Monday, February 16, 2015

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien




I first met The Hobbit when my fifth grade teacher read it to our class.  I have been a Tolkien fan ever since and have read the book many times. 
There have been several attempts to make Tolkien’s master works into movies – all have failed. I recently went to the last instalment of Peter Jackson’s movie version.  The only thing I got out of it was an overpowering need to re-read the book for myself, inorder to get the wonder of the story back.  
I have placed 144 quotes below.  They should help those who have read the book to recapture the wonder.  I also hope they will save those who have only seen the movies from the corrupted vision they present. 

The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien

1. About Hobbits: “They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colors (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it).” p. 4 

2. About Tooks:  “It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife.  That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures . . . the Tooks were not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they were undoubtedly richer.”  p. 4

3. The Took Side: “Bilbo . . . got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side, something that only waited for a chance to come out.” p. 5

4. Gandalf Described: “All that the unsuspecting Bilbo saw that morning was an old man with a staff.  He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long gray cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.” p. 5

5. Bilbo on Gandalf and His Fireworks: “Gandalf, Gandalf!  Good gracious me!  Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered?  Not the fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and the rescue of princesses and the unexpected luck of widows' sons?  Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks!  I remember those!  Old Took used to have them on Midsummer’s Eve.  Splendid!  They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums [One of a genus of Eurasian poisonous shrubs and trees of the pea family, having bright-yellow flowers.]  of fire and hang in the twilight all evening! . . . Not the Gandalf who was responsible for so many quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad adventures?  Anything from climbing trees to visiting elves—or sailing in ships, sailing to other shores!”  p. 7

6. Bilbo Needed an Engagement Book: “He did not remember things very well, unless he put them down on his Engagement Tablet . . .” p. 9

7. Balin Described: “. . . there was a very old-looking dwarf on the step with a white beard and a scarlet hood . . .” p. 9

8. Fili and Kili Described: “it was two more dwarves, both with blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards . . .” p. 9

9. The Smoking Game: “. . . Thorin with his feet on the fender smoking a pipe.  He was blowing the most enormous smoke-rings, and wherever he told one to go, it went—up the chimney, or behind the clock on the mantelpiece, or under the table, or round and round the ceiling; but wherever it went it was not quick enough to escape Gandalf.  Pop! He sent a smaller smoke-ring from his short clay-pipe straight through each one of Thorin’s.  Then Gandalf’s smoke-ring would go green and come back to hover over the wizard’s head.  He had a cloud of them about him already, and in the dim light it made him look strange and sorcerous.  Bilbo stood still and watched—he loved smoke rings—and then he blushed to think how proud he had been yesterday morning of the smoke-rings he had sent up the wind over The Hill.” pp. 13-14 

10. On the Power of Music:  “As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and a jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves.   The something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.  He looked out the window.  The stars were out in the dark sky above the trees.  He thought of the jewels of the dwarves shinning in dark caverns.  Suddenly in the wood beyond The Water a flame leapt up—probably somebody lighting a wood-fire—and he thought of plundering dragons setting on his quiet Hill and kindling it all to flames.” p. 16

17. The Power of the Took Side:  “Then Mr. Baggins turned the handle and went in.  The Took side had won.”  p. 18

18. Fate of Thorin’s Grandfather and Father and on the Necromancer: “I did not ‘get hold of it [Map of the Mountain],’ I was given it,” said the wizard.  Your grandfather Thror was killed, you remember, in the mines of Moria by Azog the Goblin. . . Your father went away to try his luck with the map after your grandfather was killed’ and lot of adventures of a most unpleasant sort he had, but he never got near the Mountain.  How he got there I don’t know, but I found him a prisoner in the dungeons of the Necromancer. “- - “Whatever were you doing there?” asked Thorin with a shudder, and all the dwarves shivered. - - “Never you mind.  I was finding things out, as usual; and a nasty dangerous business it was.  Even I Gandalf, only just escaped.  I tried to save your father, but it was too late.  He was witless and wandering, and had forgotten almost everything except the map and the key.”  p. 25

19. More on the Necromancer: “He is an enemy far beyond the power of all dwarves put together, if they could all be collected again form the four corners of the world.”  p. 25

20. On Trolls: “Three very large persons sitting round a very large fire of beech-logs. . . But they were trolls.  Obviously trolls.  Even Bilbo, in spite of his sheltered life, could see that: from the great heavy faces of them and their size, and the shape of their legs, not to mention their language, which was not drawing-room fashion at all, at all.” p. 33

21. Trolls Turned to Stone: “Dawn take you all, and be stone to you” said a voice that sounded like William’s.  But it wasn’t.  For just at that moment the light came over the hill, and there was a mighty twitter in the branches.  William never spoke for he stood turned to stone as he stooped; and Bert and Tom were stuck like rocks as they looked at him.  And there they stand to this day, all alone, unless the birds perch on them, for trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again.” pp.39-40

22. The Swords from the Trolls: “—and among them were several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes.  Two caught their eyes particularly, because of the beautiful scabbards and jeweled hilts. - - Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these; and Bilbo took a knife in the leather sheath.  It would have made only a tiny pocket-knife for a troll, but it was as good as a sword for the hobbit.” p. 41

23. Good Times in the Last [First] Homely House East of the Sea: “And so at last they came to the Last Homely House, and found its doors flung wide. - - Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.  They stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave.  Bilbo would gladly have stopped there for ever and ever—even supposing a wish would have taken him right back to his hobbit-hole without trouble.  Yet there is little to tell about their stay.”  p. 48

24. Master Elrond: “The master of the house was an elf-friend—one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North.  In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief.  - - He was as noble as and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer.  He comes into many tales . . .” pp. 48-49

25. The Last Homely House: “His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.  Evil things did not come into that valley.”  p. 49

