COREA
OR CHO-SEN
COREA
OR CHO-SEN
THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM
BY
A. HENRY SAVAGE-LANDOR
AUTHOR OF
"ALONE WITH THE HAIRY AINU"
With Numerous Text and Full-Page Illustrations
from Drawings made by the Author
[Illustration: A. HENRY SAVAGE-LANDOR.]
[Illustration: SIGNATURE OF A. HENRY SAVAGE-LANDOR.]
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1895
[_All rights reserved_]
BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION
I Humbly Dedicate
THIS WORK
TO
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
PREFACE
In this book I have sought to present the reader with some dry facts
about Corea and the Coreans. I have attempted to describe the manners and
customs of the people as accurately as possible from the impressions
which my visit to their country left upon me, but of course I do not
claim that these personal opinions expressed are absolutely infallible.
My sojourn extended over several months, and I never during all that time
neglected any opportunity of studying the natives, giving my observations
as they were made a permanent form by the aid both of pen and of brush. I
was afforded specially favourable chances for this kind of work through
the kind hospitality shown me by the Vice-Minister of Home Affairs and
Adviser to the King, Mr. C.R. Greathouse, to whom I feel greatly indebted
for my prolonged and delightful stay in the country, as well as for the
amiable and valuable assistance which he and General Le Gendre, Foreign
Adviser to His Corean Majesty, gave me in my observations and studies
among the upper classes of Corea. I am also under great obligations to
Mr. Seradin Sabatin, Architect to His Majesty the King, and to Mr. Krien,
German Consul at Seoul, for the kindness and hospitality with which they
treated me on my first arrival at their city.
The illustrations in this book are reproductions of sketches taken by me
while in the country, and though, perhaps, they want much in artistic
merit, I venture to hope that they will be found characteristic.
For literary style I hope my readers will not look. I am not a literary
man, nor do I desire to profess myself such. I trust, however, that I
have succeeded in telling my story in a simple and straightforward
manner, for this especially was the object with which I started at the
outset.
A. HENRY SAVAGE-LANDOR.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Christmas on board--Fusan--A body-snatcher--The Kiung-sang Province--The
cotton production--Body-snatching extraordinary--Imperatrice
Gulf--Chemulpo.
CHAPTER II
Chemulpo--So-called European hotels--Comforts--Japanese concession--The
_Guechas_--New Year's festivities--The Chinese settlement--European
residents--The word "Corea"--A glance at Corean history--Cho-sen.
CHAPTER III
The road to Seoul--The _Mapu_--Ponies--Oxen--Coolies--Currency--Mode of
carrying weights--The Han River--Nearly locked out.
CHAPTER IV
The Coreans--Their faces and heads--Bachelors--Married
men--Head-band--Hats--Hat-umbrellas--Clothes--Spectacles.
CHAPTER V
The Woman of Cho-sen--Her clothes--Her ways--Her looks--Her
privileges--Her duties--Her temper--Difference of classes--Feminine
musicians.
CHAPTER VI
Corean children--The family--Clans--Spongers--Hospitality--Spinning-tops
--Toys--Kite-flying--Games--How babies are sent to sleep.
CHAPTER VII
Corean inns--Seoul--A tour of observation--Beggars--Lepers--Philosophy--An
old palace--A leopard hunt--Weather prophets--The main street--Sedan
chairs--The big bell--Crossing of the bridges--Monuments--Animal
worship--The Gate of the Dead--A funeral--The Queen-dowager's telephone.
CHAPTER VIII
Seoul--The City Wall--A large image--Mount Nanzam--The fire-signals--The
women's joss-house--Foreign buildings--Japanese settlement--An
anecdote--Clean or not clean?--The Pekin Pass--The water-carrier--The man
of the Gates.
CHAPTER IX
The Corean house--Doors and windows--Blinds--Rooms--The
"Kan"--Roasting alive--Furniture--Treasures--The
kitchen--Dinner-set--Food--Intoxicants--Gluttony--Capacity for
food--Sleep--Modes of illumination--Autographs--Streets--Drainage--Smell.
