Текст книги "The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two"

Автор книги: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

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In The Silmarillion when Tuor and Idril went down from Nan-tathren to the mouths of Sirion they ‘joined their people to the company of Elwing, Dior’s daughter, that had fled thither but a little while before’. Of this there is no mention here; but I postpone consideration of this part of the narrative.

§ 2 Entries in the Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin

On this list see p. 148, where the head-note to it is given. Specifically linguistic information from the list, including meanings, is incorporated in the Appendix on Names, but I collect here some statements of other kind (arranged in alphabetical order) that are contained in it.

Bablon ‘was a city of Men, and more rightly Babylon, but such is the Gnomes’ name as they now shape it, and they got it from Men aforetime.’

Bansil ‘Now this name had the Gondothlim for that tree before their king’s door which bore silver blossom and faded not—and its name had Elfriniel from his father Voronwл and it meaneth “Fairgleam”. Now that tree of which it was a shoot (brought in the deep ages out of Valinor by the Noldoli) had like properties, but greater, seeing that for half the twenty-four hours it lit all Valinor with silver light. This the Eldar still tell of as Silpion or “Cherrymoon”, for its blossom was like that of a cherry in spring—but of that tree in Gondolin they know no name, and the Noldoli tell of it alone.’

Dor Lуmin ‘or the “Land of Shadows” was that region named of the Eldar Hisilуmл (and this means Shadowy Twilights) where Melko shut Men, and it is so called by reason of the scanty sun which peeps little over the Iron Mountains to the east and south of it—there dwell now the Shadow Folk. Thence came Tuor to Gondolin.’

Eдrendel ‘was the son of Tuor and Idril and ’tis said the only being that is half of the kindred of the Eldaliл and half of Men. He was the greatest and first of all mariners among Men, and saw regions that Men have not yet found nor gazed upon for all the multitude of their boats. He rideth now with Voronwл upon the winds of the firmament nor comes ever further back than Kфr, else would he die like other Men, so much of the mortal is in him.’

(For these last statements about Eдrendel see pp. 264–5. The statement that Eдrendel was ‘the only being that is half of the kindred of the Eldaliл and half of Men’ is very notable. Presumably this was written when Beren was an Elf, not a Man (see p. 139); Dior son of Beren and Tinъviel appears in the Tale of the Nauglafring, but there Beren is an Elf, and Dior is not Half-elven. In the tale of The Fall of Gondolin itself it is said, but in a later replacement passage (p. 164 and note 22), that Tuor was the first but not the last to wed ‘a daughter of Elfinesse’. On the extraordinary statement in the Tale of Turambar that Tamar Lamefoot was Half-elven see p. 130.)

Ecthelion ‘was that lord of the house of the Fountain, who had the fairest voice and was most skilled in musics of all the Gondothlim. He won renown for ever by his slaying of Gothmog son of Melko, whereby Tuor was saved from death but Ecthelion was drowned with his foe in the king’s fountain.’

Egalmoth was ‘lord of the house of the Heavenly Arch, and got even out of the burning of Gondolin, and dwelt after at the mouth of Sirion, but was slain in a dire battle there when Melko seized Elwing’.

(See p. 258.)

Galdor ‘was that valiant Gnome who led the men of the Tree in many a charge and yet won out of Gondolin and even the onslaught of Melko upon the dwellers at Sirion’s mouth and went back to the ruins with Eдrendel. He dwelleth yet in Tol Eressлa (said Elfriniel), and still do some of his folk name themselves Nos Galdon, for Galdon is a tree, and thereto Galdor’s name akin.’ The last phrase was emended to read: ‘Nos nan Alwen, for Alwen is a Tree.’

(For Galdor’s return to the ruins of Gondolin with Eдrendel see p. 258.)

Glingol ‘meaneth “singing-gold” (’tis said), and this name was that which the Gondothlim had for that other of the two unfading trees in the king’s square which bore golden bloom. It also was a shoot from the trees of Valinor (see rather where Elfrith has spoken of Bansil), but of Lindeloktл (which is “singing-cluster”) or Laurelin [emended from Lindelaurл] (which is “singing-gold”) which lit all Valinor with golden light for half the 24 hours.’

