y natural accident, under the
circumstances. The arms being tied together at the elbows behind, the
spine had been at great tension, like a set bow, so that a violent
assault could not but result in its being fractured, especially
considering the weak and frozen condition in which the derelict before us
was. That I am probably correct in this explanation seems to be further
proved by the fact that his head, when severed, had been taken up and
swung to a distance by the angry executioner.

Now, though this way of doing away with criminals may appear a very cruel
one to European minds, it is, nevertheless, a decided improvement on the
older method of executing prevalent in Corea, as practised for example,
many years ago, on some French missionaries and their followers.

The execution of these martyrs was preceded by terrible floggings and
tortures, and when they were led to the execution-ground they had two
arrows thrust into their flesh, like modern St. Sebastians.

The executioner and soldiers, after having accomplished their bloody
work, and converted the execution-ground for the time being into a
shambles, retraced their steps to the nearest wine-shop, where the rest
of the night was spent in drinking and gorging. The bodies were left as a
repast for dogs and leopards; for no Corean with a sound mind could be
induced to go near the spot where they lay, lest the spirits of their
departed souls should play some evil trick upon them. So much, in fact,
were they scared at the idea of passing at all near to the dead bodies
that, though the execution took place a few hundred yards away from the
high road, the superstitious Coreans preferred going miles out of their
way on the other side of the hill range to being seen near (they called
it "near") a spot where so many people had perished.

The morning following this execution I took many sketches of the ghastly
scene and the mutilated bodies. I did not leave until darkness began to
set in, when, as I was busy packing up my traps to return to Seoul, I was
rather startled by the sudden appearance near me of an old man, sad,
pale, and worn-out with anxiety. As he crept up to my side, in a most
suspicious manner, he looked round, and then, with a violent effort,
directed his gaze to the bodies lying a little way off. He was shivering
like a leaf, his eyes were staring and his fingers outstretched, yet he
could not remove his glance from the dreadful sight. As he was in this
t