house; those that do not, live
in the immediate neighbourhood of the palace enclosure, so as to be
within easy reach when wanted; it being one of the little failings of the
Corean potentate to call up his relations at all hours as well of the
night as of the day. In fact, nearly all the work done by the King, and
nearly all the interviews which he grants to his Ministers take place
during the dark hours, the principal reason given for which is that by
this means, intrigue is prevented, and people are kept in utter ignorance
as to what takes place at Court.

[Illustration: THE KING]

It is a great mistake to suppose that the good-natured King of Cho-sen,
possesses a harem as big as that of the Sultan of Turkey; indeed, the
contrary is the fact. He is quite satisfied with a single wife, that is
to say, the Queen. Needless to say, however, were the custom otherwise,
he certainly would not be the person to object to the institution, for
his predecessors undoubtedly indulged in such an extravagance. The real
truth is the King of Cho-sen has married a little lady stronger minded
than himself, and is compelled to keep on his best behaviour, and see to
it that he does not get into trouble. There are bad tongues in Seoul who
say that the Queen actually rules the King, and therefore, through him,
the country, and that he is more afraid of Her Gracious Majesty, his
wife, than of the very devil himself. For the correctness of this
statement I will not answer.

The Queen is a very good-looking, youngish woman, younger than the King,
and has all her wits about her. She is said to be much in favour of the
emancipation of the Corean woman, but she has made no actual effort, that
I am aware of, to modify the comparatively strict rules of their
seclusion. She comes of one of the oldest families in Cho-sen, and by a
long way the noblest, that of the Mins. She treats herself to countless
Court ladies, varying in number between a score and three hundred,
according to the wants of the Court at different times.

One of the quaintest and nicest customs in Corea is the respect shown by
the young for the old; what better, then, can the reigning people do but
set the good example themselves? Every year the King and Queen entertain
in the royal palace an old man and an old woman of over the age of
ninety, and no matter from what class these aged specimens are drawn,
they are always looked after and cared for under their own supervision
and ma