26. Magic Swords: “They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin.  They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars.  They must have come from a dragon’s hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago.  This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade.  This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foe-hammer that the king of Gondolin once wore.  Keep them well!” p. 49

27. Maps, Moon-letters, and Bilbo’s Handwriting: “The moon was shining in a broad silver crescent.  He [Elrond] held up the map and the white light shone through it.  “What is this?” he said.  “There are moon-letters here, beside the plain runes which say ‘five feet high the door and three may walk abreast.’” - - What are moon-letters?” asked the hobbit full of excitement.  He loved maps, as I have told you before; and he also liked runes and letters and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.”  p. 50

28. Stone Giants: “When he [Bilbo] peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out, and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.” p. 55

29. Fili and Kili – Young Dwarves: “. . . they sent Fili and Kili to look for a better shelter.  They had very sharp eyes, and being the youngest of the dwarves by some fifty years they usually got these sort of jobs.”  p. 55

30. The Danger of Caves: “That, of course is the dangerous part about caves: you don’t know how far they go back, sometimes, or where a passage behind my lead to, or what is waiting for you inside.” pp. 55-56

31. Bilbo Saves Gandalf:  “There were six [goblins] to each dwarf, at least, and two even for Bilbo; and they were all grabbed and carried through the crack, before you could say tinder and flint.  But not Gandalf.  Bilbo’s yell had done that much good.  It had wakened him up wide in a splintered second, and when goblins came to grab him. There was a terrific flash like lightning in the cave, a smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead.” p. 57

32. On Goblins: “Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted.  They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones.  They can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled dwarves, when they take the trouble, though they are usually untidy and dirty.  Hammers, axes, swords, daggers pickaxes, tongs, and also instruments of torture, they make very well, or get other people to make to their design, prisoners and slaves that have to work till they die for want of air and light.  It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for  wheels and engines and explosion always delight them, and also not working with their own hand more than they could help; . . . “ p. 59

33. Dwarf/Goblin Relations: “They did not hate dwarves especially, no more than they hated everybody and everything, and particularly the orderly and prosperous; in some parts wicked dwarves and even made alliance with them.” p. 59

34. Rescued by Gandalf: “Suddenly a sword flashed in its own light.  Bilbo say it go right through the Great Goblin as he stood dumbfounded in the middle of his rage.   He fell dead, and the goblin soldiers fled before the sword shrieking into the darkness.” p. 61

35. The Light of the Magic Swords: “He [Gandalf] took out his sword again, and again it flashed in the dark by itself.  It burned with a rage that made it gleam if goblins were about; now it was bright as blue flame for delight in the killing of the great lord of the cave.  It made no trouble whatever of cutting through the goblin-chains and setting all the prisoners free as quickly as possible.  This sword’s name was Glamdring the Foe-hammer, if you remember.  The goblins just called it Beater, and hated it worse than Biter if possible.  Orcrist, too, had been saved; for Gandalf had brought it along as well, snatching it from one of the terrified guards.” p. 62

36. The Finding of the Ring:  “He [Bilbo] guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel.  It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it.” p. 65

37. Bilbo’s Sword and Elf Blade Too: “Now he drew it out.  It shone pale and dim before his eyes.  “So it is an elvish blade, too,” he thought; “and goblins are not very near, and yet not far enough.”  p. 66

38. Evolution of Cave Fish: “There are strange things living in the pools and lakes in the hearts of mountains: fish whose father swam in, goodness only know how many years ago, and never swam out again, while their eyes grew bigger and bigger and bigger from trying to see in the blackness; also there are other things more slimy than fish.” p. 67

39. On Gollum’s History: “I don’t know where he came from, nor who or what he was.  He was Gollum—as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face.” p. 68

40. On the Riddle Game:  “Riddles were all he could think of.  Asking them, and sometimes guessing them, had been the only game he had ever played with other funny creatures sitting in their holes in the long, long ago, before he lost all his friends and was driven away, alone, and crept down, down, into the dark under the mountains.”  p. 69

41. More on the Riddle Game:  “He [Bilbo] knew, of course, that the riddle-game was sacred and of immense antiquity, and even wicked creatures were afraid to cheat when they played at it.  But he felt he could not trust this slimy thing to keep any promise at a pinch.  Any excuse would do for him to slide out of it.  And after all that last question had not been a genuine riddle according to the ancient laws.”  p. 75

42. The Ring Still Allows for the Casting of a Shadow: “He [Gollum] wanted it because it was a ring of power, and if you slipped that ring on your finger, you were invisible; only in the full sunlight could you be seen, and then only by your shadow, and that would be shaky and faint.”  p. 76

43 Pity and Fair Play: “No, not a fair fight.  He was invisible now.  Gollum had no sword.  Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet.  And he was miserable, alone, lost.  A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo’s heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.  All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second.” p. 81 

44. Goblins Do Not Like the Sun:  “But they [gobblins] don’t like the sun: it makes their legs wobble and their heads giddy.”  p. 84

45. Bilbo’s Call to Duty:  “. . . a very uncomfortable thought was growing inside him.  He wondered whether he ought not now he had the magic ring, to go back into the horrible, horrible tunnels and look for his friends.  He had just made up his mind that it was his duty, that he must turn back—and very miserable he felt about it—when he heard voices.”  p. 85

46. Dwarves Lacking in Duty:  “The dwarves wanted to know why he had even been brought at all, why he could not stick to his friends and come along with them, and why the wizard had not chosen someone with more sense.  “He has been more trouble than use so far,” said one.  “If we have got to go back now into those abominable tunnels to look for him, then drat him, I say.”  p. 86 