(For the name Lindeloktл see I.22, 258 (entry Lindelos).)

Glorfindel ‘led the Golden Flower and was the best beloved of the Gondothlim, save it be Ecthelion, but who shall choose. Yet he was hapless and fell slaying a Balrog in the great fight in Cristhorn. His name meaneth Goldtress for his hair was golden, and the name of his house in Noldorissa Los’lуriol’ (emended from Los Glуriol).

Gondolin ‘meaneth stone of song (whereby figuratively the Gnomes meant stone that was carven and wrought to great beauty), and this was the name most usual of the Seven Names they gave to their city of secret refuge from Melko in those days before the release.’

Gothmog ‘was a son of Melko and the ogress Fluithuin and his name is Strife-and-hatred, and he was Captain of the Balrogs and lord of Melko’s hosts ere fair Ecthelion slew him at the taking of Gondolin. The Eldar named him Kosmoko or Kosomok(o), but ’tis a name that fitteth their tongue no way and has an ill sound even in our own rougher speech, said Elfrith [emended from Elfriniel].’

(In a list of names of the Valar associated with the tale of The Coming of the Valar (I.93) it is said that Melko had a son ‘by Ulbandi’ called Kosomot; the early ‘Qenya’ dictionary gives Kosomoko = Gnomish Gothmog, I.258. In the tale Gothmog is called the ‘marshal’ of the hosts of Melko (p. 184).)

In the later development of the legends Gothmog was the slayer of Fлanor, and in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears it was he who slew Fingon and captured Hъrin (The Silmarillion pp. 107, 193, 195). He is not of course called later ‘son of Melkor’ the ‘Children of the Valar’ was a feature of the earlier mythology that my father discarded.

In the Third Age Gothmog was the name of the lieutenant of Minas Morgul (The Return of the King V.6).)

Hendor ‘was a house-carle of Idril’s and was aged, but bore Eдrendel down the secret passage.’

Idril ‘was that most fair daughter of the king of Gondolin whom Tuor loved when she was but a little maid, and who bare him Eдrendel. Her the Elves name Irildл; and we speak of as Idril Tal-Celeb or Idril of the Silver Feet, but they Irildл Taltelepta.’

See the Appendix on Names, entry Idril.

Indor ‘was the name of the father of Tuor’s father, wherefore did the Gnomes name Eдrendel Gon Indor and the Elves Indorildo or Indorion.’

Legolas ‘or Green-leaf was a man of the Tree, who led the exiles over Tumladin in the dark, being night-sighted, and he liveth still in Tol Eressлa named by the Eldar there Laiqalassл; but the book of Rъmil saith further hereon.’

(See I.267, entry Tбri-Laisi.)

§ 3 Miscellaneous Matters

(i) The geography of The Fall of Gondolin

I have noticed above (p. 205) that in Tuor’s journey all along the coast of what was afterwards Beleriand to the mouths of Sirion there is an unquestionable resemblance to the later map, in the trend of the coast from north-south to east-west. It is also said that after he left Falasquil ‘the distant hills marched ever nearer to the margin of the sea’, and that the spurs of the Iron Mountains ‘run even to the sea’ (pp. 152–3). These statements can likewise be readily enough related to the map, where the long western extension of the Mountains of Shadow (Ered Wethrin), forming the southern border of Nevrast, reached the sea at Vinyamar (for the equation of the Mountains of Iron and the Mountains of Shadow see I. 111–12).

Arlisgion, ‘the place of reeds’ (p. 153) above the mouths of Sirion, survived in Lisgardh ‘the land of reeds at the Mouths of Sirion’ in the later Tuor (p. 34); and the feature that the great river passed underground for a part of its course goes back to the earliest period, as does that of the Meres of Twilight, Aelin-uial (‘the Pools of Twilight’, p. 195). There is here however a substantial difference in the tale from The Silmarillion (p. 122), where Aelin-uial was the region of great pools and marshes where ‘the flood of Sirion was stayed’ south of the Meres the river ‘fell from the north in a mighty fall…and then he plunged suddenly underground into great tunnels that the weight of his falling waters delved’. Here on the other hand the Pools of Twilight are clearly below the ‘cavern of the Tumultuous Winds’ (never mentioned later) where Sirion dives underground. But the Land of Willows, below the region of Sirion’s underground passage, is placed as it was to remain.

