Free Sauron Defeated by J. R. R. Tolkien Page B

228).
    At the fall of the Black Gate Gandalf said only: 'The Realm of Sauron is ended'; but to this my father added, probably immediately:
    'So passes the Third Age of the World.' This was placed within brackets, and 'The Ringbearer has fulfilled his Quest' written in the margin.
    To Gwaihir Gandalf said: 'You will not find me a burden any greater than when you bore me from Zirakinbar where my old life burned away.' Zirakinbar remained through all the texts of the chapter and was only changed to Zirakzigil on the galley proof. On these names see VII.174 and 431 with note 6.
    Another difference in A which survived long (into the final typescript of the chapter) was the absence of Sam's expression of astonishment at seeing Gandalf at his bedside ('Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself....', RK p. 230); The date of the Field of Kormallen (as the name was spelt until the final typescript) was expressed by Gandalf thus in A:

    'Noon?' said Sam, puzzling his brains. 'Noon of what day?'
    'The third day of the New Year,' said Gandalf, 'or if you like the twenty-eighth day of March in the Shire-reckoning. But in Gondor the New Year will always begin upon the 25th of March when Sauron fell, and when you were brought out of the fire to the King....'(4)

    If March 25th was New Year's Day, the 28th was the fourth day of the New Year in Gondor, and my father wrote 'fourth' above 'third', without however striking out 'third'. In pencil he wrote 'seventh'
    against this, and 'the last day' above 'the twenty-eighth day', although this would give 31 days to the month. His reason for this is obscurely indicated by a note in the margin: 'More time required for [?gathering]

    of goods, say' (i.e., 'say the seventh').(5)
    In the fair copy B as written Gandalf said 'The Seventh of the New Year; or if you like, the last day of March in the Shire-reckoning'; this was changed later to 'The Fourteenth of the New Year' and 'the sixth day of April in the Shire-reckoning'. Even allowing 31 days to the month, the sixth of April would be the thirteenth day of the New Year, and 'sixth' was afterwards changed to 'seventh', and finally to 'eighth', as in RK. I do not know precisely what considerations impelled my father so greatly to prolong the time during which Sam and Frodo lay asleep.
    Their first conversation with Gandalf ends thus in A:

    'What shall we wear?' said Sam, for all he could see were the old and tattered clothes that they had journeyed in, lying folded on the ground beside their beds.
    'The clothes that you were found in,' said Gandalf. 'No silks and linen, nor any armour or heraldry, could be more honour-able. But afterwards we shall see.'

    This survived through all the texts to the galley, where 'The clothes that you were found in' was changed to 'The clothes that you journeyed in'. It was not until the Second Edition of 1966 that the passage was altered and extended, by changing Gandalf's words to
    'The clothes that you wore on your way to Mordor.(6) Even the orc-rags that you bore in the black land, Frodo, shall be preserved', and by his return of the Phial of Galadriel and the box that she gave to Sam (RK
    pp. 230 - 1; cf. p. 39 and note 2).
    The crying of praise as Frodo and Sam came to the Field of Kormallen underwent many changes. In all the texts of the chapter Old English phrases cried by the Riders of Rohan were mingled. The form of the 'Praise' in A runs thus (with some punctuation added from the B-text, which is closely similar):

    Long live the balflings! Praise them with great praise! Cuio i Pheriannath anann, aglar anann! Praise them with great praise!

    Hale, hale cumath, wesath hale awa to aldre. Froda and Samwis! Praise them! Kuivie, kuivie! laurea'esselinen!(7) Praise them!

    In the fair copy B the Old English words were changed to Wilcuman, wilcuman, Froda and Samwis! and the Quenya words became Laitalle, laitalle, andave laita! In the first typescript the Old English Uton herian holbytlan!