EL FUREIDIS. BY MARIA S. CUMMINS, AUTHOR OF "THE LAMPLIGHTER," AND "MABEL VAUGHAN." IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON & CO., 47 LUDGATE HILL. 1860. [The right of Translation is reserved.] 249.4.356. EL FUREIDIS. IT CHAPTER I. THE EXILE'S RETURN. T was at the close of a sultry April day that our travellers once more approached El Fureidîs. Here and there a familiar object close to the bridle-path indicated their vicinity to the village; but no glimpse of church or hamlet cheered their gaze or encouraged their weary animals to speed, for every distant object was veiled beneath a thick cloud of mist. Their journey had been shorter than on the preceding days, and neither men nor horses had been exposed to any extraordinary fatigue. And yet the riders bent in their saddles, the tired steeds stretched their necks, and at times almost refused to proceed; even the trees overhead and the flowers that lined the road hung their leaves listlessly, as if deprived of life and motion. All nature drooped, for the sirocco was abroad, VOL. II. B |