Thus the view I expressed (p. 141) of the geographical indications in the Tale of Turambar can be asserted also of those of The Fall of Gondolin.

(ii) Ulmo and the other Valar in The Fall of Gondolin

In the speech of Tuor inspired by Ulmo that he uttered at his first meeting with Turgon (p. 161) he said: ‘the hearts of the Valar are angered…seeing the sorrow of the thraldom of the Noldoli and the wanderings of Men.’ This is greatly at variance with what is told in The Hiding of Valinor, especially the following (I.208–9):*

The most of the Valar moreover were fain of their ancient ease and desired only peace, wishing neither rumour of Melko and his violence nor murmur of the restless Gnomes to come ever again among them to disturb their happiness; and for such reasons they also clamoured for the concealment of the land. Not the least among these were Vбna and Nessa, albeit most even of the great Gods were of one mind. In vain did Ulmo of his foreknowing plead before them for pity and pardon on the Noldoli…

Subsequently Tuor said (p. 161): ‘the Gods sit in Valinor, though their mirth is minished for sorrow and fear of Melko, and they hide their land and weave about it inaccessible magic that no evil come to its shores.’ Turgon in his reply ironically echoed and altered the words: ‘they that sit within [i.e. in Valinor] reck little of the dread of Melko or the sorrow of the world, but hide their land and weave about it inaccessible magic, that no tidings of evil come ever to their ears.’

How is this to be understood? Was this Ulmo’s ‘diplomacy’? Certainly Turgon’s understanding of the motives of the Valar chimes better with what is said of them in The Hiding of Valinor.

But the Gnomes of Gondolin reverenced the Valar. There were ‘pomps of the Ainur’ (p. 165); a great square of the city and its highest point was Gar Ainion, the Place of the Gods, where weddings were celebrated (pp. 164, 186); and the people of the Hammer of Wrath ‘reverenced Aulл the Smith more than all other Ainur’ (p. 174).

Of particular interest is the passage (p. 165) in which a reason is given for Ulmo’s choice of a Man as the agent of his designs: ‘Now Melko was not much afraid of the race of Men in those days of his great power, and for this reason did Ulmo work through one of this kindred for the better deceiving of Melko, seeing that no Valar and scarce any of the Eldar or Noldoli might stir unmarked of his vigilance.’ This is the only place where a reason is expressly offered, save for an isolated early note, where two reasons are given:

(1) ‘the wrath of the Gods’ (i.e. against the Gnomes);

(2) ‘Melko did not fear Men—had he thought that any messengers were getting to Valinor he would have redoubled his vigilance and evil and hidden the Gnomes away utterly.’

But this is too oblique to be helpful.

The conception of ‘the luck of the Gods’ occurs again in this tale (pp. 188, 200 note 32), as it does in the Tale of Turambar: see p. 141. The Ainur ‘put it into Tuor’s heart’ to climb the cliff out of the ravine of Golden Cleft for the saving of his life (p. 151).

Very strange is the passage concerning the birth of Eдrendel (p. 165): ‘In these days came to pass the fulfilment of the time of the desire of the Valar and the hope of the Eldaliл, for in great love Idril bore to Tuor a son and he was called Eдrendel.’ Is it to be understood that the union of Elf and mortal Man, and the birth of their offspring, was ‘the desire of the Valar’—that the Valar foresaw it, or hoped for it, as the fulfilment of a design of Ilъvatar from which great good should come? There is no hint or suggestion of such an idea elsewhere.

