204 MY MEMOLAGEE 



been imposed upon, or at least have had attempts 

 made to impose upon me in this manner, when 

 ridiculously small presents were offered, and then 

 on my acceptance followed some exorbitant re- 

 quest. A memolagee of eggs, for example, would 

 usher in a modest demand for as many dollars ; 

 when, from a calculation I have frequently made, 

 one of the latter would purchase one thousand 

 eggs, at the rate of five eggs for a needle, of 

 which two hundred could be bought for a dollar. 

 Again, a jar of ale, containing about five gallons, 

 which would cost the third of an ahmulah, or salt- 

 piece, or the third of two-pence halfpenny, would 

 be deemed quite a sufficient gift to ask in return a 

 slave girl, or a mule. To prevent all mistakes, 

 after I had discovered that I had given consider- 

 able offence, in some cases, by refusing what had 

 been demanded, I made it a rule to know pre- 

 viously to my accepting it, what was the object for 

 which the memolagee was offered, and even then it 

 was very seldom I would consent to give more 

 than the market value of the pumpkins, water 

 melons, and smuggled honey, which generally con- 

 stituted these propitiatory offerings. 



The memolagee I had prepared for this visit to 

 the Negoos, at Ankobar, was about two pounds of 

 sugar which I had managed to manufacture from 

 cane growing in the neighbourhood of Aliu Amba. 

 I calculated upon the effect that such a present 

 w r ould have upon the naturally sagacious mind of 