47. More about Bilbo than You Guess:  “What did I tell you?” said Gandalf laughing.  “Mr. Baggins has more about him than you guess.”  He gave Bilbo a queer look from under his bushy eyebrows, as he said this, and the hobbit wondered if he guessed at the part of his tale that he had left out.”  p. 88

48. On Bilbo’s Scouting Skills:  “He nibbled a bit of sorrel, and he drank from a small mountain stream that crossed the path, and he ate three wild strawberries that he found on its bank, but it was not much good.”  p. 90

49. A Saying from Bilbo:  “What shall we do, what shall we do!” he cried.  “Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!” he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say “out of the frying-pan into the fire” in the same sort of uncomfortable situations.”  p. 92

50. Dori Saves Bilbo - Dwarves Do Duty after All:  “Still Dori did not let Bilbo down.  He waited till he had clambered off his shoulders into the branches, and then he jumped for the branches himself.  Only just in time!  A wolf snapped at his cloak as he swung up, and nearly got him.”  p. 93

51. Good Men on the Frontiers:  “There were many of them, and they were brave and well-armed, and even the Wargs dared not attack them if there were many together, or in the bright day.”  p. 95

52. Flaming pine-cones:  “He [Gandalf] gathered the huge pine-cones from the branches of the tree.  Then he set one alight with bright blue fire, and threw it whizzing down among the circle of the wolves.  It struck one on the back, and immediately his shaggy coat caught fire, and he was leaping to and fro yelping horribly.  Then another came and another, one in blue flames, one in red, another in green. . . A specially large one hit the chief wolf on the nose, and he leaped in the air ten feet, and then rushed round and round the circle biting and snapping even at the other wolves in his anger, and fright. . . if a spark got in their coats it stuck and burned into them, and unless they rolled over quick they were soon all in flames. “ pp. 95-96 

53. Some Thoughts on Eagles:  “Eagles are not kindly birds.  Some are cowardly and cruel.  But the ancient race of the northern mountains were the greatest of all birds; they were proud and strong and noble-hearted.  They did not love goblins, or fear them.”  p. 97 

54. Goblins Do Not Fear Fire:  “Goblins are not afraid of fire, and they soon had a plan which seemed to them most amusing.”  p. 97

55. Gandalf Could Have Died:  “Then Gandalf climbed to the top of his tree.  The sudden splendor flashed from his wand like lightning, as he got ready to spring down from on high right among the spears of the goblins.  That would have been the end of him, though he would probably have killed many of them as he came hurtling down like a thunderbolt. “  p. 99

56. Gandalf, Friend to Eagles:  “The wizard and the eagle-lord appeared to know one another slightly, and even to be on friendly terms.  As a matter of fact Gandalf, who had often been in the mountains, had once rendered a service to the eagles and healed their lord from an arrow-wound.”  p. 103

57. Dwarves Do Not Use Matches: “Gandalf, too, was lying down after doing his part in getting the fire going, since Oin and Gloin had lost their tinder-boxes.  (Dwarves have never taken to matches even yet.)”  p. 103

58. Bathing in the River:  “Then they took off their clothes and bathed in the river, which was shallow and clear and stony at the ford.”  p. 107

59. On Beorn:  “He changes his skin: sometimes he is a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and great bread. . . He keeps hives and hives of great fierce bees, and lives most on cream and honey.”  p. 108

60. Radagast:  “I am a wizard,” continued Gandalf.  “I have heard of you, if you have not heard of me; but perhaps you have heard of my good cousin Radagast who lives near the Southern borders of Mirkwood?” - - - “Yes; not a bad fellow as wizards go, I believe.  I used to see him now and again,” said Beorn.”  p. 111

61. Beorn’s Animal Servants:  “Beorn clapped his hands, and in trotted four beautiful white ponies and several large long-bodied grey dogs.  Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. . . The dogs could stand on their hind-legs when they wished, and carry thing with their fore-feet.”  p. 117

62. Beorn Kills His Prisoners:  “What did you do with the goblin and the Warg?” asked Bilbo suddenly.  - - - “Come and see!” said Beorn, and they followed round the house.  A goblin’s head was stuck outside the gate and a warg-skin was nailed to a tree just beyond.”  p. 123 

63. Packs Lighter All Too Soon:  “Bilbo thought his lot was wearisomely heavy . . . Don’t you worry!” said Thorin.  “It will get lighter all too soon.”  p. 128

64. There Are No Safe Paths:  “There are no safe paths in the part of the world.”  p. 129

65. Singing in the Forest:  “Sometimes there was singing in the distance too.  The laughter was the laughter of fair voices not of goblins, and the singing was beautiful . . . “ p. 136

66. Bilbo Kills Spiders:  “Bilbo came at it [a spider] before it could disappear and stuck it with his sword right in the eyes.  Then it went mad and leaped and danced and flung out its legs in horrible jerks, until he killed it with another stroke; and then he fell down and remembered nothing more for a long while. - - - There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses.  The spider lay dead beside him, and his sword-blade was stained black.  Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins.” p. 144

67. Bilbo Names His Sting:  “He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. - - - “I will give you a name,” he said to it, “and I shall call you Sting”.  p. 144

68. Bilbo Throws Some Rocks:  “Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something.  He could not get up at the brutes and he had nothing to shoot with; but looking about he saw that in this place there were many stones lying in what appeared to be a now dry little watercourse.  Bilbo was a pretty fair shot with a stone, and it did not take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one that fitted his hand cozily.  As a boy he used to practice throwing stones at things, until rabbits and squirrels, and even birds, got out of his way as quick as lighting if they saw him stoop; and even grown-up he had still spent a deal of his time at quoits, dart-throwing, shooting at the wand, bowls, ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort—indeed he could do lots of things, besides blowing smoke-rings, asking riddles and cooking, that I haven’t had time to tell you about.  There is no time now.  While he was picking up stones, the spider had reached Bombur, and soon he would have been dead.  At the moment Bilbo threw.  The stone struck the spider plunk on the head, and it dropped senseless off the tree, flop to the ground, with all its legs curled up. - - - The next stone went whizzing through a big web, snapping its cords, and taking off the spider sitting in the middle of it, whack, dead.”  p. 146

69. In Spite of the Ring, the Spiders Can See the Sword:  “The spiders saw the sword, though I don’t suppose they knew what it was, and at once the whole lot of them came hurrying after the hobbit along the ground and the branches . . .” p. 149

70. Bilbo Kills Again (a Spider):  “Mr. Baggins was in a hurry, and before the spider knew what was happening it felt his sting and rolled off the branch dead.”

