The Fellowship Of The Ring - Chapter 19 - Farewell to Lurien

That night the Company was again summoned to the chamber of Celeborn,
and there the Lord and Lady greeted them with fair words. At length Celeborn
spoke of their departure.
`Now is the time,' he said, `when those who wish to continue the Quest
must harden their hearts to leave this land. Those who no longer wish to go
forward may remain here, for a while. But whether they stay or go, none can
be sure of peace. For we are come now to the edge of doom. Here those who
wish may await the oncoming of the hour till either the ways of the world
lie open again. or we summon them to the last need of Lurien. Then they may
return to their own lands, or else go to the long home of those that fall in
battle.'
There was a silence. `They all resolved to go forward,' said Galadriel
looking in their eyes.
`As for me,' said Boromir, `my way home lies onward and not back.'
`That is true,' said Celeborn, `but is all this Company going with you
to Minas Tirith? '
`We have not decided our course,' said Aragorn. 'Beyond Lothlurien I do
not know what Gandalf intended to do. Indeed I do not think that even he had
any clear purpose.'
`Maybe not,' said Celeborn, `yet when you leave this land, you can no
longer forget the Great River. As some of you know well, it cannot be
crossed by travellers with baggage between Lurien and Gondor, save by boat.
And are not the bridges of Osgiliath broken down and all the landings held
now by the Enemy?
`On which side will you journey? The way to Minas Tirith lies upon this
side, upon the west; but the straight road of the Quest lies east of the
River, upon the darker shore. Which shore will you now take? '
`If my advice is heeded, it will be the western shore, and the way to
Minas Tirith,' answered Boromir. `But I am not the leader of the Company.'
The others said nothing, and Aragorn looked doubtful and troubled.
`I see that you do not yet know what to do,' said Celeborn. `It is not
my part to choose for you; but I will help you as I may. There are some
among you who can handle boats: Legolas, whose folk know the swift Forest
River; and Boromir of Gondor; and Aragorn the traveller.'
`And one Hobbit! ' cried Merry. `Not all of us look on boats as wild
horses. My people live by the banks of the Brandywine.'
`That is well,' said Celeborn. `Then I will furnish your Company with
boats. They must be small and light, for if you go far by water, there are
places where you will be forced to carry them. You will come to the rapids
of Sarn Gebir, and maybe at last to the great falls of Rauros where the
River thunders down from Nen Hithoel; and there are other perils. Boats may
make your journey less toilsome for a while. Yet they will not give you
counsel: in the end you must leave them and the River, and turn west-or
east.'
Aragorn thanked Celeborn many times. The gift of boats comforted him
much, not least because there would now be no need to decide his course for
some days. The others, too, looked more hopeful. Whatever perils lay ahead,
it seemed better to float down the broad tide of Anduin to meet them than to
plod forward with bent backs. Only Sam was doubtful: he at any rate still
thought boats as bad as wild horses, or worse, and not all the dangers that
he had survived made him think better of them.
`All shall be prepared for you and await you at the haven before noon
tomorrow,' said Celeborn. 'I will send my people to you in the morning to
help you make ready for the journey. Now we will wish you all a fair night
and untroubled sleep.'
'Good night, my friends! ' said Galadriel. 'Sleep in peace! Do not
trouble your hearts overmuch with thought of the road tonight. Maybe the
paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, though
you do not see them. Good night! '
The Company now took their leave and returned to their pavilion.
Legolas went with them, for this was to be their last night in Lothlurien,
and in spite of the words of Galadriel they wished to take counsel together.
For a long time they debated what they should do, and how it would be
best to attempt the fulfilling of their purpose with the Ring: but they came
to no decision. It was plain that most of them desired to go first to Minas
Tirith, and to escape at least for a while from the terror of the Enemy.
They would have been willing to follow a leader over the River and into the
shadow of Mordor; but Frodo spoke no word, and Aragorn was still divided in
his mind.
His own plan, while Gandalf remained with them, had been to go with
Boromir, and with his sword help to deliver Gondor. For he believed that the
message of the dreams was a summons, and that the hour had come at last
when
the heir of Elendil should come forth and strive with Sauron for the
mastery. But in Moria the burden of Gandalf had been laid on him; and he
knew that he could not now forsake the Ring, if Frodo refused in the end to
go with Boromir. And yet what help could he or any of the Company give to
Frodo, save to walk blindly with him into the darkness?
