The Return of the Shadow. Christopher Tolkien

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СКАЧАТЬ (September 22nd).

      Many of the toys (‘some obviously magical’) that had come from Dale were ‘genuinely dwarf-made’.

(22) It is Bingo, not Gandalf, who at the end of the fireworks says ‘That is the signal for supper!’; and though it was said at first, as in the second version, that the total of 144 guests did not include the host and Gandalf, this was struck out (see p. 106, note 12).

      A new Hobbit family-name enters in the list of guests: ‘and various Burroweses, Slocums, Bracegirdles, Boffinses and Proudfoots’; but ‘Slocums’ was then changed to ‘Hornblowers’, which was also added in to the text at subsequent points in the chapter. The Bolgers appear in pencilled additions, and are present from the start in the fourth version. In his letter to the Observer newspaper published on 20 February 1938 (Letters no. 25) my father said: ‘The full list of their wealthier families is: Baggins, Boffin, Bolger, Bracegirdle, Brandybuck, Burrowes, Chubb, Grubb, Hornblower, Proudfoot, Sackville, and Took.’ – The Grubbs, connexions of Bingo’s grandfather, became by a pencilled change connexions of his grandmother; and the Chubbs, in a reverse change, were first said to be connexions of his grandmother and then of his grandfather.

Where in the first and second versions it is said that some of the hobbits at the party came from ‘the other side of the shire’, it is now said that some of them ‘did not even live in that county’, changed to ‘in that Shire’; and ‘in that Shire’ was retained in the fourth version. The use of ‘that’ rather than ‘the’ suggests that the later use (cf. the Prologue to LR, p. 14: ‘The Hobbits named it the Shire, as the region of the authority of their Thain’) was only in the process of emergence.

The coldness between the Bagginses of Bag End and the Sackville-Bagginses had now lasted, not 20 years as in the first two versions, but ‘some seventy-five years and more’: this figure depends on 111 (Bilbo’s age when he finally disappeared) less 51 (he was ‘about fifty years old or so’ at the time of his great adventure, according to The Hobbit), plus the 16 years of Bingo’s solitary residence at Bag End. ‘Seventy-five’ was emended to ‘ninety’ (a round figure), which belongs with the change of 16 to 33 (p. 30).

(23) Bingo was liable to allude to ‘the absurd adventures of his “gallant and famous” father’.

(24) The two young hobbits who got on the table and danced are still Prospero Brandybuck and Melba Took, but Melba was changed in pencil first to Arabella and then to Amanda.

      Bingo now said, as did Bilbo in FR (p. 38), ‘I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.’

      Bingo’s ‘second purpose’ is expressed in exactly the words written into the second version (see p. 27): ‘to celebrate OUR birthdays: mine and my honourable and gallant father’s. I am only half the man he is: I am 72, and he is 144’, &c.

      Bingo’s last words, ‘I am leaving after dinner’ were corrected on the manuscript to ‘I am leaving now.’

(25) The collected comments after Bingo’s concluding remarks now begin: ‘The hobbit’s mad. Always said so. And his father. He’s been dead 33 years, I know. 144, all rubbish.’ And Rory Brandybuck shouts: ‘Where is Bilbo – confound it, Bingo I mean. Where is he?’

After ‘he was never seen in Hobbiton again’ is added: ‘The ring was his father’s parting gift.’

From the point where the second version ends at the words ‘Morning went on’ the third goes back to the original draft (p. 15) and follows it closely until near the end, using pretty well the same phrases, and largely retaining the original list (as emended, p. 17 note 5) of names and labels for the recipients of presents from Bag End – these being now, of course, presents from Bilbo’s son Bingo.

      Semolina Baggins is called ‘an aunt, or first cousin once removed’;

      Caramella Took (changed later to Bolger) ‘had been favoured among [Bingo’s] junior and remoter cousins’;

      Obo Took-Took who received a feather-bed remained as a great-uncle, but Obo was emended on the manuscript to Rollo;

      Gorboduc (> Orlando) Grubb of the first draft, recipient of a gold fountain-pen, becomes Orlando Burrowes;

      Mungo Took, Inigo Grubb-Took, and Angelica Baggins remain; and two new beneficiaries are named before Mrs Sackville-Baggins at the end of the list:

      For the collection of Hugo Bracegirdle, from a contributor: on an (empty) bookcase. Hugo was a great borrower of books, but a small returner.

      For Cosimo Chubb, treat it as your own, Bingo: on the barometer. Cosimo used to bang it with a large fat finger whenever he came to call. He was afraid of getting wet, and wore a scarf and macintosh all the year round.

      For Grimalda [> Lobelia] Sackville-Baggins, as a present: on a case of silver spoons. It was believed by Bilbo Baggins that she had acquired a good many of his spoons while he was away – ninety odd years before. Bingo inherited the belief, and Grimalda [> Lobelia] knew it.

It is also mentioned that ‘Bingo had very carefully disposed of his treasures: books, pictures, and a collection of toys. For his wines he found a very good (if temporary) home. Most of them went to Marmaduke Brandybuck’ (predecessor of Meriadoc). The original draft is closely followed in the absence of any money or jewelry, and in the legal notice disposing of Bag End to the Sackville-Bagginses (but Bilbo’s cousin now becomes Otho, and their occupancy is to start from September 24th) – ‘and they got Bag-end after all, though they had to wait 93 years longer for it than they had once expected’: 111 less 51 plus 33, see pp. 31–2.⁸ Sancho Proudfoot appears, excavating in the pantry where he thought there was an echo (as in FR, p. 48); physically attacked by Otho Sackville-Baggins, he was only finally ejected СКАЧАТЬ