of the folio MS. vol. i. p. 174:
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. 4
his father & mother were dead him froe, & soe was the head of all his kinne; he did neither cease nor bl[i]nne to the cards & dice that he did run, 8
to drinke the wine that was soe cleere, with euery man he wold make merry. and then bespake him John of the Scales, vnto the heire of Linne sayd hee, 12
sayes, "how dost thou, Lord of Linne, doest either want gold or fee? wilt thou not sell thy lands soe brode to such a good fellow as me? 16
"ffor ... I ..." he said, "my land, take it vnto thee, I draw you to record, my Lord[e]s all:" with that he cast him a good-se peny, 20
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." 24
"heeres gold inoughe," saithe the heire of Linne, "both for me & my company." he drunke the wine that was soe cleere, & with euery man he made merry. 28
with-in 3 quarters of a yeere his gold & fee it waxed thinne, his merry men were from him gone, & left him himselfe all alone. 32
he had neuer a penny left in his pursse, neuer a penny but 3, & one was brasse, & another was lead, & another was white mony. 36
"Now well-a day!" said the heire of Linne, "now welladay, & woe is mee! for when I was the lord of Linne, I neither wanted gold nor fee; 40
"for I haue sold my lands soe broad, & haue not left me one penny! I must goe now & take some read vnto Edenborrow, & begg my bread." 44
he had not beene in Edenborrow not 3 qwarters of a yeere, but some did giue him & some said nay, & some bid "to the deele gang yee! 48
"for if we shold hang any Land selfeer, the first we wold begin with thee." "Now welladay!" said the heire of Linne, no[w] welladay, & woe is mee! 52
"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; 56
"& 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." 60
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, 64
bade him he shold neuer on it looke till he was in extreame neede, "& by my faith," said the heire of Linne, "then now I had neuer more neede." 68
he tooke the bill, & looked it on, good comfort that he found there; itt told him of a Castle wall where there stood 3 chests in feare: 72
2 were full of the beaten gold, the 3 was full of white mony. he turned then downe his baggs of bread, & filled them full of gold soe red; 76
then he did neuer cease nor blinne till John of the Scales house he did winne. when that he came to John of the Scales, vpp at the speere he looked then: 80 there sate 3 lords vpon a rowe, and John o the Scales sate at the bords head, [and John o the Scales sate at the bords head] because he was the Lord of Linne. 84
and then bespake the heire of Linne, to John o the Scales wiffe thus sayd hee: sayd, "Dame, wilt thou not trust me one shott that I may sitt downe in this company?" 88
"now, christs curse on my head," shee said, "if I do trust thee one pennye." then bespake a good fellowe, which sate by John o the Scales his knee, 92
Said, "haue thou here, thou heire of linne, 40 pence I will lend thee,-- some time a good fellow thou hast beene,-- & other 40 if neede bee," 96
thé druken wine that was soe cleere, & euery man thé made merry; & then bespake him John o the Scales, vnto the Lord of linne said hee: 100
said, "how doest thou, heire of Linne, since I did buy thy Lands of thee? I will sell it to thee 20^{li} better cheepe nor euer I did buy it of thee. 104
"I draw you to recorde, lord[e]s all;" with that he cast him gods penny; then he tooke to his baggs of bread, & they were full of the gold soe redd, 108
he told him the gold then over the borde; it wanted neuer a broad pennye: "that gold is thine, the land is mine, & the heire of Linne againe I wilbee." 112
"Now welladay!" said John o the Scales wife, "welladay, & woe is me! Yesterday I was the lady of Linne, & now I am but John o the Scales wiffe!" 116
saies, "haue thou heere, thou good fellow, 40 pence thou did lend me, [40 pence thou did lend me,] & 40^{l}. I will giue thee, 120 Ile make thee keeper of my forrest, both of the wild deere & the tame."
but then bespake the heire of Linne, these were the words, & thus said hee, 124 "Christs curse light vpon my crowne if ere my land stand in any Jeopardye!"
ffins]
FOOTNOTES:
[539] [attend.]
[540] [property.]
[541] _i.e._ earnest-money; from the French _Denier à Dieu_. At this day, when application is made to the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle to accept an exchange of the tenant under one of their leases, a piece of silver is presented by the new tenant, which is still called a "Gods-penny."
[542] [forest.]
[543] Ver. 63, 4, 5, &c. _Sic_ MS.
[544] [forest.]
[545] [loathsome.]
[546] [abashed.]
[547] [letter.]
[548] in-fere, _i.e._ together.
[549] _i.e._ unless I amend.
[550] _i.e._ advice, counsel.
[551] [lingered.]
[552] Ver. 60. an old northern phrase.
[553] Perhaps the hole in the door or window, by which it was speered, _i.e._ sparred, fastened, or shut. In Bale's second part of the _Acts of Eng. Votaries_, we have this phrase (f. 38), "The dore therof oft tymes opened and _speared_ agayne."
[554] [worthless fellow.]
[555] [furious.]
[556] Ver. 34, 102. cast, is the reading of the MS.
[557] [unless.]