`I shall go to Minas Tirith, alone if need be, for it is my duty,' said
Boromir; and after that he was silent for a while, sitting with his eyes
fixed on Frodo, as if he was trying to read the Halfling's thoughts. At
length he spoke again, softly, as if he was debating with himself. `If you
wish only to destroy the Ring,' he said, `then there is little use in war
and weapons; and the Men of Minas Tirith cannot help. But if you wish to
destroy the armed might of the Dark Lord, then it is folly to go without
force into his domain; and folly to throw away.' He paused suddenly, as if
he had become aware that he was speaking his thoughts aloud. `It would be
folly to throw lives away, I mean,' he ended. `It is a choice between
defending a strong place and walking openly into the arms of death. At
least, that is how I see it.'
Frodo caught something new and strange in Boromir's glance, and he
looked hard at him. Plainly Boromir's thought was different from his final
words. It would be folly to throw away: what? The Ring of Power? He had said
something like this at the Council, but then he had accepted the correction
of Elrond. Frodo looked at Aragorn, but he seemed deep in his own thought
and made no sign that he had heeded Boromir's words. And so their debate
ended. Merry and Pippin were already asleep, and Sam was nodding. The
night
was growing old.
In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender goods,
Elves that could speak their tongue came to them and brought them many gifts
of food and clothing for the journey. The food was mostly in the form of
very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside,
and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and
looked at it with a doubtful eye.
`Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and
nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of
the cake with relish.
`No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. `You have eaten enough
already for a long day's march.'
`I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dale-men make for
journeys in the wild,' said the Dwarf.
`So it is,' they answered. `But we call it lembas or waybread, and it
is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant
than cram, by all accounts.'
`Indeed it is,' said Gimli. 'Why it is better than the honey-cakes of
the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best
bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes
to travellers in these days. You are kindly hosts! '
'All the same, we bid you spare the food,' they said. 'Eat little at a
time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all
else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are
unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them. One will
keep a traveller on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of
the tall Men of Minas Tirith.'
The Elves next unwrapped and gave to each of the Company the clothes
they had brought. For each they had provided a hood and cloak, made
according to his size, of the light but warm silken stuff that the Galadhrim
wove. It was hard to say of what colour they were: grey with the hue of
twilight under the trees they seemed to be; and yet if they were moved, or
set in another light, they were green as shadowed leaves, or brown as fallow
fields by night, dusk-silver as water under the stars. Each cloak was
fastened about the neck with a brooch like a green leaf veined with silver.
`Are these magic cloaks? ' asked Pippin, looking at them with wonder.
`I do not know what you mean by that,' answered the leader of the
Elves. `They are fair garments, and the web is good, for it was made in this
land. They are elvish robes certainly, if that is what you mean. Leaf and
branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things
under the twilight of Lurien that we love; for we put the thought of all
that we love into all that we make. Yet they are garments, not armour, and
they will not turn shaft or blade. But they should serve you well: they are
light to wear, and warm enough or cool enough at need. And you will find
them a great aid in keeping out of the sight of unfriendly eyes, whether you
walk among the stones or the trees. You are indeed high in the favour of the
Lady! For she herself and her maidens wove this stuff; and never before have
we clad strangers in the garb of our own people.'
After their morning meal the Company said farewell to the lawn by the
fountain. Their hearts were heavy; for it was a fair place, and it had
become like home to them, though they could not count the days and nights
that they had passed there. As they stood for a moment looking at the white
water in the sunlight, Haldir came walking towards them over the green grass
of the glade. Frodo greeted him with delight.
'I have returned from the Northern Fences,' said the Elf, `and I am
sent now to be your guide again. The Dimrill Dale is full of vapour and
clouds of smoke, and the mountains are troubled. There are noises in the
deeps of the earth. If any of you had thought of returning northwards to
your homes, you would not have been able to pass that way. But come! Your
path now goes south.'
