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In that hour of trial

it was the love of his master

that helped most to hold him firm;

but also deep down in him

lived still unconquered

his plain hobbit-sense:

he knew in the core of his heart

that he was not large enough

to bear such a burden,

even if such visions were not

a mere cheat to betray him.

The one small garden

of a free gardener

was all his need and due,

not a garden swollen to a realm;

his own hands to use,

not the hands of others

to command.

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