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Saucepan, well spoken! I too enjoy the colorful touches given to the story by those characters who show up on the periphery. I'd like to add a tiny scene that is one of my favorites - Tolkien uses Ioreth once more to bring in the feeling of what the populace of Minas Tirith was thinking about their new king. Her kinswoman is a character who is mentioned only in the crowning scene, never named, and not characterized at all herself. But the country cousin shows us that people from afar came to see the king crowned, and Ioreth's comments show that already, legends were being told about the Hobbits. We also see an endearing glimpse into her character - making sure the kinswoman knows of her importance to the story, and that she has spoken with the king. And of course, she only stops talking when the events do not permit her to carry on!
I think it is part of Tolkien's tremendous gift of telling a good story that he is able to give so much information casually, in passing, without slowing the flow of the narrative. And I always love the glimpses of his humor that show up in those brief moments!
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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