71. FIli’s Armpits and Beard:  “. . . Fili emerged.  I am afraid Bilbo actually laughed at the sight of him jerking his stiff arms and legs as he danced on the spider-string under his armpits, just like one of those funny toys bobbing on a wire . . . It took him ages to get the beastly stuff out of his eyes and eyebrow, and as for his beard, he had to cut most of it off.”  p. 149

72. Bilbo Reveals the Ring to the dwarves:  “”I am going to disappear,” he said. . .  There they lay for some time, puffing and panting.  But very soon they began to ask questions.  They had to have the whole vanishing business carefully explained, and the finding of the ring interested them so much that for a while they forgot their own troubles.  Balin in particular insisted on having the Gollum story, riddles and all, told all over again, with the ring in its proper place.”  p. 152

73. Bilbo Becomes the Leader:  “. . . it was from little Bilbo that they seemed to expect to get the answers.  From which you can see that they had changed their opinion of Mr. Baggins very much, and had begun to have a great respect for him (as Gandalf had said they would).  Indeed they really expected him to think of some wonderful plan for helping them, and were not merely grumbling.  They knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead, if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times.”  p. 152

74. On Wood-elves and Other Elves As Well:  “The feasting people were Wood-elves, of course.  These are not wicked folk.  If they have a fault it is distrust of strangers.  Though their magic was strong, even in those days they were wary.  They differed from the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise.  For most of them (together with their scattered relations in the hills and mountains) were descended from the ancient tribes that had never went to Faerie in the West.  There the Light-elves and the Deep-elves and the Sea-elves went and lived for ages, and grew fairer and wiser and more learned, and invented their magic and their cunning craft in the making of beautiful and marvelous things, before some came back into the Wide World.  In the Wide World, the Wood-elves lingered in the twilight of our Sun and Moon, but loved best the stars; and they wandered in the great forests that grew tall in lands that are now lost.  They dwelt most often by the edges of the woods, from which they could escape at times to hunt, or to ride and run over the open lands by moonlight or starlight; and after the coming of Men they took ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk.  Still elves they were and remain, and that is Good People.”  p. 154

75. Conflict between Elves and Dwarves:  “In ancient days they had had wars with some of the dwarves, whom they accused of stealing their treasure.  It is only fair to say that the dwarves gave a different account, and said they only took what was their due, for the elf-king had bargained with them to shape his raw gold and silver, and had afterwards refused to give them their pay. . .  All this was well known to every dwarf, though Thorin’s family had had nothing to do with the old quarrel I have spoken of.”  p. 155

76. Elf Treatment of Prisoners:  “They gave him [Thorin] food and drink, plenty of both, if not very fine; for Wood-elves were not goblins, and were reasonably well-behaved even to their worst enemies, when they capture them.  The giant spiders were the only living things that they had no mercy upon.” [Like Bilbo and me.]  p. 156

77. Meet the Elvenking [Legolas’ Father]: “In a great hall with pillars hewn out of the living stone sat the Elvenking on a chair of carven wood.  On his head was a crown of berries and red leaves, for the autumn was come again.  In the spring he wore a crown of woodland flowers.  In his hand he held a carven staff of oak.”  p. 158   

78. The Crimes the Dwarves Committed Against the Elvenking:  “It is a crime to wander in my realm without leave.  Do you forget that you were in my kingdom, using the road that my people made?  Did you not three times pursue and trouble my people in the forest and rouse the spiders with your riot and clamor?  After all the disturbance you have made I have a right to know what bring you here, and if you will not tell me now, I will keep you all in prison until you have learned sense and manners!”  p. 159

79. Bilbo’s Troublesome Shadow:  More than once he was nearly caught in the doors, as they clashed together when the last elf passed; yet he did not dare to march among them because of his shadow (altogether thin and wobbly as it was in torchlight), or for fear of being bumped into and discovered.”  p. 159

80. Gandalf Left So Bilbo Could Grow:  “. . . they all trusted Bilbo.  Just what Gandalf had said would happen, you see.  Perhaps that was part of his reason for going off and leaving them.”  p. 162

81. The Success of Lake Town:  “It seemed a town of Men still throve there, built out on bridges far into the water as a protection against enemies of all sorts, and especially against the dragon of the Mountain.”  p. 163

82. The Value of the Wood-elves’ Realm:  “The elf-road through the wood which the dwarves had followed on the advice of Beorn now came to a doubtful and little used end at the eastern edge of the forest; only the river offered any longer a safe way from the skirts of Mirkwood in the North to the mountain-shadowed plains beyond, and the river was guarded by the Wood-elves’ king. - - - So you see Bilbo had come in the end by the only road that was any good.”  p. 175

83. Bilbo Tells Off Thorin:  “Well, are you alive or are you dead?”  Asked Bilbo quite crossly. . . “Are you still in prison, or are you free?  If you want food, and if you want to go on with this silly adventure—it’s yours after all and not mine—you had better slap your arms and rub your legs and try and help me get the others out while there is a chance!” - - - Thorin of course saw the sense of this so after a few more groans he got up and helped the hobbit as well as he could.”  pp. 178-179

