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When the nephews of Mahmoud once again attended their uncle at the / hour of public executions he gazed at them in his benevolent fashion, / again stroking his long beard, the better to expose the jewels upon / his fingers, and continued the tale of his fortunes.
"You left me, my dear children, at the end of my last recital in / a very deplorable condition. You will remember that through the / superior business ability of a merchant renowned for his organizing / power, grasp of detail, sense of affairs, etc., etc., etc., I had / been reduced in property to a few camels and their attendants, and / that even this poor remainder of my fortune I had lost through a / miscalculation of the camel market on the eve of war.