Krasnov (1869–1947): Russian diplomat and military officer; Victor Félix Edmond Marie Goedorp (1874–1963): French publicist and author; Benito Sylvain (1868–1915): Haitian lawyer, anti-slavery activist and Pan Africanist; Friedrich Rosen (1856–1935): German diplomat, orientalist, author and politician; he is the brother of botanist Felix Rosen. Kyrillos Makarios or Cyrille Macaire (1867–1921): Egyptian Coptic leader, Patriarch of Alexandria; Cesare Nerazzini (1849–1912): Italian diplomat, doctor and military officer William Fitzhugh Whitehouse (1842–1909): American explorer and adventurer; Felix Rosen (1863–1925): German Botanist, professor of botany at Breslau University (then Germany, now Wrocław, Poland); he is the brother of diplomat and orientalist Friedrich Rosen. François Marie Casimir Mondon-Vidailhet (1847–1910): French journalist, philologist and author; Sir Charles Allsopp, 3rd Baron Hindlip (1877–1911): British businessman, adventurer and writer; Rennell Rodd (1858–1941): British diplomat, politician and poet; Alexander Bulatovich (1870–1919): Russian military officer, diplomat and author. Despite robust diplomatic efforts by Menelik and his domestic as well as foreign advisors, there was a great deal of skepticism initially among many Europeans that Ethiopia was ready to embrace modernization. In an article titled The Menelik Myth, published in 1899, for example, vicomte Edmond de Poncins, the wealthy French naturalist and explorer, concluded: The history of Ethiopia, then, may be summed up thus: a country in which communications are difficult, peopled by a multiplicity of races; its internal life presents ever the same cycle of wars, victories, defeats, its external life the same blank. A real civilization is impossible in that black chaos, and the products of civilization, such as agriculture, invention, commerce, do not exist. In contrast, there were those who offered unwavering support for the expansion of trade and investment in Ethiopia. Menelik's closest European advisors such as the Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg and the French trader Leon Chefneux (“chief commerce advisor”) were incontestably at the top of the list. Mersha worked closely with both of them. But there were others as well. Casimir Mondon-Vidailhet, the French journalist and contributor to the Le Temps, was another important figure who played a major role in advancing Ethio-French relations. Due to his passion for horticulture, Mondon-Vidailhet may have also played a role in popularizing the eucalyptus tree (የባሕር ዛፍ). He also studied local languages (e.g. Amharic, Guraghe, Harari, etc.) and wrote books about them. More relevantly, Mondon-Vidailhet helped advance the progressive image of Menelik and Ethiopia in Europe and the United States. He did this primarily through his speeches and