THE LURE OF COFFEE 



charges occasioned much perturbation of spirit in spite 

 of prayer and exorcisms. 



The Prior, who had attained the position of head of 

 the community not only as the resuh of his wisdom 

 and godhness, but by reason of his practical ability, 

 hearing of their behaviour from the perturbed brother, 

 determined, at last, to herd the goats himself. Observing 

 carefully the herbage on which they fed, he finally sus- 

 pected that their liveliness and sleeplessness might be due 

 to the consumption of the leaves of a beautiful green 

 bush. Taking some of the berries of this shrub, he 

 chewed them himself, ascertaining as a result of his 

 experiment, that their properties conveyed a sense of 

 exhilaration and well-being. Not only so, but during the 

 long night watches of his religious exercises, he found 

 himself much more capable of keeping awake, and with 

 a clearer mental vision than usual. Thus was the use of 

 coffee made known to mankind by the alluring attrac- 

 tion that it had for goats. 



The coffee plant is indigenous to Africa. I have often 

 found it growing in the forest, between the altitudes 

 of five and six thousand feet. It has been found that the 

 cultivated coffee grows best at from four to six thou- 

 sand feet where the nights are always cool and the days 

 are never unpleasantly hot. At such altitudes the white 

 man can go about his daily work clad in ordinary clothes 

 all the year round. For the man who loves open life there 

 is perhaps no profession more attractive than the cult 

 of coffee. 



Ill 