As they walked through Caras Galadhon the green ways were empty; but in
the trees above them many voices were murmuring and singing. They
themselves
went silently. At last Haldir led them down the southward slopes of the
hill, and they came again to the great gate hung with lamps, and to the
white bridge; and so they passed out and left the city of the Elves. Then
they turned away from the paved road and took a path that went off into a
deep thicket of mallorn-trees, and passed on, winding through rolling
woodlands of silver shadow, leading them ever down, southwards and
eastwards, towards the shores of the River.
They had gone some ten miles and noon was at hand when they came on a
high green wall. Passing through an opening they came suddenly out of the
trees. Before them lay a long lawn of shining grass, studded with golden
elanor that glinted in the sun. The lawn ran out into a narrow tongue
between bright margins: on the right and west the Silverlode flowed
glittering; on the left and east the Great River rolled its broad waters,
deep and dark. On the further shores the woodlands still marched on
southwards as far as the eye could see, but all the banks were bleak and
bare. No mallorn lifted its gold-hung boughs beyond the Land of Lurien.
On the bank of the Silverlode, at some distance up from the meeting of
the streams, there was a hythe of white stones and white wood. By it were
moored many boats and barges. Some were brightly painted, and shone with
silver and gold and green, but most were either white or grey. Three small
grey boats had been made ready for the travellers, and in these the Elves
stowed their goods. And they added also coils of rope, three to each boat.
Slender they looked, but strong, silken to the touch, grey of hue like the
elven-cloaks.
`What are these? ' asked Sam, handling one that lay upon the
greensward.
`Ropes indeed! ' answered an Elf from the boats. 'Never travel far
without a rope! And one that is long and strong and light. Such are these.
They may be a help in many needs.'
'You don't need to tell me that! ' said Sam. `I came without any and
I've been worried ever since. But I was wondering what these were made of,
knowing a bit about rope-making: it's in the family as you might say.'
`They are made of hithlain,' said the Elf, `but there is no time now to
instruct you in the art of their making. Had we known that this craft
delighted you, we could have taught you much. But now alas! unless you
should at some time return hither, you must be content with our gift. May it
serve you well! '
`Come! ' said Haldir. `All is now ready for you. Enter the boats! But
take care at first! '
'Heed the words! ' said the other Elves. 'These boats are light-built,
and they are crafty and unlike the boats of other folk. They will not sink,
lade them as you will; but they are wayward if mishandled. It would be wise
if you accustomed yourselves to stepping in and out, here where there is a
landing-place, before you set off downstream.'
The Company was arranged in this way: Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam were in
one boat; Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in another; and in the third were
Legolas and Gimli, who had now become fast friends. In this last boat most
of the goods and packs were stowed. The boats were moved and steered with
short-handled paddles that had broad leaf-shaped blades. When all was ready
Aragorn led them on a trial up the Silverlode. The current was swift and
they went forward slowly. Sam sat in the bows, clutching the sides, and
looking back wistfully to the shore. The sunlight glittering on the water
dazzled his eyes. As they passed beyond the green field of the Tongue, the
trees drew down to the river's brink. Here and there golden leaves tossed
and floated on the rippling stream. The air was very bright and still, and
there was a silence, except for the high distant song of larks.
They turned a sharp bend in the river, and there, sailing proudly down
the stream toward them, they saw a swan of great size. The water rippled on
either side of the white breast beneath its curving neck. Its beak shone
like burnished gold, and its eyes glinted like jet set in yellow stones; its
huge white wings were half lifted. A music came down the river as it drew
nearer; and suddenly they perceived that it was a ship, wrought and carved
with elven-skill in the likeness of a bird. Two elves clad in white steered
it with black paddles. In the midst of the vessel sat Celeborn, and behind
him stood Galadriel, tall and white; a circlet of golden flowers was in her
hair, and in her hand she held a harp, and she sang. Sad and sweet was the
sound of her voice in the cool clear air:
I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lurien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
O Lurien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
Aragorn stayed his boat as the Swan-ship drew alongside. The Lady ended
her song and greeted them. `We have come to bid you our last farewell,' she
said, `and to speed you with blessings from our land.'
`Though you have been our guests,' said Celeborn, `you have not yet
eaten with us, and we bid you, therefore, to a parting feast, here between
the flowing waters that will bear you far from Lurien.'
