unexplained.
Where in FR he says simply: 'Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign', here he adds: 'Whoever left it, brought it and put it here for a purpose; for there are no trees near. Either he meant to return, or thought that friends in need might follow him. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire will make up for both. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.'(30)
The passage in the previous version (VI.358) describing Trotter's tales as they sat by the fire in the dell was changed, presumably at this time, to its reduced form in FR (p. 203); and his story of Beren and Luthien now appears in the form that it has in FR (pp. 205 - 6). The song itself is missing; but the final form was apparently achieved at this time, since it is found written out roughly but in finished composition among draft papers of this period.(31)
Chapter XII: 'Flight to the Ford'.
This chapter was constituted from the existing text, with replacement of some pages; but in this case the whole manuscript was kept together.
Folco is still Folco in the passages of new writing, but was corrected to Pippin or Peregrin throughout.
The River Hoarwell or Mitheithel, and the Last Bridge, have now emerged, and the Ettenmoors and Ettendales (32) of FR (the Dimrilldale(s) of the 'third phase') are now the Entish Lands and Entish Dales (see p. 10 and note 14, and p. 14 and note 18). The 'Riven River' or
'Rivendell River' of the 'third phase' (VI.360) is now the Loudwater or Bruinen (note 27); and Trotter tells his companions that the Hoarwell joins the Loudwater away in the South: 'Some call it the Greyflood after that' (FR p. 212).
Trotter finds the elf-stone in the mud on the Last Bridge; but the passage in which he speaks of the country to the north of the Road remains virtually as it was in the earliest form of the story (VI.192 - 3; cf.
FR p. 214): he does not say that he once dwelt in Rivendell, and the history of Angmar and the North Kingdom had not emerged (cf. pp.
37, 56).
The removal of the names 'Bert' and 'William' from the Stone Trolls was also a later decision; but it was now that Sam's 'Troll Song' was introduced (after some hesitation). My father's original intention had been to have Bingo sing it at The Prancing Pony (see VI.142, notes 11
and 12), and he had made a rough, uncompleted version for that occasion, developed and much changed from the original Leeds song The Root of the Boot of the 1920s (given in Vol. VI, see pp. 142 - 4).(33) The 'Troll Song' is found here in three distinct and carefully written versions, beside much rough working; the third version was taken up into the manuscript. The 'Bree' version, which I did not print in Vol. VI, was already much closer to the first of these than to The Root of the Boot, from which my father rejected all such references as 'churchyard',
'aureole', 'wore black on a Sunday', etc. I give the first text here, in the form in which it was written out fair in ink; there are many pencilled variants, here ignored. For the development of the second and third versions see note 35.
In The Root of the Boot the Troll's opponent was named Tom, and his uncle John; in the 'Bree' version he was John, and his uncle Jim, with John changed back to Tom while the text was being worked on.
In all three of the present texts the names are John and Jim, as they still were when my father sang the song to Mr and Mrs George Sayer at Malvern in 1952;(34) in FR they are Tom and his uncle Tim.
A troll sat alone on his seat of stone,
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;
For many a year he had gnawed it near,
And sat there hard and hungry.
Tongue dry! Wrung dry!
For many a year he had gnawed it near
And sat there hard and hungry.
Then up came John with his big boots on.
Said he to the troll: 'Pray, what is yon?
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Jim,
As went to walk on the mountain.
Huntin'! Countin'!
It looks like the shin o' my nuncle Jim,
As went to walk
Where in FR he says simply: 'Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign', here he adds: 'Whoever left it, brought it and put it here for a purpose; for there are no trees near. Either he meant to return, or thought that friends in need might follow him. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire will make up for both. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.'(30)
The passage in the previous version (VI.358) describing Trotter's tales as they sat by the fire in the dell was changed, presumably at this time, to its reduced form in FR (p. 203); and his story of Beren and Luthien now appears in the form that it has in FR (pp. 205 - 6). The song itself is missing; but the final form was apparently achieved at this time, since it is found written out roughly but in finished composition among draft papers of this period.(31)
Chapter XII: 'Flight to the Ford'.
This chapter was constituted from the existing text, with replacement of some pages; but in this case the whole manuscript was kept together.
Folco is still Folco in the passages of new writing, but was corrected to Pippin or Peregrin throughout.
The River Hoarwell or Mitheithel, and the Last Bridge, have now emerged, and the Ettenmoors and Ettendales (32) of FR (the Dimrilldale(s) of the 'third phase') are now the Entish Lands and Entish Dales (see p. 10 and note 14, and p. 14 and note 18). The 'Riven River' or
'Rivendell River' of the 'third phase' (VI.360) is now the Loudwater or Bruinen (note 27); and Trotter tells his companions that the Hoarwell joins the Loudwater away in the South: 'Some call it the Greyflood after that' (FR p. 212).
Trotter finds the elf-stone in the mud on the Last Bridge; but the passage in which he speaks of the country to the north of the Road remains virtually as it was in the earliest form of the story (VI.192 - 3; cf.
FR p. 214): he does not say that he once dwelt in Rivendell, and the history of Angmar and the North Kingdom had not emerged (cf. pp.
37, 56).
The removal of the names 'Bert' and 'William' from the Stone Trolls was also a later decision; but it was now that Sam's 'Troll Song' was introduced (after some hesitation). My father's original intention had been to have Bingo sing it at The Prancing Pony (see VI.142, notes 11
and 12), and he had made a rough, uncompleted version for that occasion, developed and much changed from the original Leeds song The Root of the Boot of the 1920s (given in Vol. VI, see pp. 142 - 4).(33) The 'Troll Song' is found here in three distinct and carefully written versions, beside much rough working; the third version was taken up into the manuscript. The 'Bree' version, which I did not print in Vol. VI, was already much closer to the first of these than to The Root of the Boot, from which my father rejected all such references as 'churchyard',
'aureole', 'wore black on a Sunday', etc. I give the first text here, in the form in which it was written out fair in ink; there are many pencilled variants, here ignored. For the development of the second and third versions see note 35.
In The Root of the Boot the Troll's opponent was named Tom, and his uncle John; in the 'Bree' version he was John, and his uncle Jim, with John changed back to Tom while the text was being worked on.
In all three of the present texts the names are John and Jim, as they still were when my father sang the song to Mr and Mrs George Sayer at Malvern in 1952;(34) in FR they are Tom and his uncle Tim.
A troll sat alone on his seat of stone,
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;
For many a year he had gnawed it near,
And sat there hard and hungry.
Tongue dry! Wrung dry!
For many a year he had gnawed it near
And sat there hard and hungry.
Then up came John with his big boots on.
Said he to the troll: 'Pray, what is yon?
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Jim,
As went to walk on the mountain.
Huntin'! Countin'!
It looks like the shin o' my nuncle Jim,
As went to walk
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