---
title: "Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig"
subtitle: "Sent with some of the Author’s Poems"
author: "Robert Burns"
form: "Poem"
year: "1789"
location: "Ellisland"
source: "Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns"
source_url: "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt"
canonical_url: "https://robert-burns.com/poems/lines-to-john-mmurdo-esq-of-drumlanrig/"
---

# Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig

### Sent with some of the Author’s Poems

## Poem
O could I give thee India’s wealth,  
As I this trifle send;  
Because thy joy in both would be  
To share them with a friend.

But golden sands did never grace  
The Heliconian stream;  
Then take what gold could never buy—  
An honest bard’s esteem.

---

Source: [Project Gutenberg #1279 — Poems and Songs of Robert Burns](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1279/pg1279.txt)  
Canonical HTML: https://robert-burns.com/poems/lines-to-john-mmurdo-esq-of-drumlanrig/