the fellowship of the ring-第4部分

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The　craft　of　building　may　have　e　from　Elves　or　Men；　but　the　Hobbitsused　it　in　their　own　fashion。　They　did　not　go　in　for　towers。　Their　houses　wereusually　long；　low；　and　fortable。　The　oldest　kind　were；　indeed；　no　more　thanbuilt　imitations　of　_smials；_　thatched　with　dry　grass　or　straw；　or　roofed　withturves；　and　having　walls　somewhat　bulged。　That　stage；　however；　belonged　to　theearly　days　of　the　Shire；　and　hobbit…building　had　long　since　been　altered；　
improved　by　devices；　learned　from　Dwarves；　or　discovered　by　themselves。　Apreference　for　round　windows；　and　even　round　doors；　was　the　chief　remainingpeculiarity　of　hobbit…architecture。　
The　houses　and　the　holes　of　Shire…hobbits　were　often　large；　and　inhabitedby　large　families。　（Bilbo　and　Frodo　Baggins　were　as　bachelors　veryexceptional；　as　they　were　also　in　many　other　ways；　such　as　their　friendshipwith　the　Elves。）　Sometimes；　as　in　the　case　of　the　Tooks　of　Great　Smials；　orthe　Brandybucks　of　Brandy　Hall；　many　generations　of　relatives　lived　in（parative）　peace　together　in　one　ancestral　and　many…tunnelled　mansion。　AllHobbits　were；　in　any　case；　clannish　and　reckoned　up　their　relationships　withgreat　care。　They　drew　long　and　elaborate　family…trees　with　innumerablebranches。　In　dealing　with　Hobbits　it　is　important　to　remember　who　is　relatedto　whom；　and　in　what　degree。　It　would　be　impossible　in　this　book　to　set　out　afamily…tree　that　included　even　the　more　important　members　of　the　moreimportant　families　at　the　time　which　these　tales　tell　of。　The　genealogicaltrees　at　the　end　of　the　Red　Book　of　Westmarch　are　a　small　book　in　themselves；　
and　all　but　Hobbits　would　find　them　exceedingly　dull。　Hobbits　delighted　insuch　things；　if　they　were　accurate：　they　liked　to　have　books　filled　withthings　that　they　already　knew；　set　out　fair　and　square　with　no　contradictions。　　
There　is　another　astonishing　thing　about　Hobbits　of　old　that　must　bementioned；　an　astonishing　habit：　they　imbibed　or　inhaled；　through　pipes　of　　
　
clay　or　wood；　the　smoke　of　the　burning　leaves　of　a　herb；　which　they　called_pipe…weed_　or　_leaf；_　a　variety　probably　of　_Nicotiana。_　A　great　deal　ofmystery　surrounds　the　origin　of　this　peculiar　custom；　or　'art'　as　the　Hobbitspreferred　to　call　it。　All　that　could　be　discovered　about　it　in　antiquity　wasput　together　by　Meriadoc　Brandybuck　（later　Master　of　Buckland）；　and　since　heand　the　tobacco　of　the　Southfarthing　play　a　part　in　the　history　that　follows；　
his　remarks　in　the　introduction　to　his　_Herblore　of　the　Shire_　may　be　quoted。　
'This；'　he　says；　'is　the　one　art　that　we　can　certainly　claim　to　be　ourown　invention。　When　Hobbits　first　began　to　smoke　is　not　known；　all　the　legendsand　family　histories　take　it　for　granted；　for　ages　folk　in　the　Shire　smokedvarious　herbs；　some　fouler；　some　sweeter。　But　all　accounts　agree　that　ToboldHornblower　of　Longbottom　in　the　Southfarthing　first　grew　the　true　pipe…weed　inhis　gardens　in　the　days　of　Isengrim　the　Second；　about　the　year　1070　of　Shire…　
reckoning。　The　best　home…grown　still　es　from　that　district；　especially　thevarieties　now　known　as　Longbottom　Leaf；　Old　Toby；　and　Southern　Star。　
'How　Old　Toby　came　by　the　plant　is　not　recorded；　for　to　his　dying　day　hewould　not　tell。　He　knew　much　about　herbs；　but　he　was　no　traveller。　It　is　saidthat　in　his　youth　he　went　often　to　Bree；　though　he　certainly　never　wentfurther　from　the　Shire　than　that。　It　is　thus　quite　possible　that　he　learned　ofthis　plant　in　Bree；　where　now；　at　any　rate；　it　grows　well　on　the　south　slopesof　the　hill。　The　Bree…hobbits　claim　to　have　been　the　first　actual　smokers　of　　
