The Heir Of Linne Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A A B C D EDFD GDAA HIJI AIKI L I FIA A HI HAAA MILI AIAI KIL GHAI H AI KIAI KIL NOOP QRA AHSH TILL IIJI HLLI IIU L HI III HIJI IIV ILL FII WII HIII X III

The Text is taken from the Percy Folio but I have modernised the spelling For the Reliques Percy made a ballad out of the Folio version combined with 'a modern ballad on a similar subject ' a broadside entitled The Drunkard's Legacy thus producing a very good result which is about thrice the length of the Folio versionA
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The Scottish variant was noted by Motherwell and Buchan but previous editors Herd Ritson Chambers Aytoun had used Percy's compositionA
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The Story There are several Oriental stories which resemble the ballad as compounded by Percy from The Drunkard's Legacy In most of these Tartar Turkish Arabic Persian etc the climax of the story lies in the fact that the hero in attempting to hang himself by a rope fastened to the ceiling pulls down a hidden treasure There is of course no such episode in The Heir of Linne but all the stories have similar circumstances and the majority present the moral aspect of unthriftiness and of friends deserting a man who loses his wealthB
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'Linne ' of course is the place which is so often mentioned in balladsC
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THE HEIR OF LINNED
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Of all the lords in fair ScotlandE
A song I will beginD
Amongst them all there dwelled a lordF
Which was the unthrifty lord of LinneD
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His father and mother were dead him froG
And so was the head of all his kinD
To the cards and dice that he did runA
He did neither cease nor blinA
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To drink the wine that was so clearH
With every man he would make merryI
And then bespake him John of the ScalesJ
Unto the heir of Linne said heI
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Says 'How dost thou lord of LinneA
Dost either want gold or feeI
Wilt thou not sell thy lands so broadK
To such a good fellow as meI
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'For I ' he saidL
'My land take it unto thee '-
'I draw you to record my lord s all '-
With that he cast him a God's pennyI
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He told him the gold upon the boardF
It wanted never a bare pennyI
'That gold is thine the land is mineA
The heir of Linne I will be '-
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'Here's gold enough ' saith the heir of LinneA
'Both for me and my company '-
He drunk the wine that was so clearH
And with every man he made merryI
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Within three quarters of a yearH
His gold and fee it waxed thinA
His merry men were from him goneA
And left him himself all aloneA
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He had never a penny left in his purseM
Never a penny left but threeI
And one was brass and another was leadL
And another was white moneyI
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'Now welladay ' said the heir of LinneA
'Now welladay and woe is meI
For when I was the lord of LinneA
I neither wanted gold nor feeI
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'For I have sold my lands so broadK
And have not left me one pennyI
I must go now and take some readL
Unto Edinburgh and beg my bread '-
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He had not been in EdinburghG
Not three quarters of a yearH
But some did give him and some said nayA
And some bid 'To the deil gang yeI
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'For if we should hang any landless fereH
The first we would begin with thee '-
'Now welladay ' said the heir of LinneA
'Now welladay and woe is meI
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'For now I have sold my lands so broadK
That merry man is irk with meI
But when that I was the lord of LinneA
Then on my land I lived merrilyI
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'And now I have sold my land so broadK
That I have not left me one pennyI
God be with my father ' he saidL
'On his land he lived merrily '-
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Still in a study there as he stoodN
He unbethought him of a billO
He unbethought him of a billO
Which his father had left with himP
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Bade him he should never on it lookQ
Till he was in extreme needR
'And by my faith ' said the heir of LinneA
'Than now I had never more need '-
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He took the bill and looked it onA
Good comfort that he found thereH
It told him of a castle wallS
Where there stood three chests in fereH
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Two were full of the beaten goldT
The third was full of white moneyI
He turned then down his bags of breadL
And filled them full of gold so redL
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Then he did never cease nor blinI
Till John of the Scales' house he did winI
When that he came to John of the ScalesJ
Up at the speer he looked thenI
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There sat three lords upon a rowH
And John o' the Scales sat at the board's headL
And John o' the Scales sat at the board's headL
Because he was the lord of LinneI
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And then bespake the heir of LinneI
To John o' the Scales' wife thus said heI
Said 'Dame wilt thou not trust me one shotU
That I may sit down in this company '-
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'Now Christ's curse on my head ' she saidL
'If I do trust thee one penny '-
Then bespake a good fellowH
Which sat by John o' the Scales his kneeI
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Said 'Have thou here thou heir of LinneI
Forty pence I will lend theeI
Some time a good fellow thou hast beenI
And other forty if need be '-
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They drunken wine that was so clearH
And every man they made merryI
And then bespake him John o' the ScalesJ
Unto the lord of Linne said heI
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Said 'How dost thou heir of LinneI
Since I did buy thy lands of theeI
I will sell it to thee twenty pound better cheapV
Nor ever I did buy it of thee '-
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'I draw you to record lord s all '-
With that he cast him a God's pennyI
Then he took to his bags of breadL
And they were full of the gold so redL
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He told him the gold then over the boardF
It wanted never a broad pennyI
'That gold is thine the land is mineI
And heir of Linne again I will be '-
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'Now welladay ' said John o' the Scales' wifeW
'Welladay and woe is meI
Yesterday I was the lady of LinneI
And now I am but John o' the Scales' wife '-
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Says 'Have thou here thou good fellowH
Forty pence thou did lend meI
Forty pence thou did lend meI
And forty pound I will give theeI
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'I'll make thee keeper of my forestX
Both of the wild deer and the tame '-
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But then bespake the heir of LinneI
These were the words and thus said heI
'Christ's curse light upon my crownI
If e'er my land stand in any jeopardy '-

Frank Sidgwick



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