At length he quitted Palermo for the forest of Marentino, thinking it
possible that Julia might be heard of in its neighbourhood. He
travelled on in melancholy and dejection, and evening overtook him
long before he reached the place of his destination. The night came on
heavily in clouds, and a violent storm of wind and rain arose. The
road lay through a wild and rocky country, and Ferdinand could obtain
no shelter. His attendants offered him their cloaks, but he refused to
expose a servant to the hardship he would not himself endure. He
travelled for some miles in a heavy rain; and the wind, which howled
mournfully among the rocks, and whose solemn pauses were filled by the
distant roarings of the sea, heightened the desolation of the scene.
At length he discerned, amid the darkness from afar, a red light
waving in the wind: it varied with the blast, but never totally
disappeared. He pushed his horse into a gallop, and made towards it.

The flame continued to direct his course; and on a nearer approach, he
perceived, by the red reflection of its fires, streaming a long
radiance upon the waters beneath--a lighthouse situated upon a point
of rock which overhung the sea. He knocked for admittance, and the
door was opened by an old man, who bade him welcome.

Within appeared a cheerful blazing fire, round which were seated
several persons, who seemed like himself to have sought shelter from
the tempest of the night. The sight of the fire cheered him, and he
advanced towards it, when a sudden scream seized his attention; the
company rose up in confusion, and in the same instant he discovered
Julia and Hippolitus. The joy of that moment is not to be described,
but his attention was quickly called off from his own situation to
that of a lady, who during the general transport had fainted. His
sensations on learning she was his mother cannot be described.