CHAPTER X
A Corean marriage--How marriages are arranged--The wedding ceremony--The
document--In the nuptial chamber--Wife's conduct--Concubines--Widows
--Seduction--Adultery--Purchasing a husband--Love--Intrigue--Official
"squeezing"--The cause.
CHAPTER XI
Painting in Seoul--Messages from the King--Royal princes sitting for
their portraits--Breaking the mourning law--Quaint notions--Delight and
despair--Calling in of State ceremony--Corean soldiers--How they mount
guard--Drill--Honours--A much-admired shoe--A gift.
CHAPTER XII
The royal palace--A royal message--Mounting guard--The bell--The royal
precinct--The Russian villa--An unfinished structure--The Summer
Palace--The King's house--Houses of dignitaries--The ground and summer
pavilion--Colds--The funeral of a Japanese Minister--Houses of royal
relations--The queen--The oldest man and woman--The King and his
throne--Politics and royalty--Messengers and spies--Kim-Ka-Chim--Falcons
and archery--Nearly a St. Sebastian--The queen's curiosity--A royal
banquet--The consequences.
CHAPTER XIII
Students--Culture--Examination ground--The three degrees--The
alphabet--Chinese characters--Schools--Astronomers--Diplomas--Students
abroad--Adoption of Western ways--Quick perception--The letter "f"--A
comical mistake--Magistrates and education Rooted superstition--Another
haunted palace--Tigers--A convenient custom.
CHAPTER XIV
Religion--Buddhism--Bonzes--Their power--Shamanism--Spirits--Spirits of
the mountain--Stone heaps--Sacred trees--Seized by the spirits--Safe-guard
against them--The wind--Sorcerers and sorceresses--Exorcisms--Monasteries
--Temples--Buddha--Monks--Their customs and clothing--Nuns--Their
garments--Religious ceremonies--The tooth-stone.
CHAPTER XV
Police--Detectives--The plank-walk--The square board--The wooden blocks
for hands and feet--Floggings--The bamboo rod--The stick--The flexible
board--A flogging in Seoul--One hundred strokes for three-halfpence
--Wounds produced--Tender-hearted soldiers--Imprisonment--Exile--Status
of women, children, and bachelors--Guilds and the law--Nobles and the
law--Serfdom--mild form of slavery.
CHAPTER XVI
Executions--Crucified and carried through the streets--The execution
ground--Barbarous mode of beheading--Noble criminals--Paternal love--Shut
out--Scaling the wall--A catastrophe--A nightmare.
CHAPTER XVII
The "King's procession"--Removing houses--Foolhardy people--Beaten to
death--Cavalry soldiers--Infantry--Retainers--Banners--Luxurious
saddles--The King and his double--Royal palanquins--The return at night.
CHAPTER XVIII
Fights--Prize fights--Fist fights--Special moon for fighting--Summary
justice--The use of the top-knot--Cruelty--A butcher combatant Stone
fights--Belligerent children--Battle between two guilds--Wounded and
killed--The end of the battle postponed--Soldiers' fights.
CHAPTER XIX
Fires--The greatest peril--A curious way of saving one's house--The
anchor of safety--How it worked--Making an opposition wind--Saved by
chance--A good trait in the native character--Useful friends.
CHAPTER XX
A trip to Poo-kan--A curious monastery.
CHAPTER XXI
Corean physiognomy--Expressions of pleasure--Displeasure--Contempt
--Fear--Pluck--Laughter--Astonishment--Admiration--Sulkiness--Jealousy
--Intelligence--Affection--Imagination--Dreams--Insanity--Its principal
causes--Leprosy--The family--Men and women--Fecundity--Natural and
artificial deformities--Abnormalities--Movements and attitudes--The Corean
hand--Conservatism.
