Part 25 (1/2)

'I have known about the existence of your Ring for years.'

'Have you indeed?' said Bilbo. 'How, I should like to know! Come on, then: you had better make a clean breast of it before I go.

'Well, it was like this. It was the Sackville-Bagginses that were your undoing.'

'They would be,' grunted Bilbo.

Frodo then tells the story of his observing Bilbo's escape, by becoming invisible, from the Sackville-Bagginses while out walking one day. This, in very brief form, had been used in the fifth version of 'A Long-expected. Party' (p. 242), when Bingo told it to Gandalf after the Party - there, merely as an example of how Bilbo had used the Ring for small-scale disappearances to avoid boredom and inconvenience (for of course in the 'received' story Bingo knew about the Ring because Bilbo had told him about it). It was then, in more elaborate form, given to Merry in 'A Conspiracy is Unmasked' (p. 300) as an explanation of how Merry knew of the existence of the Ring (and so was dropped from the sixth version of A Long-expected Party, p. 315). Now, in the present text, my father simply lifted the story word for word from 'A Conspiracy (is) Unmasked' and gave it to Frodo, as his explanation to Bilbo of how he learnt about the Ring; and Frodo continues here, again almost word for word, with Merry's account of how he got a sight of Bilbo's book: 'That doesn't explain it all,' said Bilbo, with a gleam in his eye. 'Come on, out with it, whatever it is! '

'Well, after that I kept my eyes open,' stammered Frodo. 'I - er - in fact I rather kept a watch on you. But you must admit it was very intriguing - and I was only in my early tweens. So one day I came across your book.'

'My book!' said Bilbo. 'Good heavens above. Is nothing safe!' 'Not too safe,' said Frodo. 'But I only got one rapid glance. You never left the book about, except just that once: you were called out of the study, and I came in and found it lying open. I should like a rather longer look, Bilbo. I suppose you are leaving it to me now?'

'No I am not! ' said Bilbo decisively. 'It isn't finished. Why, one of my chief reasons for leaving is to go somewhere where I can get on with it in peace without a parcel of rascally nephews prying round the place, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on to the bell.'

'You shouldn't be so kind to everyone,' said Frodo. 'I am sure you needn't go away.

'Well, I am going,' said Bilbo. 'And about that Ring: I suppose I needn't describe it now, or how I got it. I thought of giving it to you.'

At this point my father interrupted the text and wrote across the page: 'This won't do because of the use of the Ring at the party!' - i.e., Bilbo could not have the intention to give it to Frodo then, before the Party. But without changing anything that he had written he went on with the story thus: He fumbled in his pocket and drew out a small golden ring attached by another ring to a fine chain. He unfastened it, laid it in the palm of his hand, and looked long at it.

'Here it is! ' he said with sigh.

Frodo held out his hand. But Bilbo put the ring straight back in his pocket. [A puzzled look >] An odd look came over his face. 'Er, well,' he stammered, 'I'll give it you I expect last thing before I go - or leave it in my locked drawer or something.'

Frodo looked puzzled and stared at him, but said nothing.

The last lines of the text come after the Party: Bilbo.... goes and dresses as in the older version (but with armour under his cloak)(6) and says goodbye. 'The - er - ring,' he said, 'is in the drawer' - and vanished into [the] darkness.

I think that this new version is to be a.s.sociated with the opening notes under 'Alterations of Plot' in $3 above: it represents a movement away from the idea that Bilbo was troubled about the Ring, that it was his prime motive for leaving (rather, his tiredness, his desire for peace, is mentioned). He has never even spoken to Frodo about it. It seems that my father's intention had been that Bilbo should simply hand it to Frodo there and then, without any suggestion of inner struggle; but he only realised, as he wrote, that 'This won't do'- because Bilbo must retain the Ring till the actual moment of his departure. The gift would therefore have to be postponed from the present occasion; and it was only now that he took up the suggestion in 'A Long-expected Party', where Bilbo said to Gandalf: 'I am not going to throw it away. In any case I find it impossible to make myself do that - I simply put it back in my pocket.'(7) The curious result is that the scene actually ends now with a demonstration, in Bilbo's embarra.s.sed and ambiguous behaviour, precisely of the sinister effect that the Ring has in fact had on its owner; and this would be developed into the quarrel with Gandalf in FR, pp. 41 - 3.

(5) Turning now to those papers dated August 1939 that are concerned with larger projections of the story to come after the sojourn in Rivendell, there is first a suggestion that a Dragon should come to the s.h.i.+re and that by its coming the hobbits should be led to show that they are made of 'sterner stuff', and that 'Frodo (Bingo)' should 'actually come near the end of his money - now it was dragon gold. He is ”lured”?' There is here a reference to 'Bilbo remarks on old sheet of notes' - obviously those given on pp. 41 - 2 (where the same suggestion of a Dragon coming to Hobbiton was made).