(iii) Orcs

There is a noteworthy remark in the tale (p. 159) concerning the origin of the Orcs (or Orqui as they were called in Tuor A, and in Tuor B as first written): ‘all that race were bred of the subterranean heats and slime.’ There is no trace yet of the later view that ‘naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalл before the Beginning’, or that the Orcs were derived from enslaved Quendi after the Awakening (The Silmarillion p. 50). Conceivably there is a first hint of this idea of their origin in the words of the tale in the same passage: ‘unless it be that certain of the Noldoli were twisted to the evil of Melko and mingled among these Orcs’, although of course this is as it stands quite distinct from the idea that the Orcs were actually bred from Elves.

Here also occurs the name Glamhoth of the Orcs, a name that reappears in the later Tuor (pp. 39 and 54 note 18).

On Balrogs and Dragons in The Fall of Gondolin see pp. 212–13.

(iv) Noldorin in the Land of Willows

‘Did not even after the days of Tuor Noldorin and his Eldar come there seeking for Dor Lуmin and the hidden river and the caverns of the Gnomes’ imprisonment; yet thus nigh to their quest’s end were like to abandon it? Indeed sleeping and dancing here…they were whelmed by the goblins sped by Melko from the Hills of Iron and Noldorin made bare escape thence’ (p. 154). This was the Battle of Tasarinan, mentioned in the Tale of Turambar (pp. 70, 140), at the time of the great expedition of the Elves from Kфr. Cf. Lindo’s remark in The Cottage of Lost Play (I.16) that his father Valwл ‘went with Noldorin to find the Gnomes’.

Noldorin (Salmar, companion of Ulmo) is also said in the tale to have fought beside Tulkas at the Pools of Twilight against Melko himself, though his name was struck out (p. 195 and note 38); this was after the Battle of Tasarinan. On these battles see pp. 278ff.

(v) The stature of Elves and Men

The passage concerning Tuor’s stature on p. 159, before it was rewritten (see note 18), can only mean that while Tuor was not himself unusually tall for a Man he was nonetheless taller than the Elves of Gondolin, and thus agrees with statements made in the Tale of Turambar (see p. 142). As emended, however, the meaning is rather that Men and Elves were not greatly distinct in stature.

(vi) Isfin and Eцl

The earliest version of this tale is found in the little Lost Tales notebook (see I. 171), as follows:

Isfin and Eцl

Isfin daughter of Fingolma loved from afar by Eцl (Arval) of the Mole-kin of the Gnomes. He is strong and in favour with Fingolma and with the Sons of Fлanor (to whom he is akin) because he is a leader of the Miners and searches after hidden jewels, but he is illfavoured and Isfin loathes him.

(Fingolma as a name for Finwл Nуlemл appears in outlines for Gilfanon’s Tale, I.238–9.) We have here an illfavoured miner named Eцl ‘of the Mole’ who loves Isfin but is rejected by her with loathing; and this is obviously closely parallel to the illfavoured miner Meglin with the sign of the sable mole seeking the hand of idril, who rejects him, in The Fall of Gondolin. It is difficult to know how to interpret this. The simplest explanation is that the story adumbrated in the little notebook is actually earlier than that in The Fall of Gondolin; that Meglin did not yet exist; and that subsequently the image of the ‘ugly miner—unsuccessful suitor’ became that of the son, the object of desire becoming Idril (niece of Isfin), while a new story was developed for the father, Eцl the dark Elf of the forest who ensnared Isfin. But it is by no means clear where Eцl the miner was when he ‘loved from afar’ Isfin daughter of Fingolma. There seems to be no reason to think that he was associated with Gondolin; more probably the idea of the miner bearing the sign of the Mole entered Gondolin with Meglin.

IV THE NAUGLAFRING

We come now to the last of the original Lost Tales to be given consecutive narrative form. This is contained in a separate notebook, and it bears the title The Nauglafring: The Necklace of the Dwarves.

The beginning of this tale is somewhat puzzling. Before the telling of The Fall of Gondolin Lindo told Littleheart that ‘it is the desire of all that you tell us the tales of Tuor and of Eдrendel as soon as may be’ (p. 144), and Littleheart replied: ‘It is a mighty tale, and seven times shall folk fare to the Tale-fire ere it be rightly told; and so twined is it with those stories of the Nauglafring and of the Elf-march that I would fain have aid in that telling of Ailios here…’ Thus Littleheart’s surrender of the chair of the tale-teller to Ailios at the beginning of the present text, so that Ailios should tell of the Nauglafring, fits the general context well; but we should not expect the new tale to be introduced with the words ‘But after a while silence fell’, since The Fall of Gondolin ends ‘And no one in all the Room of Logs spake or moved for a great while.’ In any case, after the very long Fall of Gondolin the next tale would surely have waited till the following evening.

