Читать книгу The Shaping of Middle-earth онлайн | страница 37

Their son (Elrond) who is half-mortal and half-elfin,⁷ a child, was saved however by Maidros. When later the Elves return to the West, bound by his mortal half he elects to stay on earth. Through him the blood of Húrin⁸ (his great-uncle) and of the Elves is yet among Men, and is seen yet in valour and in beauty and in poetry.

Eärendel learning of these things from Bronweg, who dwelt in a hut, a solitary, at the mouth of Sirion, is overcome with sorrow. With Bronweg he sets sail in Wingelot once more in search of Elwing and of Valinor.

He comes to the magic isles, and to the Lonely Isle, and at last to the Bay of Faërie. He climbs the hill of Côr, and walks in the deserted ways of Tûn, and his raiment becomes encrusted with the dust of diamonds and of jewels. He dares not go further into Valinor. He builds a tower on an isle in the northern seas, to which all the seabirds of the world repair. He sails by the aid of their wings even over the airs in search of Elwing, but is scorched by the Sun, and hunted from the sky by the Moon, and for a long while he wanders the sky as a fugitive star.⁹

[In this section again most of the changes (not those in notes 2 and 4) were hastily made in pencil.]

1 This sentence was changed to read:

At Sirion’s mouth Elwing daughter of Dior dwelt, and received the survivors of Gondolin.

2 growing old struck out.

3 Ylmir bids him to sail to Valinor struck out.

4 Maidros > Maidros and Maglor

5 Written in the margin: Maglor sat and sang by the sea in repentance.

6 My father first wrote Elwing cast herself into the sea with the Nauglafring, but changed it to Elwing cast the Nauglafring into the sea and leapt after it in the act of writing.

7 This sentence was changed to read:

Their son (Elrond) who is part mortal and part elfin and part of the race of Valar,

8 Húrin struck out, and Huor and of Beren written above, together with some illegible words. One might expect Through him the blood of Huor and of Beren his great-grandfathers, but the illegible words do not seem to be these. (Húrin was in fact Elrond’s great-great-uncle.)