The Swan passed on slowly to the hythe, and they turned their boats and
followed it. There in the last end of Egladil upon the green grass the
parting feast was held; but Frodo ate and drank little, heeding only the
beauty of the Lady and her voice. She seemed no longer perilous or terrible,
nor filled with hidden power. Already she seemed to him, as by men of later
days Elves still at times are seen: present and yet remote, a living vision
of that which has already been left far behind by the flowing streams of
Time.
After they had eaten and drunk, sitting upon the grass, Celeborn spoke
to them again of their journey, and lifting his hand he pointed south to the
woods beyond the Tongue.
`As you go down the water,' he said, `you will find that the trees will
fail, and you will come to a barren country. There the River flows in stony
vale amid high moors, until at last after many leagues it comes to the tall
island of the Tindrock, that we call Tol Brandir. There it casts its arms
about the steep shores of the isle, and falls then with a great noise and
smoke over the cataracts of Rauros down into the Nindalf, the Wetwang as it
is called in your tongue. That is a wide region of sluggish fen where the
stream becomes tortuous and much divided. There the Entwash flows in by
many
mouths from the Forest of Fangorn in the west. About that stream, on this
side of the Great River, lies Rohan. On the further side are the bleak hills
of the Emyn Muil. The wind blows from the East there, for they look out over
the Dead Marshes and the Noman-lands to Cirith Gorgor and the black gates of
Mordor.
'Boromir, and any that go with him seeking Minas Tirith, will do well
to leave the Great River above Rauros and cross the Entwash before it finds
the marshes. Yet they should not go too far up that stream, nor risk
becoming entangled in the Forest of Fangorn. That is a strange land, and is
now little known. But Boromir and Aragorn doubtless do not need this
warning.'
'Indeed we have heard of Fangorn in Minas Tirith,' said Boromir. `But
what I have heard seems to me for the most part old wives' tales, such as we
tell to our children. All that lies north of Rohan is now to us so far away
that fancy can wander freely there. Of old Fangorn lay upon the borders of
our realm; but it is now many lives of men since any of us visited it, to
prove or disprove the legends that have come down from distant years.
`I have myself been at whiles in Rohan, but I have never crossed it
northwards. When I was sent out as a messenger, I passed through the Gap by
the skirts of the White Mountains, and crossed the Isen and the Greyflood
into Northerland. A long and wearisome journey. Four hundred leagues I
reckoned it, and it took me many months; for I lost my horse at Tharbad, at
the fording of the Greyflood. After that journey, and the road I have
trodden with this Company, I do not much doubt that I shall find a way
through Rohan, and Fangorn too, if need be.'
`Then I need say no more,' said Celeborn. 'But do not despise the lore
that has come down from distant years; for oft it may chance that old wives
keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know.'
Now Galadriel rose from the grass, and taking a cup from one of her
maidens she filled it with white mead and gave it to Celeborn.
'Now it is time to drink the cup of farewell,' she said. `Drink, Lord
of the Galadhrim! And let not your heart be sad though night must follow
noon, and already our evening draweth nigh.'
Then she brought the cup to each of the Company, and bade them drink
and farewell. But when they had drunk she commanded them to sit again on the
grass, and chairs were set for her and for Celeborn. Her maidens stood
silent about her, and a while she looked upon her guests. At last she spoke
again.
'We have drunk the cup of parting,' she said, `and the shadows fall
between us. But before you go, I have brought in my ship gifts which the
Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim now offer you in memory of Lothlurien.'
Then
she called to each in turn.
`Here is the gift of Celeborn and Galadriel to the leader of your
Company,' she said to Aragorn, and she gave him a sheath that had been made
to fit his sword. It was overlaid with a tracery of flowers and leaves
wrought of silver and gold, and on it were set in elven runes formed of many
gems the name And®ril and the lineage of the sword.
`The blade that is drawn from this sheath shall not be stained or
broken even in defeat,' she said. `But is there aught else that you desire
of me at our parting? For darkness will flow between us, and it may be that
we shall not meet again, unless it be far hence upon a road that has no
returning.'
And Aragorn answered: 'Lady, you know all my desire, and long held in
keeping the only treasure that I seek. Yet it is not yours to give me, even
if you would; and only through darkness shall I come to it.'
