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year after the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth there was a stirring of
hope among Elves and Men; for the rumour ran among them of the deeds of Beren
and
Lúthien, and the putting to shame of Morgoth even upon his throne in Angband,
and some said that Beren and Lúthien yet lived, or had returned from the Dead.
In that year also the great counsels of Maedhros were almost complete, and
with the reviving strength of the Eldar and the Edain the advance of Morgoth
was stayed, and the Orcs were driven back from Beleriand. Then some began to
speak of victories to come, and of redressing the Battle of the Bragollach,
when Maedhros should lead forth the united hosts, and drive
Morgoth underground, and seal the Doors of Angband.
But the wiser were uneasy still, fearing that Maedhros revealed his growing
strength too soon, and that
Morgoth would be given time enough to take counsel against him. "Ever will
some new evil be hatched in
Angband beyond the guess of Elves and Men," they said. And in the autumn of
that year, to point their words, there came an ill wind from the North under
leaden skies. The Evil Breath it was called, for it was pestilent; and many
sickened and died in the fall of the year in the northern lands that bordered
on the
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Anfauglith, and they were for the most part the children or the rising youth
in the houses of Men.
In that year Túrin son of Húrin was yet only five years old, and Urwen his
sister was three in the beginning of spring. Her hair was like the yellow
lilies in the grass as she ran in the fields, and her laughter was like the
sound of the merry stream that came singing out of the hills past the walls of
her father's house.
Nen Lalaith it was named, and after it all the people of the household called
the child Lalaith, and their hearts were glad while she was among them.
But Túrin was loved less than she. He was dark-haired as his mother, and
promised to be like her in mood also; for he was not merry, and spoke little,
though he learned to speak early and ever seemed older than his years. Túrin
was slow to forget injustice or mockery; but the fire of his father was also
in him, and he could be sudden and fierce. Yet he was quick to pity, and the
hurts or sadness of living things might move him to tears; and he was like his
father in this also, for Morwen was stern with others as with herself. He
loved his mother, for her speech to him was forthright and plain; but his
father he saw little, for Húrin was often long away from home with the host of
Fingon that guarded Hithlum's eastern borders, and when he returned his quick
speech, full of strange words and jests and half-meanings, bewildered Túrin
and made him uneasy. At that time all the warmth of his heart was for Lalaith
his sister; but he played with her seldom, and he liked better to guard her
unseen and to watch her going upon grass or under tree, as she sang such songs
as the children of the Edain made long ago when the tongue of the Elves was
still fresh upon their lips.
"Fair as an Elf-child is Lalaith," said Húrin to Morwen; "but briefer, alas!
And so fairer, maybe, or dearer." And Túrin hearing these words pondered them,
but could not understand them. For he had seen no
Elf-children. None of the Eldar at that time dwelt in his father's lands, and
once only had he seen them, when
King Fingon and many of his lords had ridden through Dor-lómin and passed over
the bridge of Nen Lalaith, glittering in silver and white.
But before the year was out the truth of his father's words was shown; for the
Evil Breath came to Dor-
lómin, and Túrin took sick, and lay long in a fever and dark dream. And when
he was healed, for such was his fate and the strength of life that was in him,
he asked for Lalaith. But his nurse answered: "Speak no more of Lalaith, son
of Húrin; but of your sister Urwen you must ask tidings of your mother."
And when Morwen came to him, Túrin said to her: "I am no longer sick, and I
wish to see Urwen; but why must I not say Lalaith any more?"
"Because Urwen is dead, and laugher is stilled in this house," she answered.
"But you live, son of
Morwen; and so does the Enemy who has done this to us."
She did not seek to comfort him any more than herself: for she met her grief
in silence and coldness of heart. But Húrin mourned openly, and he took up his
harp and would make a song of lamentation; but he could not, and he broke his
harp, and going out he lifted up his hand towards the North, crying: "Marrer
of
Middle-earth, would that I might see thee face to face, and mar thee as my
lord Fingolfin did!"
But Túrin wept bitterly at night alone, though to Morwen he never again spoke
the name of his sister.
To one friend only he turned at that time, and to him spoke of his sorrow and
the emptiness of the house.
This friend was named Sador, a house. man in the service of Húrin; he was
lame, and of small account. He had been a woodman, and by ill-luck or the
mishandling of his axe he had hewn his right foot, and the footless leg had
shrunken; and Túrin called him Labadal, which is "Hopafoot," though the name
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did not displease Sador, for it was given in pity and not in scorn. Sador
worked in the outbuildings, to make or mend things of little worth that were
needed in the house, for he had some skill in the working of wood; and Túrin
would fetch him what he lacked, to spare his leg, and sometimes he would carry
off secretly some tool or piece of timber that he found unwatched, if he
thought his friend might use it. Then Sador smiled, but bade him return the
gifts to their places; "Give with a free hand, but give only your own," he [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]