The sentence of the king was put in immediate execution. Bazeen was raised to a high station in the palace, and Selim was compelled to perform the meanest offices of the household. But the former was scarcely less unhappy than the latter. He performed his duties faithfully, but he did not enter heartily into the service of a king who was the enemy of his country. The condition of Selim was also a constant source of misery to him. He therefore entered into a scheme for effecting the escape of his young master and his own. In endeavoring to carry this into effect, they were both detected and thrown into prison. It was some consolation to the two youths that they were permitted to be together, but after they had been confined for several months, time hung heavily on their hands. Their dungeon consisted of a small room, with scarcely a ray of light. Selim soon sunk into a miserable state of despair. He was permitted to retain his jewels, but how worthless were they now! They seemed, indeed, to mock his degradation, and even to embitter his misery. But Bazeen had jewels of another kind――those of the mind, which could even illuminate the darkness, and were of inestimable value even in the dungeon. They enabled him to support his confinement; his range of knowledge furnished him with constant sources of thought, reflection and emotion. He was thus not only able to keep his own mind in a cheerful state, but he often communicated the light of his mind to that of his dejected companion. A year had now passed, when at last the jailer in making his rounds entered the apartment, attended by a person holding a lamp in one hand, and a scroll in the other. The latter addressed the prisoners as follows: “I am instructed by the king, my master, to present to you this writing, and he that can read it is pardoned, and permitted to return to his own country.” Upon this he held out the paper, first to the prince and then to Bazeen. The latter ran his eye over it, but shook his head, saying “It is a hard task you give us; we have been confined in a dungeon for a year, and now you bring us a light which dazzles our eyes. Leave us the lamp for an hour, and when we are accustomed to the light, return and put us upon the trial.” The messenger of the king acceded to this proposition, and departed. As soon as he was gone, Bazeen, who had read the paper, told Selim the precise words it contained. He made him repeat them again and again, until they were fixed in his memory.