This tale is once again a manuscript in ink over a wholly erased original in pencil, but only so far as the words ‘sate his greed’ on page 230. From this point to the end there is only a primary manuscript in pencil in the first stage of composition, written in haste—in places hurled on to the page, with a good many words not certainly decipherable; and a part of this was extensively rewritten while the tale was still in progress (see note 13).

The Nauglafring

The Necklace of the Dwarves

But after a while silence fell, and folk murmured ‘Eдrendel’, but others said ‘Nay—what of the Nauglafring, the Necklace of the Dwarves.’ Therefore said Ilfiniol, leaving the chair of the tale-teller: ‘Yea, better would the tale be told if Ailios would relate the matters concerning that necklace,’ and Ailios being nowise unwilling thus began, looking upon the company.

‘Remember ye all how Ъrin the Steadfast cast the gold of Glorund before the feet of Tinwelint, and after would not touch it again, but went in sorrow back to Hisilуmл, and there died?’ And all said that that tale was still fresh in their hearts.

‘Behold then,’ said Ailios, ‘in great grief gazed the king upon Ъrin as he left the hall, and he was weary for the evil of Melko that thus deceived all hearts; yet tells the tale that so potent were the spells that Mоm the fatherless had woven about that hoard that, even as it lay upon the floor of the king’s halls shining strangely in the light of the torches that burnt there, already were all who looked upon it touched by its subtle evil.

Now therefore did those of Ъrin’s band murmur, and one said to the king: “Lo, lord, our captain Ъrin, an old man and mad, has departed, but we have no mind to forego our gain.”

Then said Tinwelint, for neither was he untouched by the golden spell: “Nay then, know ye not that this gold belongs to the kindred of the Elves in common, for the Rodothlim who won it from the earth long time ago are no more, and no one has especial claim¹ to so much as a handful save only Ъrin by reason of his son Tъrin, who slew the Worm, the robber of the Elves; yet Tъrin is dead and Ъrin will have none of it; and Tъrin was my man.”

At those words the outlaws fell into great wrath, until the king said: “Get ye now gone, and seek not O foolish ones to quarrel with the Elves of the forest, lest death or the dread enchantments of Valinor find you in the woods. Neither revile ye the name of Tinwelint their king, for I will reward you richly enough for your travail and the bringing of the gold. Let each one now approach and take what he may grasp with either hand, and then depart in peace.”

Now were the Elves of the wood in turn displeased, who long had stood nigh gazing on the gold; but the wild folk did as they were bid, and yet more, for some went into the hoard twice and thrice, and angry cries were raised in that hall. Then would the woodland Elves hinder them of their thieving, and a great dissension arose, so that though the king would stay them none heeded him. Then did those outlaws being fierce and fearless folk draw swords and deal blows about them, so that soon there was a great fight even upon the steps of the high-seat of the king. Doughty were those outlaws and great wielders of sword and axe from their warfare with Orcs,² so that many were slain ere the king, seeing that peace and pardon might no longer be, summoned a host of his warriors, and those outlaws being wildered with the stronger magics of the king³ and confused in the dark ways of the halls of Tinwelint were all slain fighting bitterly; but the king’s hall ran with gore, and the gold that lay before his throne, scattered and spurned by trampling feet, was drenched with blood. Thus did the curse of Mоm the Dwarf begin its course; and yet another sorrow sown by the Noldoli of old in Valinor was come to fruit.⁴

Then were the bodies of the outlaws cast forth, but the woodland Elves that were slain Tinwelint let bury nigh to the knoll of Tinъviel, and ’tis said that the great mound stands there still in Artanor, and for long the fairies called it Cыm an-Idrisaith, the Mound of Avarice.

