208 SUGAR MADE PREVIOUSLY. 



became so numerous, and I could not well refuse 

 their request, that at last Walderheros, in despair, 

 complained to Tinta, who had all along been 

 much interested in the success of the experiment, 

 and who immediately came, and advised me to put 

 the sugar into his charge, if I wished to save any 

 for the Negoos. 



Here I must observe, that although the very 

 simple art of extracting the sugar from the cane 

 was unknown to the inhabitants generally of Shoa, 

 still a few visitors from Ankobar, and a messenger 

 from the Negoos, who had been sent to Aliu Aniba 

 on purpose to learn if the rumour was true which 

 had reached the palace, that I was engaged in this 

 manufacture, had seen Shoan sugar before. These 

 assured me that the French traveller, M. Rochet 

 d'Hericourt, when he was in Shoa, had made sugar 

 for the Xegoos, so that although I observed on this 

 occasion great ignorance of a simple but important 

 art among the Shoans, still I do not wish to be 

 understood as claiming the honour of having first 

 introduced sugar-making into their country. 



It was fortunate for me that I had thus turned 

 my attention to subjects likely to benefit the good 

 people of Shoa, for as it so happened, in the middle 

 of the night, I was attacked with a paroxysm of 

 fever so violent that it quite disabled me for the 

 rest of the next day, and prevented me making any 

 attempt to proceed to Ankobar. As, however, I 

 had sent word by the messenger of the Negoos 