(6) Following these notes on the same page is a brief list of narrative elements that might enter much further on: Island in sea. Take Frodo there in end.

Radagast ? (8) Battle is raging far off between armies of Elves and Men v[ersus the] Lord.

Adventures .. Stone-Men.

With the first of these cf. the note given on p. 41: 'Elrond tells him [Bilbo) of an island', etc. The reference to the 'battle raging' probably belongs to the end of the story, when the Ring goes into the Crack of Doom.

Most interesting is the last item here. A note by my father found with the LR papers states that he looked through (some, at least, of) the material in 1964; and it was very probably at that time that he scrawled against the words 'Adventures .. Stone-Men': Thought of as just an 'adventure'. The whole of the matter of Gondor (Stone-land) grew from this note. (Aragorn, still called Trotter, had no connexion with it then, and was at first conceived as one of the hobbits that had wanderl.u.s.t.) (7) This is a convenient place to give a page of pencilled notes which bears no date and in which 'Bingo' appears. At the head of the page stand the words: 'City of Stone and civilized men'. Then follows an extremely abbreviated outline of the end of the story.

At end When Bingo [written above: Frodo] at last reaches Crack and Fiery Mountain he cannot make himself throw the Ring away. ? He hears Necromancer's voice offering him great reward - to share power with him, if he will keep it.

At that moment Gollum - who had seemed to reform and had guided them by secret ways through Mordor - comes up and treacherously tries to take Ring. They wrestle and Gollum takes Ring and falls into the Crack.

The mountain begins to rumble.

Bingo flies away [i.e. flees away].

Eruption.

Mordor vanishes like a dark cloud. Elves are seen riding like lights rolling away a dark cloud.

The City of Stone is covered in ashes.

Journey back to Rivendell.

What of s.h.i.+re? Sackville-Baggins....... Bingo makes peace, and settles down in a little hut on the high green quarters.

... lands........ the four ridge - until one day he goes with the Elves west beyond the towers. Better- no land was tilled, all the hobbits were busy making swords.

The illegible words might just possibly be interpreted thus: 'Sackville- Baggins [and] his friends hurt [the] lands. There was war between the four quarters.'

Since there is here a reference to 'the City of Stone', while my father said in 1964 that the whole idea of Gondor arose from the reference to 'Stone-Men' in a note dated August 1939, it would have to be concluded on a strict interpretation that this outline comes from that time or later; on the other hand, the hero is still 'Bingo', so that this outline would seem to be the earlier. I think, however, that the contradiction may be only apparent, since in other notes dated August 1939 my father seems still to have been hesitant about the name 'Bingo', and I would therefore ascribe the outline just given to much the same time as the rest of these notes. It obviously leaves out some things that my father must already have known (more or less): such as how Gollum reappeared. But it is most remarkable to find here - when there is no suggestion of the vast structure still to be built - that the corruption of the s.h.i.+re, and the crucial presence of Gollum on the Fiery Mountain, were very early elements in the whole.

(8) On the reverse of the page bearing this outline is the following: 'The ring is destroyed,' said Bilbo, 'and I am feeling sleepy. We must say goodbye, Bingo [written above: Frodo] - but it is a good place to say goodbye, in the House of Elrond, where memory is long and kind. I am leaving the book of my small deeds here. And I don't think I shall go to rest till I have written down your tale too. Elrond will keep it - no doubt after all hobbits have gone their ways into the past. Well, Bingo my lad, you and I were very small creatures, but we've played our part. We've played our part. An odd fate we have shared, to be sure.'

It seems then that at this time my father foresaw that Bilbo died in Rivendell.

(9) There is one further page dated 'August 1939', and this is of great interest. It is a series of pencilled notes like the others, and is headed 'Plot from XII on'.

Have to wait till Spring? Or have to go at once.

They go south along the Mountains. Later or early? Snowstorm in the Red Pa.s.s. Journey down the R. Redway.

Adventure with Giant Tree Beard in Forest.

Mines of Moria. These again deserted - except for Goblins.

Land of Ond. Siege of the City.

They draw near the borders of Mordor.

In dark Gollum comes up. He feigns reform? Or tries to throttle Frodo? - but Gollum has now a magic ring given by Lord and is invisible. Frodo dare not use his own.

Cavalcade of evil led by seven Black Riders.

See Dark Tower on the horizon. Horrible feeling of an Eye searching for him.

Fiery Mountain.

Eruption of Fiery Mountain causes destruction of Tower.