spirits--but by the most awful fright, she disburses the extra money
required, after which the spirit ultimately departs.

These witches and sorceresses are even more numerous than their male
equivalents. They are recruited from the riff-raff of the towns, and are
generally people well-informed on the state, condition, and doings of
everybody. Acting on this previous knowledge, they can often tell your
past to perfection, and in many cases they predict future events--which
their judgment informs them are not unlikely to occur. When ignorant,
they work pretty much on the same lines as the Oracle of Delphi; they
give an answer that may be taken as you please. Then, if things do not
occur in the way they predicted, they simply make it an excuse for
extorting more money out of their victim under the plea that he has
incurred the displeasure of the spirits, and that serious evil will come
upon him if he does not comply with their request. The money obtained is
generally spent in orgies during the night. These sorceresses and male
magicians are usually unscrupulous and immoral, and are often implicated,
not only in the intrigues of the noblest families, but also in murders
and other hideous crimes.

Outside the towns, again, there are, only a grade higher than these, the
Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. Within a few miles of Seoul, several
of these are to be found. One thing that may be said for these
institutions is that they are invariably built on lovely spots. Generally
on the top, or high on the slopes of a mountain, they form not only homes
for the religious, but fortified and impregnable castles. The monasteries
are seldom very large, and, as a general rule, hold respectively only
about two dozen monks.

[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF A TEMPLE]

There is a small temple on a platform, with a figure of Pul or Buddha in
the centre, two brass candlesticks by his side, and a small incense
burner at his feet. "Joss sticks" are constantly burned before him and
fill the temple with scent and haze. Buddha, as found in Corea, has
generally a sitting and cross-legged posture; the feet are twisted with
the soles upwards, and, while the right arm hangs down, the left is
folded, the forearm projecting, and the hand holding a bronze ball. By
his side, generally on the left, is a small tablet in a frame of
elaborate wood-carving. At the foot of the statue is a large collection
box for the donations of the worshippers. The backgr