Farmer Maggot

The next leg of the journey (figuratively and literally) involved Tolkien's writing of Bingo and companies journey to Buckland via Farmer Maggot's land. There are a couple of near misses with the Black Riders and though Gildor's advice from the previous night should have been fresh in Bingo's mind when the travelers reach Maggot's farm he quickly puts on the Ring to disappear. While I get the idea that Bingo is trying to keep the guise that he is already gone from the Shire it seems completely counter intuitive that he should do this given the fact he was warned that putting on the Ring helps the riders more than himself. This is a detail that was gladly worked out before the story was finished.

The good farmer invites Odo and Frodo in for some food and drink and they gladly oblige. After entertaining their host with tales of Bingo's farewell party Maggot told them a strange Black Rider had stopped by his farm earlier in the day asking for a Mr. Bolger-Baggins (Bingo). Maggot felt this was all to do with Bilbo's journey years before and the poor Bingo Bolger should never have gotten involved with the queer (read strange or odd nothing derogatory) folk in Hobbiton. In fact he mentions the odd Hobbitonions several times.

Odo and Frodo decided it was time to leave and Maggot was going to give them a toast to their health when his beer mug suddenly rose up and tilted on it's own before returning to the table. "'Help and save us!' cried the farmer jumping up. 'Did you see that?'" (p. 97, The Return of the Shadow). Needless to say Odo and Frodo were not pleased with Bingo's joke.

After several more hours the friends finally met up with the fourth member of their company in Buckland: Marmaduke Took. He took them across the river (they did spot a Black Rider on the other side after they crossed) and Marmaduke took them to an out of the way house where they were able to have hot baths, hot food, and a good nights rest.

Interesting to me in this chapter was all of the Hobbit banter. For example, at one point in the midst of traveling a conversation about Hobbit architecture comes up. Houses verses holes. One story verses two story houses. It's somewhat entertaining; I'll paraphrase: Bingo talks about wanting an upstairs that he could eat dinner in and watch the stars. But what about taking all the dishes downstairs? Well, he'd just throw them out the window. They'll break. He will have wooden dishes. What about taking it all upstairs? Nevermind. But in the end this banter would be cut. Christopher Tolkien notes that in March 1938, when writing an update to his publisher about the book Tolkien had heard from his two chief critics (C.S. Lewis and the publisher's young son) that there was too much talk in the opening chapters. This must have been somewhat disappointing to Tolkien as he admitted Hobbit talk amused him.