`Yet maybe this will lighten your heart,' said Galadriel; `for it was
left in my care to be given to you, should you pass through this land.' Then
she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver
brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings;
and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the
leaves of spring. `This stone I gave to Celebrnan my daughter, and she to
hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. In this hour take the name
that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil! '
Then Aragorn took the stone and pinned the brooch upon his breast, and
those who saw him wondered; for they had not marked before how tall and
kingly he stood, and it seemed to them that many years of toil had fallen
from his shoulders. `For the gifts that you have given me I thank you,' he
said, 'O Lady of Lurien of whom were sprung Celebrnan and Arwen
Evenstar.
What praise could I say more? '
The Lady bowed her head, and she turned then to Boromir, and to him she
gave a belt of gold; and to Merry and Pippin she gave small silver belts,
each with a clasp wrought like a golden flower. To Legolas she gave a bow
such as the Galadhrim used, longer and stouter than the bows of Mirkwood,
and strung with a string of elf-hair. With it went a quiver of arrows.
`For you little gardener and lover of trees,' she said to Sam, `I have
only a small gift.' She put into his hand a little box of plain grey wood,
unadorned save for a single silver rune upon the lid. `Here is set G for
Galadriel,' she said; `but also it may stand for garden in your tongue. In
this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has
still to bestow is upon it. It will not keep you on your road, nor defend
you against any peril; but if you keep it and see your home again at last,
then perhaps it may reward you. Though you should find all barren and laid
waste, there will be few gardens in Middle-earth that will bloom like your
garden, if you sprinkle this earth there. Then you may remember Galadriel,
and catch a glimpse far off of Lurien, that you have seen only in our
winter. For our spring and our summer are gone by, and they will never be
seen on earth again save in memory.'
Sam went red to the ears and muttered something inaudible, as he
clutched the box and bowed as well as he could.
`And what gift would a Dwarf ask of the Elves? ' said Galadriel turning
to Gimli.
`None, Lady,' answered Gimli. `It is enough for me to have seen the
Lady of the Galadhrim, and to have heard her gentle words.'
`Hear all ye Elves! ' she cried to those about her. `Let none say again
that Dwarves are grasping and ungracious! Yet surely, Gimli son of Gluin,
you desire something that I could give? Name it, I bid you! You shall not be
the only guest without a gift.'
`There is nothing, Lady Galadriel,' said Gimli, bowing low and
stammering. `Nothing, unless it might be-unless it is permitted to ask. nay,
to name a single strand of your hair, which surpasses the gold of the earth
as the stars surpass the gems of the mine. I do not ask for such a gift. But
you commanded me to name my desire.'
The Elves stirred and murmured with astonishment, and Celeborn gazed at
the Dwarf in wonder, but the Lady smiled. 'It is said that the skill of the
Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues ' she said; `yet that
is not true of Gimli. For none have ever made to me a request so bold and
yet so courteous. And how shall I refuse, since I commanded him to speak?
But tell me, what would you do with such a gift? '
`Treasure it, Lady,' he answered, `in memory of your words to me at our
first meeting. And if ever I return to the smithies of my home, it shall be
set in imperishable crystal to be an heirloom of my house, and a pledge of
good will between the Mountain and the Wood until the end of days.'
Then the Lady unbraided one of her long tresses, and cut off three
golden hairs, and laid them in Gimli's hand. `These words shall go with the
gift,' she said. `I do not foretell, for all foretelling is now vain: on the
one hand lies darkness, and on the other only hope. But if hope should not
fail, then I say to you, Gimli son of Gluin, that your hands shall flow with
gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.
`And you, Ring-bearer,' she said, turning to Frodo. `I come to you last
who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this.' She held up
a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light
sprang from her hand. 'In this phial,' she said, `is caught the light of
Edrendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still
brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places,
when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror! '
Frodo took the phial, and for a moment as it shone between them, he saw
her again standing like a queen, great and beautiful, but no longer
terrible. He bowed, but found no words to say.