LIST OF PLATES
PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR
AN OFFICIAL GOING TO COURT
THE PEKIN PASS
A WATER-COOLIE
H.R.H. PRINCE MIN-YOUNG-HUAN
AN INFANTRY SOLDIER
A STUDY FROM STILL-LIFE
CHAPTER I
Christmas on board--Fusan--A body-snatcher--The Kiung-sang Province--The
cotton production--Body-snatching extraordinary--Imperatrice
Gulf--Chemulpo.
[Illustration: CHEMULPO]
It was on a Christmas Day that I set out for Corea. The year was 1890. I
had been several days at Nagasaki, waiting for the little steamer,
_Higo-Maru_, of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan Steamship Company), which
was to arrive, I think, from Vladivostock, when a message was brought to
me saying that she was now in port, and would sail that afternoon for
Tsushima, Goto, and the Corean ports.
I went on board, and, our vessel's anchor being raised at four o'clock,
we soon steamed past Battenberg Island and got away from the picturesque
Bay of Nagasaki. This was the last I saw of Japan.
The little _Higo_ was not a bad seaboat, for, following good advice, her
owners had provided her with rolling beams; but, mind you, she had by no
means the steadiness of a rock, nor did she pretend to cut the water at
the rate of twenty knots an hour. Still, taken all in all, she was a
pretty good goer. Her captain was a Norwegian, and a jolly fellow; while
the crew she carried was entirely Japanese, with the exception of the
stewards in the saloon, who were two pig-tailed subjects of the Celestial
Empire.
"Numbel one Clistmas dinnel has got to-night, Mastel," expostulated John
Chinaman to me in his pidgen English, as I was busy making my cabin
comfortable. "Soup has got, fish has got, loast tulkey has got,
plan-puddy all bulning has got. All same English countly. Dlink,
to-night, plenty can have, and no has to pay. Shelly can have, Boldeau
can have, polt, bea, champagne, blandy, all can have, all flee!"
I must say that when I heard of the elaborate dinner to which we were to
be treated by the captain, I began to feel rather glad that I had started
on my journey on a Christmas Day.
There were a few Japanese passengers on board, but only one European, or
rather American, besides myself, and a most pleasant companion he turned
out to be. He was Mr. Clarence R. Greathouse, formerly Consul-General for
the United States at Yokohama--at which place I first had the pleasure of
meeting him--who was now on his way to Corea, where he had been requested
by the Corean Government to accept the high and responsible position of
Vice-Minister of Home Affairs, as well as of legal adviser to the King in
international affairs.
Curiously enough, he had not been aware that I was to travel on the same
ship, and I also never dreamt that I would have had the good fortune of
being in such good and agreeable company during a voyage which otherwise
would have been extremely dull. Accordingly, when we met again thus
accidentally on the deck of the _Higo_, the event was as much to our
mutual satisfaction as it was unexpected.
The sea was somewhat choppy, but notwithstanding this, when the steward
appeared on the companion-way, beaming all over, in his best silk gown
and jacket, and rang the dinner-bell with all his might, we gaily
responded to his call and proceeded below.
Heavens! it was a Christmas dinner and no mistake! The tables and walls
had been decorated with little paper flags and flowers made of the
brightest colours that human fancy could devise, and dishes of almonds
and raisins filled the centre of the table. There were little flags stuck
in those dishes, and, indeed, everywhere. A big cake in the middle had
prudently been tied to the table with a string, as the rolling motion of
the ship was rather against its chances of keeping steady in the place
that had been assigned to it, and the other usual precautions had been
taken to keep the plates and glasses in their proper positions.
Our dinner-party consisted of about eight. At one moment we would be up,
with our feet on a level with our opposite companion's head; the next we
would be down, with the soles of their boots higher than our skulls.
It is always a pretty sight to see a table decorated, but when it is not
only decorated but animated as well, it is evidently prettier still. When
you see all the plates and salt-cellars moving slowly away from you, and
as slowly returning to you; when you have to chase your fork and your
knife before you can use them, the amusement is infinitely greater.