Now came Gwenniel to Tinwelint and said: “Touch not this gold, for my heart tells me it is trebly cursed. Cursed indeed by the dragon’s breath, and cursed by thy lieges’ blood that moistens it, and the death of those⁵ they slew; but some more bitter and more binding ill methinks hangs over it that I may not see.”

Then, remembering the wisdom of Gwenniel his wife, the king was minded to hearken to her, and he bade gather it up and cast it into the stream before the gates. Yet even so he might not shake off its spell, and he said to himself: “First will I gaze my last upon its loveliness ere I fling it from me for ever.” Therefore he let wash it clean of its stains of blood in clear waters, and display it before him. Now such mighty heaps of gold have never since been gathered in one place; and some thereof was wrought to cups, to basons, and to dishes, and hilts there were for swords, and scabbards, and sheaths for daggers; but the most part was of red gold unwrought lying in masses and in bars. The value of that hoard no man could count, for amid the gold lay many gems, and these were very beautiful to look upon, for the fathers of the Rodothlim had brought them out of Valinor, a portion of that boundless treasury the Noldoli had there possessed.

Now as he gazed Tinwelint said: “How glorious is this treasure! And I have not a tithe thereof, and of the gems of Valinor none save that Silmaril that Beren won from Angamandi.” But Gwenniel who stood by said: “And that were worth all that here lies, were it thrice as great.”

Then arose one from among the company, and that was Ufedhin, a Gnome; but more had he wandered about the world than any of the king’s folk, and long had he dwelt with the Nauglath and the Indrafangs their kin. The Nauglath are a strange race and none know surely whence they be; and they serve not Melko nor Manwл and reck not for Elf or Man, and some say that they have not heard of Ilъvatar, or hearing disbelieve. Howbeit in crafts and sciences and in the knowledge of the virtues of all things that are in the earth⁶ or under the water none excel them; yet they dwell beneath the ground in caves and tunnelled towns, and aforetime Nogrod was the mightiest of these. Old are they, and never comes a child among them, nor do they laugh. They are squat in stature, and yet are strong, and their beards reach even to their toes, but the beards of the Indrafangs are the longest of all, and are forked, and they bind them about their middles when they walk abroad. All these creatures have Men called ‘Dwarves’, and say that their crafts and cunning surpass that of the Gnomes in marvellous contrivance, but of a truth there is little beauty in their works of themselves, for in those things of loveliness that they have wrought in ages past such renegade Gnomes as was Ufedhin have ever had a hand. Now long had that Gnome forsaken his folk, becoming leagued with the Dwarves of Nogrod, and was at that time come to the realms of Tinwelint with certain other Noldoli of like mind bearing swords and coats of mail and other smithyings of exquisite skill in which the Nauglath in those days did great traffic with the free Noldoli, and, ’tis said, with the Orcs and soldiers of Melko also.

As he stood in that place the spell of the gold had pierced the heart of Ufedhin more deeply than the heart of any there, and he could not endure that it should all be cast away, and these were his words: “An evil deed is this that Tinwelint the king intends; or who hereafter shall say that the kindreds of the Eldaliл love things of beauty if a king of the Eldar cast so great a store of loveliness into the dark woodland waters where none but the fishes may after behold it? Rather than this should be, I beg of thee, O King, to suffer the craftsmen of the Dwarves to try their skill upon this unwrought gold, that the name of the golden treasury of Tinwelint become heard in all lands and places. This will they do, I promise thee, for small guerdon, might they but save the hoard from ruin.”

Then looked the king upon the gold and he looked upon Ufedhin, and that Gnome was clad very richly, having a tunic of golden web and a belt of gold set with tiny gems; and his sword was damasked in strange wise,⁷ but a collar of gold and silver interlaced most intricate was round his neck, and Tinwelint’s raiment could in no wise compare with that of the wayfarer in his halls. Again looked Tinwelint upon the gold, and it shone yet more alluring fair, nor ever had the sparkle of the gems seemed so brilliant, and Ufedhin said again: “Or in what manner, O King, dost thou guard that Silmaril of which all the world hath heard?”

