A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille

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this respect with the great paupers.
"Thirdly, you are to have the blessing of darkness. You are to be
removed from this troublesome and vexatious light, which here is
regarded as a curse, and henceforth live without it.
"Fourthly, the next decree is the high reward of imprisonment. You are
to be delivered from the evils of liberty, and shut up in a dark
cavern, from which it will be impossible to escape or to communicate
with anyone outside.
"Fifthly, you are to associate with the greatest of the paupers, the
class that is the most honored and influential. You will be present at
all their highest councils, and will have the privilege of perpetual
intercourse with those reverend men. They will tell you of the joys of
poverty, the happiness of darkness, and the bliss of death."
Layelah paused, and looked at me earnestly.
"Is there anything more?" I gasped.
"No," said she. "Is not that enough? Some were in favor of bestowing
immediate death, but they were outvoted by the others. You surely
cannot regret that."
Layelah's words sounded like the words of a mocking demon. Yet she did
not wish to distress me; she had merely stated my sentence in formal
language, without any attempt to soften its tremendous import. As for
me, I was overwhelmed with despair. There was but one thought in my
mind--it was not of myself, but of Almah.
"And Almah?" I cried.
"Almah," said Layelah--"she will have the same; you are both included
in the same sentence."
At this a groan burst from me. Horror overwhelmed me. I threw myself
down upon the floor and covered my face with my hands. All was lost!
Our fate--Almah's fate--was darkness, imprisonment, and death. Could
anything be imagined that might mitigate such woes as these? Could
anything be conceived of as more horrible? Yes; there remained