84. On the Voice of the People:  “As for the Mater he saw there was nothing else for it but to obey the general clamor, for the moment at any rate, and to pretend to believe that Thorin was what he said.” p. 182  

85. How the Dwarves Were Treated in Laketown:  “So he [the Master of Laketown] gave up to him [Thorin] his own great chair and set Fili and Kili beside him in places of honour.  Even Bilbo was given a seat at the high table . . . Soon afterwards the other dwarves were brought into the town amid scenes of astonishing enthusiasm.  They were all doctored and fed and housed and pampered in the most delightful and satisfactory fashion. A large house was given up to Thorin and his company; boats and rowers were put at their service; and crowds sat outside and sang songs all day, or cheered in any dwarf showed so much as his nose. . . Indeed within a week they were quite recovered, fitted out in fine cloth of their proper colors, with beards combed and trimmed, and prod steps.  Thorin looked and walked as if his Kingdome was already regained and Smaug chopped up into little pieces.”  p. 183

86. Help Given by the Men of Lake Town:  “So one day, although autumn was now getting far on, and winds were cold, and leaves were falling fast, three large boats left Laketown, laden with rowers, dwarves, Mr. Baggins, and many provisions.  Horses and ponies had been sent round by circuitous paths to meet them at their appointed landing-place.  The Mater and his counselors bade them farewell from the great steps of the town-hall that went down to the lake.  People sang on the quays and out of windows.  The white oars dipped and splashed, and off they went north up the lake on the last stage of their long journey.”  p. 185 

87. As My Father Used to Say:  "I have got you out of two messes already, which were hardly in the original bargain, so that I am, I think, already owed some reward.  But ‘third time pays for all’ as my father used to say, and somehow I don’t think I shall refuse.”  p. 195

88. Balin Alone Volunteers to Go:  “Fili and Kili looked uncomfortable and stood on one leg, but the others made no pretense of offering—except old Balin, the look-out man, who was rather fond of the hobbit.  He said he would come inside at least and perhaps a bit of the way too, ready to call for help if necessary.”  p. 196

89. On Dwarves:  “There it is: dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin and Company, if you don’t expect too much.”  p. 196

90. Bilbo’s Bravest Moment:  “This grew to the unmistakable gurgling noise of some vast animal snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front of him . . . It was at this point that Bilbo stopped.  Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did.  The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it.  He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.  At any rate after a short halt go on he did. . .”  p.197

91. On Words, Elves, and Dragon Gold:  “To say that Bilbo’s breath was taken away is no description at all.  There are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language that they learned for elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.  Bilbo had heard tell and sing of dragon-hoards before, but the splendor, the lust, the glory of such treasure had never yet come home to him.  His heart was filled and pierced with enchantment and with the desire of dwarves; and he gazed motionless, almost forgetting the frightful guardian, at the god beyond price and count.” p. 198

92. Dragons, Their Treasures, and the Missing Cup:  “Above him [Bilbo] the sleeping dragon lay, a dire menace even in his sleep.  He grasped a great two-handled cup, as heavy as he could carry, and cast on fearful eye upwards.  Smaug stirred a wing, opened a claw, the rumble of his snoring changed its note. . .   Dragons may not have much real use for all their wealth, but they know it to an ounce as a rule, especially after long possession: and Smaug was no exception.   He had passed from an uneasy dream (in which a warrior, altogether insignificant in size but provided with a bitter sword and great courage, figured most unpleasantly) to a doze, and from a doze to wide waking.  There was a breath of strange air in his cave. . . He stirred and stretched forth his neck to sniff.  Then he missed the cup!”  p. 200

93. Bilbo, the Real Leader:  “Naturally the dwarves accepted the offer eagerly.  Already they had come to respect little Bilbo.  Now he had become the real leader in their adventure.”  p. 203

94. Dragons Love Riddles Too:  “No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.”  p. 205

95. Dragon-spell, Like the Voice of Saruman:  “Bilbo was now beginning to feel really uncomfortable.  Whenever Smaug’s roving eye, seeking for him in the shadows, flashed across him, he trembled, and an unaccountable desire seized hold of him to rush out and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug.  In fact he was in grievous danger of coming under the dragon-spell.”  p. 206

96. Smaug’s Brag:  “Now I am old and strong, strong, strong, Thief in the Shadows!” he gloated.  “My armour [sp.] is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!”  p. 207

97. Bilbo Tricks Smaug to Find His Weakness:  “I have always understood, said Bilbo in a frightened squeak, “that dragons were softer underneath, especially in the region of the—er—chest; but doubtless one so fortified has thought of that” - - - The dragon stopped short in his boasting.  “Your information is antiquated,” he snapped.  “I am armoured [sp.] above and below with iron scales and hard gems.  No blade can pierce me. . . The dragon rolled over. “Look!” he said.  “What do you say to that?” - - - Dazzlingly marvelous! Perfect!  Flawless!  Staggering!” exclaimed Bilbo aloud, but what he thought inside was: “Old fool!  Why, there is a large patch in the hollow of his left breast as bare as a snail out of its shell!”  p. 208

98. Bilbo Makes Another Saying:  “Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!” he said to himself, and it became a favorite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb.”  p. 209

99. Bilbo Promised the Choice of the Treasure:  “As for your share, Mr. Baggins, I assure you we are more than grateful and you shall choose your own fourteenth, as soon as we have anything to divide.”  p. 211

100. As My Father Used to Say, Again:  “Come, come!” he said.  “‘While there’s life there’s hope!’ as my father used to say.  And ‘Third time pays for all.’” p. 214

