"Friends!" he exclaimed, "I am George Alden, whom you have supposed dead. A great wrong or mistake has made me its victim, and the body lying in yonder cemetery is that of a stranger." Then, covering the face of his wife with kisses, he moved forward, and deposited the insensible form of Belle on the sofa, when Fannie Alden sprang quickly toward him, and hysterically embraced him, exclaiming: "Yes, it is indeed my brother! Oh, what happiness!" The fright occasioned by the sudden appearance of the supposed dead man having been dispelled by Alden's words, all except members of the family withdrew. In a few moments the efforts at restoration were successful; Belle opened her eyes, and said: "Was it a dream?" Beholding the form kneeling beside her, feeling the warm breath on her face, and seeing the loving eyes looking into her own, she cried: "No--no--it is true. Oh, George, my husband, is it indeed you?" "Yes, Belle, and I have returned never to leave you again." Her joy was accompanied by hysterics, and she sobbed and laughed alternately, her arms encircling the neck of her husband. "You must not leave me--oh, it still seems like a dream--but where is he? Had I married him? Oh, it is horrible!" and she closed her eyes, as if to hide the memory of the scene. "But yourself, George?" she continued; "tell us where you have been all these long, long, weary months." "Calm yourself, Belle. Be satisfied that we are reunited. My story is a long one, and after you recover from this excitement you shall know all." Senator Hamblin, although greatly bewildered, was thoroughly convinced that George Alden really stood before him. When the apparition burst so suddenly upon him, he reeled, and for a time nearly lost his senses, but when he saw his daughter clasped in the arms of the intruder, and heard the words that fell from her lips, fright was superseded by surprise. His heart was filled with both fear and joy; the former overwhelming him as he thought of his responsibility for all the trouble of the past two years; yet joy taking possession of him when he beheld alive the man of whose death he had believed himself the immediate cause. When he had fully regained his composure, he grasped George Alden's hand, and said: "Forgive me; I have deeply wronged you!" He stooped as if about to fall upon his knees, but Alden said: "No, no--not that, sir! Say nothing about those matters at present. Surely this joy should wipe out all scores between you and me."