London Heiress;

The Lady Heiress and the Farmer’s Son; The Dublin Heiress^[1]  

In London lived an Heiress unto a Gentleman^[2],                                 1                     

And all her Father’s care was to wed her to a man^[3];

The farmer’s son^[4] being handsome, he gan’d the lady’s heart

They were so close engaged no ranson^[5] could them part.

When her Father came to know his daughter’s foolish mind      5                                

He said unto his daughter you must be other ways inclin’d^[6]

For spring time^[7] is drawing near and press time coming on

And all her father’s care was to press^[8] the farmer’s son

But when this lady came to know of her father’s cruelty,

She said unto herself, my love, I soon will follow thee,                          10                 

I’ll dress myself in man’s attire and after him will go^[9],

I’ll boldly^[10] plough the ocean where the stormy winds do blow.

On the Fourth of October^[11], the battle it began,

In the front of the battle they plac’d the farmer’s son,

Where he receiv’d a dreadful wound, which pierc’d him to the heart^[12], 15  

O! said he, where is she that would ease me of my smart^[13].

Unto the Surgeon’s cabin they had this lad convey’d,

There was no one to wait on him but the Surgeon’s serv[ing] maid^[14];

And when she^[15] turned herself around, he view’d her every part^[16],

O! said he, one like thee, was once mistress^[17] of my heart.                      20                  

You are very right young man, she said, your freedom I’ll enlarge,

Here is fifty guineas^[18] for to clear you of your discharge;

Then she went before the Captain, & fell upon her knees

She bought her love, and brought him safe over the raging seas^[19].

When she came to her father’s gate, she kneeled there awhile             25                   

Then her father said unto her now I see my own dear child

The child I have been wanting these seven long years & more^[20]

She said, I have been looking for the lad that you sent o’er.

And now since I have found him, all on my native shore,

We will live at home in peace and never sunder^[21] more.         30                                    

---

^[1] London, Printed by T. Birt, 10, Great St. Andrew-Street. 

^[2] The fact that the first line of the ballad mentions class/status is meant to draw attention to the rank of the heiress and her father. The mention of class, rank, and status in the Warrior Women ballad genre is quite frequent. The London Heiress is among 34 other ballads in the WWP database that explicitly include this theme. 

^[3] The father is portrayed as controlling and highly concerned with who his daughter marries. This also places the ballad in the category of parental intervention in a courtship in the Warrior Women ballad genre. 22 other ballads in the WWP database are in this category as well. 

^[4] The ballad’s previous mention of class serves to amplify the forbidden romantic relationship between the gentleman’s daughter and the farmer’s son. 

^[5] Ranson is a Middle English variant of ransom. The OED defines “ransom” as “The action or means of freeing oneself from a penalty; a sum of money paid to obtain pardon for an offence or imposed as a penalty” (def 1. a.). This reference to money in relation to love is again pointing to the theme of class and status in the ballad. It also brings attention to the fee the heiress later pays to discharge her love from the war (see note 18). See “ransom, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/158091. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[6] The use of this word has implications for class and status as well. The OED defines “incline” as “To cause to submit or yield; to make subject” (def 2. b.) and “To descend or sink to a lower position” (def 3. a.). The first definition intensifies the dominating and controlling aspect of the father/daughter relationship. The second definition implies that she is descending in status and class by loving a farmer’s son. See “incline, v.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/93560. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[7] This is indicative of the time of year, while also indicating change in the futures of both the farmer’s son and the heiress. The OED defines “springtime” as “A period comparable to spring, esp. in being fresh, new, or full of vigour; the first stage or period of something” (def 1. b.). The father is forcing a fresh start for his daughter and her lover that will pressure her to choose a more suitable man in terms of class. 

^[8]The use of the word “press” is shortened from the word “impressed.” According to the OED, “impressment” means “enforced service in the army or navy” (def 1. a.), which would reiterate the class/rank of the farmer’s son in comparison to the father. See “impress, n.2.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/92711. Accessed 2 May 2020.

^[9] This is the only time in the ballad that makes reference to the heiress’s crossdressing. Dianne Dugaw makes the claim that this version of the ballad avoids talking about the “heroines gender disguise” which seems to indicate an unease about the woman’s crossdressing (p. 61). See Dugaw, Warrior Women and Popular Balladry (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1995). 

^[10] In the OED, “boldly” is defined as “Confidently, with assurance; without doubt, without hesitation; assuredly” (def 3). The use of this word intensifies the ballad’s portrayal of the heiress as independent and masculine. See “boldly, adv.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/21066. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[11] According to Broadside Ballads Online from the Bodleian Libraries, the London Heiress is dated between 1828-1829, possibly meaning that this date of battle is referring to the American Revolutionary War. http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/view/edition/16757

^[12] Dianne Dugaw states that a previous version of this ballad featured the wound located on the thigh, whereas this one is in the chest. Dugaw presents the argument that this is meant to make the wound less sexual as it is further away from the genital area. (p. 61). See Dugaw, Warrior Women and Popular Balladry (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1995). 

^[13] In this usage of the word smart, the ballad is referring to both the physical pain of the boy and the emotional pain of missing his lover. The OED definition of  “smart” can mean either intense physical or mental pain (def 1.a. & 2. a.). See “smart, n.1.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/182446. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[14] Dianne Dugaw points out that in a previous version of this ballad, the “surgeon’s serving maid” was referred to as the “surgeon’s boy” (p. 61). Referring to her as a maid implies that she is not longer crossdressing, and only disguised herself to become impressed. See Dugaw, Warrior Women and Popular Balladry (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1995). 

^[15] Her suggestive return to female gender from her male disguise also puts this ballad into the “return to feminine dress” category. This ballad accompanies 22 other ballads within this category out of the 113 WW ballads in the WWP database. 

^[16] The phrase “viewing her every part” has significant sexual overtones. 

^[17] The use of the word mistress lends to the dominance of the heiress, not only in her romantic relationship yet also in her relationship with her father. The OED defines “mistress” as “A woman having control or authority” (def 1. a.). See “mistress, n. and adj.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/120147. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[18] The OED defines “guineas” as an English gold coin that was used from 1663-1813 (def 3. a). See “Guinea, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/82381. Accessed 6 March 2020.

^[19] The language used in the ballad brings emphasis to her dominance and independence. The ballad does not specify if she used her own money or her father’s, yet under either circumstance she is emphasized as higher in rank than the farmer’s son. This also references the use of the word “ranson” earlier in the ballad (see note 4). 

^[20] This scene of coming back together represents a somewhat common theme in the Warrior Women Ballads of parents having a change in heart. This is one of 9 ballads containing this theme out of the 113 WW ballads in the WWP database. 

^[21] One of the definitions for “sunder” in the OED is “To set oneself apart or become separate from a person or thing” (def 1. b.). See “sunder, v.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2020, www.oed.com/view/Entry/194071. Accessed 6 March 2020.