101. Bilbo Claims the Arkenstone:  “It was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain.  So Bilbo guessed from Thorin’s description; but indeed there could not be two such gems, even in so marvelous a hoard, even in all the world.  Ever as he climbed, the same white gleam had shone before him and drawn his feet towards it.  Slowly it grew to a little globe of pallid light.  Now as he came near, it was tinged with a flickering sparkle of many colors at the surface, reflected and splintered from the wavering light of his torch.  At last he looked down upon it, and he caught his breath.  The great jewel shone before his feet of its own inner light, and yet, cut and fashioned by the dwarves, who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long ago, it took all light that fell upon it and changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow. - - - Suddenly Bilbo’s arm went towards it drawn by its enchantment.  His small hand would not close about it, for it was a large and heavy gem; but he lifted it, shut his eyes, and put it in his deepest pocket.  - - - “Now I am a burglar indeed!”  pp. 216-217

102. Balin Volunteers to Go and Help Bilbo:  “It is about our turn to help,” said Balin, “and I am quite willing to go.  Anyway I expect it is safe for the moment.”  p. 218

103. Thorin Gives Bilbo a Coat of Mail:  “Mr. Baggins!” he cried.  “Here is the first payment of your reward!  Cast off you old coat and put on this!” - - - With that he put on Bilbo a small coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago.  It was of silver-steel, which the elves call mithril, and with it went a belt of pearls and crystals.  A light helm of figured leather, strengthened beneath with hoops of steel, and studded about the brim with white gems, was set upon the hobbit’s head?”  p. 219

104. On Cram:  “. . . chiefly cram and water.  (If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don’t know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise.  It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys.)”  p. 223

105. Lake-men Watch the Stars on the Lake:  “The men of the lake-town Esgaroth were mostly indoors, for the breeze was from the black East and chill, but a few were walking on the quays, and watching, as they were fond of doing, the stars shine out from the smooth patches of the lake as they opened in the sky.”  p. 225

106. Smaug Fears the Lake:  “If he [Smaug] plunged into it, a vapor and a steam would arise enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was mightier than he, it would quench him before he could pass through.”  p. 226

107. Meet Bard:  “No one had dared to give battle to him [Smaug] for many an age; nor would they have dared now, if it had not been for the grim-voiced man (Bard was his name), who ran to and fro cheering on the archers and urging the Master to order them to fight to the last arrow. . . there was a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses.  Their captain was Bard, grim-voiced and grim-faced. Whose friends had accused him of prophesying floods and poisoned fish, though they knew his worth and courage.  He was a descendant in the long line of Girion, Lord of Dale, whose wife and child had escaped down the Running River from the ruin long ago.”  pp. 227-228

108. The Thrush Brings Bilbo’s Words to Bard:  “Suddenly out of the dark something fluttered to his shoulder.  He started—but it was only an old thrush.  Unafraid it perched by his ear and it brought him news.  Marveling he found he could understand its tongue, for he was of the race of Dale. - - - “Wait! Wait!” it said to him.  “The moon is rising.  Look for the hollow of the left breast as he flies and turns above you!”  And while Bard paused in wonder it told him of tidings up in the Mountain and of all that it had heard.. - - - The Bard drew his bow-sting to his ear.  The dragon was circling back, flying low, and as he came the moon rose above the eastern shore and silvered his great wings.”  p. 228

109. The Speech on the Arrow – the Death of Smaug:  “Arrow!” said the bowman. “Black arrow!  I have saved you to the last.  You have never failed me and always I have recovered you.  I had you from my father and he from of old.  If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!” - - - The dragon swooped once  more lower than ever, and as he turned and dived down his belly glittered white with sparkling fires of gems in the moon—but not in one place.  The great bow twanged.  The black arrow sped straight from the string, straight for the hollow by the left breast where the foreleg was flung wide.   In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight.  With a shriek that deafened men, felled trees and split stone, Smaug shot spouting into the air, turned over and crashed down from on high in ruin.”  pp. 228-229

110. One Quarter of the Men of Laketown Killed by Smaug:  “. . . three quarters of the people of the town had at least escaped alive . . .” p. 229

111. The Call to Make Bard King:  “And they praised the courage of Bard and his last mighty shot.  “If only he had not been killed,” they said, “we would make him a king.  Bard the Dragon-shooter of the line of Girion!”  p. 229

112. The Master Argues in Defense of Democracy:  “Girion was lord of Dale, not king of Esgaroth,” he [the Master] said.  “In the Lake town we have always elected masers for among the old and wise, and have not endured the rule of mere fighting men.  Let ‘King Bard’ go back to his own kingdom—Dale is now freed by his valor, and nothing hinders his return.”  p. 230

113. Help from the Elvenking:  “But the king, when he received the prayers of Bard, had pity, for he was a lord of a good and kindly people; so turning his march, which had at first been direct towards the Mountain, he hastened now down the river to the Long Lake. He had not boats or rafts enough for his host, and they were forced to go the slower way by foot; but great store of goods he sent ahead by water. . . Their welcome was good, as may be expected, and the men and their Master were ready to make any bargain for the future in return for the Elvenking’s aid.” pp. 232-233

114. How Crows Differ from Ravens:  “Those were crows!  And nasty suspicious-looking creatures at that, and rude as well.  You must have heard the ugly names they were calling after us.  But the ravens are different.  There used to be a great friendship between them and the people of Thror; and they often brought us secret news, and were rewarded with such bright things as they coveted to hide in their dwellings.”  p. 235

115.  The Just Claims of Bard:  “I am Bard, and by my hand was the dragon slain and your treasure delivered.  Is that not a matter that concerns you?  Moreover I am by right decent the heir of Girion of Dale, and in your hoard is mingled much of the wealth of his halls and towns, which of old Smaug stole. Is not that a matter of which we may speak?  Further in his last battle Smaug destroyed the dwellings of the men of Esgaroth, and I am yet the servant of their Master.  I would speak for him and ask whether you have no thought for the sorrow and misery of his people.  They aided you in your distress, and in recompense you have thus far brought ruin only, through doubtless undersigned. - - - Now these were fair words and true, if proudly and grimly spoken; and Bilbo thought that Thorin would at once admit what justice was in them.”  p. 241