the　pipe…weed。　They　claim；　of　course；　to　have　done　everything　before　thepeople　of　the　Shire；　whom　they　refer　to　as　〃colonists〃；　but　in　this　case　theirclaim　is；　I　think；　likely　to　be　true。　And　certainly　it　was　from　Bree　that　theart　of　smoking　the　genuine　weed　spread　in　the　recent　centuries　among　Dwarvesand　such　other　folk；　Rangers；　Wizards；　or　wanderers；　as　still　passed　to　andfro　through　that　ancient　road…meeting。　The　home　and　centre　of　the　an　is　thusto　be　found　in　the　old　inn　of　Bree；　_The　Prancing　Pony；_　that　has　been　kept　bythe　family　of　Butterbur　from　time　beyond　record。　
'All　the　same；　observations　that　I　have　made　on　my　own　many　journeyssouth　have　convinced　me　that　the　weed　itself　is　not　native　to　our　parts　of　theworld；　but　came　northward　from　the　lower　Anduin；　whither　it　was；　I　suspect；　
originally　brought　over　Sea　by　the　Men　of　Westernesse。　It　grows　abundantly　inGondor；　and　there　is　richer　and　larger　than　in　the　North；　where　it　is　neverfound　wild；　and　flourishes　only　in　warm　sheltered　places　like　Longbottom。　TheMen　of　Gondor　call　it　_sweet　galenas；_　and　esteem　it　only　for　the　fragrance　ofits　flowers。　From　that　land　it　must　have　been　carried　up　the　Greenway　duringthe　long　centuries　between　the　ing　of　Elendil　and　our　own　day。　But　even　theDúnedain　of　Gondor　allow　us　this　credit：　Hobbits　first　put　it　into　pipes。　Noteven　the　Wizards　first　thought　of　that　before　we　did。　Though　one　Wizard　that　Iknew　took　up　the　art　long　ago；　and　became　as　skilful　in　it　as　in　all　otherthings　that　he　put　his　mind　to。'　　
The　Shire　was　divided　into　four　quarters；　the　Farthings　already　referredto。　North；　South；　East；　and　West；　and　these　again　each　into　a　number　offolklands；　which　still　bore　the　names　of　some　of　the　old　leading　families；　
although　by　the　time　of　this　history　these　names　were　no　longer　found　only　intheir　proper　folklands。　Nearly　all　Tooks　still　lived　in　the　Tookland；　but　thatwas　not　true　of　many　other　families；　such　as　the　Bagginses　or　the　Boffins。　
Outside　the　Farthings　were　the　East　and　West　Marches：　the　Buckland　（seebeginning　of　Chapter　V；　Book　I）；　and　the　Westmarch　added　to　the　Shire　in　S。R。　
1462。　　
The　Shire　at　this　time　had　hardly　any　'government'。　Families　for　the　mostpart　managed　their　own　affairs。　Growing　food　and　eating　it　occupied　most　oftheir　time。　In　other　matters　they　were；　as　a　rule；　generous　and　not　greedy；　
but　contented　and　moderate；　so　that　estates；　farms；　workshops；　and　smalltrades　tended　to　remain　unchanged　for　generations。　
There　remained；　of　course；　the　ancient　tradition　concerning　the　high　kingat　Fornost；　or　Norbury　as　they　called　it；　away　north　of　the　Shire。　But　there　　
　
had　been　no　king　for　nearly　a　thousand　years；　and　even　the　ruins　of　Kings'Norbury　were　covered　with　grass。　Yet　the　Hobbits　still　said　of　wild　folk　andwicked　things　（such　as　trolls）　that　they　had　not　heard　of　the　king。　For　theyattributed　to　the　king　of　old　all　their　essential　laws；　and　usually　they　keptthe　laws　of　free　will；　because　they　were　The　Rules　（as　they　said）；　bothancient　and　just。　
It　is　true　that　the　Took　family　had　long　been　pre…eminent；　for　the　officeof　Thain　had　passed　to　them　（from　the　Oldbucks）　some　centuries　before；　and　thechief　Took　had　borne　that　title　ever　since。　The　Thain　was　the　master　of　the　　
