Year: 1871

one suddenly sickened and died. and the mother
supposed herself berefs Of all that knew or loved
/ her,


But now comes the grand denoument. While
the corpse Of the child my in her EaOther's house.
awaiting burial on the morrow, stranger called
at the poor womans deor A neighboF lady, who
had charge Of the mourning house, admitted him,
and he asked to see Mrs. Simpson The lady
came down. and found in the supposed stranger
her iong-lost husband. John Talbert-he for whom
she had mourned as Dead


He explained his long absence 10 this wise
After the battle in which he was supposed TO
have been killed, he found himself prisoner IN
the hands Of the rebels. He was hurried nom
one post to another, until at last he was taSen to
Andersonyille. In that prison-peu be languished
for months, until he forgot the passing time;
until the inteuse longing for home completely
broke bis heart When he was libented. he says.
everything was q blank to him. He wandered TO
New York City, and lived there for more than a
year, and then passed to the great West, where
he lived until a yea'ago. He recovered his health
of body and mind, but for several years could not
tring himself to think Of returning home He
said there was an intense yearning to see bis vile
and child but by some curious, morbid feelings,
he suppressed the prompting Of his heart, and no
maned away from the beings he loved, brooding
over his curious, selfimpOsed condition. A few
months since he was taken with an irresistible
longing to return TO Illinois, and the scenes Of
his former happiness, but he desired to do 50
without being recognized. lie came back. much
changed in appearance, visited Peoria, and found
his wife married to another man.


There was fresh agony Of mind and poignahey
was added to the thought that il he had returned
when his Imprisonment ended, or even after his
faculties had been fully restored, he would have
found his wife still mourning for him. and could
have gaddened her heart by showing her that he
was still alive. Now there was nothing for him
to do but to 20 away as EnOch Arden had done,
and leave Philip Ray to his happiness He could
not tear himself completely from the spot, how
ever He had seen his child and its mother on
the street, and be had felt ike going forward and
claiming his own. So he removed himself about
a hundred miles from his old home; for to have
remained in Peoria, where he had been pretty
we'll known, would have betrayed him, finally.
The news Of the death Of Simpson did not reach
him. Though he received paper regularly from
Peoria, this to bin, most important item Of news
failed to meet his eye. But the other day he did
see notice of the death of his child and in less
than FIVE hours he was beside its coffin. Not til
then did he learn Of the death Of Simpson. But
his wife, the girl he had loved, and shOught be
had lost by strange work of Providence, fell
into his arms, and he realized that he had
still something to live for. The wife received her
husband again, in the place of the child she had
lost, and the neighbOrs rejoiced at her good
fortune, Notwithstanding few Of them felt some
Indignation that he had remained away so long
after his Imprisonment. had ended.