“ The army now consists of 4,300 men in Seoul, 800 of whom are drilled as a bodyguard for the King, and 1,200 in the provinces, in Japanese uniforms, and equipped (so far as they go) with 3,000 Berdan rifles presented by Russia to Korea. The drill and words of command are Russian.
A standing army of 2,000 men would have been sufficient for all purposes in Korea, and as far as her need goes an army of 6,000 is an unblushing extravagance and a heavy drain on her resources. ”

“ With its innumerable associations, only a few of which I have alluded to, Korean life is singularly complex; and the Korean business world is far more fully organized than ours, nearly all the traders in the country being members of guilds, powerfully bound together, and having the common feature of mutual helpfulness in time of need. ”

“ The old kesit or gens d' amies with their picturesque dresses and long red plumes are now only to be seen, and that rarely, in attendance on officials of the Korean Government. Seoul is now policed, much overpoliced, for it has a force of 1,200 men, when a quarter of that number would be sufficient for its orderly population. Everywhere numbers of slouching men on and off" duty, in Japanese semi-military uniforms, with shocks of hair behind their ears and swords in nickel-plated scabbards by their sides, suggest useless and extravagant ex- penditure. ”

“ Be that as it may, the liberty which the King has enjoyed at the Russian Legation and since has not been for the advantage of Korea, and recent policy contrasts unfavorably with that pursued during the period of Japanese ascendency, which, on the whole, was in the direction of progress and righteousness.
Old abuses cropped up daily. Ministers and other favorites sold offices unblushingly, and when specific charges were made against one of the King's chief favorites, the formal demand for his prosecution was met by making him Vice-Minister of Education ! ”

“ It is already fulfilling an important function in unearthing abuses and dragging them into daylight, and is creating a desire for rational education and reasonable reform, and is becoming something of a terror to evil-doers. ”

“ Very many of the narrow lanes have been widened, their roadways curved and gravelled, and stone gutters have been built along the sides, in some cases by the people themselves. Along with much else the pungent, peculiar odor of Seoul has vanished. Sanitary regulations are enforced, and civilization has reached such a height that the removal of the snow from the front of the houses is compulsory on all householders. ”

“ Jaisohn (So Chia P'il) is a Korean gentleman educated in America, and has the welfare of his country thoroughly at heart.
The sight of newsboys passing through the streets with bun- dles of a newspaper in En-miin under their arms, and of men reading them in their shops, is among the novelties of 1897. Besides the Independent, there are now in Seoul two weeklies in En-miin the Korean Christian Advocate, and the Christian News; and the Korean Independence Club publishes a monthly magazine. ”

“ It may be said that a body of law has yet to be created, as well as the judges who shall administer it equably. A mixed Committee of Re- vision has been appointed, but the Korean members show a marked tendency to drop off, and no legal reform, solely the work of foreigners, would carry weight with the people. Mr. Greathouse, a capable lawyer and legal adviser to the Law De- partment, has been able to prevent some infamous transactions, but on the whole the Seoul Law Court does little more than ad- minister injustice and receive bribes. ”

“ With an ample Civil List and large perquisites he is the most impecunious person in his dominions, for in common with all who occupy official positions in Korea he is surrounded by hosts of grasping parasites and hangers-on, for ever clamoring "Give, Give." ”

“ Apart from such instructions, it must remain an inscrutable mystery why so excellent a man and so capable a diplomatist when absolutely master of the situation neglected to aid the Sovereign with his valuable ad- vice, a course which would have met with the cordial approval of all his colleagues. ”

“ It is most probable that a force drilled and armed by Russia, accustomed to obey Russian orders and ani- mated by an intense hereditary hatred of Japan, would prove a valuable corps d'armee to Russia in the event of war with that ambitious and restless empire. ”

“ Murderers and pilferers occupied the same room, and colonels of regiments accused of a serious conspiracy were with convicted felons, who might or might not be acting as spies and informers ; a very fine-looking man, sentenced for life, the first magistrate in Korea ever convicted and punished for bribery, and that on the complaint of a simple citizen, was in a "cell" with criminals wearing cangues. ”

