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Thorin and Company have been in Rivendell for a little over two weeks, gathering strength and information to carry them further on their journey to the Lonely Mountain. They have met Elrond Half-Elven and the often motley collection of folks from all races who come in peace to his valley, where "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." It was just the interlude the travelers needed, and now rested and armed with their new knowledge of the maps and runes, they set out "on a midsummer's morning as fair and fresh as could be desired, blue sky and never a cloud, and the sun dancing on the water." They will need the memory of this pleasant place, for the lighthearted story of hobbit and dwarves will hereafter be much darker and more perilous. Ahead of Bilbo lie endless goblins, Mirkwood, the perils and losses of the Lonely Mountain, and one Gollum and his magic ring, among other things.

I have always wondered about this interlude at Rivendell, so short in the telling, yet lasting so long in the memory that Bilbo was drawn back to this place to spend the last years of his life. Was Tolkien writing about a place where he wanted to be? Was Rivendell where he went to refresh and renew himself in his mind?

One other thought: I cannot help but wonder, did Bilbo encounter an enchanting and comely, though probably solemn, child of Men - Estel, age ten, foster son of Elrond? If so, this was likely his first time meeting one of the "Big People." Was it here, in this place and time, that the long association between the family of Baggins and the House of Telcontar began? I like to think so. . . .