XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: dont.spam.usenet@googlemail.com   
      
   Louis Epstein  wrote:   
      
   > It has been my presumption that he was the heir presumptive to the   
   > Stewardship after Faramir, who I assume was a cousin (of course Faramir had   
   > descendants so Hurin never succeeded).   
   >   
   > Denethor however was despairing of his line having failed (which would   
   > imply no cousins at all if he meant that broadly).   
      
   I very much read his despair as about Gondor.   
      
   After a long life experiencing slow decline, and after what Sauron let   
   him see in the palantir when he unwisely turned to it, this was not a   
   wholly unreasonable outlook.   
      
   Cheerio,   
   Hauke   
      
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