Gollum had held the ring for much longer than Bilbo, so it's effects may have been stronger and taken longer to wear off. This was why Gollum wanted the ring so much but Bilbo did not find it too hard to give it away. This and a combination of Bilbo's loss of the will to live, so to speak, would explain why Bilbo aged so much and Gollum so little.
__________________
"You can go a long way with a smile. You can go even further with a smile and a gun." - Al Capone
|