Chap. XLIII. THE SWEET SORGHUM. 
153 
us with the marrow of the " sabade," which in snow- 
white pieces of about eight inches in length, were 
neatly placed upon a straw cover or " fefe," such as 
are used in the country. While indulging in this 
simple African dainty, our conversation, very natu- 
rally, turned upon the cultivation as well as the pre- 
paration of sugar, which is one of those articles of 
European industry that most excites the admiration 
of the natives of this country. But when they learn 
in what a filthy manner it is refined, they become 
horrified, and hesitate whether they shall say farewell 
to this indulgence, or overcome the scruples and 
prejudices of their creed. 
There is no doubt that the " sabade" would yield 
a rich produce of sugar ; but it is not necessary to 
have recourse to this expedient, as the sugar-cane 
itself grows wild in several regions of Negroland, 
and we shall actually find a small plantation of it, 
and boiling-houses, on a small scale, carried on by a 
native in the neighbourhood of Sokoto. Our conver- 
sation at these African soirees with the vizier be- 
came sometimes so learned, that even Ptolemy with 
his 1 4 Mandros oros " was quoted. But, sad as it 
must seem to all who, like myself, delight in going 
back into remote antiquity, this famous mountain, 
which at the first sight seems to be an ancient 
memorial of the Mandara mountains, of some 1700 
years standing, appears to belong entirely to West- 
ern Africa. Our kind host always found great 
delight in every kind of information ; it was only a 