"_O gomen kudasai_"--"I beg your pardon"--said a Japanese gentleman in
rather a hurried manner, and more hurriedly still made his exit into his
cabin. Two or three others of his countrymen followed suit during the
progress of the dinner, and as number after number of the _menu_ was gone
through, so that we who remained had a capital time. Not many minutes
also elapsed without our having a regular fusillade of bottles of
champagne of some unknown brand, and "healths" were drunk of distant
friends and relatives.
Mr. Greathouse, who, like many of his countrymen, has a wonderful gift
for telling humorous stories, of which he had an unlimited supply, kept
us in fits all evening, and in fact the greater part of the night, so
that when we passed the islands of Goto and Tsushima we were still awake
and in course of being entertained by his Yankee yarns.
The next day we reached the Corean port of Fusan. I well remember how
much I was struck when we entered the pretty harbour and approached the
spot where we cast anchor, by the sight of hundreds of white spots moving
slowly along the coast and on a road winding up a hill. As we drew
nearer, the white spots became larger and assumed more and more the form
of human beings. There was something so ghostly about that scene that it
is still vividly impressed upon my mind.
There is at Fusan not only a Japanese settlement, but also a Chinese one.
About two and a half miles distant round the bay, the native walled town
and fort can be plainly seen, while in the distance one may distinguish
the city and castle of Tong-nai, in which the Governor resides. If I
remember correctly, the number of Europeans at this port is only three or
four, these being mainly in the employ of the Chinese Customs service.
We had hardly come to a standstill when a curious-looking being, who had
come to meet the steamer in a boat, climbed up the rope-ladder which had
been let down on the starboard side and came on board. He was a European.
"Do you see that man?" a voice whispered in my ear. "He is a
body-snatcher."
"Nonsense," I said; "are you joking, or what?"
"No, I am not; and, if you like, I will tell you his story at luncheon."
And surely what better time could be chosen for a "body-snatching" story
than "luncheon." Meanwhile, however, I lost not my chance, and while
conversing with somebody else, the snatcher found himself "snatched" in
my sketch-book. It is not every day that one comes across such
individuals! I went to speak to him, and I must confess that whether he
had as a fact troubled the dead or not, he was none the less most
courteous and polite with the living. He had, it is true, at times
somewhat of a sinister look in his face; but for his unsteady eyes, you
might almost have put him down as a missionary. He informed me that
codfish was to be had in great abundance at Fusan, and that the grain
export was almost entirely done by the Japanese, while the importation of
miscellaneous articles was entirely in the hands of the Chinese.
Fusan is situated at the most south-westerly extremity of the province of
Kiung-sang, which words, translated into English mean, "polite
compliment." The kingdom of Corea, we may here mention, is divided into
eight provinces, which rejoice in the following names: Kiung-sang-do,[1]
