little sorrow , however , had thingol ; for after a little , as him seemed , he came upon melian lying on a bed of leaves ... * ( 9 ) long thereafter , as now thou knowest , melko brake once more into the world from valinor , and wellnigh all beings therein came under his foul thraldom ; nor were the lost elves free , nor the errant gnomes that wandered the mountainous places seeking their stolen treasury .