infantry soldier, seen at his best, is a funny individual. He thinks
he is dressed like a European soldier, but the reader can imagine the
resemblance. His head-gear consists of a felt hat with a large brim,
which he keeps on his head by means of two ribbons tied under his chin;
for the fashion is, in military circles, to have a head-gear many times
too small for his head. He wears a pair of calico trousers of a
nondescript colour resembling green and black, under which his own padded
"unmentionables" are concealed, a fact which of itself is sufficient to
make him look a little baggy. Then there is his shortish coat with large
sleeves and woollen wristlets; and a belt, with a brass buckle, somewhere
about five inches above or below his waist, according to the amount of
dinner he has eaten and the purses he has stuffed under his coat. Yes,
the Coreans are not yet civilised enough to possess pockets, and all that
they have to carry must be stuffed into small leather, cloth, or silk
purses with long strings. By ordinary individuals these purses are
fastened inside or outside the coat, but among the military it is
strictly forbidden to show purses over the coat; wherefore the regulation
method is to carry these underneath, tied to the trouser's band.
Accordingly, as the number of purses is larger or smaller, the belt over
the jacket is higher or lower on the waist, the coat sticking out in the
most ridiculous manner.

In the illustration a Corean warrior of the latest fashion may be seen in
his full uniform. He is an infantry soldier.

[Illustration: AN INFANTRY SOLDIER]

The guns with which these men are armed, are of all sorts, descriptions
and ages, from the old flint-locks to repeating breech-loaders, and it
can easily be imagined how difficult it must be to train the troops,
hardly two soldiers having guns of even a similar make! A couple of
American Army instructors were employed by the King to coach the soldiery
in the art of foreign warfare, and to teach them how to use their
weapons, but, if I remember rightly, one of the greatest difficulties
they had to contend with was the utter want of discipline; for to this
the easy-going Corean Tommy Atkins could on no account be made to
submit. They are brave enough when it comes to fighting; that is, when
this is done in their own way; and rather than give way an inch they will
die like valiant warriors. It is an impossibility, however, to make them
understand that when