Shire…moot；　and　captain　of　the　Shire…muster　and　the　Hobbitry…in…arms；　but　asmuster　and　moot　were　only　held　in　times　of　emergency；　which　no　longeroccurred；　the　Thainship　had　ceased　to　be　more　than　a　nominal　dignity。　The　Tookfamily　was　still；　indeed；　accorded　a　special　respect；　for　it　remained　bothnumerous　and　exceedingly　wealthy；　and　was　liable　to　produce　in　everygeneration　strong　characters　of　peculiar　habits　and　even　adventuroustemperament。　The　latter　qualities；　however；　were　now　rather　tolerated　（in　therich）　than　generally　approved。　The　custom　endured；　nonetheless；　of　referringto　the　head　of　the　family　as　The　Took；　and　of　adding　to　his　name；　if　required；　
a　number：　such　as　Isengrim　the　Second；　for　instance。　
The　only　real　official　in　the　Shire　at　this　date　was　the　Mayor　of　MichelDelving　（or　of　the　Shire）；　who　was　elected　every　seven　years　at　the　Free　Fairon　the　White　Downs　at　the　Lithe；　that　is　at　Midsummer。　As　mayor　almost　hisonly　duty　was　to　preside　at　banquets；　given　on　the　Shire…holidays；　whichoccurred　at　frequent　intervals。　But　the　offices　of　Postmaster　and　FirstShirriff　were　attached　to　the　mayoralty；　so　that　he　managed　both　the　MessengerService　and　the　Watch。　These　were　the　only　Shire…services；　and　the　Messengerswere　the　most　numerous；　and　much　the　busier　of　the　two。　By　no　means　allHobbits　were　lettered；　but　those　who　were　wrote　constantly　to　all　theirfriends　（and　a　selection　of　their　relations）　who　lived　further　off　than　anafternoon's　walk。　　
The　Shirriffs　was　the　name　that　the　Hobbits　gave　to　their　police；　or　thenearest　equivalent　that　they　possessed。　They　had；　of　course；　no　uniforms　（suchthings　being　quite　unknown）；　only　a　feather　in　their　caps；　and　they　were　inpractice　rather　haywards　than　policemen；　more　concerned　with　the　strayings　ofbeasts　than　of　people。　There　were　in　all　the　Shire　only　twelve　of　them；　threein　each　Farthing；　for　Inside　Work。　A　rather　larger　body；　varying　at　need；　wasemployed　to　'beat　the　bounds'；　and　to　see　that　Outsiders　of　any　kind；　great　orsmall；　did　not　make　themselves　a　nuisance。　
At　the　time　when　this　story　begins　the　Bounders；　as　they　were　called；　hadbeen　greatly　increased。　There　were　many　reports　and　plaints　of　strangepersons　and　creatures　prowling　about　the　borders；　or　over　them：　the　first　signthat　all　was　not　quite　as　it　should　be；　and　always　had　been　except　in　talesand　legends　of　long　ago。　Few　heeded　the　sign；　and　not　even　Bilbo　yet　had　anynotion　of　what　it　portended。　Sixty　years　had　passed　since　he　set　out　on　hismemorable　journey；　and　he　was　old　even　for　Hobbits；　who　reached　a　hundred　asoften　as　not；　but　much　evidently　still　remained　of　the　considerable　wealththat　he　had　brought　back。　How　much　or　how　little　he　revealed　to　no　one；　noteven　to　Frodo　his　favourite　'nephew'。　And　he　still　kept　secret　the　ring　thathe　bad　found。　　
As　is　told　in　The　Hobbit；　there　came　one　day　to　Bilbo's　door　the　greatWizard；　Gandalf　the　Grey；　and　thirteen　dwarves　with　him：　none　other；　indeed；　
than　Thorin　Oakenshield；　descendant　of　kings；　and　his　twelve　panions　inexile。　With　them　he　set　out；　to　his　own　lasting　astonishment；　on　a　morning　ofApril；　it　being　then　the　year　1341　Shire…reckoning；　on　a　quest　of　greattreasure；　the　dwarf…hoards　of　the　Kings　under　the　Mountain；　beneath　Erebor　inDale；　far　off　in　the　East。　The　quest　was　successful；　and　the　Dragon　thatguarded　the　hoard　was　destroyed。　Yet；　though　before　all　was　won　the　Battle　ofFive　Armies　was　fought；　and　Thorin　was　slain；　and　many　deeds　of　renown　weredone；　the