iosity, and in a moment there was a general stampede
out of the room on the part of all the courtiers and eunuchs. A minute
after, amidst the deepest silence, was brought triumphantly into the
audience-room and deposited in the middle of the table:--what do you
think?--my shoe, that, namely, which I had left outside!

Such a blow as this I had never experienced in my life, for the man I was
calling upon, you must remember, held a position in Corea equal to that
of the Prince of Wales and Lord Rosebery combined, and if you can imagine
being entertained by a dignitary of this high order with one of your
shoes in its right place and the other on the table, you will agree that
my position was more than comical. It appeared that this special state of
sensation was produced entirely by the fact that my unfortunate foot-gear
was made of patent leather, and that, being almost new, it shone
beautifully. Neither Prince nor Court had ever seen patent leather
before, and much ravishment, mingled with childish surprise, was on the
face of everybody, when it was whispered round and believed that the shoe
was covered with a glass coating. The Prince examined it carefully all
over, and then passed it round to his courtiers, signs of the greatest
admiration being expressed at this wonderful object.

[Illustration: H.R.H. PRINCE MIN-YOUNG-CHUN]

I, on my, side, took things quite philosophically, after having recovered
from the first shock; and, taking off the other shoe, put it also on the
table, gracefully, and quite in the Eastern fashion, begging the Prince
to accept the pair as a gift, if he was agreeable to have them.
Fortunately for me, however, he even more gracefully declined the offer,
though, as long as our interview lasted, I noticed that his eyes were
constantly fixed on them and that every now and then he again went into
raptures over them!

On the occasion of this visit I presented him with a portrait of himself
reproduced on a small scale from the larger painting which I had made. He
seemed to much appreciate this picture so far as the painting was
concerned, but was much taken aback when he discovered that it was on the
surface of a wooden panel and could not, therefore, be rolled up. The
Eastern idea is that, to preserve a picture, it should always be kept
rolled, and unrolled as seldom as possible, that is to say, only on grand
solemnities.

When it was time to go, the Prince conducted me to the door in person,
and