“No, it is not a dream, my darling. It is your wife, Viola, your true, loving wife. Do not be excited, dear, for the good doctor said I must be careful, lest the happiness of seeing me might agitate you too much. Be quiet, dear, for I will do all the talking after you have just said you will forgive me for causing you so much sorrow. But I have so much to tell you, and the first thing is this: Papa made a great mistake, for I loved you all the while, and we shall never be parted again!” sealing the promise with a tender, lingering kiss. THE END. Transcriber’s Notes: This story was originally serialized in the _Fireside Companion_ story paper from July 24, 1897 to September 25, 1897. The original _Hart Series_ edition of this book included a promotional preview of _Nameless Bess; or, The Triumph of Innocence_ (chapters I-III) at the end. This extra material, plus a rear cover advertisement for issues 1-103 of the series, have been excluded from this electronic edition. Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Some inconsistent hyphenation (e.g. “tomorrow” vs. “to-morrow”) has been retained from the original. Unusual capitalization of some chapter titles in the table of contents has been retained from the original.