Chulla-do, Chung-chon-do, Kiung-kei-do, Kang-wen-do, Wang-hai-do,
Ping-yan-do, Ham-kiung-do. The province in which Fusan is situated is,
without exception, the richest in Corea after that of Chulla, for it has
a mild climate and a very fertile soil. This being the case, it is not
astonishing to find that the population is more numerous than in most
other districts further north, and also, that being so near the Japanese
coast, a certain amount of trading, mostly done by junks, is continually
being transacted with the Mikado's subjects on the opposite shores. Fusan
has been nominally in the hands of the Japanese from very ancient times,
although it was only in 1876 that a treaty was concluded by which it was
opened to Japanese trade. The spot on which the settlements lie is
pretty, with its picturesque background of high mountains and the large
number of little islands rising like green patches here and there in the
bay. Maki, the largest island, directly opposite the settlement, is now
used as a station for breeding horses of very small size, and it
possesses good pastures on its high hills. In the history of the
relations between Corea and Japan this province plays indeed a very
important part, for being nearer than any other portion of the kingdom to
the Japanese shores--the distance being, I believe, some 130 miles
between the nearest points of the two countries--invasions have been of
frequent occurrence, especially during the period that Kai-seng, then
called Sunto, was the capital. This city, like the present capital,
Seoul, was a fortified and walled town of the first rank and the chief
military centre of the country, besides being a seat of learning and
making some pretence of commercial enterprise. It lay about twenty-five
miles N.E. of Seoul, and at about an equal number of miles from the
actual sea. For several hundreds of years, Sunto had been one of the
principal cities of Corea, when Wang, a warrior of the Fuyu race and an
ardent Buddhist, who had already conquered the southern portion of the
Corean peninsula, made it the capital, which it remained until the year
1392 A.D., when the seat of the Government was removed to Seoul.
To return to Fusan and the Kyung-sang province. It is as well to mention
that the chief product cultivated is cotton. This is, of course, the
principal industry all over Corea, and the area under cultivation is
roughly computed at between eight and nine hundred thousand acres, the
unclean cotton produced per annum being calculated at about 1,200,000,000
lbs. In a recent report, the Commissioner of Customs at Fusan sets down
the yearly consumption of cleaned cotton at about 300,000,000 lbs. The
greater part of the cotton is made up into piece-goods for making
garments and padding the native winter clothes. In the Kiung-sang
province the pieces of cloth manufactured measure sixty feet, while the
width is only fourteen inches, and the weight between three and four
pounds. The fibre of the cotton stuff produced, especially in the
Kiung-sang and Chulla provinces, is highly esteemed by the Coreans, and
they say that it is much more durable and warmth-giving than that
produced either in Japan or China.
Of course the production of cotton could be greatly increased if more
practical systems were used in its cultivation, and if the magistrates
were not so much given to "squeezing" the people. To make money and to
have it extorted the moment you have made it, is not encouraging to the
poor Corean who has worked for it; therefore little exertion is displayed
beyond what is necessary to earn, not the "daily bread," for that they do
not eat, but the daily bowl of rice. There is much fertile land, which at
present is not used at all, and hardly any attention, and much less
skill, is manifested when once the seed is in the ground.
The Neapolitan _lazzaroni_, of world-wide reputation for extreme
laziness, have indeed worthy rivals in the Corean peasantry. The women
are made to do all the work, for by them the crops are gathered, and by
them the seeds are separated with the old-fashioned roller-gin. To borrow
statistics from the Commissioners' Report, a native woman can, with a
roller-gin, turn out, say, nearly 3 lbs. of clean cotton from 12 lbs. of
seed-cotton; while the industrious Japanese, who have brought over modern
machines of the saw-gin type, can obtain 35 lbs. of clean cotton from
140 lbs. of seed-cotton in the same space of time. Previous to being
spun, the cotton is prepared pretty much in the same way as in Japan or
China, the cotton being tossed into the air with a view to separating the
staple; but the spinning-wheel commonly used in Corea only makes one
thread at a time.
The crops are generally gathered in August, and the dead stalk is used
for fuel, while the ashes make fairly good manure. The quantity of clean
cotton is about 85 lbs. per acre, and of seed-cotton 345 lbs. per acre.
But to return to my narrative, luncheon-time came in due course, and as I
was spreading out my napkin on my knees, I reminded the person who had
whispered those mysterious words in my ear, of the promise he had made.
"Yes," said he, as he cautiously looked round, "I will tell you his
story. Mind you," he added, "this man to whom you spoke a while ago was
only one of several, and he was not the principal actor in that
outrageous business, still he himself is said to have taken a
considerable part in the criminal dealings. Remember that the account I
am going to give you of the affair is only drawn in bold lines, for the
details of the expedition have never been fully known to any one. For all
I know, this man may even be perfectly innocent of all that is alleged
against him."
"Go on; do not make any more apologies, and begin your story," I
remarked, as my curiosity was considerably roused.