Now the Lady arose, and Celeborn led them back to the hythe. A yellow
noon lay on the green land of the Tongue, and the water glittered with
silver. All at last was made ready. The Company took their places in the
boats as before. Crying farewell, the Elves of Lurien with long grey poles
thrust them out into the flowing stream, and the rippling waters bore them
slowly away. The travellers sat still without moving or speaking. On the
green bank near to the very point of the Tongue the Lady Galadriel stood
alone and silent. As they passed her they turned and their eyes watched her
slowly floating away from them. For so it seemed to them: Lurien was
slipping backward, like a bright ship masted with enchanted trees, sailing
on to forgotten shores, while they sat helpless upon the margin of the grey
and leafless world.
Even as they gazed, the Silverlode passed out into the currents of the
Great River, and their boats turned and began to speed southwards. Soon the
white form of the Lady was small and distant. She shone like a window of
glass upon a far hill in the westering sun, or as a remote lake seen from a
mountain: a crystal fallen in the lap of the land. Then it seemed to Frodo
that she lifted her arms in a final farewell, and far but piercing-clear on
the following wind came the sound of her voice singing. But now she sang in
the ancient tongue of the Elves beyond the Sea, and he did not understand
the words: fair was the music, but it did not comfort him.
Yet as is the way of Elvish words, they remained graven in his memory,
and long afterwards he interpreted them, as well as he could: the language
was that of Elven-song and spoke of things little known on Middle-earth.
Ai! lauril lantar lassi s®rinen,
Yjni ®nutiml ve rbmar aldaron!
Yjni ve lintl yuldar avbnier
mi oromardi lisse-miruvureva
And®nl pella, Vardo tellumar
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
umaryo airetbri-lnrinen.
Sn man i yulma nin enquantuva?
An sn Tintalll Varda Oiolosslo
ve fanyar mbryat Elentbri ortanl
ar ilyl tier undulbvl lumbull;
ar sindanuriello caita mornil
i falmalinnar imbl met, ar hnsil
unt®pa Calaciryo mnri oiall.
Si vanwa nb, Rumello vanwa, Valimar!
Nambril! Nai hiruvalyl Valimar.
Nai elyl hiruva. Nambril!
`Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind, long years numberless as
the wings of trees! The long years have passed like swift draughts of the
sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the West, beneath the blue vaults of Varda
wherein the stars tremble in the song of her voice, holy and queenly. Who
now shall refill the cup for me? For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of
the Stars, from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds, and all
paths are drowned deep in shadow; and out of a grey country darkness lies on
the foaming waves between us, and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for
ever. Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar! Farewell! Maybe thou
shalt find Valimar. Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell! ' Varda is the
name of that Lady whom the Elves in these lands of exile name Elbereth.
Suddenly the River swept round a bend, and the banks rose upon either
side, and the light of Lurien was hidden. To that fair land Frodo never came
again.
The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was
before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears.
Gimli wept openly.
`I have looked the last upon that which was fairest,' he said to
Legolas his companion. `Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be
her gift.' He put his hand to his breast.
`Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know
where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not
foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger
that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I
known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this
parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for
Gimli son of Gluin! '
`Nay! ' said Legolas. `Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world
in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it
seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. But I count you blessed,
Gimli son of Gluin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you
might have chosen otherwise. But you have not forsaken your companions,
and
the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlurien shall
remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor
grow stale.'
`Maybe,' said Gimli; `and I thank you for your words. True words
doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart
desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zvram. Or so says the
heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have
heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream.
Not so for Dwarves.
'But let us talk no more of it. Look to the boat! She is too low in the
water with all this baggage, and the Great River is swift. I do not wish to
drown my grief in cold water.' He took up a paddle, and steered towards the
western bank, following Aragorn's boat ahead, which had already moved out of
the middle stream.
So the Company went on their long way, down the wide hurrying waters,
borne ever southwards. Bare woods stalked along either bank, and they could
not see any glimpse of the lands behind. The breeze died away and the River
flowed without a sound. No voice of bird broke the silence. The sun grew
misty as the day grew old, until it gleamed in a pale sky like a high white
pearl. Then it faded into the West, and dusk came early, followed by a grey
and starless night. Far into the dark quiet hours they floated on, guiding
their boats under the overhanging shadows of the western woods. Great trees
passed by like ghosts, thrusting their twisted thirsty roots through the
mist down into the water. It was dreary and cold. Frodo sat and listened to
the faint lap and gurgle of the River fretting among the tree-roots and
driftwood near the shore, until his head nodded and he fell into an uneasy
sleep.