Now Gwenniel warded it in a casket of wood bound with iron, and Ufedhin said it was shame so to set a jewel that should not touch aught less worthy than the purest gold. Then was Tinwelint abashed, and yielded, and this was the agreement that he made with Ufedhin. Half the gold should the king measure and give to the hands of Ufedhin and his company, and they should bear it away to Nogrod and the dwellings of the Dwarves. Now those were a very long journey southward beyond the wide forest on the borders of those great heaths nigh Umboth-muilin the Pools of Twilight, on the marches of Tasarinan. Yet after but seven full moons back would the Nauglath fare bearing the king’s loan all wrought to works of greatest cunning, yet in no wise would the weight and purity of the gold be minished. Then would they speak to Tinwelint, and an he liked not the handiwork then would they return and say no more; yet if it seemed good to him then of that which remained would they fashion such marvellous things for his adornment and for Gwenniel the Queen as never had Gnome or Dwarf made yet.

“For,” said Ufedhin, “the cunning of the Nauglath have I learnt, and the beauty of design that only can the Noldoli compass do I know—yet shall the wages of our labour be small indeed, and we will name it before thee when all is done.”

Then by reason of the glamour of the gold the king repented his agreement with Ufedhin, and he liked not altogether his words, and he would not suffer so great a store of gold to be borne without surety out of his sight for seven moons to the distant dwellings of the Dwarves; yet was he minded nonetheless to profit by their skill. Therefore suddenly he let seize Ufedhin, and his folk, and he said unto them: “Here shall ye remain as hostages in my halls until I see again my treasury.” Now Tinwelint thought in his heart that Ufedhin and his Gnomes were of the utmost service to the Dwarves, and no covetice would be strong enough to bring them to forsake him; but that Gnome was very wroth, saying: “The Nauglath are no thieves, O King, nor yet their friends” but Tinwelint said: “Yet the light of overmuch gold has made many thieves, who were not so before,” and Ufedhin perforce consented, yet he forgave not Tinwelint in his heart.

Therefore was the gold now borne to Nogrod by folk of the king guided by one only of Ufedhin’s companions, and the agreement of Ufedhin and Tinwelint spoken to Naugladur, the king of those places.

Now during the time of waiting Ufedhin was kindly entreated in the courts of Tinwelint, yet was he idle perforce, and he fretted inwardly. In his leisure he pondered ever what manner of lovely thing of gold and jewels he would after fashion for Tinwelint, but this was only for the greater ensnaring of the king, for already he began to weave dark plots most deep of avarice and revenge.

On the very day of the fullness of the seventh moon thereafter the watchers on the king’s bridge cried: “Lo! there comes a great company through the wood, and all it seems are aged men, and they bear very heavy burdens on their backs.” But the king hearing said: “It is the Nauglath, who keep their tryst: now mayst thou go free, Ufedhin, and take my greeting to them, and lead them straightway to my hall” and Ufedhin sallied forth gladly, but his heart forgot not its resentment. Therefore having speech privily with the Nauglath he prevailed upon them to demand at the end a very great reward, and one thereto that the king might not grant unhumbled; and more of his designs also did he unfold, whereby that gold might fare in the end to Nogrod for ever.

Now come the Dwarves nonetheless over the bridge and before the chair of Tinwelint, and behold, the things of their workmanship they had conveyed thither in silken cloths, and boxes of rare woods carven cunningly. In other wise had Ъrin haled the treasure thither, and half thereof lay yet in his rude sacks and clumsy chests; yet when the gold was once more revealed, then did a cry of wonder arise, for the things the Nauglath had made were more wondrous far than the scanty vessels and the ornaments that the Rodothlim wrought of old. Cups and goblets did the king behold, and some had double bowls or curious handles interlaced, and horns there were of strange shape, dishes and trenchers, flagons and ewers, and all appurtenances of a kingly feast. Candlesticks there were and sconces for the torches, and none might count the rings and armlets, the bracelets and collars, and the coronets of gold; and all these were so subtly made and so cunningly adorned that Tinwelint was glad beyond the hope of Ufedhin.