idered
bad form in the land of Cho-sen. I could well see, however, that his
heart was aching. He bent over the bodies, one after the other; then,
after a lengthy examination, he pointed to one, and murmured:

"This is my son, this is my son! I know him by his hands. See how they
are swollen, and nearly cut by the rope?"

Next, after a good deal of uncertainty, for the face was smeared and
streaked with blood, we found the head pertaining to the body. The old
man, with paternal love, then proceeded, if he could, to stick the head
on the body again, but--this was impossible.

"Please, sir," he begged of me, in a tone of lamentation, "help me to
take my son as far as the coffin."

I consented, and, with the utmost trouble, we carried the body down the
hill, afterwards coming back for the head. In two mats, which had been
carried inside the hearse, we wrapped the corpse up as well as we could,
and then bundled him into the coffin. All this time a careful look-out
was maintained, to see that no one else was about to spy over the deed,
but once the corpse was in its coffin, the coolies quickly took the
hearse on their shoulders, and all sped away, not without repeated
"kamapsos" (thanks) being given me by the old man.

That was the only body which was removed, all the others being left to
rot or to be eaten up by wild animals.

When I examined the expressions on the faces of the beheaded wretches, it
did not seem as if any of them had at all enjoyed what had taken place;
on the contrary, rather than otherwise, there was plainly depicted on
their now immovable features an expression of most decided
dissatisfaction. Without doubt, they had undergone a terrible agony. In
some cases the eyes were closed, in others they were wide open, staring
straight in front. The pupils had become extremely small. The lips of all
were contracted, and the teeth showed between, tightly closed. Streaks of
blood covered the faces, and it was very apparent that the noses, ears,
and sometimes the outside corners of the eyes, had been bleeding, this
being probably due to the violent blows received from the sword. In a
word, the expression which had become stereotyped upon their faces was
that of great pain and fright, although none of them, with the exception
of the one who had resisted at the last moment, showed it in any other
way. The muscles of the arms also were much contracted, and the swollen
fingers were of a bluish colour with congested