116. Bilbo Did Not Expect Recognition for Discovering Smaug’s Weak Spot:  “He [Bilbo] did not, of course, expect that anyone would remember that it was he who discovered all by himself the dragon’s weak spot; and that was just as well, for no one ever did.”  p. 241

11. Bard Recounts the Friendship of the Elves:  “The Elvenking is my friend, and he has succored the people of the Lake in their need, though they had no claim but friendship on him.” answered Bard.”  p. 242  

11. Bombur, FIli, Kili, and Bilbo Were for Peace:  “So grim had Thorin become, that even if they had wished, the others would not have dared to find fault with him; but indeed most of them seemed to share his mind—except perhaps old fat Bombur and Fili and Kili.  Bilbo, of course, disapproved of the whole turn of affairs.”  p. 243

11. Bilbo and the Elvenking:  “This is the Arkenstone of Thrain,” said Bilbo, “the Heart of the Mountain.  - - - But how is it yours to give?  He asked at last with an effort. - - - O well!’ said the hobbit uncomfortably.  It isn’t exactly; but, well, I am willing to let it stand against all my claim, don’t you know.  I may be a burglar—or so they say: personally I never really felt like one—but I am an honest one, I hope, more or less.  Anyway I am going back now, and the dwarves can do what they like to me.  I hope you will find it useful.” - - - The Elvenking looked at Bilbo with a new wonder. “Bilbo Baggins!” he said.  “You are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-prince then many that have looked more comely in it.  But I wonder if Thorin Oakenshield will see it so.  I have more knowledge of dwarves in general than you have perhaps.  I advise you to remain with us, and here you shall be honoured and thrice welcome.”  p. 248

120. Dain’s Dwarves Described:  “Each one of his [Dain's] folk was clad in a hauberk of steel mail that hung to his knees, and his legs were covered with hose of a fine and flexible metal mesh, the secret of whose making was possessed by Dain’s people.  The dwarves are exceedingly strong for their height, but most of these were strong even for dwarves.  In battle they wielded heavy two-handed mattocks; but each of them had also a short broad sword at his side and a round shield slung at his back.  Their beards were forked and plaited and thrust into their belts.  Their caps were of iron and they were shod with iron, and their faces were grim.”  p.253

121. Wisdom of the Elvenking:  “But the Elvenking said: “Long will I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold.  The dwarves cannot pass us, unless we will, or do anything that we cannot mark.  Let us hope still something that will bring reconciliation.  Our advantage in numbers will be enough, if in the end it must come to unhappy blows.” pp. 254-255

122. The Goblins Are Upon You:  “Halt!” cried Gandalf, who appeared suddenly, and stood alone with arms uplifted, between the advancing dwarves and the ranks awaiting them.  “Halt!” he called in a voice like thunder, and his staff blazed forth with a flash like the lightning.  “Dread has come upon you all! Alas! it has come more swiftly than I guessed.  The Goblins are upon you!  Bolg* [*Son of Azog] of the North is coming, O Dain! whose father you slew in Moria.  Behold! The bats are above his army like a sea of locusts.  They ride upon wolves and Wargs are in their train!”  p. 255

123. The Enemy of My Enemy [As My Father Used to Say]:  “This is the plan that he made in council with the Elvenking and with Bard; and with Dain, for the dwarf-lord now joined them: the Goblins were the foes of all, and at their coming all other quarrels were forgotten.”  p. 256

124. Like the Nazis:  “their banners were countless, black and red, and they came on like a tide in fury and disorder.” p. 257

125. Bilbo Makes His Stand with the Elves:  On all this Bilbo looked with misery.  He had taken his stand on Ravenhill among the Elves—partly because there was more chance of escape from that point, and partly (with the more Tookish part of his mind) because if he was going to be in a last desperate stand, he preferred on the whole to defend the Elvenking.”  p. 259

126. Out of the West – The Eagles Are Coming:  ‘The clouds were torn by the wind, and a red sunset slashed the West.  Seeing the sudden gleam in the gloom Bilbo looked round.,  He gave a great cry” he had seen a sight that made his heart leap, dark shapes yet majestic against the distant glow. - - -“The Eagles! The Eagles! he shouted.  “The Eagles are coming!” p. 260

127. Even Gandalf Wounded:  “. . . Bilbo was set down before a tent in Dale; and there stood Gandalf, with his arm in a sling.  Even the wizard had not escaped without a wound; and there were few unharmed in all the host.”  p. 262

128. Thorin’s Final Words to Bilbo:  “Farewell, good thief,” he said.  “I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed.  Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth, I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the Gate.” - - - Bilbo knelt on one knee filled with sorrow.  “Farewell, King under the Mountain!” he said.  “This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it.  Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils—that has been more than any Baggins deserves.” - - -“No!”  said Thorin.  “There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West.  Some courage and some wisdom blended in measure.  If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.  But sad or merry, I must leave it now.  Farewell!”  pp. 262-263

129. Beorn’s Role in the Victory:  “But even with the Eagles they were still outnumbered.  In the last hour Beorn himself had appeared—no one knew how or from where.  He came alone, and in bear’s shape; and he seemed to have grown almost to giant-size in his wrath. - - - The roar of his voice was like drums and guns; and he tossed wolves and goblins from his path like straws and feathers.  He fell upon the rear, and broke like a clap of thunder through the ring.  The dwarves were making a stand still about their lords upon a low rounded hill.  Then Beorn stooped and lifted Thorin, who had fallen pierced with spears, and bore him out of the fray. - - - Swiftly he returned and his wrath was redoubled, so that nothing could withstand him, and no weapon seemed to bite upon him.  He scattered the bodyguard, and pulled down Bolg himself and crushed him.  Then dismay fell on the Goblins and they fled in all directions.  But weariness left their enemies with the coming of new hope, and they pursued them closely, and prevented most of them form escaping were they could . . . Songs have said that three parts of the goblin warrior of the North perished on that day, and the mountains had peace for many a year.”  pp. 263-264

