290 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



personage he might be. He even stretched the ties of friend- 

 ship so far as to take him into his treasure house, but, with 

 the object of getting him to count up his English money, 

 which the Shehu himself did not understand perfectly. Of 

 this Jose counted out for him from a bag of coins, ranging 

 from sovereigns to threepenny pieces, forty-eight pounds. 

 The treasury consisted of a totally dark room, fastened with 

 a native wooden lock, and was situated not far from the 

 audience chamber at the end of a long passage where a guard, 

 armed with loaded musket, was posted night and day. While 

 within the treasury, which was lit by a native candle, made 

 of a lump of sheep's grease with a piece of cloth stuck 

 into it for a wick, Jose had time to observe among other 

 inviting-looking packages twenty bags, about one and half 

 foot long, stuffed with Maria Theresa dollars : there were 

 also two tin boxes, three foot by two in size, full of these 

 coins ; while against the walls stood piles of cloth, a native 

 form of currency less perishable than our bank-notes. I 

 daresay some of my readers will wonder what sort of a coin 

 the Maria Theresa dollar is, that I have alluded to above, and 

 how it comes to be mentioned in connection with the economy 

 of African states, so I will say a little concerning it. 



It was originally an Austrian coin of 1820 date, and 

 somehow or other through Tripoli traders came to be the only 

 piece reckoned with by the natives of Africa. So the French 

 have for convenience stuck to it and make it at a cost of 

 about 1-30 fr. each. At Fort Lamy it has a value of 2-50 

 fr., that is to say, a new one has, but one on which the 

 brooch on the Empress's dress is worn (by time as well as 

 by the lady) the natives will not look at. 