“ So great is the change that I searched in vain for any remaining representative slum which I might photograph for this chapter as an illustration of Seoul in 1894.
It must be remarked, however, that the capital is being reconstructed on Korean lines, and is not being Europeanized.
Chong-dong, however, the quarter devoted to Foreign Le- gations, Consulates, and Mission agencies, would have nearly ceased to be Korean had not the King set down the Kyeng- won Palace with its crowded outbuildings in the midst of the foreign residences. Most of the native inhabitants have been bought out. ”

“ The soldiers and police, by an unwise arrange- ment made by the Japanese, and now scarcely possible to alter, are enormously overpaid, the soldiers receiving five dol- lars and a half a month, "all found," and the police from eight to ten, only finding their food. The Korean army is about the most highly paid in the world. The average Ko- rean in his great baggy trousers, high, perishable, broad- brimmed hat, capacious sleeves, and long flapping white coat, is usually a docile and harmless man ”

“ Seoul has also a paper, the Kanjo Shimbo, or Seoul News, in mixed Japanese and Korean script, published on alternate days, and there are newspapers in the Japanese language, both in Fusan and Chemulpo. All these, and the admirable Korean Re- pository, are the growth of the last three years.
The faculty of combination, by which in Korea as in China the weak find some measure of protection against the strong, is being turned to useful account. ”

“ Old Seoul, with its festering alleys, its winter accumulations of every species of filth, its ankle-deep mud and its foulness, which lacked the redeeming element of picturesqueness, is being fast improved off the face of the earth. Yet it is chiefly a restoration, for the dark, narrow alleys which lingered on till the autumn of 1896 were but the result of gradual encroach- ments on broad roadways, the remains of the marginal chan- nels of which were discovered. ”

“ Europe is too far away from the centre of civilization, i.e. the Middle Kingdom; hence Russians, Turks, English, French, Germans, and Belgians look more like birds and beasts than men, and their languages sound like the chirping of fowls. ”

“ And it is a will at the mercy of any designing person who gets hold of him and can work upon his fears and his desire for money — of the ladies Pak and Om, who assisted him in his flight, and of favorites and sycophants low and many, who sell or bestow on members of their families offices they have little difficulty in obtaining from his pliable good nature. ”

“ This habit of united action, and the measure of honesty which is essential to the success of combined undertakings, supply the framework on which various joint-stock companies are being erected, among which one of the most important is a tannery. ”

“ Wide roads with foreign shops have been con- structed. The French have built a Legation on a height, which vies in grandeur with that of Russia, and the American Methodist Episcopal Mission has finished a large red brick church, which, like the Roman Cathedral, can be seen from all quarters. ”

“ These young men, who are to receive a two years' military education from Russian officers, are under severe discipline, and were greatly surprised to find that servants were a prohibited luxury, and that their training in- volved the cleaning and keeping bright of their own rifles and accoutrements, and hard work for many hours of the day. ”

“ According to the views of recent generations, what westerners call the Christian Religion is vulgar, shallow, and erroneous, and is an instance of the vileness of Barbarian customs, which are not worthy of serious discussion. ”

“ Men were thrown into prison without reason, some of the worst of the canaille were made Ministers of State, the mur- derer of Kwi Ok-yun was appointed Master of Ceremony, and a convicted criminal, a man whose life has been one career of sordid crime, was made Minister of Justice. ”

“ Some of the sentences seemed out of proportion to the offences, as, for instance, a feeble old man was immured for three years for cutting and carrying off pine brush for fuel, and an old blind man of some position was incarcerated for ten years for the violation of a grave under circumstances of provocation. ”

“ The small buildings of this new palace were already crowded like a rabbit warren, and when completed will contain over i,ooo people, includ- ing the bodyguard, eunuchs, and Court officials innumerable, writers, readers, palace ladies, palace women, and an immense establishment of cooks, runners, servants, and all the supera- bundant and useless entour ge of an Eastern Sovereign, to whom crowds and movement represent power. This congeries of buildings was carefully guarded, and even the Korean soldier who attended on me was not allowed to pass the gate. ”

“ They worship the heavenly spirits, but do not sacrifice to par- ents, they insult heaven in every way, and overturn the social relations. This is truly a type of Barbarian vileness, and is not worthy of treatment in our review of foreign customs, especially as at this time the religion is somewhat on the wane. ”