130. Thorin’s Tomb:  “They buried Thorin deep beneath the Mountain, and Bard laid the Arkenstone upon his breast. - - - “There let it lie till the Mountain falls!” he said.   “May it bring good fortune to all his folk that dwell here after!” - - - Upon his tomb the Elvenking then laid Orcrist, the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin in captivity.  It is said in songs that it gleamed ever in the dark if foes approached, and the fortress of the dwarves could not be taken by surprise.”  pp. 265

131. Fili and Kili Also Killed:  “Fili and Kili had fallen defending him [Thorin] with shield and body, for he was their mother’s elder brother.”  p. 265

132. Bilbo’s Treasure:  “In the end he would only take two small chests, one filled with silver, and the other with gold, such as one strong pony could carry.  “That will be quite as much as I can manage,” said he.”  p. 266

133. You Don’t Need to Knock:  “If ever you are passing my way,” said Bilbo, “don’t wait to knock!  Tea is at four; but any of you are welcome at any time!”  p. 266

134. Homeward with the Elvenking (Including His Blessings on Gandalf and Bilbo):  “Gandalf and Bilbo road behind the Elvenking, and beside them strode Beorn, once again in man’s shape, and he laughed and sang in a loud voice upon the road . . . the wizard and Bilbo would not enter the wood, even though the king bade them stay a while in his halls. . . Farewell! O Elvenking!” said Gandalf.  “Merry be the greenwood, while the world is yet young!  And merry be all your folk!” - - - “Farewell! O Gandalf!” said the king.  "May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected!  The oftener you appear in my halls the better shall I be pleased!” - - - “I beg of you,’ said Bilbo stammering and standing on one foot, “to accept this gift!” and he brought out a necklace of silver and pearls that Dain had given him at their parting. - - - “In what way have I earned such a gift, O hobbit?” said the king. - - - “Well, er, I thought, don’t you know,” said Bilbo rather confused, “that, er, some little return should be made for your, er, hospitality.  I mean even a burglar has his feelings.  I have drunk much of your wine and eaten much or your bread.” - - - “I will take your gift, O Bilbo the Magnificent!” said the king gravely.  “And I name you elf-friend and blessed.  May you shadow never grow less (or stealing would be too easy)! Farewell.”  p. 267

135. There Are More Stories to Tell:  “He [Bilbo] had many adventures before he got back.”  p. 267

136. Home at Last, Took v Baggins Once Again:  “So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!” said Bilbo, and he turned his back on his adventures.  The Tookish part was getting very tired, and the Baggins was daily getting stronger.  “I wish now only to be in my own armchair!” he said.”  p. 268 

137. What Gandalf Was Doing (White Wizards Council):  “It appeared that Gandalf had been to a great council of the white wizards, master of lore and good magic; and that they had at last driven the Necromancer from his dark hold in south of Mirkwood. “  p. 271

138. Elrond’s Warning Concerning Saron: “Ere long now,” Gandalf was saying, “the Forest will grow somewhat more wholesome.  The North will be freed from that horror for many long years, I hope.  Yet I wish he were vanished from the world!” - - - “It would be well indeed,” said Elrond; “but I fear that will not come about in this age of the world, or for many after.”  p. 271

139. In the House of Elrond:  “A little sleep does a great cure in the house of Elrond,” said he [Bilbo]; “but I will take all the cure I can get.  A second good night, fair friends!”  And with that he went back to bed and slept till late morning. - - - Weariness fell from him soon in that house, and he had many a merry jest and dance, early and late, with the elves of the valley.”  p. 272  

140. Bilbo’s Poem on the Road:  “Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon. - - - Roads go ever ever on, Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar.  Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known. - - - Gandalf looked at him.  “My dear Bilbo!” he said.  “Something is the matter with you!  You are not the hobbit that you were.”  p. 273 

141. On Sackville-Baggineses:  "Bilbo’s cousins the Sackville-Bagginses were, in fact, busy measuring his rooms to see if their own furniture would fit. . . in the end to save time Bilbo had to buy back quite a lot of his own furniture.  Many of his silver spoons mysteriously disappeared and were never accounted for.  Personally he suspected the Sackville-Bagginses.  On their side they never admitted that the returned Baggins was genuine, and they were not on friendly terms with Bilbo ever after.  They really had wanted to live in his nice hobbit-hole so very much.”  p. 274

142. Bilbo Had “Lost” His Reputation:  “Indeed Bilbo found he had lost more than spoons—he had lost his reputation.  It is true that for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passes that way; but he was no longer quite respectable.   He was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighborhood to be ‘queer’—except by his nephews and nieces on the Took side, but even they were not encouraged in their friendship by their elders.”  p. 275

143. The Rest of His Days:  “He [Bilbo] took to writing poetry and visiting the elves; and though many shook their heads and touched their foreheads and said “Poor old Baggins!” and though few believed any of his tales, he remained very happy to the end of his days, and those were extraordinarily long.” p. 275

144. The Prophesies Fulfilled:  “Bard had rebuilt the town in Dale. . . And Lake-town was refounded and was more prosperous than ever, and much wealth went up and down the Running River; and there was friendship in those parts between elves and dwarves and men. - - - Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!” said Bilbo. - - - “Of course!” said Gandalf. “And why should not they prove true?  Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself?  You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?  You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!” - - - Thank goodness!” said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar.”  p. 275- 76