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But Renzo, who was far from suspecting the little importance that

was in reality attached to him, had, for a long time, no other

thought but to keep himself concealed. It may well be supposed

that he desired ardently to send intelligence to Lucy and her

mother, and to hear from them in return. But to this, there were

two very great obstacles. It was necessary to confide in an

amanuensis, as he himself was unable to write,-an accomplishment

in those days not very usual in his class; and how could he

venture to do this where all were strangers to him? The other

difficulty was to find a trusty messenger, to take charge of the

letter. He finally succeeded in overcoming these difficulties,

and found one of his companions who could write for him. But not

knowing whether Lucy and Agnes were still at Monza, he thought it

best to enclose the letter under cover to Father Christopher,

with a few lines in addition to him.