"Very good. It was on April 30th, 1867, that an expedition left Shanghai
bound for Corea. The aims of that expedition seemed rather obscure to
many of the foreign residents at the port of departure, as little faith
was reposed in the commander. Still, it must be said for its members that
until they departed they played their _rôle_ well. Corea was then
practically a closed country; wherefore a certain amount of curiosity was
displayed at Shanghai when three or four Coreans, dressed up in their
quaint costumes and transparent horse-hair hats, were seen walking about,
and being introduced here and there by a French bishop called Ridel. A
few days later the curiosity of the foreign residents grew in intensity
when the news spread that an American subject, a certain Jenkins,
formerly interpreter at the U.S. Consulate, had, at his own expense,
chartered a ship and hurriedly fitted out an expedition, taking under his
command eight other Europeans, all of a more or less dubious character,
and a suite of about 150 Chinamen and Manillamen, the riff-raff of the
Treaty Port, who were to be the crew and military escort of the
expedition. A man called Oppert, a North German Jew, and believed by
everybody to be an adventurer under the guise of a trader, was in command
of the 'fleet'--which was composed of a steamer, if I remember right, of
about 700 tons, called the _China_, and a smaller tender of little over
50 tons, called the _Greta_. Oppert flew the flag of his own country, and
in due course gave the order to start."
"Well, so far so good," I interrupted; "but you have not told me what
connection there was between Bishop Ridel's four Coreans and your
body-snatching friends?"
"Well, you see, the American and Oppert took advantage of their
appearance in Shanghai to let people believe that they were high
officials sent over by the king, who was anxious to send an embassy to
the different courts of Europe to explain the slaughter of foreigners
which had taken place in his country, and also with the object of
entering, if possible, into treaties with the different European
monarchs--in fact to open his country to foreign trade and commerce. It
seemed somewhat a large order to any one who knew of the retiring nature
of the king, but everything was done so quickly that the expedition was
gone before people had time to inquire into its real object.
"The fleet, as I have remarked, in due time started, and after calling on
its way at Nagasaki, where rifles and other firearms and ammunition were
purchased with which to arm the military escort, steered a course to the
mouth of the Han river. Among the eight Europeans of dubious character on
board was a Frenchman, a Jesuit priest, who called himself Farout, but
whose real name was Feron, and who played an important part in the
piratical scheme, for, having lived some time previously in Corea, he had
mastered the language. Besides, he had travelled a good deal along the
river Han, so that he was entrusted with the responsible position of
guide and interpreter to the body-snatchers!"
"Curious position for a missionary to occupy," I could not help
remarking.
"Yes. They reached Prince Jerome's Gulf on the 8th of May, and the next
day, sounding continually, slowly steamed up the river Han to a point
where it was deemed advisable to man the tender and smaller rowing-boats
with a view to completing the expedition in these.
"This plan was successfully carried out, and during the night, under the
command of Oppert, and escorted by the marauders, who were armed to the
teeth, they proceeded to the point where l'Abbé Feron advised a landing.
Here, making no secret of their designs, they ill-treated the natives,
and pillaged their poor huts, after which they made their way to the
tomb, where the relics lay of some royal personage supposed to have been
buried there with mountains of gold and precious jewels, which relics
were held in much veneration by the great Regent, the Tai-wen-kun. The
impudent scheme, in a few words, was this: to take the natives by
surprise, dig the body quickly out of its underground place of what
should have been eternal rest, and take possession of anything valuable
that might be found in the grave. The disturbed bones of the unfortunate
prince were to be carried on board, and a high ransom was to be extorted
from the great Regent, who they thought would offer any sum to get back
the cherished bones of his ancestor.
"The march from the landing-place to the tomb occupied longer than had
been anticipated, and crowds of astonished and angry natives followed the
procession of armed men. The latter finally reached the desired spot, a
funny little semi-spherical mound of earth, with a few stone figures of
men and ponies roughly carved on either side, and guarded by two stone
slabs.
"The 'abbé,' who, among other things, was said to have been the promoter
of the scheme, pointed out the mound, and, rejoicing with Oppert and
Jenkins at having been so far successful, gave orders to the coolies to
proceed at once to dig. Spades and shovels had been brought for the
purpose, and the little mound was rapidly being levelled, while the
turbulent crowd of infuriated Coreans which had collected was getting
more and more menacing. These seemed to spring out by hundreds from every
side as by magic, and the body-snatchers were soon more than ten times
outnumbered. No greater insult or infamous act could there be to a Corean
mind than the violation of a grave. As spadeful after spadeful of earth
was removed by the shaking hands of the frightened coolies, shouts,
hisses, and oaths went up from the maddened crowd, but Oppert and the
French abbé, half scared as they were, still pined for the hidden
treasure, and encouraged the grave-diggers with promises of rewards as
well as with the invigorating butt-ends of their rifles. At last, after
digging a big hole in the earth, their spades came upon a huge slab of
stone, which seemed to be the top of the sarcophagus."
"I suppose that no oath was bad enough for the three leaders, then?" said
I.
"No; they were mad with fury, and more so when all the strength of their
men combined was not sufficient to stir the stone an inch."
"The crowd which till then had been merely turbulent, now became so
exasperated at the cheek of the 'foreign white devils' that it could no
more keep within bounds, and a wild attack was made on the pirates.
Showers of stones were thrown, and the infuriated natives made a rush
upon them; but, _hélas!_ their attack was met by a volley of rifle-shots.
Frightened out of their lives by the murderous effects of these strange
weapons, they fell back for a time, only to return by-and-by with fresh
ardour to the attack. The body-snatchers, having little confidence in the
courage and fidelity of the ruffian lot that composed their military
escort, and, moreover, seeing that all efforts were useless to remove the
'blessed' stone, deemed it more than advisable to retreat to the
tender--a retreat which, one may add, was effected somewhat hurriedly.
This being done, they steamed full speed down the river, and once on
board the _China_, began to feel more like themselves again.
"They anchored opposite Kang-wha Island, and remained there for three
days. Then as they were holding a parley on land near Tricauld Island,
they were attacked again by the angry mob, the news of their outrageous
deed having spread even hitherwards, and two or three of their men were
killed. Realising, therefore, that it was impossible to carry out their
plan, the body-snatchers returned to Shanghai, but here a surprise
awaited them.
"They were all arrested and underwent a trial. So little evidence,
however, was brought against them, and that little was of such a
conflicting character, that they were all acquitted. Oppert,
nevertheless, was imprisoned in his own country, and even brought out a
book in which he described his piratical expedition."
"Yes," I remarked, "your story is a very good one; but what part did
this particular man, now at Fusan, take in the marauding scheme?"
"Oh, that I do not exactly know--in fact, no one knows more than this,
that he was one of the eight Europeans who accompanied Oppert. Here at
Fusan all the foreign residents look down on him, and his only pleasure
is to come on board when a ship happens to call, that he may exchange a
few words in a European tongue, for no one belonging to this locality
will speak to him."
I went on deck to look for the pirate, hoping to get, if possible, a few
interesting and accurate details of the adventurous journey of the
_China_, but he had already gone, and we were just on the point of
raising our anchor, bound for Chemulpo.
On December 27th we steamed past Port Hamilton, formerly occupied by the
British, where fortifications and a jetty had been constructed and
afterwards abandoned, a treaty having been signed by Great Britain and
China, to the effect that no foreign Power was to be allowed to occupy
either Port Hamilton or any other port in the kingdom of Corea at any
future time.
During that day we travelled mostly along the inner course, among
hundreds of picturesque little islands of the Corean Archipelago, and in
the afternoon of the 28th we entered the Imperatrice Gulf. On account of
the low tide we had to keep out at sea till very late, and it was only
towards sunset that we were able to enter the inner harbour where
Chemulpo lies, protected by a pretty island on its western side. I bade
good-bye to the jolly captain and mate, and getting my traps together,
landed for the second time on Corean soil.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Do_ means province.